I love Lindsay's character like whoa, but she's even better when she has a partner in inquiry. Beyond being just a sounding board, though, Sophie really grew on me in this book. Much more than Cordelia did in the previous books. Cordelia played more of the dense follower (with rather a tone of resentment in her comments), but Sophie brings her own level of activity and contribution to the investigation that the story really benefits from. She's the cheerful counterpart to Lindsay's sardonic. Great character combo!But yeah, the story. Only Val McDermid's wit could make a trade union conference an interesting backdrop. And she did some fun flashback timing to add another level to the narrative, which I really liked. Overall, really well written. One of my favorites in this short series, for sure!
Intrigue and murder among the members of the NUJ, struggles for power and corruption exposed. Set between two union conferences over two eras the great differences between male and female members of the trade union movement are exposed to the reader's eye and written with plenty of insight, insight that only a former journalist could truthfully provide. As usual the hot-headed Lindsay is in the thick of it, so much that she's suspected of murderous intent. 'Union Jack' is a larger than life character and one I somehow feel I've met before in real life, leaving me wondering if the character was actually based of a real union official.
