Reviews with content warning for Addiction - Conviction

"There is a warmth and a comfort in hearing about people in worse situations than your own. . . . I had not murdered my entire family or killed myself. I hung onto that."

Present day Glasgow, Scotland and affluent mother of two, Anna is addicted to true crime podcasts. Her day starts out as normal, but is disrupted by husband Hamish announcing he's leaving her for friend and neighbour Estelle and taking their two girls. After he has left, distraught but determined Anna flees, and ends up with a travelling companion - Estelle's husband, famously anorexic musician, Fin. Listening to a new podcast, Death and The Dana, about the scuttling of a luxury yacht in Saint Martin leading to the death of its three passengers, startles Anna when she realises that, years before, she was friends with one of the passengers, wealthy Leon. No one understands why the yacht sank, but it appeared deliberate. Disturbingly for Anna, she has another connection to Leon, through his then wife, gangster billionaire, Greta. Anna's life explodes and normal rules no longer apply...

My first Denise Mina and certainly not my last. I knew it would be spectacular storytelling after hearing Sam Baker interview the author on her podcast, The Shift. It was also a Reese's Book Club pick. Anna is a complex character, handled masterfully by Mina, but I liked Fin too, found him funny if vulnerable. Including the topical subjects of true crime podcasts, fame and celebrity, and the dilemmas it creates, Mina's writing is exuberant, whipping the plot from glamorous locations like Skibo Castle and Venice to train journeys and escaping gangsters. It's one hell of a ride. I read this sparkling thriller compulsively over two days and nights.

Content Warnings