mspearlman's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
bet27's review against another edition
3.0
With Mina, I always know I'm going to meet interesting characters and watch a mystery unravel in a surprisingly simple way that is always threaded through with human nature. This series follows Paddy, a young female hoping to be a reporter, who is a bit naive and perhaps a bit too honest for her own good. While I (currently) like the Alex Morrow series better, I'm intrigued where the next book will take Paddy.
sde's review against another edition
4.0
OK, I love Ms. Paddy Meehan, the main character in this book. She is young, and a bit unsure and bumbling, and not at all glamorous. But she can hold her own in a newsroom with a bunch of grumpy men, and she is quite funny.
The crime itself was upsetting - well, I guess all crimes are. That's the nature of crime. But this one involved young kids as both the victims and perpetrators. And there is some bloodiness at points. But there is not a lot of dwelling on either of those. I didn't care for
It took me a little bit to decipher the what the narrator was saying with the accent, but once I got in the swing of things, I loved it. Lots of phrases and slang that we don't use much in the States, but easy enough to figure out.
I like how the passage on how lapsed Catholics became Marxists because Catholicism and Marxism provide the same things to their adherents.
Already have the next book in the series queued up on my phone!
The crime itself was upsetting - well, I guess all crimes are. That's the nature of crime. But this one involved young kids as both the victims and perpetrators. And there is some bloodiness at points. But there is not a lot of dwelling on either of those. I didn't care for
Spoiler
Paddy planting evidence. But the police were doing it too, and it seems she has learned from this.It took me a little bit to decipher the what the narrator was saying with the accent, but once I got in the swing of things, I loved it. Lots of phrases and slang that we don't use much in the States, but easy enough to figure out.
I like how the passage on how lapsed Catholics became Marxists because Catholicism and Marxism provide the same things to their adherents.
Already have the next book in the series queued up on my phone!
jfbfsf's review against another edition
2.0
It was fine. I'm not a big mystery/thriller whodunit reader, but when I read a good one, I appreciate it. I went looking for a good one... but this wasn't really it.
For the first third I wasn't all that engaged, and didn't rush to pick it back up. Then I got more engrossed in the story and was interested in finding out exactly what happened... but I was still frustrated by some of the writing, and some of the actions taken by the characters. (Does every crime story involve characters going to check something out by themselves, without telling anyone, when clearly it's a stupid mistake that will get them in trouble?)
The author has an annoying habit of talking about characters without enough background as to who they are... I guess it's assumed that we'll figure it out eventually, but in the male dominated newsroom, I had trouble keeping track of who was friendly, who was nasty, and what their roles in the story were. And all that thinking about who the characters are tends to take me away from the story a bit.
I also had some trouble deciphering some of the British/Scottish expressions and phrases... which could be just the nature of reading something from another culture... except that I read a lot of books from other cultures, including this one, and it's not always as offputting as it was here.
For the first third I wasn't all that engaged, and didn't rush to pick it back up. Then I got more engrossed in the story and was interested in finding out exactly what happened... but I was still frustrated by some of the writing, and some of the actions taken by the characters. (Does every crime story involve characters going to check something out by themselves, without telling anyone, when clearly it's a stupid mistake that will get them in trouble?)
The author has an annoying habit of talking about characters without enough background as to who they are... I guess it's assumed that we'll figure it out eventually, but in the male dominated newsroom, I had trouble keeping track of who was friendly, who was nasty, and what their roles in the story were. And all that thinking about who the characters are tends to take me away from the story a bit.
I also had some trouble deciphering some of the British/Scottish expressions and phrases... which could be just the nature of reading something from another culture... except that I read a lot of books from other cultures, including this one, and it's not always as offputting as it was here.
technomage's review against another edition
3.0
Not sure about this one. It starts off grim but that's necessary because it sets the crime around which the story develops but then the story wanders around a bit. A young woman wanting to be a journalist working as a copy boy does a bit of detective work, agonises about her career, argues with her family, her fiancé and solves the crime but it doesn't hang together quite right. It might be because its the first in the series so I'll reserve judgment until I've read another in the series.
megmcardle's review against another edition
4.0
I finally got around to this first in a series of mysteries set in blue-collar Glasgow. I love the new Scottish noir, and this had an especially appealing heroine and a gripping, if gruesome, plot.
reedabook's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
csdaley's review against another edition
4.0
I really enjoyed this book. It is a pleasure to find a new mystery, especially one set in Glasgow.
andrew61's review
4.0
Definitely one of my favourite Crime writers after recently hearing her on the very good Tartan Noir podcast and a discussion of this book I thought I would try this, one of her earliest novels.
Paddy Meehan, like some of her other heroines, is a normal Glasgow girl (18) but with a junior job in the local paper with aspirations to become a journalist. The disappearance of a young child and the discovery that one of the child killers is related to her boyfriend leads Paddy into a situation where she is in conflict with her very traditionally catholic family , her colleagues at work, and some nasty villains. Denise Mina draws her characters so well that you feel that you instantly know each one and her plotting had me completely immersed.
I also enjoyed the side narrative about her namesake , the real Paddy Meehan, a man falsely imprisoned in the 60's who had been involved in passing secrets to the East Germans about British prisons.
Definitely a good read and I am looking forward to another two in the series.
Paddy Meehan, like some of her other heroines, is a normal Glasgow girl (18) but with a junior job in the local paper with aspirations to become a journalist. The disappearance of a young child and the discovery that one of the child killers is related to her boyfriend leads Paddy into a situation where she is in conflict with her very traditionally catholic family , her colleagues at work, and some nasty villains. Denise Mina draws her characters so well that you feel that you instantly know each one and her plotting had me completely immersed.
I also enjoyed the side narrative about her namesake , the real Paddy Meehan, a man falsely imprisoned in the 60's who had been involved in passing secrets to the East Germans about British prisons.
Definitely a good read and I am looking forward to another two in the series.
baja's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.25
I enjoyed the main story and characters were very well drawn. The sub-plot was an unnecessary distraction which almost stopped me from reading on.