andrew61's review against another edition
4.0
I've read a couple of Denise Mina's books so far and last year really enjoyed the second in the Alex Morrow series 'End of the wasp season'. This is the first book in the series and it was really good, Alex is a great character , a working class DI in the tough Glasgow police department who is battling her male collleagues prejudices, her criminal family background, and her personal relationships. She is tough but vulnerable and I can't wait to read more. The plot is interesting as a Ugandan Asian newsagent is kidnapped in a violent incident by bungling criminals, the plot doesn't creak although there is one love interest which I felt did stretch believability but it didn't spoil the overall enjoyment.
katiecatbooks's review against another edition
4.0
A great Scottish crime novel told from multiple perspectives.
Story: There are as many stories as there are characters. First we have the story of Alex Morrow, female cop, and the two faces she wears-one for work, one for home. Then there's Eddy, a wanna-be bad guy who is really just a pawn in the hands of more serious baddies. Pat, Eddy's pal, is a co-conspirator with his own story to tell. And many more, which all tie together, and come apart and twist around to form this novel. More drama than action, on the lighter side of bloodshed, a strong crime novel.
PACE: Slow. Because there are so many stories, many are told about the same events or times. This is no action-packed crime movie, but more strategic and planned, how one imagines a similar crime would be handled in real life, over time. In spite of the slow pace, the book is a fast read, as each chapter will leave you wanting to know what another character saw and thought about the same events.
Language: The book contains a fair amount of strong curse words, so if you are not a fan then be wary of this book. It also contains a whole lot of Scottish dialects, which in this reader's opinion is the star of the book. Written by a Scottish author, the dialogue comes out authentically and gives flavor to the characters.
Frame: Scotland, present day, hard-boiled. Grey, rainy, full of hills and shipyards, sharp contrast of the rich and poor, a police station full of overworked, underappreciated staff, fighting for rank, this book is gritty.
I really enjoyed this. The ending came a bit quickly for me, so I give it 4/5 based on that but I plan to continue the series and look forward to the next book in the series.
Story: There are as many stories as there are characters. First we have the story of Alex Morrow, female cop, and the two faces she wears-one for work, one for home. Then there's Eddy, a wanna-be bad guy who is really just a pawn in the hands of more serious baddies. Pat, Eddy's pal, is a co-conspirator with his own story to tell. And many more, which all tie together, and come apart and twist around to form this novel. More drama than action, on the lighter side of bloodshed, a strong crime novel.
PACE: Slow. Because there are so many stories, many are told about the same events or times. This is no action-packed crime movie, but more strategic and planned, how one imagines a similar crime would be handled in real life, over time. In spite of the slow pace, the book is a fast read, as each chapter will leave you wanting to know what another character saw and thought about the same events.
Language: The book contains a fair amount of strong curse words, so if you are not a fan then be wary of this book. It also contains a whole lot of Scottish dialects, which in this reader's opinion is the star of the book. Written by a Scottish author, the dialogue comes out authentically and gives flavor to the characters.
Frame: Scotland, present day, hard-boiled. Grey, rainy, full of hills and shipyards, sharp contrast of the rich and poor, a police station full of overworked, underappreciated staff, fighting for rank, this book is gritty.
I really enjoyed this. The ending came a bit quickly for me, so I give it 4/5 based on that but I plan to continue the series and look forward to the next book in the series.
dianna_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
karenchase's review against another edition
4.0
This was both predictable, in its form and format, and new, in its texture and twists. The detective is Alex Morrow, a bit of a hard ass, in many ways the picture of a flawed police officer. As so many are. She is suffering from some kind of marital trouble, some grief or problem that isn’t named immediately but is revealed gradually. It reads like domestic abuse, and that could explain some of the attitude she displays at work, bucking the system and rubbing everyone the wrong way, but proving herself a competent, even brilliant investigator. The crime is perpetrated by a couple of guys who have a vaguely criminal history but are ultimately losers, dragged down by their inadequacies and thrown completely off kilter by their mistakes. The victims are innocent, or are they? Is anyone? The message seems to be that there is always more than meets the eye, and what we see on the surface is never the whole story. There is this weird fantastical element to the narrative, as various characters float off on dreamlike tangents, like they’ve lost touch with reality. The final scenes unspool with the reader understanding that he knows more than the character involved does, and that is an interesting device. It’s a bit of an unfinished ending, but that’s just the way things work out sometimes.
kchisholm's review against another edition
4.0
According to the famous names quoted on the back of STILL MIDNIGHT, Denise Mina is the crown princess of crime, past winner of the John Creasey Memorial Prize for her first crime novel GARNETHILL. She certainly is a writer that deserves a wide fan base, as she is undoubtedly one of the great writers of the nuanced central character.
STILL MIDNIGHT introduces one such new character - DS Alex Morrow. Morrow is prickly, raised by a single mother suffering from chronic depression, there but for the grace she's somehow kept herself out of trouble. She's somebody who the hierarchy think can't be trusted - she shoots from the hip too often, offends people, loses her temper, has a mouth on her and is simply not able to not use it, despite the need for politics and tact. What the hierarchy don't seem to realise is that she's way harder on herself than they could ever be. But she's badly rattled when she's not given responsibility for the sort of case that Detectives dream about. She would have been the perfect officer - a home invasion and the kidnapping of an elderly man - has happened right on her childhood stomping ground. She's knows a lot of the criminals in that area, she still has contacts, yet she somehow finds herself reporting to DS Bannerman - would-be surfer dude, political player, bosses mate. Morrow does what she does best, setting out pretty much on her own, doling out the snarling and insults as she proceeds, she rides roughshod over anyone who gets in the way. All the while struggling with the problems in her personal life.
