Exile: 2 (Garnethill) - Softcover

Mina, Denise

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0316016802 ISBN 13: 9780316016803

Publisher: Back Bay Books, 2007

Synopsis

"Stunning. . . . The danger reaches a frightening pitch."--Rocky Mountain News

"Mina offers us a complex plot with a shocking ending, all told in an amazingly original voice." -Cleveland Plain Dealer

"This is a terrific book." -Dallas Morning News

A New York Times Notable Book of the Year

Trying to escape her own troubled past and the memories of her lover's murder, Maureen O'Donnell finds refuge working as a counselor at a shelter for battered women. When the body of shelter resident Ann Harris washes up on the banks of the Thames River two weeks later, Maureen vows to discover what happened and to prove that Ann's husband is not to blame. Taking her search to London, Maureen soon encounters disturbing truths about Ann's hidden past - including a secret that has Maureen fighting for her life.

"Atmospheric, intense, and full of the disturbing flavor of inner-city lowlife." -Guardian

"Reads like a slap in the face - and a kick in the ribs and a fist in the stomach . . . like its powerful predecessor, Garnethill." -New York Times Book Review

About this title

Review:

Exile is every bit as atmospheric and idiosyncratic as Mina's earlier novel, Garnethill but with an increased sharpness in characterisation that makes for a highly compelling read. The Glasgow setting of this piece is rendered with a gritty authority that might not please the Scottish Tourist Board, but is perfect for the reader. Mina's protagonist Maureen O'Donnell is working in the Glasgow Women's Shelter when she encounters Anne Harris, suffering from two broken ribs and fighting the effects of a crippling descent into alcoholism. A fortnight later, Anne's body turns up in the river, grotesquely mutilated and embedded in a mattress. Is Anne's husband the murderer, as he so clearly seems to be? Maureen and her friend Leslie try to penetrate the indifference surrounding Anne's death, but Leslie is curiously close-mouthed about what she knows. Attempting to escape from the turmoil of her own life, Maureen travels to London, but she is soon immersed in a dangerous world of violence and drug abuse.

Utilising the classic structure of the thriller (the investigator in danger of encountering the same fate as the victim) Mina brings a level of compassion and understanding to her grim tale that ensures a remarkable experience for the reader. She is unblushing in confronting the darker side of life, and her conflicted heroine is satisfyingly embroiled in the revelations she is forced to confront. The final effect of this idiosyncratic and dark thriller is both life-affirming and exhilarating, and though we may all soon need a holiday from the dark alleys of Scotland, it isn't time yet.

--Barry Forshaw

Review:

" Confirms Mina's place in the premier division... atmospheric, intense and full of the disturbing flavour of inner-city lowlife." - "Guardian" " Mina writes with an energy and brio that lifts this novel head and shoulders above the superficial gangster glamour of much contemporary British crime fiction." - "The Express" "From the Paperback edition." "Confirms Mina's place in the premier division... atmospheric, intense and full of the disturbing flavour of inner-city lowlife." - "Guardian "Mina writes with an energy and brio that lifts this novel head and shoulders above the superficial gangster glamour of much contemporary British crime fiction." - "The Express "From the Paperback edition.

About this edition

• Publisher: Back Bay Books
• Publication date: 2007
• ISBN 10: 0316016802
• ISBN 13: 9780316016803
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448