Books by Denise Mina

The Long Drop: A Novel

by Denise Mina

A Washington Post Best Book of the Year, this standalone psychological thriller from the acclaimed author of the Alex Morrow novels that exposes the dark hearts of the guilty . . . and the innocent.

William Watt's wife, daughter, and sister-in-law are dead, slaughtered in their own home in a brutal crime that scandalized Glasgow. Despite an ironclad alibi, police zero in on Watt as the primary suspect, but he maintains his innocence. Distraught and desperate to clear his name, Watt puts out a bounty for information that will lead him to the real killer.

Peter Manuel claims he knows the truth that will set Watt free and has information that only the killer would know. It won't come cheap. Manuel is an infamous career criminal, a degenerate liar who can't be trusted and will say, or do, anything to make a buck.

But Manuel has something that Watt wants, which makes him the perfect target for Manuel's consummate con. Watt agrees to sit down with Manuel and before they know it, one drink has turned into an epic, forgotten night of carousing across the city's bars and clubs that exposes the thin line between a good yarn and the truth.

The next time the unlikely pair meets is across the witness stand in court -- where Manuel is on trial for the murder of Watt's family. Manuel calls Watt to the stand to testify about the long, shady night they shared together. And the shocking testimony that Manuel coaxes out of Watt threatens to expose the dark hearts of the guilty...and the innocent.

Based on true events, The Long Drop is an explosive, unsettling novel about guilt, innocence and the power of a good story to hide the difference.

The Long Drop: A Novel

by Denise Mina

A Washington Post Best Book of the Year, this standalone psychological thriller from the acclaimed author of the Alex Morrow novels that exposes the dark hearts of the guilty . . . and the innocent.

William Watt's wife, daughter, and sister-in-law are dead, slaughtered in their own home in a brutal crime that scandalized Glasgow. Despite an ironclad alibi, police zero in on Watt as the primary suspect, but he maintains his innocence. Distraught and desperate to clear his name, Watt puts out a bounty for information that will lead him to the real killer.

Peter Manuel claims he knows the truth that will set Watt free and has information that only the killer would know. It won't come cheap. Manuel is an infamous career criminal, a degenerate liar who can't be trusted and will say, or do, anything to make a buck.

But Manuel has something that Watt wants, which makes him the perfect target for Manuel's consummate con. Watt agrees to sit down with Manuel and before they know it, one drink has turned into an epic, forgotten night of carousing across the city's bars and clubs that exposes the thin line between a good yarn and the truth.

The next time the unlikely pair meets is across the witness stand in court -- where Manuel is on trial for the murder of Watt's family. Manuel calls Watt to the stand to testify about the long, shady night they shared together. And the shocking testimony that Manuel coaxes out of Watt threatens to expose the dark hearts of the guilty...and the innocent.

Based on true events, The Long Drop is an explosive, unsettling novel about guilt, innocence and the power of a good story to hide the difference.

Deception: A Novel

by Denise Mina, Selena Montgomery

Things like this don't happen to people like us. That's what Lachlan Harriot thinks as he watches his wife, Susie, led to jail in handcuffs. Yes, Susie, a psychologist, was found covered in blood near the spot where one of her clients appears to have been murdered. But Susie is not a killer, Lachlan thinks. She's my wife. She's our child's mother. Secrets lurk behind closed doors, however, a dark truth made chillingly clear as Lachlan's efforts to prove Susie's innocence uncover an entire secret history -- illicit affairs, false identities, unimaginable deception -- and this brilliantly acclaimed, page-turning novel speeds toward a conclusion as shocking as it is ingenious.

Deception: A Novel

by Denise Mina, Selena Montgomery

New York Times bestselling author and political leader Stacey Abrams, writing under her pen name Selena Montgomery, delivers a gripping story of a woman forced to play the hand life dealt and the FBI agent who calls her bluff.
Playing the odds has always been Fin Borders’ forte. As a professional poker player, she knows when to get out to keep from losing everything. But an innocent woman has been accused of murder, and to help, Fin will have to go back to the small southern town of her birth. It’s a place she’s been running from her entire life, a place of violence, where she got by with nothing more than her wits. Returning to Hallden, Georgia, means facing the ghosts of a brutal crime that Fin will never forget.
But Fin isn’t the only one in Hallden hunting for a killer. FBI Special Agent Caleb Matthews is deep undercover, hiding his true identity and his own desperate history. Working alone is far too dangerous, so he and Fin must learn to trust each other. But as they grow closer, they are unprepared for the shocking deception that could destroy everything they hold dear.

