Field of Blood

By: Denise Mina

Narrated by: Heather O'Neill

A neophyte journalist becomes intimately involved in her first assignment: a brutal murder. This is the explosive start of a new series by the author of the acclaimed Garnethill trilogy.

Little Brian Wilcox's murder is the hottest story in Scotland. Every major newspaper crowds its pages with stories examining the crime from every angle. If only Paddy Meehan could get a scoop on the case. A nationally syndicated story would surely launch her fledgling journalism career out of the free local rag she's been working at.

But when the connection Paddy had been hoping for finally comes, it only threatens her career and family. Callum, her fiance Sean's young cousin, is implicated in Brian's murder, and when Paddy foolishly confides in her equally ambitious coworker, Heather, all hell breaks loose. Heather betrays her and sells the story to a major newspaper, making the entire Meehan clan turn on Paddy. The only way Paddy can redeem herself in their eyes is to clear Callum's name. As Glasgow buzzes with the scandal, Paddy notices a similarity between Brian's murder and the murder of a local boy several years earlier. Using her investigative skills, Paddy sets out to solve the case, at any cost.

©2005 Denise Mina (P)2005 HighBridge Company

Critic reviews

"Mina...has helped make Scotland a leading exporter of world-class crime fiction." (The Washington Post)

Mina grows

This was much less searing than the trilogy, so for me it was even more enjoyable. The author has a unique take on characters, and a real talent for sharing their voices. The twists and turns got a bit contrived at times, but I never lost interest. A great story, if you're tired of the humdrum. The reader was pure magic.

Edgy

I love this book. Mina has many more but this one gives the flavor and feel of Paddy so deeply that you feel she just told you her story. Reader is excellent

Enjoyed reading it more than listening

The narrator adds a sweat lilt to the story. Unfortunately that is not how imagined it sounding when I read the book years ago. I think I gave Paddy a harsher, more cynical voice. I prefer my rendition

How did I live so long without Mina?

Field of Blood is bloody amazing A novel that busts right by genre boundaries, brings tears without a single jerk, and makes the mysteries inside even minor characters as compelling as the mystery the chsracters solve. O'Neill's narrstion grated a little at first, but seemed necessary by the close. As a former ink-stained wretch, I could be an easy mark for this lamentation on journalism, but I like just as much the other Mina I've started to read.

This is my 3rd read of this series

This book/series is so unique in the thousands of suspense novels out there that are one like the other. The characters seem like real people that u know personally as long as you're listening. A different time and culture, a lovely accented narration, these books are loved favorites of mine.

A good book, not as good as Slip of the Knife

This story describes the background of how Patty Meehan gets into the newspaper business.
Mostly enjoyable, but the part where she is beat up by the villain and just bounces back stretches credulity.
I enjoy the setting of her books in working class Glasgow.

Anything by Mina

If you could sum up Field of Blood in three words, what would they be?

Believable, well-written, well-narrated

What did you like best about this story?

I've become a recent convert to Denise Mina, and have now read all of her released books. I love this character for her complexity and lack of stereotype. All the characters are believable. Her writing takes unexpected directions and her ability to evoke a scene and a feeling are remarkable. My only wish is that they had not abridged this.

Well done!

I mistakenly bought an abridged version of this book. It would have been so much better in its entirety. However I found myself caught up in it anyway. The protagonist, an overweight woman from a dysfunctional middle-class Glasgow famiy and an ambitious journalist, was a refreshing change from the usual well-heeled, well-groomed "perfect" person who sniffs out a crime and runs amuck. The insights into this woman's inner life and her culture that is at the same time related to ours yet alien, kept me listening. At first the narrator's Scottish dialect was annoying but then became bonded to the story and surrounded me in the grey cloud of North Scotland. I hope this writer comes up with another soon.

Not up to expectations

I tried one of this author's books because it was mentioned on a BBC talk show. I like mysteries and was looking for someone new to read. I never warmed to the central character or her family. I found the narrator's phony brogue very distracting. I might try a later book by Mina just to see is there's a difference (and if the narrator is better). I struggled to finish this, hoping it would get better. It just got more violent.

great protagoneuse

Field of Blood is a clever and unique but perfectly plausible mystery. It took about 1 1/2 hours of listening to slug through the introduction of characters and get used to the Scottish accent. After that it was quite smooth. The plot was well crafted, and as with all good thrllers keeps just ahead of what you can guess will happen next. The prose combined local dialect with excellent turns of phrase. The characters, particularly the underconfident but determined protagnoist, were a delight. The subplots and development of the minor characters were interesting and satisfying as well.
This book starts slow but builds quickly, and the listener who sticks with it you will be amply rewarded.