Scotland Book Club Reviews

Review: 1979 by Val McDermid

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5

It’s, unsurprisingly, 1979, and new reporter Allie Burns is trying to make her mark in a male-dominated environment of the Clarion newspaper in Glasgow. Women are treated as incapable, covering only cuddly stories about miracle babies and tea parties.

Allie is different and wants all that to change. The Clarion’s newest reporter is both determined and brave while also being Cambridge educated. Delving into the criminal elements of a respectable Scotland, she uncovers a story that will pull her up from the bottom of the journalistic heap.

The reason for picking this exciting new novel from Val McDermid was simple, I am a huge fan. I expected another tense and sharp thriller because of my love of McDermid’s previous work, but this is not what 1979 is.

Instead, McDermid seems to have mellowed, and this new novel focuses more on the psychological rather than the psychotic. The first in a new series, I found it gentler and less taut than the McDermid of Wire in the Blood and The Mermaids Singing, while just as gripping and atmospheric.

In fact, it was how easily I became immersed in the setting that played a big part in keeping me hooked. It brilliantly evokes the time. You can smell the paper and ink of the printing presses, hear their roar and clatter, even know what’s on the radio in the background.

The genuine and evocative way each chapter and element of the period is described, be it music, politics, beer or food, even the way the characters personal stories run alongside the main plot, is very cleverly and delicately done. You’re there, with the characters, every step of the way. But then, I would expect nothing less from such a talented storyteller.

Considering the level of detail this story included, it was no surprise to discover that McDermid had been a rookie reporter in 1979. On top of this first-hand experience, the great playlist suggested at the back of the book is just another step back in time. So we dove straight into this and loved it!

Though 1979 wasn’t quite what I’ve come to expect from this author, it’s still an enticing thriller told in a really evocative way that kept the pages turning, and I very much look forward to the next one.