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403rd out of 1,210 books
—
6,528 voters
Slip of the Knife (Paddy Meehan #3)
by
Denise Mina (Goodreads Author)
A brilliant new thriller featuring Paddy Meehan, one of the most praised heroines since Temperance Brennan, from "a rising star in the world of crime fiction" (Laura Miller, Salon).
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 Pat...more
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 Pat...more
Hardcover, 352 pages
Published
February 13th 2008
by Little, Brown and Company
(first published August 1st 2007)
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You ever listen to a book or read a book and ask yourself, do I really want to continue?
I felt this way about the 3rd installment of the Paddy Meehan series. I had not read nor listened to the first two installments. Not sure if I would have enjoyed it more if I had started at the beginning or not. It was just that confusing and convaluted.
The Irish brogue and terms were also a bit challenging for me. Sometimes I didn't understand what she said, nor was I familiar with the slang. That can be fru...more
I felt this way about the 3rd installment of the Paddy Meehan series. I had not read nor listened to the first two installments. Not sure if I would have enjoyed it more if I had started at the beginning or not. It was just that confusing and convaluted.
The Irish brogue and terms were also a bit challenging for me. Sometimes I didn't understand what she said, nor was I familiar with the slang. That can be fru...more
Riveting. I don't usually read a bunch of one author at one time but I made an exception for this one. Couldn't get enough. I was reading it and loving it early on but wondering in the back of my mind if I'd be digging this as much as I was if I hadn't read the first 2 and gotten so thoroughly invested in the characters and their world. Then the three or more story lines Mina had been picking at from this book and the other two completely surrounded me and was swept away for the ride. The wonder...more
Feb 05, 2009
Bookmarks Magazine
added it
In their reviews of Slip of the Knife (released as The Last Breath in the UK), critics agreed that Paddy Meehan is one rising star. Comparisons to Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus abound, but these more aptly note the Scottish settings and each protagonist's esteemed place in the genre rather than their personalities (a grumpy, alienated man versus a spunky woman, close to her working-class, Catholic family). Most critics cited compelling idiomatic dialogue, riveting scenes, and full-blooded charact
...more
Really enjoyed this book. Reading Denise Mina, for we Glaswegians, has some of the same fascination as watching Taggart on TV. We’re always looking to notice the places we know – look, the victim lived in Lawrence St! But thankfully, Denise Mina’s writing is a lot better than the Taggart team’s acting. This is the third Paddy Meehan (a Glasgow journalist) story – though I hardly remember the others, they seem so long ago – and she has moved to Lansdowne Crescent in the West End. Ah the memories…...more
Jan 29, 2012
Jennifer
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
readers who like character-driven mysteries
Recommended to Jennifer by:
earlier Mina novels
Shelves:
read-2012
One of the things I really enjoy about Denise Mina's novels is they feel incredibly real. The mystery is not really the point; it's the complex web of relationships surrounding the plot that make this story interesting. I did come late to the party. According to Goodreads, this is the 3rd novel featuring Paddy Meehan and I'm curious about what elements of her backstory the earlier two books explore. In this installment, Paddy gets the news that an old friend and journalist, Terry, has been murde...more
This is the third book in a trilogy featuring Paddy Meehan. She used to be a reporter for a declining newspaper, but is now a columnist and a fire-breathing mother of a young boy. When a former lover is murdered, she pushes for an investigation but is mostly stone-walled by the local police. She continues to push and begins to uncover a conspiracy that spreads its tentacles to Ireland, the IRA, and British Intelligence. In the meantime, she wrestles with her disfunctional family and a young man...more
I thought this was going to be a fast paced mystery/thriller, a fun summer read - but I was wrong. It was boring. Apparently this is the third installment of a series about this Scottish journalist character, so maybe folks who have read the first two might be more into it. Not much happened, and it wasn't intriguing or exciting. I can't believe I finished it. Don't waste your time.
