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Alex Morrow #3
Gods and Beasts
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.
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.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2012
368 people are currently reading
2166 people want to read
About the author
Denise Mina
109 books2,519 followersDenise Mina was born in Glasgow in 1966. Because of her father's job as an Engineer, the family followed the north sea oil boom of the seventies around Europe
She left school at sixteen and did a number of poorly paid jobs, including working in a meat factory, as a bar maid, kitchen porter and cook.
Eventually she settled in auxiliary nursing for geriatric and terminal care patients.
At twenty one she passed exams, got into study Law at Glasgow University and went on to research a PhD thesis at Strathclyde University on the ascription of mental illness to female offenders, teaching criminology and criminal law in the mean time.
Misusing her grant she stayed at home and wrote a novel, 'Garnethill' when she was supposed to be studying instead.
She left school at sixteen and did a number of poorly paid jobs, including working in a meat factory, as a bar maid, kitchen porter and cook.
Eventually she settled in auxiliary nursing for geriatric and terminal care patients.
At twenty one she passed exams, got into study Law at Glasgow University and went on to research a PhD thesis at Strathclyde University on the ascription of mental illness to female offenders, teaching criminology and criminal law in the mean time.
Misusing her grant she stayed at home and wrote a novel, 'Garnethill' when she was supposed to be studying instead.
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 463 reviews
March 24, 2023
*3.5 stars*
The novel begins with violence and with one victim.
(Witness?, Accomplice?) in shock, clutching a terrified child whose grandfather has just been killed by an armed robber in a Post Office. For the police the witness isn’t an easy one to believe - heavily tattooed, living in a mansion, lying about a university background - a man from nowhere with not one accent but several, and "beast" inked on his neck.
Then there is the drugs courier, stopped by two constables on the motorway with a fortune in used notes in the boot, and the cops - male and female, facing cutbacks, with families and mortgages, walk into a fiendish trap.
Finally there is the politician - ambitious, charismatic, wily but fundamentally weak, forced by his wife to summon fake power and sue the newspaper which has accused him of an affair with a youthful employee. That, he might get away with, but lurking in his past are perversions - with photographs - which, if publicised, would destroy him. And the blackmailer is there to fill that niche.
Mina's research into Glasgow's criminal classes from the wastelands to the flashy heights has depicted all the squalor and dubious wealth of a modern city. A raw exciting book and far too plausible.
The novel begins with violence and with one victim.
(Witness?, Accomplice?) in shock, clutching a terrified child whose grandfather has just been killed by an armed robber in a Post Office. For the police the witness isn’t an easy one to believe - heavily tattooed, living in a mansion, lying about a university background - a man from nowhere with not one accent but several, and "beast" inked on his neck.
Then there is the drugs courier, stopped by two constables on the motorway with a fortune in used notes in the boot, and the cops - male and female, facing cutbacks, with families and mortgages, walk into a fiendish trap.
Finally there is the politician - ambitious, charismatic, wily but fundamentally weak, forced by his wife to summon fake power and sue the newspaper which has accused him of an affair with a youthful employee. That, he might get away with, but lurking in his past are perversions - with photographs - which, if publicised, would destroy him. And the blackmailer is there to fill that niche.
Mina's research into Glasgow's criminal classes from the wastelands to the flashy heights has depicted all the squalor and dubious wealth of a modern city. A raw exciting book and far too plausible.
July 4, 2024
Lots going on. Too big a cast for me to deal with, but on saying that I loved the number of dislikable characters.
Well observed human behaviour including how psychologically important the choice of biscuit for your guests can have on relationships.
Well observed human behaviour including how psychologically important the choice of biscuit for your guests can have on relationships.
March 30, 2013
I've read Denise Mina before. The End of Wasp Season was really good; Gods and Beasts got great reviews. I was excited--then quickly disappointed; but mostly confused. This mystery series stars female cop, Alex Morrow, a married mom of young twins. Ostensibly, the plot is the murder of a grandfather in a post office--it appears that Grandpa, who hastily shoves his young grandson into the arms of the guy behind him--knew and cooperated with his killer. Okay, I'll bite.
