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marais90's review
adventurous
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
genizah's review
3.0
The whole plot turns on early '90s technology, so the narrator keeps hilariously stopping to explain things like "what is Tetris" and "how do modems".
radella_hardwick's review against another edition
3.0
It is so weird reading a book that was written in the 'now' of 1992.
There are things it assumes are common knowledge (like fashion trends), which just aren't known to a 2022 audience, and things that it assumes are niche (like how Tetris works) that just aren't.
Moreover, this is a book that is heavily reliant on the technology of the day with regular references to the main character needing to find a phone or her far-sightedness in bringing floppy-discs with her.
All in all, being written in the era of the smartphone would have altered this plot significantly, although it wouldn't have ruined the solution.
However, the solution is not particularly clever. The murder victim is the obvious option and the murderer turns out to be the suspect that would be least painful for the detective to accuse. And has an utterly inadequate motive.
I really loved the main character's relationship with her boyfriend and that with the secretary/receptionist at her office.
There are things it assumes are common knowledge (like fashion trends), which just aren't known to a 2022 audience, and things that it assumes are niche (like how Tetris works) that just aren't.
Moreover, this is a book that is heavily reliant on the technology of the day with regular references to the main character needing to find a phone or her far-sightedness in bringing floppy-discs with her.
All in all, being written in the era of the smartphone would have altered this plot significantly, although it wouldn't have ruined the solution.
However, the solution is not particularly clever. The murder victim is the obvious option and the murderer turns out to be the suspect that would be least painful for the detective to accuse. And has an utterly inadequate motive.
I really loved the main character's relationship with her boyfriend and that with the secretary/receptionist at her office.
lauraellis's review
3.5
Finally! I find a copy of the first in the Kate Brannigan series—in my parents house. So happy, as I’ve been looking for this one for awhile. She gets wrapped up in trying to sort out who is responsible for a murder in a rock singer’s entourage. I love Kate Brannigan—I think she’s wonderful.
caitlind14's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
jonathanrobert's review
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
rosienreads's review
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
If all you want to do is curl up with a hot drink, a blanket and a crime fiction, then this is the book to you (or any Val McDermid for that matter). In Dead Beat we are introduced to Kate Brannigan, a private investigator whose missing person case leads her to a murder investigation. Like most Val McDermid’s this is a very readable book, and easy to fly through. There is a good mix of characters, and Kate Brannigan makes for a solid lead. The plot kept throwing up red herrings, twists and turns as Kate tries to track down the truth and I did not manage to guess the outcome at all. This seems like it would be a great series for a holiday or just general relaxation. If you like murder mysteries, that is.
tessyoung's review
3.0
It's strange to think that it's taken me so long to get round to reading a Val McDermid, especially since she comes across so well on the radio and TV, perhaps its the Robson Green effect!?
I really enjoyed this book. I recently read an article on how golden age crime fiction can be read as social history, it wasn't a very good piece but it did make me think of this novel as a social history of both the early 1990s and the present. Then, as perhaps now, some readers will be less familiar with Tetris - they should be thankful that hours of their lives were not slotted away by this game. Whilst counterfeiting luxury brands remains an element of organised crime, I'm not sure that Sergio Tacchini shell suits would immediately spring to mind in that context. As for the Hacienda, who would have thought it would have become a block of flats, although that perhaps says plenty about the gentrification of Manchester.
I really enjoyed this book, the central character is smart, funny and grounded, classic Mancunian traits according to Mancunians... It's well paced and builds nicely, with sub plots and characters that build a rich picture against which the main narrative is set. I'd like to spend more time with some of these characters and revelling in the 1990s so I'm looking forward to more Kate Brannigan in the future.
A perfect repatriation and covid-19 quarantine read
I really enjoyed this book. I recently read an article on how golden age crime fiction can be read as social history, it wasn't a very good piece but it did make me think of this novel as a social history of both the early 1990s and the present. Then, as perhaps now, some readers will be less familiar with Tetris - they should be thankful that hours of their lives were not slotted away by this game. Whilst counterfeiting luxury brands remains an element of organised crime, I'm not sure that Sergio Tacchini shell suits would immediately spring to mind in that context. As for the Hacienda, who would have thought it would have become a block of flats, although that perhaps says plenty about the gentrification of Manchester.
I really enjoyed this book, the central character is smart, funny and grounded, classic Mancunian traits according to Mancunians... It's well paced and builds nicely, with sub plots and characters that build a rich picture against which the main narrative is set. I'd like to spend more time with some of these characters and revelling in the 1990s so I'm looking forward to more Kate Brannigan in the future.
A perfect repatriation and covid-19 quarantine read