May 19, 2012
Sam Brightwell
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
crime-fiction,
thriller
I had trouble with the 3rd installment of Paddy Meehan. With book #1 I raced through the story in a day or so. So, so, wonderfully good. Poignant, funny, tense. Paddy was/is such a great character.
But this installment is considerably weaker than the first. Paddy is not quite as lovable, not quite as funny, not quite as believable. And the villains are flimsy and unconvincing. Even the opening scenes of Terry's death lack the power of, say, the opening crime (a murder, too) in Mina's more recent...more
But this installment is considerably weaker than the first. Paddy is not quite as lovable, not quite as funny, not quite as believable. And the villains are flimsy and unconvincing. Even the opening scenes of Terry's death lack the power of, say, the opening crime (a murder, too) in Mina's more recent...more
Always in the market for a good new crime novel, so I was looking forward to giving Denise Mina a try. The plot set-up sounded quite interesting. But I just didn't mesh with her writing style -- maybe it's language differences (she's Scottish), but the book struck me as overly dense and overwritten. I only made it 40 pages, and it's back to library for this one.
It's always a treat to find a Denise Mina book in the library, and Slip of the Knife proved to be one of Mina's best. The main character, Paddy Meehan, calls herself fat, and she may be. I have a feeling she's probably not as fat as she thinks she is, going by the way she describes the fit of her clothes. She's definitely not model thin, but that only adds to her appeal. Her day job is working as a columnist for a Glasgow newspaper, but she finds herself investigating the murder of a former love...more
This book was really entertaining, but it often got confusing as to how long this relationship between Terry & Paddy had lasted, how long ago, and when it ended. I also had a hard time getting used to the nickname Paddy for a woman. Paddy seemed to have such ambivalent feelings for Terry that it was hard to understand why his death bothered her so much. Why he left her his house. Why she lived and had sex with Dub, but they were "just friends." Why she didn't marry her son's father, another...more
Another great read from Denise Mina. The end was a wee bit too nicely tied up for me, but the quality of the writing throughout redeemed it all. That, and my adoration of the Glasgow setting, which Mina evokes grippingly.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first book I read by this author, so I was expecting a lot. Well, this one was not as good for me as the first, but some of that is due to my ignorance about the whole catholic/protestant Ireland thing. It figures prominently in this murder mystery, and led to my not understanding the nuances of the whys and wherefores. The story started off gangbusters with the murder of a well-known journalist who was a bit of a has been. When our heroine, also a journalist, finds out...more
Denise Mina
“Slit of the Knife” is novel by Scottish crime fiction writer, Denise Mina. It is one in the Paddy Meehan series, Paddy’s Irish Catholic family lives in Glascow, and she has a wonderful job as a newspaper columnist, her own apartment, and a sweet 5 year old son. Then her life takes a frightening turn of events, friends and colleagues’ are murdered, and even her family is targeted. Paddy uses her investigative news instincts and starts digging for the truth about what and who is behind...more
“Slit of the Knife” is novel by Scottish crime fiction writer, Denise Mina. It is one in the Paddy Meehan series, Paddy’s Irish Catholic family lives in Glascow, and she has a wonderful job as a newspaper columnist, her own apartment, and a sweet 5 year old son. Then her life takes a frightening turn of events, friends and colleagues’ are murdered, and even her family is targeted. Paddy uses her investigative news instincts and starts digging for the truth about what and who is behind...more
The quality of Denise Mina's writing is so sparkling and original that she can do little wrong in my eyes, but for reasons I cannot quite pinpoint, this fell a little shot in other ways - I suspect the Irish politics - but nevertheless the character of Paddy Meehan and the others who swing in and out of her life are so well drawn and interesting you cannot help but want more.
