Rating: 
Summary: A brilliant debut
Review: A great debut which brings a unique viewpoint to the crime field. Mina brings a keen sense of abusive power to the crime field. Forget other UK female authors - Mina really stands out as the best. Roll on her next novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Page turning Who Done It? style mystery
Review: Bleak, who done it style mystery set in a seedy area of Glasgow with an unlikely heroine for the main character, an adult survivor of incest & family dysfunction. Maureen O'Donnell wakes up hungover one morning to discover her married ex-boyfriend tied to a chair in her living room, his throat has been cut and he has been viciously mutilated. At first, as an ex-mental patient she herself is the prime suspect, later turns into an amateur sleuth and eventually solves the case herself using her personal knowledge of the mental health world & her network of friends to assist her.
Some of the characters in this book are unforgettable, especially hard-drinking, cursing like a trooper Maureen, one of the more unique female main characters I've come across in awhile. Also her perpetually drunk mother, Winnie (no one ever mentions that Mother drinks), her brother Liam the drug dealer, the sisters - 2 total hypocrites in heavy denial, her family is hilarious, a comic tragedy. While I enjoyed the book, I found a couple of things not credible and not explained. It was not clear to me why so many were quick to believe it was Maureen, when it would be difficult physically for many females to subdue a man & tie him to a chair. Also, I wish more time had been spent on the actual killer, it was such a surprise, what made him tick? I really look forward to reading the next book in this series, hope to see what happens to Maureen and her family in the future.
Rating:
Summary: A good Scottish novel
Review: Denise Mina's first novel, GARNETHILL, is a good and honest crime novel. Her main character is Maureen O'Donnell, an emotionally battered woman, who is trying to gain control of her own life after recuperating from a nervous breakdown months before. She is working on a dead end job that she hates and found out recently that her lover, Douglas, is married. That day she decides to get drunk before going home to bed. When she wakes up the next morning with a hangover, she discovers Douglas tied to a chair and with his throat slit. Maureen has very few people to stand up for her. The police are having trouble believing her story and are suspicious of her actions. She is estranged from her family due to an incident in her past as well as having an alcoholic mother. Ms. Mina does a good job relating O' Donnell's dysfunctional family showing the family dynamic and how everybody is willing to think the worst of Maureen without giving her the benefit of the doubt. Douglas was a doctor where Maureen was recuperating from her breakdown and having an affair with him. The whole book shows how the main character does not wish to become a victim and fighting tooth and nail for it. She becomes very defensive about her past and tries not to take any guff from anybody. She becomes so frustrated with everybody that she decides to do an investigation herself. The main problem I faced with the novel is the resolution of the crime. I am not spoiling the book, but the problem I had was with the culprit (or guilty party) involved in Douglas' murder. There was no satisfying, clear-cut explanation for why that character committed its actions. It left me with several questions that will not be answered in this book. I think that this is something that makes GARNETHILL a better book. It forces one to focus more on Maureen O'Donnell's character than with her surroundings or supporting cast. I am looking forward to read Ms. Mina's second novel, EXILE. This book marks the return of Maureen and hopefully it might answer some of the questions I might have from this book.
Rating:
Summary: Very good, but ...
Review: Here is a mystery with splendidly conceived characters, a plot like a snake that winds sinuously in and out of dark places, and a powerful sense of place. The Glaswegian manners of speech and terms of affection (hen, pet) are rendered with kindness and humor. It's literally one of those books that you can't put down. I have just one quibble: Why did the author feel it necessary to muddy the waters by introducing the issue of recovered memories/false memory syndrome? For those unfamiliar with the tragic, and ongoing, repercussions of the recovered memory craze (from the mid-80s to the latter part of the 90s), the issue won't be clarified by Denise Mina's tinkering with her heroine's history. She gives Maureen (one of the spunkiest, most likable characters I've read in ages) a history that contends she actually forgot egregious sexual abuse by her father. Initially, it appears as if there was only one occasion of abuse. But as the book progresses, it transpires this was a long-term ongoing thing. With all due respect to Ms. Mina, people simply do not forget, wipe out, or otherwise misplace recall of repeated sexual abuse. There are legions of us who dearly wish that were possible. So while she's got the emotions and the details just right of how an abuse victims thinks and behaves, she's got this part wrong. And it's something that isn't even essential to the plot of this book. A large number of families of sexually abused people refuse to believe the truth. It wasn't necessary to include recovered memories in order to paint Maureen O'Donnell's family in dark shades. Their characters are so well drawn that the darkness is there, and denial is central to disfynctional families. Fortunately, the author doesn't overdo this issue. But it was of concern to me to see that, according to her biographical material, she is currently researching a book on false memory syndrome. That smacks of obsession, which is a pity, because her sympathy for the dispossessed, the disturbed and the victimized is everywhere evident in her work. It would be a shame to see another book from this talented author that, again, beats a dead horse. Garnethill is otherwise a great reading experience, with characters I'd certainly like to see again.