Only...what I bit into had not much to do with this premise. There was something about Communism, a philandering politician, and crooked cops who quickly confess. A smorgasbord of others--cops, suspects, and random people: I had no idea what they were doing in the book, let alone how they tied into the myriad subplots. It didn't help that most of the characters were referred to by their last names only. Morrow. McCarthy. Lyon. Pavel. Harris. MacLish. Boyle. Wilder. Mullen. To mention only a few! Oy vey.
Only...what I bit into had not much to do with this premise. There was something about Communism, a philandering politician, and crooked cops who quickly confess. A smorgasbord of others--cops, suspects, and random people: I had no idea what they were doing in the book, let alone how they tied into the myriad subplots. It didn't help that most of the characters were referred to by their last names only. Morrow. McCarthy. Lyon. Pavel. Harris. MacLish. Boyle. Wilder. Mullen. To mention only a few! Oy vey.
April 13, 2013
Categorizing Denise Mina's "Gods and Beasts" as a mystery novel is a bit (may I say "wee"?) misleading. The book is much more than that. Yes, there is a police procedural thread in the plot, and the initial scene of a shooting in a Glasgow post office provides a framework for the novel. Yet Ms. Mina de-emphasizes the mystery aspect, and instead delivers a powerful study of human weakness and corruption.
I found "Gods and Beasts" a little uneven. About a third into the book I was ready to proclaim it a literary masterpiece of English-language fiction. Then, my enthusiasm waned, only to return, a bit subdued, toward the end. I am planning to read the book again in a few months. Reading Ms. Mina's prose is a pleasure and I am sure I will discover things I have missed.
There are four threads in the plot: Alex Morrow, who has just given birth to twins, is trying to solve the case of the post office shooting. Two DC's from DS Morrow's department get involved in criminal activity. An accomplished politician fights for his political life because of sexual affairs he is accused of. Finally, there is the most mysterious thread that involves Martin, whose secret gets revealed rather late in the novel. Of course, all the threads harmoniously merge at the end. The plot is immersed in masterfully depicted grim realities of lower-class life in Glasgow that feed the criminal culture.
Ms. Mina's writing is absolutely outstanding. She shows her virtuoso literary skills in the first two chapters; her description of events at the post office crime scene and of an initially routine stop of a suspect car are some of the best I have ever read in the police procedural genre. However, Chapter 10 is totally amazing. To me, the scene when Kenny and Annie visit Malcolm and Moira belongs to greatest fragments of prose in world literature. The scene reflects the depth of loathing between each two of the four people involved, and the rituals of hate they engage in reveal Ms. Mina's uncanny understanding of human weakness. This is literature with the capital "L".
In Denise Mina's prose not a sentence is wasted. Not a word. In a run-of-the-mill mystery novel the author uses five sentences to describe how someone walks from one room to another. Ms. Mina is able to paint a psychological portrait of a person in five sentences. Her prose should be used as teaching material in writing schools.
I have doubts as to the role of mysterious Martin in the structure of the plot (maybe he's needed because of the title, just kidding...) and I am not fond of - from a literary point of view - some later events in that thread. Thus, I am not able to give the novel the highest rating. Unlike "Garnethill", this a flawed masterpiece.
Four stars.
I found "Gods and Beasts" a little uneven. About a third into the book I was ready to proclaim it a literary masterpiece of English-language fiction. Then, my enthusiasm waned, only to return, a bit subdued, toward the end. I am planning to read the book again in a few months. Reading Ms. Mina's prose is a pleasure and I am sure I will discover things I have missed.
There are four threads in the plot: Alex Morrow, who has just given birth to twins, is trying to solve the case of the post office shooting. Two DC's from DS Morrow's department get involved in criminal activity. An accomplished politician fights for his political life because of sexual affairs he is accused of. Finally, there is the most mysterious thread that involves Martin, whose secret gets revealed rather late in the novel. Of course, all the threads harmoniously merge at the end. The plot is immersed in masterfully depicted grim realities of lower-class life in Glasgow that feed the criminal culture.
