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leighryks's review
Deadline for murder : the third Lindsay Gordon mystery by Val McDermid (1997)
stefhyena's review against another edition
4.0
I read this some years ago. Rereading it this week was an absolute pleasure, possibly biased by a slight crush I have on Lindsay Gordon (I probably would find her difficult in real life). It would have been even better I think to reread the one before, so if you get the chance read these in the right order for continuity.
Lindsay returns to Glasgow to find an ex lover has been murdered and a good friend is in gaol for it. The friend's partner has shacked up with Lindsay's partner and I have to admit I found some of the emotional drama around that a bit awkward and not completely to my liking. Lindsay has nowhere to go so stays with another old friend who has recently broken up with her own girlfriend.
See all these strong, feminist, lesbian characters had me already enjoying myself (even years ago when I read it and I was still kidding myself I was straight and I couldn't have said why I liked Lindsay better than McDermid's other -also fantastic- female sleuth Kate Brannigan). But the people around Jackie (the accused) know she didn't do it and the police have not had the resources to keep looking after finding someone who looked like the murderer. It's up to Lindsay to untangle the plot of the murder as well as a burglary she herself gets accused of, all while trying to work around her residual attraction to her faithless ex, Cordelia and her hatred of Cordelia's new lover, Claire.
I am not sure whether I guessed who the murderer was, or sort of remembered from the past. I suspect the latter. All the clues were there but it is an involved enough plot that not everything is immediately clear. Some of Lindsay's conversations are full of needless drama but she is solid and likeable on the whole. The writing flows well with sometimes a touch of over-explanation...but it didn't manage to grate me. Sex happened in the book but we didn't have to watch it!
I will definitely be trying to get copies of all the Lindsay Gordon books to reread them and I recommend them to anyone who likes a bit of feminism in their mystery or to see some lesbian characters centred for a change. Also just anyone who likes a fast-paced and well-twisted mystery without too much gore or psychologising.
Lindsay returns to Glasgow to find an ex lover has been murdered and a good friend is in gaol for it. The friend's partner has shacked up with Lindsay's partner and I have to admit I found some of the emotional drama around that a bit awkward and not completely to my liking. Lindsay has nowhere to go so stays with another old friend who has recently broken up with her own girlfriend.
See all these strong, feminist, lesbian characters had me already enjoying myself (even years ago when I read it and I was still kidding myself I was straight and I couldn't have said why I liked Lindsay better than McDermid's other -also fantastic- female sleuth Kate Brannigan). But the people around Jackie (the accused) know she didn't do it and the police have not had the resources to keep looking after finding someone who looked like the murderer. It's up to Lindsay to untangle the plot of the murder as well as a burglary she herself gets accused of, all while trying to work around her residual attraction to her faithless ex, Cordelia and her hatred of Cordelia's new lover, Claire.
I am not sure whether I guessed who the murderer was, or sort of remembered from the past. I suspect the latter. All the clues were there but it is an involved enough plot that not everything is immediately clear. Some of Lindsay's conversations are full of needless drama but she is solid and likeable on the whole. The writing flows well with sometimes a touch of over-explanation...but it didn't manage to grate me. Sex happened in the book but we didn't have to watch it!
I will definitely be trying to get copies of all the Lindsay Gordon books to reread them and I recommend them to anyone who likes a bit of feminism in their mystery or to see some lesbian characters centred for a change. Also just anyone who likes a fast-paced and well-twisted mystery without too much gore or psychologising.
undertheteacup's review
4.0
As I expected, McDermid's skill grows throughout the series. By this installment her writing has grown more subtle and nuanced, supporting the story she's trying to tell rather than getting in the way of it.
