THE SECOND THRILLING NOVEL IN VAL MCDERMID'S NEW SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLING SERIES

It's 1989 and Allie Burns is back.

Older and maybe wiser, she's running the northern news operation of the Sunday Globe, chafing at losing her role in investigative journalism and at the descent into the gutter of the UK tabloid media.

But there's plenty to keep her occupied. The year begins with the memorial service to the victims of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103, but Allie has barely filed her copy when she stumbles over a story about HIV/AIDS that will shock her into a major change of direction.

The world of newspapers is undergoing a revolution, there's skulduggery in the medical research labs and there are seismic rumblings behind the Iron Curtain. When kidnap and murder are added to this potent mix, Allie is forced to question all her old certainties.

Praise for 1979

'McDermid is at her considerable best' GUARDIAN

'Irresistible' PATRICIA CORNWELL

'A brilliant novel by a supremo of the genre' PETER JAMES

'Outstanding' SPECTATOR

'Another masterpiece' DAVID BALDACCI

'Sensational. One of Britain's most accomplished writers' SUNDAY EXPRESS

'A thrilling snapshot of a fascinating era' JANE HARPER

'Allie Burns is off to a flying start, and well worth following' SCOTSMAN

'A brilliant thriller' LINWOOD BARCLAY

'A nail-biting new series' OBSERVER

'Full of wit, thrills and incisive social observation' MICK HERRON

'Her best book in years' THE TIMES