Deception: A Novel

by Denise Mina, Selena Montgomery

Refusing to believe that his psychologist wife is guilty of the murder of a paroled serial killer, Lachlan Harriot searches his wife's home office for proof of her innocence and discovers unsettling clues that prompt him to search for the truth beyond the borders of reason. By the author of Garnethill. 50,000 first printing.

Deadly Housewives: Stories

by Denise Mina, S.J. Rozan, Sara Paretsky, Nevada Barr, Marcia Muller, Carole Nelson Douglas, Nancy Pickard, Elizabeth Massie, Barbara Collins, Vicki Hendricks

A heart-stopping mystery anthology from fourteen of today’s best-loved and bestselling female mystery and suspense writers.
In the expert hands of fourteen unsurpassed storytellers, being a housewife takes on a whole new meaning. Get ready for a lethal mix of meddling mothers-in-law, creepy neighbors, cheating husbands, fickle female friends, careers left behind, out-of-control kids, steamy sex, and much, much more in this thrilling collection of stories. Go behind the lace curtains and PTA smiles to explore the often mind-numbing reality of being a housewife. You’ll laugh, you’ll scream, you’ll recognize yourself or your best friend in each of these deadly situations.
Join Nevada Barr, Barbara Collins, Carole Nelson Douglas, Eileen Dreyer, Vicki Hendricks, Suzann Ledbetter, Elisabeth Massie, Christine Matthews, Denise Mina, Marcia Muller, Sara Paretsky, Nancy Pickard, S. J. Rozan, and Julie Smith on a riotous ride through the dark but often hilarious corners of the housewife psyche.

Like a Charm: A Novel in Voices

by Lee Child, Karin Slaughter, Laura Lippman, Peter Robinson, Mark Billingham, Denise Mina, Lynda La Plante, Jerrilyn Farmer, Peter Moore Smith

Desire leaves a man destroyed ... A young girl's curiosity reveals secrets better left hidden ... Jealousy drives a woman mad ... An obsession with numbers precipitates a deadly revenge ... Ambition leads to a curious exchange ... An uncanny likeness changes two lives forever ... The hand of fate lies buried in the past ...
An unforgettable novel in sixteen parts by some of the most prestigious crime writers working today.
One bracelet, sixteen charms ...
From nineteenth-century Georgia, where the bracelet is forged in fire, to wartime Leeds, the seedy underside of London's Soho, a Manhattan cab, the frozen cliffs of Nova Scotia, and back to Georgia, each story takes the reader on a gripping journey of murder, betrayal, and intrigue.

Still Midnight

by Denise Mina

Alex Morrow is not new to the police force-or to crime-but there is nothing familiar about the call she has just received. On a still night in a quiet suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, three armed men have slipped from a van into a house, demanding a man who is not, and has never been, inside the front door. In the confusion that ensues, one family member is shot and another kidnapped, the assailants demanding an impossible ransom. Is this the amateur crime gone horribly wrong that it seems, or something much more unexpected?

As Alex falls further into the most challenging case of her career, Denise Mina proves why "if you don't read crime novels, Mina is your reason to change" (Rocky Mountain News).

Still Midnight (Alex Morrow, Book 1) (Alex Morrow, 1)

by Denise Mina

The first book in the acclaimed Alex Morrow series of crime novels set in Glasgow, Scotland, from the author of national bestseller Conviction.

Alex Morrow is not new to the police force -- or to crime -- but there is nothing familiar about the call she has just received. On a still night in a quiet suburb of Glasgow, Scotland, three armed men have slipped from a van into a house, demanding a man who is not, and has never been, inside the front door. In the confusion that ensues, one family member is shot and another kidnapped, the assailants demanding an impossible ransom. Is this the amateur crime gone horribly wrong that it seems, or something much more unexpected?

"As Alex falls further into the most challenging case of her career, Denise Mina proves why "if you don't read crime novels, Mina is your reason to change"-Rocky Mountain News

Slip of the Knife (Paddy Meehan)

by Denise Mina

A brilliant 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 Patterson has been found hooded and shot through the head. Paddy knows she will be of little help -- she had not seen Terry in more than six months. So she is bewildered to learn that in his will he has left her his house and several suitcases full of notes. Drawn into a maze of secrets and lies, Paddy begins making connections to Terry's murder that no one else has seen, and soon finds herself trapped in the most important -- and dangerous -- story of her career.