I know, because I have heard Mina herself say so, that ths series is full of gaps, years when things happen that are unex...more
I know, because I have heard Mina herself say so, that ths series is full of gaps, years when things happen that are unex...more
I love Denise Mina's writing, primarily her characters, especially Paddy Meehan, the central character of two previous, also wonderful novels. In Slip of the Knife, Paddy is a few years older, her child is already four years old, and many of the characters from the two previous novels, especially the first, Field of Blood, are revisited. When ex-boyfriend Terry Hewitt is found naked, in a ditch, with a bullet in his head, and Paddy is told she is listed as the next of kin, she is drawn into a ne...more
Clearly, I am hooked on Denise Mina. I read somewhere that Scottish readers don't favor literature, but are fans of mysteries. Mina writes literature disguised as mysteries. She imbues her characters with so much humanity, is so empathetic, that sometimes you almost root for the bad guy! And she is a master at suspense- I absolutely did not know how this book was going to turn out and was reluctant to read the last few pages for fear of what I would read.
This is the third mystery featuring Padd...more
This is the third mystery featuring Padd...more
I'm giving this book 5 stars because I am giving the series 5 stars overall. The way the plot comes together from the first book to the last is truly amazing. Mina manages to tie up loose ends without being too obvious. Paddy Meehan really grabbed a hold of my heart. The plot twists, the murders, and the intrigue would have been nothing if not for the little moments amongst family and friends. The characters really have a life of their own. Glasgow is brilliantly portrayed and is truly a charact...more
As these stories progressed (this was the third in the series), they became so much better. I really liked this one as it focused on a more adult Paddy and her status as an established journalist. Since these stories take place basically 5 or more years apart, Paddy is now in her early 30s and her life has changed since the last book but she is far more self-assured and she has responsibilities that allow her to be more focused on others in her life than dwelling on her own foibles and shortcomi...more
I love Denise Mina's writing, but I couldn't quite give this four stars. (Please, please, where are the half stars?).
A murder mystery requires murders, of course, but in this case, I could never quite see the point of the killings. I can't say any more without spoiling the plot, but I'd be curious to know what another reader thinks.
What saved the novel were the relationships among the characters, the subplot involving the release of a man who had been in prison since he was a child, the glimps...more
A murder mystery requires murders, of course, but in this case, I could never quite see the point of the killings. I can't say any more without spoiling the plot, but I'd be curious to know what another reader thinks.
What saved the novel were the relationships among the characters, the subplot involving the release of a man who had been in prison since he was a child, the glimps...more
Denise Mina writes thrillers the way Jamie Oliver writes cookbooks. Her language is really fresh and natural and interesting, and it has the added bonus of being slangy and British (actually, Scottish and Irish in the case of this novel). The mystery itself isn't terribly complex or original, but the characters are very complex and original, and that's actually even better than having a breathtaking new way to murder someone. The ending was a little weak but I am assuming that's because this boo...more
What was it about this book that I found so engrossing? The story/mystery was gradually unfurled and gradually gained depth. It is set in Glasgow, and it feels like a hardened old northern industrial city. (I've never been there but felt an understanding.) The story revolves around the IRA- but not really, and it's not a story of Irish politics, per se. It is a story of politics, corruption, love of many kinds, loss of many kinds and understanding- also of many kinds. the closer I got to the end...more
Denise Mina. This was a good book but it kinda lumbered along. Not the kind of flow I loved in the Garnet Hill Trilogy. Still love her graphic descriptions of death and love and how life really feels and looks. She always nails it.
I liked Paddy. Great character but I kept thinking there should be more to the story. Perhaps the book was edited too much? Her Garnet Hill books were meatier. More depth in the story, characters. Every.
I would recommend the book. It was, overall, a quick read, but n...more
I liked Paddy. Great character but I kept thinking there should be more to the story. Perhaps the book was edited too much? Her Garnet Hill books were meatier. More depth in the story, characters. Every.
