Author
Denise Mina
Birth Date
August 21, 1966
(59 Years)
Associated Country
United Kingdom
Denise Mina is a Scottish novelist, screenwriter, and playwright best known for her contributions to crime fiction. Her work is noted for its psychological depth, sharp social observation, and unflinching examination of crime, justice, and inequality. Drawing heavily on the realities of contemporary urban life, Mina's stories often explore the ways personal struggles intersect with broader social and political forces.
Born and raised in Glasgow, Mina came to writing after studying law and criminology, experiences that helped shape her understanding of criminal behavior and the justice system. Her fiction frequently examines the human consequences of violence rather than focusing solely on the mechanics of a mystery, creating stories that are as much about people and society as they are about crime itself. She is particularly recognized for her authentic characters, strong sense of place, and nuanced portrayal of modern Scotland.
Over the course of her career, Mina has established herself as one of the leading voices in contemporary crime fiction. Her novels have earned critical acclaim, international readership, and numerous literary awards, while several of her works have been adapted for television and other media. Through her fiction and screenwriting, she has helped shape modern crime literature with stories that combine suspense, emotional complexity, and insightful social commentary.
Born and raised in Glasgow, Mina came to writing after studying law and criminology, experiences that helped shape her understanding of criminal behavior and the justice system. Her fiction frequently examines the human consequences of violence rather than focusing solely on the mechanics of a mystery, creating stories that are as much about people and society as they are about crime itself. She is particularly recognized for her authentic characters, strong sense of place, and nuanced portrayal of modern Scotland.
Over the course of her career, Mina has established herself as one of the leading voices in contemporary crime fiction. Her novels have earned critical acclaim, international readership, and numerous literary awards, while several of her works have been adapted for television and other media. Through her fiction and screenwriting, she has helped shape modern crime literature with stories that combine suspense, emotional complexity, and insightful social commentary.
Books
The Good Liar 2025
A year ago, a father and his fiancée were brutally murdered in their opulent London townhouse, sparking the most high-profile murder investigation in recent history. Blood spatter expert Doctor...
The Second Murderer 2023
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...
Three Fires 2023
In Three Fires, award-winning author Denise Mina re-imagines the 'Bonfire of the Vanities', a series of fires lit throughout Florence at the end of the fifteenth century - inspired by the fanatical...
Confidence 2022
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,...
Rizzio 2021
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...
The Less Dead 2020
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...
Conviction 2019
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...
The Long Drop 2017
The Long Drop is Denise Mina's first foray into true crime. It is the story of Peter Manuel, a serial killer operating in the 1950s in Glasgow.
True crime stories always have two versions: the...
Blood, Salt, Water 2015
Alex Morrow, Book 5
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...
The Red Road 2014
Alex Morrow, Book 4
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...
Gods and Beasts 2013
Alex Morrow, Book 3
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...
Alex Morrow, Book 2
When a notorious millionaire banker hangs himself, his death attracts no sympathy. But the legacy of a lifetime of selfishness is widespread, and the carnage most acute among those he ought to be...
Still Midnight 2010
Alex Morrow, Book 1
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...
Slip of the Knife 2010
Paddy Meehan, Book 3
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...
The Dead Hour 2008
Paddy Meehan, Book 2
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...
Resolution 2007
Garnethill, Book 3
Maureen O'Donnell is facing the darkest episode in her life. She owes more than she makes in a year in back taxes; she’s the reluctant star witness in a murder trial; and her abuser has arrived back...
Exile 2007
Garnethill, Book 2
The last time Maureen O'Donnell saw Ann Harris, she was in the Glasgow Women's Shelter smelling of a long binge on cheap drink. A month later Ann's mutilated body, stitched into a mattress, is washed...
Garnethill 2007
Garnethill, Book 1
Maureen O'Donnell, ex-psychiatric patient and all round winner-at-the-game-of-life, wakes up and knows it’s over. She doesn’t want to see Douglas anymore.
After a drunken night out with her best...
Field of Blood 2005
Paddy Meehan, Book 1
Paddy Meehan has just started her new job as a copygirl at a Glasgow newspaper, where she dreams of becoming an investigative journalist.
A child goes missing in the city, taken from the front garden...
Deception 2005
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...