Garnethill by Denise Mina (Novel)

The first in a trilogy this Scottish mystery novel is a feisty read with a heroine on the verge of being arrested for killing her boyfriend who she learns was married.  Maureen O'Donnell is the kind of main character that you enjoy following but have a hard time really liking (at least for me).  She's a refreshing non-detective mystery-solver with a complex past.  Her family and friends are all over the place from a drug-dealing brother to a crazy mother.   As she bounces from relationship to police inquiry like a pinball in a pinball machine it's easy to forget at times that she has a murder to solve.  It's a fast read written with a wonderful dry wit that is quite fun.  I happened to see Demise Mina at a book panel earlier this year at the LA Festival of Books and was impressed by her clever wit and she certainly lets it fill her prose.  Will I be wanting to read more of Maureen?  That I'm not sure.  While the book ended well and I enjoyed Mina's writing style, especially the Scottish colloquialisms scattered throughout the book, I can't say I'm dying to read another four hundred pages dealing with this peculiar character.  I wish I could give a really good reason why but the truth is I can't.  I don't need all my heroes to be perfect but I like to connect to them on some level and I never did with Maureen.  I will check out another of Demise Mina's books though.  She is a solid writer worth reading a second time.  Grade: B