I enjoyed this just as much as the first of the series, Report for Murder. It's a fun, easy read, again featuring Lindsay Gordon, self-proclaimed cynical socialist lesbian feminist journalist. It has the same sharp wit and sarcasm as previously, and despite its Cold War era datedness, the plot is still pretty interesting. I enjoy mysteries that have some sort of historical context, and I remember being called some of the same names the women at the peace camp were. Personally, I found the glimpse into that bit of history absorbing; I had to look up the history of the Greenham women, and I like books that make me research something. I find Lindsay an interesting character, and fun to read about. Wry, smart, compassionate, intensely loyal to her friends. Her impetuosity occasionally lands her in hot water, here, as the nation's intelligence(?) forces become involved, but she doesn't let that deter her from her quest for the truth. She's plucky, but willing to admit to being afraid when she realizes she's quite out of her depth. All in all, a strong,very realistic, very human protagonist.A couple of quibbles: First, there's at least as much "telling" as there is "showing," but this was only McDermid's second novel, so a little of that is to be expected, and it isn't really that much of an issue. More serious is that the ending just seems a little too far-fetched. Even Britain's intelligence community should easily have been able to block Lindsay's attempt to outfox them by having her story published in Germany. In spite of these shortcomings, Common Murder was still an very pleasant read, and well worth the couple of hours spent.