Ms. Mina's writing is absolutely outstanding. She shows her virtuoso literary skills in the first two chapters; her description of events at the post office crime scene and of an initially routine stop of a suspect car are some of the best I have ever read in the police procedural genre. However, Chapter 10 is totally amazing. To me, the scene when Kenny and Annie visit Malcolm and Moira belongs to greatest fragments of prose in world literature. The scene reflects the depth of loathing between each two of the four people involved, and the rituals of hate they engage in reveal Ms. Mina's uncanny understanding of human weakness. This is literature with the capital "L".
In Denise Mina's prose not a sentence is wasted. Not a word. In a run-of-the-mill mystery novel the author uses five sentences to describe how someone walks from one room to another. Ms. Mina is able to paint a psychological portrait of a person in five sentences. Her prose should be used as teaching material in writing schools.
I have doubts as to the role of mysterious Martin in the structure of the plot (maybe he's needed because of the title, just kidding...) and I am not fond of - from a literary point of view - some later events in that thread. Thus, I am not able to give the novel the highest rating. Unlike "Garnethill", this a flawed masterpiece.
Four stars.
March 7, 2013
Of all of Denise Mina's books I've read to date, this was my least favorite. The characters didn't seem nearly as engaging, gritty and real as her characters usually do. All in all I had a hard time caring what happened to any of them. I was tickled to see Paddy Meehan appear, but sorely disappointed when she just drifted through on the periphery of the story. I miss everyone in the Garnet Hill and Paddy Meehan series!
October 24, 2019
This book was written in complete sentences. It had some interesting ideas and details. I did not hate it while I was reading it. I don’t have any strong feelings now. I just wonder if maybe my copy did not include the parts where any story line was resolved or tied back to some larger point.
I’m not sure if this story is about a bank robbery, police bribery, Communist sex scandals, having mobsters in your family... because all of these happen and lots of words are written in this book about them. The problem is that there is very little resolution or clarity on any. The inclusion of each in this story seems to boil down to “sometimes people do things and their motivations are not clear”. Which is complicated by my next point: which people?
Omg there are less than twenty characters and I cannot keep them straight. I think I was 40% of the way through before I realized Leonard was not Morrow in the police bribery story line. I am still not sure which of them is a parent of twins and which is maybe a lesbian (hard to tell when every character had a first or last name also given to men; or when lesbian is used to describe women in general, or when single parenting is possibly every character). Who is Kenny vs Brendon or was it Danny? Harris?
I’m not clear on who killed whom, why, how, why did the one police person punch another possible police person twice, how did they get phone numbers, was there a criminal lottery, why was that once character trying to give inheritance money away and getting Russian prison tattoos, why was he famous and unable to get a job, why did the grandpa in the blurb do what is described in the blurb, was that related to the rest of the book in any way? It feels like the only thing I know about that part of the story, I read in the blurb. And so on.
I would say this review has spoilers except I am not sure what I am spoiling or if it really happened in the book.
So as I write this, i am not even sure if this book was “okay” so one star, it is.
I’m not sure if this story is about a bank robbery, police bribery, Communist sex scandals, having mobsters in your family... because all of these happen and lots of words are written in this book about them. The problem is that there is very little resolution or clarity on any. The inclusion of each in this story seems to boil down to “sometimes people do things and their motivations are not clear”. Which is complicated by my next point: which people?
Omg there are less than twenty characters and I cannot keep them straight. I think I was 40% of the way through before I realized Leonard was not Morrow in the police bribery story line. I am still not sure which of them is a parent of twins and which is maybe a lesbian (hard to tell when every character had a first or last name also given to men; or when lesbian is used to describe women in general, or when single parenting is possibly every character). Who is Kenny vs Brendon or was it Danny? Harris?
I’m not clear on who killed whom, why, how, why did the one police person punch another possible police person twice, how did they get phone numbers, was there a criminal lottery, why was that once character trying to give inheritance money away and getting Russian prison tattoos, why was he famous and unable to get a job, why did the grandpa in the blurb do what is described in the blurb, was that related to the rest of the book in any way? It feels like the only thing I know about that part of the story, I read in the blurb. And so on.
