One question lies at the heart of DI Alex Morrow’s fourth case: how could the fresh fingerprints of an imprisoned arms dealer be found at the scene of a murder? The answer, when finally revealed, is both ingenious and convincing but there is a lot more plot to enjoy before a chance remark gives the game away.
Denise Mina loves knitting three-ply narratives together. She begins her latest thriller on August 31 1997, the final day of not only Princess Diana but two men who are stabbed by a young girl in Glasgow. Meanwhile, back in the present, the son of the girl’s solicitor is hiding out on the island of Mull waiting to die.
Confused? You’re meant to be: there’s no one better at withholding vital information until the right moment. Once again “Cynical Glasgow, a city exhausted of sorrow” is a major character, a place reeking of corruption and decay. Morrow, with her new-born twins at home and a gangster half-brother at large, makes for an all-too-human protagonist who is nevertheless a survivor. Her pawky sense of humour ensures that The Red Road, instead of being depressing, is both appalling and amusing.