There's a lot to enjoy in this book. As always, Lindsay makes for a great hero. She's intensely hot-headed in her personal life yet performs her role of journalist/investigator with cool aplomb, which makes things interesting when those two roles intersect, as they do in this novel! She's also full of seemingly contradictory principles and values: a working-class lesbian sensibility that always has her seeking out the underdog and criticizing the classism and misogyny she comes across, but which doesn't prevent her from manipulating and using marginalized people's vulnerability against them if it means saving the people she cares about.
There's also the fact that McDermid is clearly a Scottish writer and she's not writing for an outsider perspective. She doesn't take the time to explain every single little detail that for example an American might not understand. She just lets you figure it out as you go along, which makes the story immensely more satisfying and immersive. Especially because McDermid really is intimately familiar not only with Glasgow but also with the ins and outs of tabloid journalism. All the books have a very strong sense of place and time, with all the relevant political and social currents of the late 80s in evidence.
Finally, there's the women who love women. Sadly this particular volume is ridiculously bi-phobic, as the one character who is extensively shown to have lovers of multiple genders also ends up dead and has really terrible moral character. (Alison's character was so intriguing, especially in the contrast between how she was raised and how she ran her adult life - McDermid really missed out when she chose to forego deeper character development in favor of the superficial 'femme fatale' thing). So that puts kind of a damper on the fact that there are all these lesbians running around unapologetically loving, living with, and having sex with each other.
There's a lot to enjoy in this book. As always, Lindsay makes for a great hero. She's intensely hot-headed in her personal life yet performs her role of journalist/investigator with cool aplomb, which makes things interesting when those two roles intersect, as they do in this novel! She's also full of seemingly contradictory principles and values: a working-class lesbian sensibility that always has her seeking out the underdog and criticizing the classism and misogyny she comes across, but which doesn't prevent her from manipulating and using marginalized people's vulnerability against them if it means saving the people she cares about.
There's also the fact that McDermid is clearly a Scottish writer and she's not writing for an outsider perspective. She doesn't take the time to explain every single little detail that for example an American might not understand. She just lets you figure it out as you go along, which makes the story immensely more satisfying and immersive. Especially because McDermid really is intimately familiar not only with Glasgow but also with the ins and outs of tabloid journalism. All the books have a very strong sense of place and time, with all the relevant political and social currents of the late 80s in evidence.
Finally, there's the women who love women. Sadly this particular volume is ridiculously bi-phobic, as the one character who is extensively shown to have lovers of multiple genders also ends up dead and has really terrible moral character. (Alison's character was so intriguing, especially in the contrast between how she was raised and how she ran her adult life - McDermid really missed out when she chose to forego deeper character development in favor of the superficial 'femme fatale' thing). So that puts kind of a damper on the fact that there are all these lesbians running around unapologetically loving, living with, and having sex with each other.
alicelover_1's review against another edition
2.0
I found the story to be okay but I didn't really like most of the characters. They were just so stupid. Even when all the evidence was put forth the characters just wouldn't accept it simply because they knew the killer. Claire wouldn't accept her gf was the killer and attacked Lindsay for figuring out that her gf was the killer. AND THEN SHE BLAMES LINDSAY. And then Lindsay lets the killer get away with murder simply because she used to date her and the killer is claustrophobic and doesn't want to go to prison. I mean, the chick that got killed was a horrible person but they let the killer get away with murder. An innocent person was put in jail because of the killer. I frankly don't care whats happens to any of the characters to be honest.
theinkdrinker's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
ginpomelo's review
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
In the hands of a more skilled prose writer, VL McDermid’s Final Edition could have been a pleasure to read. The premise itself is compelling: investigative journalist Lindsay Gordon returns to Scotland after a brush with the Secret Service sent her to self-exile. She immediately finds out that she’s been replaced by her girlfriend. Meanwhile, a close colleague of hers named Jackie Mitchell is in jail for the murder of the notorious Alison Maxwell, Lindsay’s former lover. When Lindsay is asked to prove Jackie’s innocence, she becomes involved in a sordid tale of blackmail and scandalous relationships that ultimately affects the life she is trying to rebuild.
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