I would say this review has spoilers except I am not sure what I am spoiling or if it really happened in the book.
So as I write this, i am not even sure if this book was “okay” so one star, it is.
March 23, 2013
Reading Denise Mina is always such a pleasure. Her books are multilayered with more than one story line. This one is no exception. This is actually the first DI Morrow I've read. There were two previous ones: Still Midnight & The End of the Wasp Season. In this one, DI Alex Morrow is back from maternity leave after giving birth to twin boys. She and her husband are juggling their care, and she's not getting much sleep as a result. There are three stories that come together at the end: a robbery and murder at a local post office, a Labor politician who has been unable to resist the trappings of power and two police officers who are unable to resist the taking a bag of money from the car of a drug dealer. Interwoven throughout is Alex's on again/off again relationship with her half brother who is also the local mobster. He claims he is getting into legitimate businesses. Mina writes so well. There isn't a lot of waste nor is there any silliness. The best thing is her characters. The police aren't supermen or wonder women - just people trying to do their jobs. People aren't bad or good. They are just normal people. Underlying the story is what happens when the economic basis of a society falls apart.
September 21, 2015
Gods and Beasts is Denise Mina at her very best! From the introduction, with the mystery of the post office robbery with the strange behavior of the grandfather and the overall strange young American, to the chilling resolution, this is a book that is very hard to put down. Mina's characters are very real, with good sides and human flaws (and some much worse of course) and I do not think she has ever come up with one that I haven't felt something for or about! DS Alex Morrow is getting more and more finely chiseled as we get to know her, and it is very nice to find Paddy Meehan in the literary equivalent of a cameo.
June 1, 2019
Solid rather than spectacular DI Morrow story. Perhaps too many threads here for any of them to make a real impact, but the writing and sense of place is still as strong as ever.
May 13, 2021
Ein Krimi der anderen Art. Fast eine Gesellschaftsstudie um Korruption, Lügen, Loyalität. Sehr präziser Blick von Mina. Wirklich stark.
December 7, 2017
72% into this one and I'm struggling to finish. Scanning some other reviews on here, I'm clearly not the only one finding these multiple storylines unconvincing. Apparently they all tie together at the end, but to be honest I'm not sure if I care that much. I can't connect with any of these characters. Apparently having young twins which you are breastfeeding is incredibly easy, so easy in fact that you can also be a DI leading a major murder inquiry. I'll never give any credence to motherhood being difficult again. Sarcasm aside, I actually find being told the lead character of my crime novel is leaking milk utterly off putting. Yes, it's a physical function. So is shitting. I don't want to read about a character leaking there either.
Don't get me started on the politics of this novel. What? You want me to go on? Okay then. I will. This is one of those books where you can guarantee that everyone middle class is presented as a total tosser: corrupt, stupid, greedy, immoral. Working class people, on the other hand, are salt of the earth even if they are criminals. Communists are introduced as if that was just an amusing sidenote to being working class. Imagine if an author had Nazi characters introduced with the same lack of concern. Unbelievable. And then there's the exceptionally wealthy character, Martin, who has apparently been left all this fortune by his grandfather, who skipped his own children, to gift this fortune to Martin. Martin, of course (remember, this is a book where money is the root of all evil) can't find anything good to do with the money, everything he tries turns out badly. This plot line seems so daft I can't hardly be bothered to read these sections. He's followed around by his desperate, needy parents, who believed they were going to get the money, but didn't. He doesn't want it. Err... I can see a very easy solution here, can't you?
Ack. I'm not sure I can be bothered to finish this.
I'm going to rate it now.
I won't be reading another Denise Mina. I've tried two now and given up on them both.
