Exile

In Exile, the compelling sequel to Garnethillwinner of the 1998 John Creasey Memorial Award for Best First Crime NovelDenise Mina returns to Glasgow's grimmer residential precincts and the untidy life of Maureen O'Donnell. Again Maureen is confronted with a grisly case of murder. Ann Harris is nursing two broken ribs and reeking of alcohol when she visits Maureen's office at a Glasgow women's shelter two weeks before she turns up dead hundreds of miles away, under a mattress on the banks of the Thames. Maureen, eager to escape family difficulties of her own, travels to London to determine the circumstances of Ann's brutal death. She soon finds herself treacherously out of her depth, however, in her attempt to piece together the ugly details of Ann's last days in a seedy underworld of criminal exiles and dangerous drug lords. The suspense ratchets up, as Maureen strives to save herself from Ann's fate and as Denise Mina secures her place among today's top-ranking writers of crime fiction with visceral shocks and grim wit. "Reads like a slap in the faceand a kick in the ribs and a fist in the stomach...." Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review "A second powerful novel ... by a writer of stunning talent."Publishers Weekly (starred review) "The danger reaches a frightening pitch that is soon surpassed by a stunning twist at the conclusion."Rocky Mountain News "Mina offers us a complex plot with a shocking ending...."Cleveland Plain DealerMina, Denise is the author of 'Exile' with ISBN 9780786709625 and ISBN 0786709626.