The sequel to 1979 finds journalist Allie Burns has become an editor, and as the Cold War and AIDS crisis deliver a nonstop tide of news, most of it bad, a story falls into her lap. And then there's a murder.
Ms. McDermid, a skillful plotter, thus builds the framework for an even more elaborate story. Sharp characterizations and startling revelations mark this outstanding work, which is by turns a murder mystery and a chilling tale of historical retribution.
Val McDermid made a shrewd move when she switched from traditional crime fiction to a series featuring an investigative journalist ... This being McDermid, it whips along like bushfire, even though the prose is workaday and the dialogue too often does not sing ... McDermid colourfully conveys the sometimes dreary, occasionally feverish mood of working on a tabloid ... The scope of McDermid’s novel is ambitious, but not wholly successful. Trying to place a single journalist at the heart of so many of the year’s turning points is a feat of plotting logistics that eventually strains credulity. McDermid’s legion of fans will no doubt devour it ... For me, it felt more like an intellectual exercise than an immersive read.
There is a great deal to enjoy in this novel. If the villains are a bit too obvious and their relations with Allie too predictable, McDermid remains a masterly setter of a scene and developer of a storyline. There is an agreeable warmth to much of the book, and the evocation of the world of journalism and politics of the late 20th century is convincing ... Sadly, this isn’t one of McDermid’s best books. It is very long and very slow. There is scarcely any tension because the distinction between good and bad characters is too clear, too blatant ... As a crime novel, there is much to please, but, though it is agreeable and an entertaining enough read, it lacks tension, because the bad guys never surprise and have no depth.
