I liked the first two books but for some reason this one didn’t catch me. ( )

Denise Mina skriver alltid bra. Bra och levande karaktärer och landskap.och en bra intrig. ( )

Great closer for a terrific trilogy. Paddy Meehan has come a long way from her first appearance, but she has retained her sense of self and her relentless nose for the story. There is a fine tradition of journalists getting involved in mysteries and conspiracies and these three books have been a treat. They all kept the focus on news gathering without ever trying to make Paddy a superhero or physically tough. The background characters are drawn effortlessly and the plot barrels along. I think I'm going to go ahead and read more of Mina's books. ( )

Warning: this review contains spoilers.

****

It is 1990, and Paddy Meehan is now a columnist with the Glasgow Daily News, having risen through the ranks and maintained her position in the face of job cuts, declining circulation and the creeping forces of technology changing how print journalism functions. But she's paid her dues on the lower ranks of the journalist food chain, which is why she knows exactly what's up when two police officers show up at her door one evening: it's the death knock, informing her someone has died. Her ex-boyfriend, Terry Hewitt (also a journalist), has been murdered, and she was listed in his passport as his next of kin. As she tries to piece together what he was working on when he died, she not only gets a big story, but also nearly gets herself killed in the process.

I loved this final book in the trilogy. Paddy has become such a real character to me that I just liked reading about her going about her day-to-day life, juggling work, family and then of course the putting her life in danger aspect. I also liked checking in with Sean, and Mary Ann, and Trisha, and the other journalists. And an even bigger surprise was the bairn. When Paddy found out she was pregnant at the end of The Dead Hour, I immediately requested Slip of the Knife because I had to find out how she handled the situation. This book presents us with the five-year-old Pete, who is named after Dr Pete from The Field of Blood (cue wobbly lip and glistening eye on my part) and who appears just enough to be adorable but not so much as to wear out his welcome.

And wow, what an ending! I can see why this is a trilogy: how would you write a follow-up to that?

The trilogy as a whole is very much recommended. ( )

okay mystery set in Scotland — IRA connection

Paddy Meehan is no stranger to murder--as a reporter she lives at crime scenes--but nothing has prepared her for this visit from the police. Her former boyfriend and fellow journalist Terry Hewitt has been found hooded and shot through the head. Paddy knows she will be of little help--she had not seen Terry in more than six months. So she is bewildered to learn that in his will he has left her his house and several suitcases full of notes. Drawn into a maze of secrets and lies, Paddy begins making connections to Terry's murder that no one else has seen, and soon finds herself trapped in the most important--and dangerous--story of her career.