Rating:
Summary: A Perfect Read, Just Wonderful
Review: I adored this book. Still engrossed in it at 3 A.M. I made a pot of coffee so I could stay awake and keep reading it. I feel as if I have made some fine new friends in the characters, and that they, as friends do, have enriched my life and given me solid memories to laugh at or cry over. Most of all they make me feel that I am not alone in this world. Ms Mina's skill is comparable to that of the great John Harvey, but with an element of Scottish wit and raucous elan that calls to mind Alan Warner's 'The Sopranos'. The common element amongst the three expert authors is the ability to look the grimmest bits of life straight in the eye and to remain able to not only carry on but to retain the clarity of vision that knows beauty and good when they see it. All of the characterizations by all of these authors contain that elusive but essential element of complexity within a person that allows the reader to feel kinship towards the characters, and to feel genuine affection for the soul that created these beset but ennobled fictional human beings. To me, the true standard by which I judge a novel is, would I want to know the author in person, would I want to spend time in the same room with the characters? The answer for Garnethill is not only Yes Yes Yes but the book was so finely crafted that I feel as if I really have spent time with the characters and I miss them. The hero Maureen is superbly offset by her best pal Leslie, and both are people of the highest order. Leslie is like the paradigmatic best friend, she would earn a place in the greek pantheon as the goddess of best friendship. As with all fine works of literature, the plot here is incidental to the superbly rich craftmanship, but that can only occur when the plot is itself flawlessly expedited. It is a coherent whole of a book, and you are out of your mind if you don't buy it this instant, no kidding. I'm envious of those of you who have not yet read this wonderful book, because the experience was that good for me.
Rating:
Summary: A compelling read
Review: I was fascinated by this character and the story from beginning to end. I found the backdrop characters and scene interesting. I kept rooting for Maureen, who drinks too much and sometimes handles difficult problems ineptly, but who is courageous and persevering.
Rating:
Summary: Believable characterizations.
Review: I've never lived "on the edge" myself, but have known and befriended many who do and Ms. Mina's ability to characterize and "speak" and "behave" for them is certainly amazing. If she continues to write, how about a short definition index for us Americans unfamiliar with UK idioms? Slang? I bought this book because of the reviews and am glad I did. It will be fun to share and spread the word about this new author.
Rating:
Summary: Totally deserving Best First Crime Novel
Review: If you love the thrill of discovering a truly awesome new author (in ANY genre), you MUST read this book. If you love a writing talent that thrills you to chill-bumps, you MUST read this book. If you can bear the adrenalin-cold pit-of-the-stomach understanding of what incest survivors endure, you MUST read this book. If you want to be scared out-of-your-mind by one of the most horrifying alchoholic monster-mothers in history, you MUST read this book (no kidding, this woman gives Medea a run for the money). If you want an unforgettable look at raw life in Glasgow, you MUST read this book. On every level, this book deserved the editorial praise it garnered and the John Creasey Award. This isn't a Whodunit; it becomes pretty clear who the murderer must be, but the murders are almost tangential to the tale of Mauri, her life, her family, her friends. The story stays and stays and stays on in your head after you finish the book. The icy shiver of gut-truths runs through this author's prose - adding the element of curiosity to the great question - when does the next book come out?
Rating:
Summary: A rare Find
Review: It seems to me that Denise Mina has that wondderful knack of delivering characters in a sentence. This book is thickly plotted, humerous and lives on in your heart and soul for much more than that. Its like Salinger or Chesterton for me, a throwaway line here and there make you ponder the meaning of your existence and the course of your life. Its a long time since I have been so deeply affected .
Rating:
Summary: Bleak as befits the genre, but with very Glaswegian humour
Review: Neither bleak nor a suburb, Garnethill is compact island of a neighbourhood in the centre of Glasgow, full of dauntingly steep hills à la Bullitt's best car chase scenes. It is certainly not among Glasgow's worst, but neither is it among its best. The book is bleak at times, yes, as befits the genre. And Glasgow, like many places, can be bleak, especially on short winter days with biting rain and wind. This story lives among the low-lifes and marginals of the city, and while those are not the only Glasgow - or urban - stories to tell, they are surely among the most compelling. Comparing Scottish crime writers with Ian Rankin may be a cliché, but what he and Mina both do well is to root their stories in place, bringing alive the corners and cultures of the cities which are their settings. Mina's characters travel across most parts of the city, and she recreates cafés, pubs, streets and tenement closes with an accuracy that Glasgow readers should appreciate and in which they will recognise many minor landmarks far from the tourist trail and the trendy shops and bars. And the humour (the book is tremendously funny in places), banter and psyche are very Glaswegian, dark and ironic. The excellent sense of suspense at the heart of the book is bolstered by engaging - if sometimes disturbed - characters and an intricate recreation of their Glasgow.
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