Don't get me started on the politics of this novel. What? You want me to go on? Okay then. I will. This is one of those books where you can guarantee that everyone middle class is presented as a total tosser: corrupt, stupid, greedy, immoral. Working class people, on the other hand, are salt of the earth even if they are criminals. Communists are introduced as if that was just an amusing sidenote to being working class. Imagine if an author had Nazi characters introduced with the same lack of concern. Unbelievable. And then there's the exceptionally wealthy character, Martin, who has apparently been left all this fortune by his grandfather, who skipped his own children, to gift this fortune to Martin. Martin, of course (remember, this is a book where money is the root of all evil) can't find anything good to do with the money, everything he tries turns out badly. This plot line seems so daft I can't hardly be bothered to read these sections. He's followed around by his desperate, needy parents, who believed they were going to get the money, but didn't. He doesn't want it. Err... I can see a very easy solution here, can't you?
Ack. I'm not sure I can be bothered to finish this.
I'm going to rate it now.
I won't be reading another Denise Mina. I've tried two now and given up on them both.
March 18, 2013
Mina's mysteries are always more about people, what motivates them to commit crimes, what their fears and vulnerabilities are, what their strengths are, just how they fit into the big picture of the underside of Glasgow. And then there are the cops, the good ones and the not so good ones. Alex Morrow, who has recently given birth to twins, is one of the good ones and she cares deeply about righting the huge injustices she comes across in her job. Unfortunate for her, she is a half sister to a notorious gangster, and the description of their tenuous relationship is one of the many fascinating details in this novel.
Now, as far as the plot goes, I found this novel disappointing. The story wanders all over the place and at one point, I was hopelessly confused. We have gangsters, a movie-star handsome politician, an extremely wealthy but very confused young man, crooked cops, etc., etc. Needed a score card to keep it all straight.
But in the end, I just can't resist Mina's deftness of character portrayal. And when she writes about Morrow's wonder at being in love with her new babies, she is a joy to read.
Now, as far as the plot goes, I found this novel disappointing. The story wanders all over the place and at one point, I was hopelessly confused. We have gangsters, a movie-star handsome politician, an extremely wealthy but very confused young man, crooked cops, etc., etc. Needed a score card to keep it all straight.
But in the end, I just can't resist Mina's deftness of character portrayal. And when she writes about Morrow's wonder at being in love with her new babies, she is a joy to read.
March 25, 2013
I just love Denise Mina - She's far more well-known in her home country of Scotland (and of course, England.) Mina is a blazing good thriller writer. Just drenched with local Glasgow "color" - and the smell of porter and Irn-Bru.
If you've not encountered Mina before, her trilogies are the best of her works, in my opinion - but that could just be that I liked the characters so very much.
This particular book concerns a lot of the "underground" in Glasgow's crime war. Glasgow is, and has been for many years, a port city.
The Irish people who have either moved years ago or are just now coming are a very disliked minority. Once again, religion rears its' ugly face.
It's not that the Scots are particularly unfriendly, (after all - they're all Celts, after all!) But, just as it happened in the North of Ireland, the minority gets the bad jobs - I should say, just like the world over, shouldn't I?
If you've not encountered Mina before, her trilogies are the best of her works, in my opinion - but that could just be that I liked the characters so very much.
This particular book concerns a lot of the "underground" in Glasgow's crime war. Glasgow is, and has been for many years, a port city.
The Irish people who have either moved years ago or are just now coming are a very disliked minority. Once again, religion rears its' ugly face.
It's not that the Scots are particularly unfriendly, (after all - they're all Celts, after all!) But, just as it happened in the North of Ireland, the minority gets the bad jobs - I should say, just like the world over, shouldn't I?
March 1, 2013
I have loved all Mina's previous books but was a little disappointed in this one. Some of the characters are carry-overs but I couldn't get engaged with them and the rather thin plot. I'll give her one more chance with her next one; I've got too much to read to keep on with authors who don't keep me fascinated.
September 12, 2021
Probably more like a 3.5. Still enjoyed it, though.
August 20, 2023
3-1/2 stars
Gods and Beasts is another thriller set in Glasgow, Scotland, in the Alex Morrow detective series by one of my favorite authors, Denise Mina. This time around, D.I. Alex has twin babies and I can't imagine how crazed her family life must be, while leaving little angels at home as you track down devils.
