kmardahl 's review for:

Garnethill by Denise Mina

5.0

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Wow. This is a book to read on a weekend or at a time when you have no other obligations at all. What I mean is, I couldn't put this book down. True, I took a break to get a good night's sleep, but other than that, it was non-stop reading. The writing was really good. Not too much and not too little - it was just right. You can feel Glasgow around you as you travel the city with Maureen and hear all the conversations of the characters. Having connections to Glasgow made me really enjoy this including, or especially, the social commentary. Speaking of characters, I felt that the characters were really well written, too.

Spoiler

Winnie drove me up the wall almost from the first pages she was on. I so wanted Leslie to walk up to her and punch her in the nose - and I don't consider myself a violent person!! But this never happened. Carol Brady wasn't my favourite character, either. One could argue that they were caricatures, but naw, I have heard about people like that. Also, Denise Mina thanks a few organisations for their assistance, meaning she has done her research. There are Carols and Winnies in the world.

This is Mina's first novel, and it leaves me with high expectations for my next read from her hand! This was my first Denise Mina book. I must get copies of the next books in this series and I so look forward to reading her latest book before I see her live at Bloody Scotland in September. I also enjoyed this recent interview/questionnaire with her in the New York Times as a way of getting to know this author: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/20/books/review/by-the-book-denise-mina.html