The Dead Hour (Paddy Meehan)

by Denise Mina

The most praised thriller writer to burst onto the scene in years returns with a brilliant story of suicide, murder, violence, and greed.

Responding to a late night-call, Paddy Meehan arrives at an elegant villa, where a calm blonde with blood running from her mouth answers the door. She has already convinced the police to leave and soon Paddy realizes how: she slips 50 bucks into Paddy's hands and begs her to keep the incident, whatever it is, out of the press.

The next morning Paddy sees the lead news story: The blonde woman has been murdered, and far from the spoiled trophy wife Paddy assumed her to be, the victim turns out to be a prosecution lawyer with a social conscience.

Bewildered why the woman didn't take the chance to leave the house when she could, Paddy begins to make connections no one else has seen. When she witnesses the body of a suicide victim being pulled from the river shortly afterward, Paddy suspects links between the two deaths and follows her idea to its shocking -- and deadly -- conclusion.

Confidence

by Denise Mina

In this "edge-of-your-seat" thriller and sequel to the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine book club pick Conviction (The Los Angeles Times), Anna and Fin find themselves on another breathtaking chase across Europe—and another race to save their own lives.
Deception. Theft. Murder. All you need is confidence.
Anna McDonald has made a terrible mistake. She has forced her blended family to vacation together. The weather is bad, her daughters are bored, and her ex-husband still insufferable. Oh, and Fin Cohen brought his latest girlfriend, too. So when news of a shocking kidnapping breaks, Anna and Fin do the responsible thing. They take off to solve the case. Lisa Lee, a young YouTube star, has vanished after answering the door to what she thought was a pizza delivery. Police suspect her dad or the delivery guy, but in Lisa’s last known video she ventured into an abandoned chateau in France, where she uncovered a priceless artifact. Anna knows they must find this young woman before it’s too late. To do so, they need to track down that treasure, a casket that could hold answers to the greatest questions ever asked. But Anna and Fin might have misunderstood the stakes of the game. Soon, they find themselves mixed up with some very dark characters, on another thrilling chase across Europe—and another race to save their own lives.
Praise for the national bestseller Conviction:

"One of the most talented, most daring, most humane writers of the past twenty years . . . Conviction is Mina's finest work to date: a dark star of a novel, blazingly intense, up-to-the-minute fresh, and exciting as all hell." ―A.J. Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window

"Endlessly surprising . . . This incredible novel seems to have been written in a white-hot rage."―Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review

"Conviction combines all Mina's gifts―for suspense, humor, menace, sentiment―in spectacular fashion."―Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal

"A page-turner with depth and soul."―O, the Oprah Magazine

Confidence

by Denise Mina

In this "edge-of-your-seat" thriller and sequel to the Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine book club pick Conviction (The Los Angeles Times), Anna and Fin find themselves on another breathtaking chase across Europe--and another race to save their own lives.

Deception. Theft. Murder. All you need is confidence.

Anna McDonald has made a terrible mistake. She has forced her blended family to vacation together. The weather is bad, her daughters are bored, and her ex-husband still insufferable. Oh, and Fin Cohen brought his latest girlfriend, too. So when news of a shocking kidnapping breaks, Anna and Fin do the responsible thing. They take off to solve the case. Lisa Lee, a young YouTube star, has vanished after answering the door to what she thought was a pizza delivery. Police suspect her dad or the delivery guy, but in Lisa's last known video she ventured into an abandoned chateau in France, where she uncovered a priceless artifact. Anna knows they must find this young woman before it's too late. To do so, they need to track down that treasure, a casket that could hold answers to the greatest questions ever asked. But Anna and Fin might have misunderstood the stakes of the game. Soon, they find themselves mixed up with some very dark characters, on another thrilling chase across Europe--and another race to save their own lives.

Praise for the national bestseller Conviction:



"One of the most talented, most daring, most humane writers of the past twenty years . . . Conviction is Mina's finest work to date: a dark star of a novel, blazingly intense, up-to-the-minute fresh, and exciting as all hell." ―A.J. Finn, New York Times bestselling author of The Woman in the Window



"Endlessly surprising . . . This incredible novel seems to have been written in a white-hot rage."―Marilyn Stasio, New York Times Book Review



"Conviction combines all Mina's gifts―for suspense, humor, menace, sentiment―in spectacular fashion."―Tom Nolan, Wall Street Journal



"A page-turner with depth and soul."―O, the Oprah Magazine

The Good Liar: A Novel

by Denise Mina, Nicholas Searle

Now a major motion picture starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen.