I read this on audiobook and the beginning just grabbed me. For the rest of the novel there are many characters introduced and plot lines, and I began to lose some interest because of all the new trails and the switchbacks. I had to remind myself and replay some of the scenes to get back into the plot. The one thing this book has in common with the rest of Mina's novels is wonderful, unique, well-written characters.
Gods and Beasts is another thriller set in Glasgow, Scotland, in the Alex Morrow detective series by one of my favorite authors, Denise Mina. This time around, D.I. Alex has twin babies and I can't imagine how crazed her family life must be, while leaving little angels at home as you track down devils.
I read this on audiobook and the beginning just grabbed me. For the rest of the novel there are many characters introduced and plot lines, and I began to lose some interest because of all the new trails and the switchbacks. I had to remind myself and replay some of the scenes to get back into the plot. The one thing this book has in common with the rest of Mina's novels is wonderful, unique, well-written characters.
October 1, 2020
Less psychological focus than others I’ve read by Mina, but still an interesting procedural (more or less) with a nicely ambiguous ending.
May 21, 2024
3.5 stars. Entertaining enough.
January 22, 2013
It is the week before Christmas and all is not well…in Glasgow. Here, a robber comes charging into a post office carrying an AK-47 rifle and wants all the cash on hand. A terrified young boy is handed over to a customer by his grandfather, as the old man very calmly helps the robber gather up the money. The grandfather even helps the robber carry the cash to the door, opens the door and bows to the thief. Whereupon the robber fires the AK-47 into the body of the old man, killing him instantly.
Detective Alex Morrow is called in to head up the investigation. This is her first case after the birth of her twins so she’s a little discombobulated to say the least. Arriving at the scene of the crime, she finds that the alarm system had been disabled before the robber even entered the post office, which means someone inside was working for the criminal. As Alex begins her investigation she finds that none of the employees can be linked to the robber, and the grandfather who helped is also above reproach. So why did he help? Did he go mad for a moment? Or was it simply an act of kindness to get the robber out of the place before someone lost their life?
She soon finds Kenny Gallagher, a politician who is fighting for his political life while being accused of having an affair with an employee…and this incredible plot begins to unfold. Interesting, to say the least, readers are offered up a mysterious tale filled with red herrings, as well as an in-depth look into a promiscuous politician with either a guilty conscience or no conscience at all, and a bag full of untraceable money. Alex discovers that no part of the city of Glasgow is safe, especially when two of her colleagues find themselves in trouble over a very bad decision.
This is an extremely well-written book that advises the reader to pay attention or all will be lost, and they will have to start reading all over again. But no worries. This book is so good, you’ll want to read it many, many times.
Detective Alex Morrow is called in to head up the investigation. This is her first case after the birth of her twins so she’s a little discombobulated to say the least. Arriving at the scene of the crime, she finds that the alarm system had been disabled before the robber even entered the post office, which means someone inside was working for the criminal. As Alex begins her investigation she finds that none of the employees can be linked to the robber, and the grandfather who helped is also above reproach. So why did he help? Did he go mad for a moment? Or was it simply an act of kindness to get the robber out of the place before someone lost their life?
She soon finds Kenny Gallagher, a politician who is fighting for his political life while being accused of having an affair with an employee…and this incredible plot begins to unfold. Interesting, to say the least, readers are offered up a mysterious tale filled with red herrings, as well as an in-depth look into a promiscuous politician with either a guilty conscience or no conscience at all, and a bag full of untraceable money. Alex discovers that no part of the city of Glasgow is safe, especially when two of her colleagues find themselves in trouble over a very bad decision.
This is an extremely well-written book that advises the reader to pay attention or all will be lost, and they will have to start reading all over again. But no worries. This book is so good, you’ll want to read it many, many times.
March 13, 2013
I discovered Denise Mina through her run on Hellblazer, which I enjoyed immensely. However, despite my fondness for both crime fiction and all things Scottish, I never got around to reading one of her novels until I received Gods and Beasts through the first reads program.
