Oh dear! I was so disappointed by this book as I am a big fan of McDermid. The basic premise is good. This isn’t a detective story but an investigative journalist story set in 1979.

I didn’t think there was anything wrong with the actual investigation part of the book, it was the relationship between Danny and Allie. Allie had had a couple of disastrous relationships where she thought she made bad choices in men and begins to wonder if she fancied Danny, another journalist in the same office. But there are lots of points where she just asks herself if she really likes him or she longs to see him again. There is no real exploration of this subject and it turns out that Danny is gay and so is Allie. There is nothing wrong with this and it is about time we had a bit of diversity in detectives or investigators but it either needs to be a big issue or a non-issue.

I did enjoy the playlist at the end of 1979 hits. My era!

Ah well. You can’t win them all.