Crack Down [Mass Market Paperback]

Val McDermid (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1996

Americans are beginning to discover mystery author Val McDermid, a star in Britain and Europe with her acclaimed Kale Brannigan series. Manchester privateeye Kate Brannigan asks her rock-

journalist boyfriend to help her uncover a case of car dealership fraud. When drugs are found in the car they are using to infiltrate the business, Kate's love ends up behind bars and in grave danger.

- A Kate Brannigan mystery.

- For fans of Sara Parelsky and Liza Cody.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

British PI Kate Brannigan persuades her lover, Richard, to help out in an investigation of auto-financing fraud. He agrees and ends up in jail, busted for possessing two kilos of crack he didn't know were stashed in the car he was driving. Kate wants to help him, but she can't risk blowing his cover or exposing him to danger from drug dealers who resent his interference. Richard's lawyer suggests that the PI find the real criminals and turn them over to the police, complete with incriminating evidence, please. So she does, bagging enough bad guys to make a video-game player proud. Along the way Kate depends on assorted useful friends, including a burglar, a member of the Manchester police force, a reporter, a physician, an employee at social services and an assistant to a financial broker. She also calls upon skills cultivated in her Thai boxing training. Someone is murdered, an act Kate may have contributed to, but it's all part of the nonstop action, through which McDermid's (Kick Back) heroine charges with remarkable aplomb.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Private investigator Kate Brannigan also refers to other detective fiction while establishing mood. And it is a heavy mood that descends from the onset when Kate's boyfriend, Richard, a rock journalist, finds himself jailed for drug charges. Kate hustles to corner the true dealers while attempting to hide Richard's trouble from his visiting eight-year-old son. Kate's nifty friends/contacts, including a powerful female lawyer, a lesbian newspaper writer, and her own male business partner, help make Manchester a palatable place to live. Inviting characters, plot, and premise, then, with steady building suspense as well. Recommended.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Harpercollins (Mm) (February 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006104394X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061043949
• Product Dimensions: 6.6 x 4.2 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,070,397 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Put this one on your list., May 26, 2000

By 

Helen - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crack Down (Hardcover)

Kate is a tough PI, and not completely likeable. Richard, the boyfriend, is a marijuana smoking rock journalist and a wuss - I can't work out what she sees in him.

Somewhat surprisingly, together they attempt to crack a complicated fraud concerning car loans. When the car they have "bought" goes missing and later turns up with a lot of drugs in the boot, hell breaks loose and Richard ends up in prison.

Before Kate can get Richard out of prison, she gets a taste of the gritty reality of life for the poor and powerless in Britain.

Try this one - you won't be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Learning the trade, February 2, 2006

By 

Srdjan Pesic (Minneapolis, Mn United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Crack Down (Hardcover)

Before she wrote her magnificent books like "Place of an Execution" and "Distant Echo",Val Mcdermid was learning her trade with PI novels.This is a very solid story,interesting and witty,with well drawn characters. Even so,I much prefer her later books and nowdays never miss any of her books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It doesn't get better than this!, April 3, 2000

By 

Claire (London) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Crack Down (Hardcover)

Crack Down is the 4th of the Kate Brannigan books I have read and by far the best. So many twists and turns, you never quite know what to expect. If you have read any of the other books starring Brannigan, you will not be disappointed. Val McDermid continues to entertain, thrill, excite and enchant with this wonderful tale of intrigue. Definitely the best yet.