“A superb thriller and a truly engrossing read.”—Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10
When Roy meets a wealthy widow online, he can hardly believe his luck. Just like Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley, Roy is a man who lives to deceive—and everything about Betty suggests she’s an easy mark. He’s confident that his scheme to swindle her will be a success. After all, he’s done this before.
Sure enough, Betty soon lets Roy move into her beautiful home, seemingly blind to the web of lies he’s woven around her. But who is Roy, really? Spanning almost a century, this stunning and suspenseful feat of storytelling interweaves the present with the past. As the clock turns back and the years fall away, long-hidden secrets are forced into the light. Some things can never be forgotten. Or forgiven.

The Good Liar: A Novel

by Denise Mina, Nicholas Searle

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The Good Liar: A Novel

by Denise Mina, Nicholas Searle

Now a major motion picture starring Helen Mirren and Ian McKellen.

“A superb thriller and a truly engrossing read.”—Ruth Ware, New York Times bestselling author of In a Dark, Dark Wood and The Woman in Cabin 10
When Roy meets a wealthy widow online, he can hardly believe his luck. Just like Patricia Highsmith’s Tom Ripley, Roy is a man who lives to deceive—and everything about Betty suggests she’s an easy mark. He’s confident that his scheme to swindle her will be a success. After all, he’s done this before.
Sure enough, Betty soon lets Roy move into her beautiful home, seemingly blind to the web of lies he’s woven around her. But who is Roy, really? Spanning almost a century, this stunning and suspenseful feat of storytelling interweaves the present with the past. As the clock turns back and the years fall away, long-hidden secrets are forced into the light. Some things can never be forgotten. Or forgiven.

Gods and Beasts: A Novel (Alex Morrow, 3)

by Denise Mina

It's the week before Christmas when a lone robber bursts into a busy Glasgow post office carrying an AK-47. An elderly man suddenly hands his young grandson to a stranger and wordlessly helps the gunman fill bags with cash, then carries them to the door. He opens the door and bows his head; the robber fires off the AK-47, tearing the grandfather in two.

DS Alex Morrow arrives on the scene and finds that the alarm system had been disabled before the robbery. Yet upon investigation, none of the employees can be linked to the gunman. And the grandfather-a life-long campaigner for social justice-is above reproach. As Morrow searches for the killer, she discovers a hidden, sinister political network. Soon it is chillingly clear: no corner of the city is safe, and her involvement will go deeper than she could ever have imagined.

Gods and Beasts: A Novel (Alex Morrow, 3)

by Denise Mina

It's the week before Christmas when a lone robber bursts into a busy Glasgow post office carrying an AK-47. An elderly man suddenly hands his young grandson to a stranger and wordlessly helps the gunman fill bags with cash, then carries them to the door. He opens the door and bows his head; the robber fires off the AK-47, tearing the grandfather in two.

DS Alex Morrow arrives on the scene and finds that the alarm system had been disabled before the robbery. Yet upon investigation, none of the employees can be linked to the gunman. And the grandfather-a life-long campaigner for social justice-is above reproach. As Morrow searches for the killer, she discovers a hidden, sinister political network. Soon it is chillingly clear: no corner of the city is safe, and her involvement will go deeper than she could ever have imagined.

The Second Murderer: A Philip Marlowe Novel

by Denise Mina

Philip Marlowe is on the hunt for a missing heiress—and up against a rival PI—in this smart and atmospheric authorized mystery from acclaimed crime writer and "one-of-a-kind storyteller" Denise Mina (James Patterson), the first woman to recreate Raymond Chandler’s infamous detective.

Has Philip Marlowe finally met his match?

It’s early fall when a heatwave descends on Los Angeles. Private Detective Philip Marlowe is called to the Montgomery estate, an almost mythic place sitting high on top of Beverly Hills. Wealthy socialite Chrissie Montgomery is missing. Young, naïve, and set to inherit an enormous fortune, she’s a walking target, ripe for someone to get their claws into. Her dying father and his sultry bottle-blonde girlfriend want her found before that happens. To make sure, they’ve got Anne Riordan—now head of her own all-female detective agency—on the case, too.

The search for Chrissie takes the two investigators from the Montgomery mansion to the roughest neighborhoods of LA, through dive bars and boarding houses and out to Skid Row. And that’s all before they find the body at The Brody Hotel. Who will get to Chrissie first? And what happens when a woman doesn’t want to be found?

