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I believe that it’s always oppositional. But actually when you witness real faith and the comfort and joy it brings people, it’s very humbling. Bram (one of the characters in Confidence with whom Anna and Finn strike an uneasy alliance) does feel really jealous [of those who have faith] and he feels very honored to be in that milieu. And he’s not sure that this is right and that he should be able to just buy [what might be an important relic] in the [open] market. It's just a normal morning when Anna's husband announces that he's leaving her for her best friend and taking their two daughters with him.
A Drunk Woman Looks at the Thistle (2007), inspired by Hugh MacDiarmid's modernist poem, A Drunk Man Looks at the Thistle, and first performed by Karen Dunbar. Absolutely highly recommended. Also before you think I’m cleverer than I am, the Latin came from an episode of the also brilliantly written “The West Wing” and has stayed with me long enough for me to apply it here. The Long Drop is an extraordinarily unsettling, evocative and compelling novel Laura James, AGA Magazine
What sets Denise Mina apart from the rest of the crime crowd is her portrayal of ordinary, humdrum lives which go on to be affected by a single life-altering catalyst. From then on life spirals drastically out of control and that is exactly what happens here with Anna and her family. The scenario manages to remain the right side of credible and, in my opinion, the reason Mina's books are so exceptional is that they feature a potent mix of interesting characters, solid plot, relaxed writing with some real prose gems, lots of excitement, incidents that visibly move you and last but not least witty humour to break up the dark storyline. Glasgow’s West End: ‘I’m not from here. I live here and I observe here, but I don’t feel Glaswegian.’ Photograph: Jane Barlow/PA Denise Mina brilliantly manages to be funny, heart-wrenching, gut-punching and addictive all at once: a fabulous, captivating novel Nicci French
The story is taken up when her new life comes crashing down around her and she faces losing everything, when her best friend goes off with her husband. How can you fight for your kids when you are a disreputable person and if the truth comes out their lives would’ be at risk, not that anyone would believe you. One of the most talented, most daring, most humane writers of the past twenty years . . . Conviction is her finest work to date: a dark star of a novel, blazingly intense, up-to-the-minute fresh, and exciting as all hell A. J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window True crime stories always have two versions: the official verdict and the story people tell each other. Sometimes the difference is staggering. In August 2020, crime writer Denise Mina published The Less Dead, adding yet another riveting read her already impressive bibliography. Once you read it, you’re sure to become hooked on her style. Born in East Kilbride, Scotland, Mina’s career path first landed her in law school. But after using her student grant money to free up time and resources to write her first book, Mina knew her true calling resided elsewhere.
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At twenty one she passed exams, got into study Law at Glasgow University and went on to research a PhD thesis at Strathclyde University on the ascription of mental illness to female offenders, teaching criminology and criminal law in the mean time. All in all, I can’t say that I was taken with this story, and I didn’t like much about it. I finished it but it didn’t entertain me. It’s unlikely that I’ll read much else by this author. The use of social media is also very cleverly interwoven into Anna’s exposure but also as a means to find out what happened on the Dana - the subject of the podcast Anna initially listens to at home. Denise Mina: Lots of people say to me: will you write more Scottish history? But Rizzio was part of a series of books about Scottish history by different writers. And I was the first one. I couldn’t just start writing my own series!
Anna decided at that point to confront Gretchen. She and Fin traveled to Paris and arranged a meeting. Inside Gretchen’s home, Anna correctly accused Gretchen of planning the murders of Leon and his family when she learned that Leon was broke. Anna had also deducted that Violetta had survived the sinking of the Dana and had taken the identity of Gretchen’s personal secretary, Dauphine. Anna accused Violetta of having murdered her mother, and of having plans to murder Gretchen so that she could inherit her fortune. At this point, Gretchen called forward an assassin to kill Anna. Nancie Clare: Our world of content is multiplatform in ways that would’ve been unimaginable even 20 years ago. Both Conviction and Confidence, are layered stories taking place on multiple platforms. Both novels are launched by a video, then are told through real-time podcasting and summarized by a book. I find that fascinating.Nancie Clare: Faith, specifically Catholicism, which hangs on many of your characters like a crucifix—as well as the absence of faith—figure strongly in Confidence. Catholicism seems to one of the prisms through which the characters see and react to the events of Confidence. A suspenseful, professional-grade north country procedural whose heroine, a deft mix of compassion and attitude, would be welcome to return and tie up the gaping loose end Box leaves. The unrelenting cold makes this the perfect beach read. Then an unexpected visitor arrives on her front stoop, a meddling neighbor intervenes, and life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. The devils of her past are awakened -- and they're in hot pursuit. Convinced she has no other options, Anna goes on the run, and in pursuit of the truth, with a washed-up musician at her side and the podcast as her guide.
It's both in this one. Conviction to a pledge? Like the promise you make in marriage? Of a redo of a conviction for someone innocent languishing in their prison. Well, I can't say I've had a bad of a November week as Anna has had in this book, but I've come close (mine was in lovely June). So I felt she was a sister under the skin from the get go. Anna? Or is it Sophie? Ellis, Maureen (13 December 2010). "Face to Face: Denise Mina". The Herald. Glasgow . Retrieved 14 December 2010. Left alone in the big, dark house, Anna can’t think, she can’t take it in. With her safe, predictable world shattered, she distracts herself with a story: a true-crime podcast. There’s a sunken yacht in the Mediterranean, multiple murders and a hint of power and corruption. Then Anna realises she knew one of the victims in another life. She is convinced she knows what happened. Her past, so carefully hidden until now, will no longer stay silent. Forget about solving all these crimes; the signal triumph here is (spoiler) the heroine’s survival. Powerful, passionate and compelling. Mina can chill your blood and break your heart in the same sentence Mark BillinghamI’ve never listened to a podcast in my life. But I sure do love reading about them. They’re a really interesting way of getting a story across, giving you the facts and the questions that need answering. The podcast chapters in this book were my favourites to read. But I struggled with the rest of the story. I didn’t particularly like Anna, which felt immensely wrong considering her past and the secrets she’s hiding. Such a busy involved plot. I found the story within a story, the podcast more interesting. Indeed this is the mystery she becomes preoccupied with that gives her some drive to do more than just try to re-invent herself again. Endlessly surprising... This incredible novel...seems to have been written in a white-hot rage.... Mina has always written with a head full of ideas and a mouth full of tough talk. Here, she’s finally got a story big enough to hold it all together. New York Times
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