The interesting thing about STILL MIDNIGHT is that there's a lot of ground in here that it seems frequent readers of crime fiction will have travelled before. Difficult central police characters; unthinking / unsupportive hierarchy; family problems; racism; troubled youth; lone wolves. Put these elements in the hands of a writer with the skill of Mina however, add a villain with an almost whimsical view of the world; a cock-up that puts the villains in a nothing to lose scenario and you have something that's edgy, involving and really really good.
Fans of Mina's GARNETHILL trilogy will find something vaguely familiar in STILL MIDNIGHT. There's something all too real in all of Mina's characters that might make you squirm just a little bit! Sure Alex and Maureen come from different sides of the law, but they are both flawed, complicated and frequently annoying characters who seem somehow familiar and extremely sympathetic. Add to that strong procedural elements, a great sense of place and pace, and STILL MIDNIGHT is a terrific book - let's hope it's the start of a new series.
STILL MIDNIGHT introduces one such new character - DS Alex Morrow. Morrow is prickly, raised by a single mother suffering from chronic depression, there but for the grace she's somehow kept herself out of trouble. She's somebody who the hierarchy think can't be trusted - she shoots from the hip too often, offends people, loses her temper, has a mouth on her and is simply not able to not use it, despite the need for politics and tact. What the hierarchy don't seem to realise is that she's way harder on herself than they could ever be. But she's badly rattled when she's not given responsibility for the sort of case that Detectives dream about. She would have been the perfect officer - a home invasion and the kidnapping of an elderly man - has happened right on her childhood stomping ground. She's knows a lot of the criminals in that area, she still has contacts, yet she somehow finds herself reporting to DS Bannerman - would-be surfer dude, political player, bosses mate. Morrow does what she does best, setting out pretty much on her own, doling out the snarling and insults as she proceeds, she rides roughshod over anyone who gets in the way. All the while struggling with the problems in her personal life.
The interesting thing about STILL MIDNIGHT is that there's a lot of ground in here that it seems frequent readers of crime fiction will have travelled before. Difficult central police characters; unthinking / unsupportive hierarchy; family problems; racism; troubled youth; lone wolves. Put these elements in the hands of a writer with the skill of Mina however, add a villain with an almost whimsical view of the world; a cock-up that puts the villains in a nothing to lose scenario and you have something that's edgy, involving and really really good.
Fans of Mina's GARNETHILL trilogy will find something vaguely familiar in STILL MIDNIGHT. There's something all too real in all of Mina's characters that might make you squirm just a little bit! Sure Alex and Maureen come from different sides of the law, but they are both flawed, complicated and frequently annoying characters who seem somehow familiar and extremely sympathetic. Add to that strong procedural elements, a great sense of place and pace, and STILL MIDNIGHT is a terrific book - let's hope it's the start of a new series.
cathy1665's review against another edition
3.0
A bit uneven in holding my interest but interesting characters I’d like to learn more about. Not neatly tied up.
tinabaich's review against another edition
4.0
Still Midnight is the first in Denise Mina’s DS Alex Morrow series. The novel opens with the crime. The culprits are looking for someone named Bob. When no one in the house they attack is called Bob, they take the father, a simple Ugandan shop owner, for ransom. The police must figure out why the family was targeted and race against the clock to save the father. DS Alex Morrow is, of course, the one to figure it all out even though she is passed over as head of the case for the boss’ protégé, DS Grant Bannerman.
Still Midnight is a classic story of bumbling criminals except that there is nothing comical about the situation. I found myself cringing at both their actions and their stupidity, especially the ringleader, Eddy. The character of Alex Morrow is reminiscent of the great Jane Tennison from Prime Suspect. DS Alex Morrow is a woman in a man’s world. She is disliked by her male colleagues for being a female officer -- and for being a good one. There is also underlying tension in her personal life, which remains unexplained for a large portion of the novel.
I was fully engrossed in the narrative and was taken off guard by the twist that pulls all the strings together. In my book, these are hallmarks of well-constructed crime fiction. If you are a fan of strong, female characters in crime fiction, Still Midnight is the book for you.
http://iubookgirl.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-still-midnight.html
Still Midnight is a classic story of bumbling criminals except that there is nothing comical about the situation. I found myself cringing at both their actions and their stupidity, especially the ringleader, Eddy. The character of Alex Morrow is reminiscent of the great Jane Tennison from Prime Suspect. DS Alex Morrow is a woman in a man’s world. She is disliked by her male colleagues for being a female officer -- and for being a good one. There is also underlying tension in her personal life, which remains unexplained for a large portion of the novel.
I was fully engrossed in the narrative and was taken off guard by the twist that pulls all the strings together. In my book, these are hallmarks of well-constructed crime fiction. If you are a fan of strong, female characters in crime fiction, Still Midnight is the book for you.
http://iubookgirl.blogspot.com/2011/11/review-still-midnight.html
mnenomgnose's review against another edition
5.0
A 4.5 but rounded to 5.
Flawed, reachable. Fun twists and turns without contrivance.
Just a warning to those with deep aversion to "the C word" -- used by the female protagonist towards men, estimated 10+ times. Can't wait to plow through this series.
Flawed, reachable. Fun twists and turns without contrivance.
Just a warning to those with deep aversion to "the C word" -- used by the female protagonist towards men, estimated 10+ times. Can't wait to plow through this series.