This is a damned fine novel. I was a little concerned about it being the third in a series, but Mina manages to acknowledge previous events and foreshadow future events in a manner that lends verisimilitude to the story at hand rather than distracting from it. There are three narrative threads here: a murder investigation centered around an old man killed during a post office robbery, a tale of police corruption, and a political sex scandal. Mina balances these stories, playing them off each other and occasionally tying them together in a way that seems natural rather than manipulative, and in doing so gives us a pretty remarkable picture of both Glasgow and the police department.
I was also impressed with the sharp focus of her prose style. It is more descriptive than Hemmingway's journalistic standard or Andrew Vacch's super hard boiled staccato, yet there is never the feeling of it being too verbose or florid. It's the literary equivalent of high definition television.
I will be reading more of her work.
This is a damned fine novel. I was a little concerned about it being the third in a series, but Mina manages to acknowledge previous events and foreshadow future events in a manner that lends verisimilitude to the story at hand rather than distracting from it. There are three narrative threads here: a murder investigation centered around an old man killed during a post office robbery, a tale of police corruption, and a political sex scandal. Mina balances these stories, playing them off each other and occasionally tying them together in a way that seems natural rather than manipulative, and in doing so gives us a pretty remarkable picture of both Glasgow and the police department.
I was also impressed with the sharp focus of her prose style. It is more descriptive than Hemmingway's journalistic standard or Andrew Vacch's super hard boiled staccato, yet there is never the feeling of it being too verbose or florid. It's the literary equivalent of high definition television.
I will be reading more of her work.
May 29, 2016
Working my way through the Alex Morrow books and so far this one probably is my least favorite. There are a few too many story lines woven together this time (4? 5?) and while normally I don't mind finding out how they're connected at the end, for much of the book it just feels like not much is happening. Especially with the politician story line. Still, Mina's writing remains solid and her characters are impeccable.
February 6, 2016
Denise Mina can certainly write: she conveys character with just a few traits of the pen and speech patterns. It's a story with an undercurrent of despair - the corruption of politicians and ongoing criminality of Glasgow - but there are some characters that you feel hopeful about, some that you hope will be able to create a new life for themselves.
March 27, 2013
I was a little disappointed in this one, I usually love Mina's stories, but this one seem to be very scattered. Hard to keep track of what was happening to whom and when. This was much more scattered, much looser of a plot than I have come to expect from her.
August 13, 2016
A well written, once one gets all the different threads sorted, thriller with a Glaswegian side order of politics and corruption. A model citizen out with his grandson walks up to a post office robber and helps in the course of a robbery. The why of this is most satisfactorily resolved.
May 20, 2014
This book was a waste of time. Too many characters and subplots that don't really connect, or at least not very well. I was somewhat patiently waiting for everything to lead somewhere when the book ended.
June 7, 2018
What the hell happened here?? The various threads of the story were so mixed up that I lost track. Who the hell is Martin?? What's with the oily stuff in the drink? What exactly did Harris DO??
I just hope all of these questions are answered in the next book!
I just hope all of these questions are answered in the next book!
November 8, 2019
I like the characters. Police with real life issues- a breast feeding mom of twins, a closeted lesbian whose partner is trying to conceive, trade unionists, single moms. I enjoyed it. First book I’ve read by this author. I’ll look for others.
April 17, 2021
You can always count on Denise Mina to tackle uncomfortable truths in her books, and she does it again in this third Alex Morrow mystery, Gods and Beasts. The framework of the book can be found in two quotes she uses. One from Abraham Lincoln: "Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power." The second from Aristotle: "Those who live outside the city walls and are self sufficient, are either Gods or Beasts." Gods and Beasts is the story of how some people abuse power, of how some people face the possibility of losing their jobs, of how the marginalized find themselves living from day to weary day.
Mina is a master at writing about the marginalized, at writing about the grit and grime of living "outside the city walls" of Glasgow, and I once again found myself immersed in Alex Morrow's world as she tries to solve this crime, deal with her co-workers, and be a wife and mother. Mina's world isn't always pleasant. The days are often overcast and gloomy, and violence can blindside you. But there's comfort in knowing that someone like Alex Morrow is on the job. That someone like Alex Morrow will keep fighting the bad guys with intelligence and determination.
