Still Midnight by Denise Mina

Still Midnight
by Denise Mina
Reagan Arthur/Little Brown/Hachette Book Group 2010

If your hand was shot off in a kidnapping-extortion effort, in which your father was abducted for a ransom hundreds of times your family’s apparent worth, could you fall in love with the shooter? If he were Scottish and you were of Ugandan immigrants?

If your family is composed of gangsters and you are a policewoman trying to live a new a different life, in which that connection would be troublesome, would you seek the help of your brother to find the kidnappers?

These are two of the storylines of this mystery by a Scottish novelist. It is set in Scotland with a local charm all of its own. The plotlines evolve with patience, so that I found myself imagining all sorts of potential paths that Denise Mina might take. There were many hints along the way, including the detective’s relationship with the male dominated police force. A boring marriage and an interesting partner provide smoke throughout the story.

The abductors seek millions for the life of a hard-working immigrant shopkeeper, determined to improve the lot of his family with education. One son marries into another gangster family, and a second son attends law school but has other ambitions other than practicing law.

The abducted father has a history of his own. In escaping from their home country, his mother offers herself to assure safe passage for her son. He sat by letting her go, then haunted for life by the disgust that he felt for her. In the story, his sons stand still as he is abducted.

The shooter and the victim add a clever twist in the mosaic of this well written and interesting story.

All of these strands are woven together to provide an enjoyable reading experience, in which you will find yourself doing what I did – envision a variety of different stories as the real story evolves. You will also enjoy your own emotion as you react to these characters.

Still Midnight provides a fresh mystery experience, far different than the norm for the genre by American writers. The characterizations are thought-provoking, and provide ample grist for a mill of sequels.

Warms, Cym