Blue Genes: A Kate Brannigan Mystery (A Scribner Crime Novel) [Hardcover]

Val McDermid (Author)

Book Description

Series: A Scribner Crime Novel | Publication Date: February 1997

With her boyfriend dead and her partner wanting her to buy him out, Manchester's toughest private investigator, Kate Brannigan, delves into medical experimentation and the underbelly of the music business in an attempt to save both her professional future and her life. 10,000 first printing.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

After The Mermaids Singing (see Forecasts, Oct. 28), her harrowing Gold Dagger winner, McDermid returns to her Manchester PI Kate Brannigan (last seen in Clean Break) for a fast-paced joyride that swoops and curves past (or right over) villains with barely a pause. Still mourning the death of her lover, Richard, Kate is hired by two "barely comprehensible Glaswegian musicians" to find out who is trashing their band's reputation by sending goons to break up their shows. She hasn't time to troll Manchester's music scene before friends complicate things by dropping bombshells. First, her business partner announces he's selling his share of the shop and moving to Australia; unfortunately, Kate lacks the funds to buy him out. Then her best friend, Alexis, says that she and her pregnant lover, Christine, need help. The gynecologist who, as Alexis puts it, "worked with us" on the pregnancy has been murdered, and Alexis believes that if Kate doesn't steal the relevant medical files they'll lose the baby. And that's if Kate can figure out who the doctor is: Alexis knows her as Helen Maitland, but the newspapers call her Sarah Blackstone. By the time Kate figures out who stabbed the mysterious doctor, she has forgotten why she's looking. But as Kate cruises along, whether setting up a trap with her chum DCI Della Prentice or cutting a deal with the "Godfather of Manchester" (who has a fake Italian accent), readers will happily keep up, even if it leaves them a little breathless. (Feb.) FYI: McDermid's Gold Dagger Award- winning mystery, The Mermaids Singing, is being published in the U.S. in December by HarperCollins.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Brash, sassy English private investigator Kate Brannigan has plenty of problems. Her partner is moving to Australia, and she is on the outs with her live-in lover. Plus she's agreed to take on a case involving a punk band, Dan Druff and the Scabby Heided Bairns, whose concerts are being sabotaged by a band of beer-guzzling skinheads. But worst of all, Kate's best friend, Alexis, is involved in a dangerous medical experiment to conceive a child, the doctor conducting the experiment has been murdered, and Alexis is terrified the police investigation will link her to the illegal scheme. Along with a good dose of breezy humor and a refreshingly nonchalant heroine, McDermid offers up a clever plot, plenty of action, and a thought-provoking look at the future of medical research. Emily Melton

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 297 pages
• Publisher: Scribner; large type edition edition (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0684833980
• ISBN-13: 978-0684833989
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,174,972 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another cracking read from McDermid, April 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue Genes: A Kate Brannigan Mystery (A Scribner Crime Novel) (Hardcover)

I am a huge fan of McDermid's work, and the Brannigan series is my favourite. Blues Genes brings together all the great characters, with a special focus on Kate's best friend, the wonderful Alexis, who is caught up in creative procreation! Apart from well-structured plots and well-drawn characters, I love the humanity and humour which these books have. Highly recommended.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Enchanting and intriguing!, June 24, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: Blue Genes: A Kate Brannigan Mystery (A Scribner Crime Novel) (Hardcover)

The books about Kate Brannigan are all worth reading but in "Blue Genes" Val McDermid has really made it! Kate's life is changing in this book; her lover is gone, her partner wants to be bought out and her best friends are having a child.. However, in this particular case the parents of the child are both women-made possible by a doctor who appears to have her own strange ways...Something is wrong and Kate are going to sort it out. This book takes a grip at You immediately: Well written, intriguing and raising thoughts a- bout genetics and etics. Worth reading anytime

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Great, September 15, 2000

By 

Helen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Blue Genes: A Kate Brannigan Mystery (G K Hall Large Print Book Series) (Hardcover)

This author has a gift for dialogue and plotting. She is also not afraid of the contentious and controverisal storyline. This is a very interesting installment in the Kate Brannigan series. Like all Kate Brannigan stories, you need to take it all a bit tongue-in-cheek, and just go along for the fun ride.

This is definitely a great book by a generally underrated author.