In The Second Murderer, Denise Mina becomes the first woman to recreate Raymond Chandler’s infamous detective, delivering a clever and timely new take on Philip Marlowe, as well as a propulsive, dark, and witty mystery all its own.

Field of Blood (Paddy Meehan, Book 1) (Paddy Meehan, 1)

by Denise Mina

Set in Glasgow in 1981, a time of hunger strikes, riots and unemployment that decimated the old industrial heartlands, The Field of Blood is the first in the tense Paddy Meehan series from Scotland's princess of crime, Denise Mina.

The vicious murder of a young child provides rookie journalist Paddy Meehan with her first big break when the suspect turns out to be her fiance's 11-year old cousin. Launching her own investigation into the horrific crime, Paddy uncovers lines of deception deep in Glasgow's past, with more horrific crimes in the future if she fails to solve the mystery.

Infused with Mina's unique blend of dark humor, personal insights and social injustice, the story grips the reader while challenging our perceptions of childhood innocence, crime and punishment, and right or wrong.

The Dead Hour: A Novel

by Denise Mina

The most praised thriller writer to burst onto the scene in years returns with a brilliant new story of suicide, murder, violence, and greed.Responding to a late night-call, Paddy Meehan arrives at an elegant villa, where a calm blonde with blood running from her mouth answers the door. She has already convinced the police to leave and soon Paddy realizes how-she slips 50 bucks into Paddy's hands and begs her to keep the incident, whatever it is, out of the press.The next morning Paddy sees the lead news story: The blonde woman has been murdered, and far from the spoiled trophy wife Paddy assumed her to be, the victim turns out to be a prosecution lawyer with a social conscience.Bewildered why the woman didn't take the chance to leave the house when she could, Paddy begins to make connections no one else has seen. When she witnesses the body of a suicide victim being pulled from the river shortly afterward, Paddy suspects links between the two deaths and follows her idea to its shocking-and deadly-conclusion.

Conviction

by Denise Mina, Richard North Patterson

In his acclaimed career as a perennial bestselling author, Richard North Patterson has established himself as one of our most important voices in fiction and a keeper of the American conscience. He consistently writes novels that are intensely dramatic and deeply thought provoking. Now, in Conviction, Patterson tackles one of the most emotional and complex of all legal debates: When, if ever, does the state have the right to exact the ultimate punishment–and is the death penalty a crime unto itself?

Fifty-nine days. That’s how long Rennell Price has to live–after spending fifteen years on death row for the horrifying sexual assault and murder of a girl whose body was found floating in San Francisco Bay. But attorney Terri Paget, who has fought her own way out of hopelessness and abuse, has dedicated her life to fighting for people like Rennell Price. This time, Terri has a client she believes may actually be innocent, which means that an unpunished killer may still be free.

“I didn’t do that little girl” is all Rennell Price has ever said in his own defense. In a trial, Rennell, along with his older brother, Payton, was found guilty of the heinous crime, and the conviction has been upheld through one appeal after another. But as Terri spends time with Rennell and re-creates the events that put him on death row–beginning with the first minutes of the police investigation–she starts to understand the forces that shaped Rennell and the reason he has never been able to defend himself adequately.

As Terri prepares for a last appeal, she gets a new weapon for her battle–fresh evidence suggesting that another man, not Rennell, helped Payton commit the atrocity. But the grim machinery of capital punishment is already in motion, involving precedent and politics reaching from California to the highest court in the nation. As more people are drawn into Terri’s last-ditch battle, and as agendas and personalities clash while time is running out for Rennell Price, this much is clear: The serious doubts about Rennell’s guilt may not be enough to save him.

Conviction raises issues of ethics, political expediency, and personal trauma that will shake readers to their core. For here, in a novel of vivid characters on both sides of the law and profound tension on every page, Patterson illuminates the mysterious precincts between justice and truth–where the fate of one man involves not only his own life and the lives he has affected but the moral life of a nation.

Conviction

by Denise Mina, Richard North Patterson

A true crime podcast sets a trophy wife's present life on a collision course with her secret past in this "blazingly intense" Reese Witherspoon book club pick and New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year (A. J. Finn).

The day Anna McDonald's quiet, respectable life exploded started off like all the days before: Packing up the kids for school, making breakfast, listening to yet another true crime podcast. Then her husband comes downstairs with an announcement, and Anna is suddenly, shockingly alone.

