Read + Write + Report
Home | Start a blog | About Orble | FAQ | Blogs | Writers | Paid | My Orble | Login

DENISE MINA's PADDY MEEHAN SERIES

January 16th 2009 00:14
On the recommendation of fellow Orbler David O’Connell, I borrowed books from my local library by Scottish crime writer Denise Mina. The Field of Blood and The Dead Hour are the first two novels in the Paddy Meehan series. I couldn’t put them down and it wasn’t just because I had to find out who did it. * Denise Mina has a great talent for concise and evocative description and a pleasantly poetic turn of phrase. The people, the streets, even the weather is used to thicken the atmosphere. The characters that Paddy encounters are individuals who inhabit their own worlds and the crime is an adjunct to the main business of living. * When we meet Paddy in 1981, in The Field of Blood, she has been working for a short time as a ‘copyboy’ at the Scottish Daily News in Glasgow. She dreams of being a real journalist, believing she will do better than the fellows she works with - a bunch of drink-sodden cynics that she calls ‘graceless, ruined men’. * Paddy is overweight and self-deprecating – the antithesis of the glamorous, groomed female investigator. She’s poor, she’s dishevelled and she’s gauche. And she’s a faithless Catholic girl in an unquestioningly religious family. She knows the right thing to do and she tries to do it. But sometimes this just isn’t possible. When Paddy takes a step off the pathway of moral rectitude, fuelled by ambition, she recognizes her failure and the inevitability of her actions. The seeds of her independence are sown. * This family has a vicious streak. They treat Paddy to a ‘shunning’ (punitive silent treatment) as a demonstration of their displeasure when she inadvertently shames them and it’s hard to understand how Paddy can fail to be indignant about their behaviour. Even her fiancée participates! *
By 1984 however, in The Dead Hour, Paddy has loosened her shackles and her family is treating her with a bit more consideration. They are by now financially dependant on Paddy’s wage. It’s Thatcher’s Britain. * Paddy has been working in the calls car for a few years, doing the rounds of hospitals and police stations; the graveyard shift that leads to accidents and crime scenes. She has learned to deal with the misogynistic male culture of the Scottish Daily News but now she’s getting bored and wants to move on to the big story. * Both books present Paddy with the moral dilemma of whether or not to reveal what she knows. In The Field of Blood a toddler is murdered. Paddy sees a photo of the accused - two 11 year old boys - and recognizes one of them; but to pursue a connection so close to home would amount to betrayal of her family. * In The Dead Hour a woman is tortured and bashed to death. Paddy is sure that the man who pressed a 50 pound note into her hand is the killer but she fears putting her reputation, and maybe her job, on the line by reporting the bribe to the police. * Both plots are straightforward with only a few twists and this is a good thing. Why spoil an engrossing story with unnecessary distractions. * Certain themes, such as Paddy’s preoccupation with justice, carry over from one book to the next. This gives a nice sense of familiarity and continuity but I hope Paddy isn’t still going on about her weight in the next book. * Slip of the Knife, the third book in the Paddy Meehan series was published last year. I’ll be reading it soon.



142
Vote

   
subscribe to this blog 


   

   

[ Link ]
Posted By: Mistersmith - Category: No Category
Related Posts:

Comments
2 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by David O'Connell

January 16th 2009 03:31


Screen Fanatic
That's brilliant Teresa! I'm so wrapt you liked them! She's a very good writer, one who flies under the radar a bit I think, working in the shadow of some of her country's bigger names.

I hope this post turns a few more people onto her, she deserves a higher profile!

Comment by Teresa Ralton

January 16th 2009 03:50


MRS SMITH
READ THIS
SISTERS IN CRIME
Hi David
I read something somewhere about a film or tv series. I'll have to check it out. There is such a dearth of crime fiction that is very formulaic - you can practically see the boxes being ticked. It is great to find a writer that stands outside of the pack and concentrates on the characters and the story rather than the crime. I will definitely read more. Thanks for giving me the word.

Add A Comment

To create a fully formatted comment please click here.


CLICK HERE TO LOGIN | CLICK HERE TO REGISTER

Name or Orble Tag
Home Page (optional)
Comments
Bold Italic Underline Strikethrough Separator Left Center Right Separator Quote Insert Link Insert Email
Notify me of replies
Notify extra people about this comment
Is this a private comment?
List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this comment


One per line max of 30

List the Email Addresses or Orble Tags of the people you would like to be notified about this private comment thread. Only the people in this list will be able to see or reply to your comment.


One per line max of 30

Your Name
(for the email going out to the above list, it can be different to your Orble Tag)
Your Email Address
(optional)
(required for reply notification)
Submit
More Posts
March 2009
1 Posts
February 2009
1 Posts
January 2009
3 Posts
Older Posts
9 Posts dating from November 2008
Email Subscription
Receive e-mail notifications of new posts on this blog:
0
[ View Blog Summary ] [ Create A New Post ] [ Add A Comment ]

Jacqui Horwood's Blogs

I have no other blogs :(
Moderated by Jacqui Horwood
Copyright © 2006 2007 2008 On Topic Media PTY LTD. All Rights Reserved. Design by Vimu.com.
On Topic Media ZPages: Sydney |  Melbourne |  Brisbane |  London |  Birmingham |  Leeds     [ Advertise ] [ Contact Us ] [ Privacy Policy ]