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Slip of the Knife: A Novel (Paddy Meehan Book #3)

Denise Mina
Little, Brown and Company (2008)
ISBN 9780316015585
Reviewed by Melissa LaMunyon for RebeccasReads (3/08)

As a journalist, Paddy Meehan had accompanied the police many times throughout her career on their “death trips,” when they tell the family of a recent murder victim the news. So, when Paddy hears the knock on the door of her recently-purchased flat, she knows that someone close to her is dead.

Her first thoughts are that it’s her five-year-old son, Pete, who is visiting his dad, or her sister, Mary Anne, who is a nun at a nearby convent. When she discovers that the victim is Terry Hewitt, an old friend, colleague and lover with whom she had a falling out with six-months ago, Paddy can’t figure out why the police came to tell her the news.

The puzzles increase when Paddy finds out that Terry was executed and the police are whispering rumors of an IRA hit. Terry seems to have wanted Paddy involved, however, because, despite their falling out, he leaves Paddy his belongings, including a house and a box of notes; notes that Paddy presumes hold the details of a story that Terry was following and that perhaps lead to his death.

While Paddy becomes embroiled in a new mystery, an old mystery is about to be released from prison. Callum Ogilvy was jailed at age 10 for the death of a toddler nine years ago. Forced to murder the child, Callum is a sought-after news story in Scotland; and Paddy is trying to help keep Callum away from the press. Both mysteries, new and old, collide in away that threaten the people Paddy loves most.

“Slip of the Knife” is the third book in Denise Mina’s acclaimed crime thriller series. If you are a new reader to the series, like I was, I would strongly recommend starting with the first Paddy Meehan book, “Field of Blood.”

Considering, however, that I was jumping blindly into the third book of a five-book crime series, I really enjoyed “Slip of the Knife.” Despite being incredibly confused as Mina drew heavily on convoluted plot lines established in the first two books, the sheer brazen fabulousness that is Paddy Meehan drew me headlong into the story.

Paddy is a strong, independent woman who does what she wants, and considering that she lives in Scotland, is very unusual. Paddy has established a successful career as a journalist in a culture that frowns on things like career-oriented women and children being born out of wedlock. I loved the scene where Paddy tells her son’s teacher that she isn’t married and the teacher starts to frown, while fingering her gold crucifix.

The same way I could relate to Paddy’s mother issues as personified by a container of split pea soup; I felt the growing horror and fear right along with Paddy as she discovers that Terry’s death might lead to her son being hurt. Mina writes a smooth, sharply funny story woven around Paddy’s courage and love for her family.  “Slip of the Knife” is a tightly written crime thriller that fans of the series are sure to enjoy.

.: Blog