Reeling, desperate for distraction, Anna returns to the podcast. Other people's problems are much better than one's own -- a sunken yacht, a murdered family, a hint of international conspiracy. But this case actually is Anna's problem. She knows one of the victims from an earlier life, a life she's taken great pains to leave behind. And she is convinced that she knows what really happened.

Then an unexpected visitor arrives on her front stoop, a meddling neighbor intervenes, and life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. The devils of her past are awakened -- and they're in hot pursuit. Convinced she has no other options, Anna goes on the run, and in pursuit of the truth, with a washed-up musician at her side and the podcast as her guide.

Conviction is "daredevil storytelling at its finest" (NPR's Fresh Air), a breathtaking thriller from one of the most "superbly talented" writers of our time (Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author of Trust Me).

Conviction

by Denise Mina, Richard North Patterson

A true crime podcast sets a trophy wife's present life on a collision course with her secret past in this "blazingly intense" Reese Witherspoon book club pick and New York Times Best Crime Novel of the Year (A. J. Finn).

The day Anna McDonald's quiet, respectable life exploded started off like all the days before: Packing up the kids for school, making breakfast, listening to yet another true crime podcast. Then her husband comes downstairs with an announcement, and Anna is suddenly, shockingly alone.

Reeling, desperate for distraction, Anna returns to the podcast. Other people's problems are much better than one's own -- a sunken yacht, a murdered family, a hint of international conspiracy. But this case actually is Anna's problem. She knows one of the victims from an earlier life, a life she's taken great pains to leave behind. And she is convinced that she knows what really happened.

Then an unexpected visitor arrives on her front stoop, a meddling neighbor intervenes, and life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. The devils of her past are awakened -- and they're in hot pursuit. Convinced she has no other options, Anna goes on the run, and in pursuit of the truth, with a washed-up musician at her side and the podcast as her guide.

Conviction is "daredevil storytelling at its finest" (NPR's Fresh Air), a breathtaking thriller from one of the most "superbly talented" writers of our time (Hank Phillippi Ryan, bestselling author of Trust Me).

Less Dead

by Denise Mina

In this "thought-provoking" thriller from the author of the Reese Witherspoon book club pick and national bestseller Conviction, a woman in crisis finds herself on the hunt for her own mother's murderer (People).

Dr. Margo Dunlop is at a crossroads. Her adoptive mom just passed away, and Margo misses her so much she can't begin to empty the house-or, it seems, get her brother on the phone. Not to mention she's newly single, secretly pregnant, and worried about her best friend's dangerous relationship. In an effort to cheer herself up she goes in search of her birth mother. Instead she finds Nikki, her mother's sister. Aunt Nikki isn't what Margo expects, and she brings upsetting news: Margo's mother is dead. Worse, she was murdered years ago, and her killer is still at large—and sending Nikki threatening letters.

Margo is torn. Should she stay out of this mess, or try to find justice? But then Margo receives a letter, too. Someone out there has been waiting and watching, and in Margo sees the spitting image of her mother . . .

Darkly funny and deeply affecting, The Less Dead is a sharply modern new thriller from the bestselling author of Conviction, and a surprisingly moving story of daughters and mothers, secrets and choices, and how the search for the truth—and a long-hidden killer—will lead one woman to find herself.

Girl With the Dragon Tattoo 2

by Denise Mina

A New York Times Bestseller

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. Years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. Mikael hits a dead end in the case, so to help, he brings in Lisbeth Salander, a fearless pierced and tattooed punk prodigy. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

Written by Denise Mina (John Constantine, Hellblazer) with art by Leonardo Manco and Andrea Mutti, Book 2 of Stieg Larsson's international publishing phenomenon The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo picks up the story following Lisbeth's final confrontation with her "guardian," Nils Bjurman.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Book 1 (Millennium Trilogy)

by Denise Mina

A New York Times Best Seller!

DC Comics/Vertigo will publish the official graphic novel adaptation of Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy," starting in Fall 2012 with THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, the international publishing phenomenon. Each book in the "Millennium Trilogy" will be adapted in two hardcover graphic novel volumes.
Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

Rizzio: A Novella

by Denise Mina

From the multi-award-winning master of crime, Denise Mina delivers a radical new take on one of the darkest episodes in Scottish history—the bloody assassination of David Rizzo private secretary to Mary, Queen of Scots, in the queen’s chambers in Holyrood Palace.

On the evening of March 9th, 1566, David Rizzio, the private secretary of Mary, Queen of Scots, was brutally murdered. Dragged from the chamber of the heavily pregnant Mary, Rizzio was stabbed fifty six times by a party of assassins. This breathtakingly tense novella dramatises the events that led up to that night, telling the infamous story as it has never been told before.