There's a power to Mina's writing that you don't see every day. Take, for example, this one tiny scene that doesn't mean all that much in the scheme of things: "On the ground, by the side of the concrete front step, was a small ash tray, four half-smoked cigarettes laid out in a neat row, filters by filters, the burnt tips concertinaed. They made him think of diagrams of slave ships." This one small descriptive scene made this reader think of the smoker, so precise with those half-smoked cigarettes, so enslaved by an addiction to nicotine, but the scene keeps on giving. Diagrams of slave ships? My mind went on to think of people stolen from their homes, packed into filthy ships holds, and taken to work in tobacco fields. Of how slavery and poverty and drudgery grind people down.
It's a tiny scene with so much depth and power that it still takes my breath away, and it's one of the many reasons why I read Denise Mina's books. If you haven't, I hope you'll give them a try. As much as I enjoy Mina's Alex Morrow series, I found her Garnethill trilogy and her novels featuring Paddy Meehan to be excellent. Don't miss out on Denise Mina, one of the founders of Tartan Noir.
Mina is a master at writing about the marginalized, at writing about the grit and grime of living "outside the city walls" of Glasgow, and I once again found myself immersed in Alex Morrow's world as she tries to solve this crime, deal with her co-workers, and be a wife and mother. Mina's world isn't always pleasant. The days are often overcast and gloomy, and violence can blindside you. But there's comfort in knowing that someone like Alex Morrow is on the job. That someone like Alex Morrow will keep fighting the bad guys with intelligence and determination.
There's a power to Mina's writing that you don't see every day. Take, for example, this one tiny scene that doesn't mean all that much in the scheme of things: "On the ground, by the side of the concrete front step, was a small ash tray, four half-smoked cigarettes laid out in a neat row, filters by filters, the burnt tips concertinaed. They made him think of diagrams of slave ships." This one small descriptive scene made this reader think of the smoker, so precise with those half-smoked cigarettes, so enslaved by an addiction to nicotine, but the scene keeps on giving. Diagrams of slave ships? My mind went on to think of people stolen from their homes, packed into filthy ships holds, and taken to work in tobacco fields. Of how slavery and poverty and drudgery grind people down.
It's a tiny scene with so much depth and power that it still takes my breath away, and it's one of the many reasons why I read Denise Mina's books. If you haven't, I hope you'll give them a try. As much as I enjoy Mina's Alex Morrow series, I found her Garnethill trilogy and her novels featuring Paddy Meehan to be excellent. Don't miss out on Denise Mina, one of the founders of Tartan Noir.
June 28, 2019
Maybe I'm missing something by reading the third book in a police series but what even was the point? A lot of shallow characters, no resolution, and a teenage girl getting sexually assaulted for a slimy sexist politician's lacklustre career in the latter pages with, again, very little point.
Maybe all the Alex Morrow characterization was in previous novels?
I kept hoping for some sort of depth, some hint that more nuance might appear in the novels dwindling pages but to no avail. Disjointed, the crime didn't even matter and was barely investigated but neither were any of the other corruption issues that plagued the characters. Below mediocre.
Maybe all the Alex Morrow characterization was in previous novels?
I kept hoping for some sort of depth, some hint that more nuance might appear in the novels dwindling pages but to no avail. Disjointed, the crime didn't even matter and was barely investigated but neither were any of the other corruption issues that plagued the characters. Below mediocre.
April 5, 2019
I'm not 100% sure what this book was about. The plot was confusing: something about Communists, corruption in the airport taxi contract, in-fighting in politics, drug dealers and stolen cars, and a rich American? The characters all had similar names (although, to be fair, it's Scotland, so having many "Mc/Mac" names made sense) and didn't really stand out from each other. Maybe if I'd read the first two books in the series, the main characters would have made more sense, but I don't think I would have understood the actual mystery any more than I did.
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