Slip of the Knife

By: Denise Mina

Narrated by: Jane Macfarlane

Paddy Meehan is no stranger to murder - as a reporter she lives at crime scenes - but nothing has prepared her for this visit from the police. Her former boyfriend and fellow journalist Terry Patterson has been found hooded and shot through the head. Paddy knows she will be of little help - she had not seen Terry in more than six months. So she is bewildered to learn that in his will he has left her his house and several suitcases full of notes. Drawn into a maze of secrets and lies, Paddy begins making connections to Terry's murder that no one else has seen, and soon finds herself trapped in the most important - and dangerous - story of her career.©2008 Denise Mina (P)2008 BBC Audiobooks America

Critic reviews

"Denise Mina has become a rising star in the world of crime fiction." ( Salon)

What a great storyteller Denise Mina is!

What does Jane Macfarlane bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Very spot on emotionally, but very understated and "transparent" reader. She allows the listener to forget about the reader and hear the emotional life of the book. That's very very tricky IMHO. Very well done.

Any additional comments?

Denise Mina always grabs my attention through her characters and their quirky emotional lives that are easy to relate to. I've never ever been disappointed by one of her books. One of the best storytellers out there.

Where r the other Paddy Meehan books?

I love Denise Mina's first 2 or 3 series, but especially the Paddy Meehan series. The first 2 books in the PM series have disappeared from my library and are no longer available on Amazon! Why? I adore these books. They were the first "Collection" I set up, as I knew I would want to listen to them again as soon as I had forgotten them sufficiently. Which is now, and they r gone. It makes no sense to have the 3rd book in the series without the first 2. The Paddy Meehan character is so wonderful, and u need to experience her early life to fully appreciate Slip of the Knife. I think Denise Mina is under rated as a Scottish author in this genre. If u do a search of Scottish suspense writers, more prolific writers will come in first. But I love her quality, not quantity. I have listened to 100's of books in those genre, and most of them r really cliche. U get a unique story with Denise Mina's early books. Please, Audible, bring back the other books in the Paddy Meehan series: Field of Blood and The Dead Hour.

An ordinary story

Although I enjoyed this book,it didn't make me want more. The characters were very believable in that they seem so normal. It also made me realize the impact of instant TV, Internet news on newspapers' existence. The IRA exists as an everyday entity in the story and the protagonist deals with it as she sorts out the questions about her former boyfriend's death. The narrator did a nice job of differentiating between characters so you knew what was happening. I am glad I read it but I haven't gone immediately hunting for the next book by this author.

Powerful writing and performance

Mina is so good at writing women in the workplace, struggling against limitations and assumptions. The dialog and action are outstanding also.

slip of the knife

Overall I enjoyed this thriller. There were parts that were long and overly drawn out and the ending was somewhat predictable. However, I enjoyed learning about Glaswegians and the conflict between the British and the Republicans.
She is a fine writer of mystery.