I would recommend the book. It was, overall, a quick read, but n...more
Jun 06, 2008
Jennifer (JC-S)
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
librarybooks
This is the third of Denise Mina’s novels to feature Paddy Meehan, the feisty reporter first introduced in ‘The Field of Blood’. We rejoin Paddy in 1990 where she is now a leading newspaper columnist with a flash car and a flat. Just as Paddy settles down on a Saturday night, intent on relaxing in front of the television in a comfortable pair of pyjamas, a knock on the door changes everything. Terry Patterson, her first lover and journalistic hero, has been found naked and executed in a ditch.
Wh...more
Wh...more
I started this book in March and only just finished it. What should have been a fun, gripping read turned into a long, tedious slog. I'm not sure why. I'm a big fan of Denise Mina's books--I've read all them now, except the last on in the Garnet Hill trilogy. I have a mixed relationship with her flawed heroines, who are stubborn and do dangerous and stupid things. But Mina is good with suspense and Glasgow comes alive on the page. She makes no allowances for readers who are unfamiliar with the i...more
May 16, 2008
Michelle
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
really-loved-it,
crime
At first I was slightly disappointed with The Last Breath. Not because of the main storyline, but because young Patty Meehan was now an adult! I loved he was that late teens, early twenties character. Her scarcasm was that of youth challenging accepted, traditional societal ideas. In the early part of this book, I felt Paddy was now just deeply cynical. My feelings were those slightly selfish ones of a mother who doesn't was her kid to grow up :) But as the book continued, I because less concern...more
Really 2 1/2 stars. But regardless, quite the disappointment, given how interesting the first two incarnations of the series have been.
I like the way Mina sets the books many years apart; works against that static, timeless quality of some crime series. But other problems exist, especially the difficulty of finding plausible reasons for a non-police inspector, non-PI to keep having to investigate crimes.
A still-bigger problem seems to be that Mina has lost her way in depicting contemporary Glasg...more
I like the way Mina sets the books many years apart; works against that static, timeless quality of some crime series. But other problems exist, especially the difficulty of finding plausible reasons for a non-police inspector, non-PI to keep having to investigate crimes.
A still-bigger problem seems to be that Mina has lost her way in depicting contemporary Glasg...more
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Love, love, love Miss Paddy Meehan, crime reporter. Mina has created one of the most unique and memorable characters. Paddy is like no one you've met- Scottish, a quick temper, quicker wit and far from perfect- but never a cliche. The story is complex with well rounded characters all thoroughly their own person and she skimps on none of them. After 2 trilogies, I have not read one of Mina's books I did not find fabulous. I's love more Paddy Meehan but will start working on Mina's other crime nov...more
still glad i didn't live in scotland in the late 80's
paddy's evolved into a mum... the family's changed, she's a bit better off than before, her baby daddy's a shit, the newspaper business is still in an irreversible decline, and oh yeah, her best mate's been murdered because he saw something he shouldn't. callum ogilvy is back - 10 years older but emotionally an adolescent.
the end is unexpected and troublesome. it felt 'right', but it's unjustifiable.
paddy's evolved into a mum... the family's changed, she's a bit better off than before, her baby daddy's a shit, the newspaper business is still in an irreversible decline, and oh yeah, her best mate's been murdered because he saw something he shouldn't. callum ogilvy is back - 10 years older but emotionally an adolescent.
the end is unexpected and troublesome. it felt 'right', but it's unjustifiable.
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Denise Mina was born in Glasgow in 1966. Because of her father's job as an Engineer, the family followed the north sea oil boom of the seventies around Europe
She left school at sixteen and did a number of poorly paid jobs, including working in a meat factory, as a bar maid, kitchen porter and cook.
Eventually she settled in auxiliary nursing for geriatric and terminal care patients.
At twenty one sh...more
More about Denise Mina...
She left school at sixteen and did a number of poorly paid jobs, including working in a meat factory, as a bar maid, kitchen porter and cook.
Eventually she settled in auxiliary nursing for geriatric and terminal care patients.
At twenty one sh...more
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