A dark tale of sex, secrets and lies, Rizzio looks at a shocking historical murder through a modern lens—and explores the lengths that men and women will go to in their search for love and power.

Rizzio is nothing less than a provocative and thrilling new literary masterpiece.

Red Road: A Novel (Alex Morrow, 4)

by Denise Mina

Alex Morrow faces her toughest opponents yet in this brilliant thriller about criminals, consequences, and convictions.

Police detective Alex Morrow has met plenty of unsavory characters in her line of work, but arms dealer Michael Brown ranks among the most brutal and damaged of the criminals she's known. Morrow is serving as a witness in Brown's trial, where the case hinges on his fingerprints found on the guns he sells.

When the investigation leads to a privileged Scottish lawyer who's expecting to be assassinated after a money laundering scheme goes bad, and a woman who's spying on the people who put her in jail, Morrow has her hands full. And that's before she even gets to her family issues.

The Red Road is a thrilling new novel from a masterful writer, proving once again that "If you don't love Denise Mina, you don't love crime fiction." (Val McDermid)

The Less Dead

by Denise Mina

In this "thought-provoking" thriller from the author of the Reese Witherspoon book club pick and national bestseller Conviction, a woman in crisis finds herself on the hunt for her own mother's murderer (People).

Dr. Margo Dunlop is at a crossroads. Her adoptive mom just passed away, and Margo misses her so much she can't begin to empty the house-or, it seems, get her brother on the phone. Not to mention she's newly single, secretly pregnant, and worried about her best friend's dangerous relationship. In an effort to cheer herself up she goes in search of her birth mother. Instead she finds Nikki, her mother's sister. Aunt Nikki isn't what Margo expects, and she brings upsetting news: Margo's mother is dead. Worse, she was murdered years ago, and her killer is still at large—and sending Nikki threatening letters.

Margo is torn. Should she stay out of this mess, or try to find justice? But then Margo receives a letter, too. Someone out there has been waiting and watching, and in Margo sees the spitting image of her mother . . .

Darkly funny and deeply affecting, The Less Dead is a sharply modern new thriller from the bestselling author of Conviction, and a surprisingly moving story of daughters and mothers, secrets and choices, and how the search for the truth—and a long-hidden killer—will lead one woman to find herself.

Blood, Salt, Water An Alex Morrow Novel

by Denise Mina

DI Alex Morrow returns in an "atmospheric, chilling thriller" (The Washington Post) that will have you "hooked" (People).

For reasons she can't explain, Alex Morrow is addicted to watching surveillance footage of Roxanna Fuentecilla--a gorgeous Spanish woman who recently relocated to Glasgow under mysterious circumstances. She is also Morrow's prime suspect in an investigation that resembles a soap opera. Until Roxanna vanishes. Morrow traces Roxanna's steps to Helensburgh, a sleepy, picturesque seaside community. But behind the idyllic Victorian homes and quaint storefronts, darkness lurks. When she uncovers an unsettling connection to Roxanna's job back in Glasgow, Morrow suspects that her missing person is more than a white-collar criminal on the lam--she may also be a victim caught up in an international conspiracy. As the truth rises to the surface, Morrow must find Roxanna before any hope of solving the case disappears with her.

Blood, Salt, Water: An Alex Morrow Novel

by Denise Mina

Detective Alex Morrow discovers that the darkest secrets never stay buried as she investigates the criminal underbelly of a seemingly tranquil seaside town.

For reasons she can't quite explain, Alex Morrow is addicted to watching surveillance footage of Roxanna Fuentecilla -- a gorgeous Spanish mother of two, in a tempestuous relationship with her boyfriend, who recently relocated to Glasgow under mysterious circumstances. She is also Morrow's prime suspect in an investigation that resembles a soap opera, filled with glamorous jetsetters and enough money to interest the highest levels of law enforcement. Until Roxanna vanishes.

Morrow traces Roxanna's steps to Helensburgh, a sleepy, picturesque seaside community. But behind the idyllic Victorian homes and quaint storefronts, darkness lurks. Home to a man with blood on his hands who is haunted by guilt, a mysterious woman with ulterior motives back in town for the first time in decades, a sexually frustrated restaurateur looking to blow off steam, and a crew of vicious small-time gangsters blindly following orders, it's a town ruled by base instincts where no one is quite what they seem. And it's the perfect place to get rid of someone.

