1979 by Val McDermid
Long before she became the doyenne of Scottish crime fiction, Val McDermid worked as a journalist. Printer’s ink snuck into her veins back then—in 1979 she summons up the profane newsroom banter, the groan of the printing presses gearing up, and the adrenaline rush of seeing your story on the newsstands as vividly as if it were yesterday.
It was a lot more exciting than sitting in front of a screen in your sweatpants and hitting Send, as we learn right off the bat when young reporter Allie Burns witnesses a New Year’s baby being born on a train, the furious mother cursing a blue streak.
