Starred review from December 3, 2007
Set in 1990, Mina's superb third thriller to feature Paddy Meehan (after 2006's Edgar-finalist The Dead Hour
) finds the Glaswegian journalist embroiled in the most politically charged and personal story of her career. When the corpse of Meehan's ex-lover, journalist Terry Hewitt, turns up in the countryside near Port Glasgow, everything points to an IRA execution. After Meehan discovers that Terry willed her his notes and a house in the country, she decides to investigate his murder. Distracted by the imminent parole of Callum Ogilvy—the young cousin of her ex-fiancé convicted for his role in a child's murder in Field of Blood
(2005)—Meehan soon realizes that everyone from the Scottish police to the IRA is intent on keeping the motive for Terry's death a secret. When Terry's colleague is killed and her own young son is threatened, Meehan knows she must uncover the men responsible before she becomes their next victim. This gripping read, with its intricate plotting and realistic regional dialogue, will leave even the most astute reader guessing until the end.
January 15, 2008
Paddy Meehan ("Dead Hour") is one of the most fascinating female characters in contemporary crime fiction. A foul-mouthed, hot-headed, fiercely loyal, and perennially overweight 27 year old, Paddy gives as good as she gets in the rough-and-tumble, mostly male world of Glasgow journalism. As Mina's new thriller opens, things are looking pretty good for Paddy. She writes a popular weekly column for the "Daily News". With her five-year-old son, Peter, she has finally moved out of her family home into an apartment with her friend Dub McKenzie. Then police come to her door to tell her that her ex-boyfriend, Terry Hewitt, has been murdered. Terry's killing looks like an IRA hit, but the IRA denies responsibility. As Paddy begins to investigate, she discovers a secret that might put her and her loved ones in danger. Secondary threads having to do with friends and family threaten at times to upstage the main plotline, but the whole novel is so engrossing that it hardly matters. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 10/15/07.]Jane la Plante, Minot State Univ., ND
Copyright 2008 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Starred review from December 15, 2007
Scotland continues to produce a steady stream of superlative thriller writers. Mina captures the moody mood of the metropolis (her native Glasgow) with moxie and skill. Her heroine is newspaper columnist Patricia Paddy Meehan, who may be plump of figure but is all sharp edges when it comes to reporting the news. In this third in the series, Meehan is at a loss for her well-chosen words when former boyfriend and fellow journalist Terry Hewitt is found murdered, execution style. Its been months since Paddy has seen Terry (shes been breathlessly busy, with work and single-handedly raising a young son). So why in the world did he will her his house and endless armfuls of notes? Paddys puzzlement approaches paranoia after shes visited by a pushy bloke with connections to the IRA, then followed by a strange little man in a tracksuit. Terry, it turns out, had been working with a photographer friend on a coffee-table book about Scottish expats. Soon after Terrys death, his collaborator is killed. The police insist neither slaying has any link to the IRA. Ever skeptical Paddy is not convinced. Mina, who also penned the award-winning Garnethill trilogy, serves up a suspenseful story line and psychologically complex characters, inhabitants of a gritty city where telling the truth can get you killed.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2007, American Library Association.)