The Red Road (Alex Morrow #4)
Denise Mina
August 31, 1997. Rose Wilson is fourteen but looks sixteen. Pimped out by her “boyfriend” and let down by a person she thought she loved, she has seen more darkness in life than someone twice her age. On the night of Princess Diana’s death—a night everyone will remember—Rose snaps and commits two terrible crimes. Her life seems effectively over. But then a sympathetic defence lawyer sets out to do what he can to save her, regardless of the consequences.
Now.
Detective Inspector Alex Morrow is a witness in the case of Michael Brown, a vicious arms dealer, more brutal and damaged than most of the criminals she meets. During the trial, while he is in police custody, Brown’s fingerprints are found at the scene of a murder in the Red Road flats. It is impossible that he could have been there, and it’s a mystery that Morrow just can’t let go.
Praise for The Red Road
“Denise Mina grows in assurance and becomes more accomplished with every book; and this one is a cracker, beautifully worked-out, every scene serving a purpose.... This is that rare thing, a crime novel that invites, and benefits from, a second reading.” —Scotsman
“Brilliantly plotted…. The Red Road is a “tartan noir” police procedural to rival Ian Rankin's best work.”—Irish Times
“A brilliant, morally complex look at child abuse, police cover-up and corruption. Uncompromising and written with real psychological depth.” —The Big Issue
“Mina is a dab hand at constructing complex reads in which corruption permeates all levels of society and no one is left untainted, and The Red Road is no exception: unsentimental, unsettling, and very, very good.” —The Guardian
“This hugely engrossing tale of murder, corruption and lies in Glasgow manages to successfully tackle the political as well as the personal and might be Mina's finest novel.” —Metro
“One of [Mina’s] best, which is saying a good deal…. Powerful and compassionate…. Entirely convincing.” —The Spectator
“Ingenious and convincing... Her [Mina’s] pawky sense of humour ensures that The Red Road, instead of being depressing, is both appalling and amusing.” —Evening Standard
“Along with being one of the finest practitioners of the criminal art, she [Mina] is also a social commentator of perception and humanity, as the new novel reminds us.... Disparate elements are brought together with authority, intricately drawing us into a narrative that engages with a variety of issues, all equally provocative.” —Independent
“Old sins cast long shadows in this thriller that proves Mina deserving of the praise being heaped upon her.” —Bella
“All Denise Mina’s books combine good reading with interesting sociological insights.... Mina has a social worker's understanding of life at the bottom of society and a fine writer’s ability to bring her characters to life.” —Literary Review
“Mina’s crime novels are doing for Glasgow what Rebus did for Edinburgh: these fine mysteries also dig into the life of a city.” —Mail on Sunday
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