The Dead Hour: A Novel (original 2006; edition 2006)

This poor book has been on my "currently-reading" shelf since June, when I read the first few pages. I started reading it again just recently, but had to put it aside as too depressing in January, while I was also reading [b:The Working Poor: Invisible in America|11095|The Working Poor Invisible in America|David K. Shipler|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166403431s/11095.jpg|430062]. The protagonist of [b:The Dead Hour|94176|The Dead Hour A Novel|Denise Mina|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1171278302s/94176.jpg|404664] is the only one working in her family of Irish-background Glaswegians. It's set during the Thatcher era. I've heard good things about Denise Mina's work, so I will go back to this book in a sunnier time!

Denise Mina has written one of the best crime novels I've read in a long time. Her characters jump out of the pages at the investigation of a murder of a mysterious blonde woman -- they're real, they're so human that you want to meet them for a cup of coffee! One down, two to go in this series! ( )

It's been three years since Patricia "Paddy" Meehan’s big scoop and she became a full-fledged reporter. Since then, however, she has been stuck on the night shift, which turns into a potential blessing when the paper changes direction, redundancies are announced, and Paddy comes across a domestic-cum-murder, complete with intrigue, bribery, and drugs, which could save her from being made redundant, but which could also cost her life.

As in Field of Blood, Mina's descriptions of 80's Glasgow with all its financial and personal problems are painfully true to life and people's dejection is obvious. I still can't find myself warming to Paddy, though. Although the plot is interesting and the twists and turns make The Dead Hour quite thrilling, Paddy's voice eludes me for some reason and she seems to just follow the plot wherever it goes rather than being active. My problem with her might just be that she's not funny and it's somewhat of a requirement for me in a book with such a gruesome and graphic plot.

I have Slip of the Knife to read as well and, considering the cliff-hanger upon which The Dead Hour ends, I'm hoping to gain more sympathy for Paddy. I do enjoy Mina's writing tremendously, especially her capturing of a time and place and the relationships between her characters are quite raw and genuine, but Ms. Meehan might not be a good fit for me. ( )

The second of the Paddy Meehan books, and just as satisfying as the other ones. Mina has created a wonderful character and tells a good story - that's enough for me ( )

The second book featuring Paddy Meehan, a young investigative journalist in 1980s Glasgow. This looks like being a series where the ongoing relationships outside the main story are worth coming back for; I'm interested to find out what happens to Paddy's family, especially her mother and her ex-fiancee Sean, over the years. Probably more interested than I am in the individual mystery actually.