Wednesday, May 17, 2023

The Red Road by Denise Mina

 
First Line: 1997. Rose Wilson was fourteen but looked sixteen. Sammy said it was a shame.
 
Police detective Alex Morrow has a lot on her plate. She's missing being at home with her infant twin sons, true, but the possible overturn of the conviction of arms dealer Michael Brown has her worried. This is a brutal man who is not only guilty of the crimes he's been convicted of, but during the course of her original investigation, he threatened her life, the life of her husband, and the lives of her children. This is why she has to do everything within her power to make sure he stays in prison. 
 
Her search for the incontrovertible proof that will keep Brown behind bars leads Morrow to a lawyer expecting to be assassinated and a woman who's spying on the people who put her in jail.  No wonder she longs for some time with her babies! But Alex Morrow has always been the sort of police officer who insists on getting to the truth no matter what. Little does she know where her search for the truth is going to take her.
 
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Denise Mina is one of the best crime fiction writers out there. She puts readers right in the heart of Glasgow, Scotland-- "cynical Glasgow, a city exhausted of sorrow" -- and has them dine on a fine tale of crime and the search for truth. As far as I'm concerned, she's the absolute best at making readers understand and empathize with the marginalized, the people most avert their eyes from. In her books, like Garnethill and The Red Road, we meet the homeless, drug addicts, murderers, and former prostitutes. We learn why these people turned to drugs or sex work or killing. We see them trying-- and sometimes succeeding-- to turn their backs on their old lives, and while we may never condone what these people did, we can now understand and feel compassion. Most crime writers use the marginalized merely as victims and for shock value. Not Denise Mina, and this means that she has written some truly powerful stories.
 
In this series, police detective Alex Morrow isn't your usual cop. For one thing, her brother is a gangster. When criminals threaten to expose her relationship to a known felon, she tells them to go right ahead. You see, the police know it already; she hasn't hidden it from them. This is all a part of her "nothing but the truth and damn the consequences" method of policing. 
 
In all its twists and turns, Alex's investigation ties in with an old case that occurred on the day of Princess Diana's death-- a fact that led to some shoddy detective work and the realization that, for some of the world, Diana's death could be just another day. This fact alone will make many readers feel as though they're experiencing life in another country.
 
Denise Mina's storytelling ability combined with a sharply delineated cast of characters and a strong plot makes The Red Road a compelling and satisfying read. She is an author who never disappoints, and I'm looking forward to finding out what Alex Morrow does next. Man those torpedoes, Alex-- full speed ahead! 

The Red Road by Denise Mina
ISBN: 9780316188517
Little, Brown and Company © 2014
Hardcover, 304 pages
 
Police Procedural, #4 Alex Morrow mystery
Rating: A
Source: Purchased from The Poisoned Pen.

12 comments:

  1. Glad you liked this book. I love Denise Mina's writing, This series is good, as is the Garnethill series, and many stand-alones. The Lost Dead shows her sympathy for sex workers whose deaths are disregarded by police, Patrick interviewed her at the
    pp about that book. And she is on a tout of Garnethill, posted on You Tube.
    los

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    1. I got to see her the last time she was at The Poisoned Pen when she was interviewed by Barbara Peters.

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  2. Oh, I did not see her interview with Barbara. The Garnethill tour is wprth watching. I just saw Lisa Scottoline at the PP. Absolutely hilarious and yet quite astute about Sicily's history, yhe site o her latest novel. I laughed so hard.

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    1. I just checked. Barbara just introduced Denise and then turned the interview over to Patrick. It was almost ten years ago!

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  3. Mina is one of those authors who pretty much doesn't disappoint, Cathy. I love the way she captures people and culture in her dialogue, and I love her female protagonists. They're flawed, but they're strong. She's developed Alex rather nicely, too, in my opinion.

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    1. Yes, she has. I see that I'm close to the end of the series. I'm looking forward to seeing what Alex decides to do with her life.

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  4. I love writers who get right down into the grit and make the reader feel like you are there. Not only that, but feel for those who are often overlooked. Alex Morrow sounds like someone I might want to make the acquaintance of.

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  5. Gotta love that Glasgow, Scotland setting! And Alex Morrow does sound like a very interesting and likable character.

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    1. She is, Lark, and Glasgow counts as a character in the book, too.

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  6. Yet another one to add to my neverending reading list!

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    1. You'll never ever run out of something to read, Dorothy!

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