When she uncovers an unsettling connection to Roxanna's job back in Glasgow, Morrow suspects that her missing person is more than a white-collar criminal on the lam -- she may also be a victim caught up in a sophisticated conspiracy that stretches far beyond Helensburgh and is more personal than Morrow ever imagined. As the truth rises to the surface and the conflicts that lie beneath Helensburgh's calm waters threaten to explode, Morrow must find Roxanna before any hope of solving the case disappears with her.

A gripping tale of greed, power, and vengeance, Blood, Salt, Water is a masterful crime novel from Denise Mina that confirms her reputation as "one of the genre's brights stars" (George Pelecanos).

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (Vertigo)

by Denise Mina

A New York Times Best Seller!

DC Comics/Vertigo will publish the official graphic novel adaptation of Stieg Larsson's "Millennium Trilogy," starting in Fall 2012 with THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, the international publishing phenomenon.

Harriet Vanger, a scion of one of Sweden's wealthiest families disappeared over forty years ago. All these years later, her aged uncle continues to seek the truth. He hires Mikael Blomkvist, a crusading journalist recently trapped by a libel conviction, to investigate. He is aided by the pierced and tattooed punk prodigy Lisbeth Salander. Together they tap into a vein of unfathomable iniquity and astonishing corruption.

Daggers Drawn

by Denise Mina, Ian Rankin, Jeffery Deaver, John Connolly, John Harvey, Lauren Henderson, Peter Lovesey, Martin Edwards, Stella Duffy, Peter O'Donnell, Julian Rathbone, Danuta Reah, Margaret Murphy, Cath Staincliffe

Edgy, twisted and disturbing, the first Crime Writers’ Association Daggers Award retrospective anthology featuring 19 visceral and thrilling stories.

Featuring bestselling authors Ian Rankin, Jeffery Deaver, John Connolly, Denise Mina, John Harvey and more.

NINETEEN CWA DAGGER AWARD-WINNING SHORT STORIES FROM THE BEST OF THE BEST IN CRIME FICTION

The first retrospective of the CWA’s Dagger Award winners, brings together some of the greatest names in crime fiction to deliver a cutthroat collection of serial killers, grizzled detectives, drug dealers and master forgers.

Observe as a Senior Curator at the Tate Gallery constructs the perfect crime in Ian Rankin’s “Herbert in Motion”. Watch an unlikely romance sour into a deadly obsession in Stella Duffy’s “Martha Grace”. Face parents who discover their child has committed the unthinkable in Denise Mina’s “Nemo Me Impune Lacessit”. And in Jeffery Deaver’s “The Weekender” an intense hostage situation hits its peak in the most unlikely conclusion.

Keep your secrets close, and your daggers drawn.

Featuring: Peter O' Donnell (writing as Madeleine Brent), Julian Rathbone, Larry Beinhart, Ian Rankin, Jerry Sykes, Stella Duffy, Jeffery Deaver, Peter Lovesey, Cath Staincliffe, Margaret Murphy, John Harvey, Richard Lange, L. C. Tyler, Denise Mina, Danutah Reah and Lauren Henderson.

The Second Murderer A Philip Marlowe Novel

by Denise Mina

Philip Marlowe is on the hunt for a missing heiress--and up against a rival PI--in this smart and atmospheric authorized mystery from acclaimed crime writer and "one-of-a-kind storyteller" Denise Mina (James Patterson), the first woman to recreate Raymond Chandler's infamous detective.​



Has Philip Marlowe finally met his match?



It's early fall when a heatwave descends on Los Angeles. Private Detective Philip Marlowe is called to the Montgomery estate, an almost mythic place sitting high on top of Beverly Hills. Wealthy socialite Chrissie Montgomery is missing. Young, naïve, and set to inherit an enormous fortune, she's a walking target, ripe for someone to get their claws into. Her dying father and his sultry bottle-blonde girlfriend want her found before that happens. To make sure, they've got Anne Riordan--now head of her own all-female detective agency--on the case, too.



The search for Chrissie takes the two investigators from the Montgomery mansion to the roughest neighborhoods of LA, through dive bars and boarding houses and out to Skid Row. And that's all before they find the body at The Brody Hotel. Who will get to Chrissie first? And what happens when a woman doesn't want to be found?



In The Second Murderer, Denise Mina becomes the first woman to recreate Raymond Chandler's infamous detective, delivering a clever and timely new take on Philip Marlowe, as well as a propulsive, dark, and witty mystery all its own.