The Less Dead, Denise Mina
The Less Dead, Denise Mina
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The Less Dead

Author: Denise Mina

Narrator: Katie Leung

Unabridged: 8 hr 4 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 08/18/2020

Synopsis

In this "thought-provoking" thriller from the author of the Reese Witherspoon book club pick and national bestseller Conviction, a woman in crisis finds herself on the hunt for her own mother's murderer (People).

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 newly single, secretly pregnant, and worried about her best friend's dangerous relationship. In an effort to cheer herself up she goes in search of her birth mother. Instead she finds Nikki, her mother's sister. Aunt Nikki isn't what Margo expects, and she brings upsetting news: Margo's mother is dead. Worse, she was murdered years ago, and her killer is still at large—and sending Nikki threatening letters.

Margo is torn. Should she stay out of this mess, or try to find justice? But then Margo receives a letter, too. Someone out there has been waiting and watching, and in Margo sees the spitting image of her mother . . .

Darkly funny and deeply affecting, The Less Dead is a sharply modern new thriller from the bestselling author of Conviction, and a surprisingly moving story of daughters and mothers, secrets and choices, and how the search for the truth—and a long-hidden killer—will lead one woman to find herself.

About Denise Mina

Denise Mina was born in Glasgow in 1966. She left school at sixteen and did a number of poorly paid jobs: working in a meat factory, bar maid, kitchen porter and cook. Eventually she settle 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. Garnethill won the Crime Writers' Association John Creasy Dagger for the best first crime novel and was the start of a trilogy completed by Exile and Resolution. A fourth novel followed, a stand alone, named Sanctum in the UK and Deception in the US. As well as all of this she writes short stories published in various collections, stories for BBC Radio 4, contributes to TV and radio as a big red face at the corner of the sofa who interjects occasionally, is writing a film adaptation of Ida Tamson, and has a number of other projects on the go.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Ceecee

Margo is adopted, it’s a good adoption and she’s succeeded in life, becoming a doctor. Her birth mother was a drug addict and sex worker and was killed many years ago. Her sister Nikkie believes that her murderer is ex-police Officer Martin McPhail, that the Glasgow police force cover this up and so......more

Goodreads review by Jennifer ~ TarHeelReader

Quick thoughts: The Less Dead is unique new psychological thriller set in Scotland. I savored this one. What strikes me most is the characterization and the setting. Everyone and everything is vividly drawn, and it’s all so thoughtful and thought-provoking in how the story addresses social issues and......more

Goodreads review by Kelli

Perhaps expectations were high, after reading author's wonderful, previous novel, Conviction. However, no such expectations could possibly account for the complete and absolute disappointment offered by this production. I am utterly confounded. And as such, I find myself unable to offer anything pol......more

Goodreads review by luce (cry baby)

| | blog | tumblr | ko-fi | | The Less Deadis a gripping, if bleak, piece of tartan noir. When sex workers, drug addicts, migrant workers, and otherwise marginalised groups are victims of murder, they are called the 'less dead'. Their deaths are less important, not as 'impactful'. Denise Mina's no......more

Quotes

“Riveting . . . Mina is matchless at building suspicion and creeping dread. A bold and bracing twist on the fallen-woman-as-victim story.”—Kirkus Reviews

"Gasps are inescapable."—People

“The Less Dead is at once a gripping thriller and an examination, and vindication, of a group of women who are often faceless, unsympathetic victims.”—BookPage

"The menacing atmosphere . . . effectively supports the novel's themes of reconciliation, class divides, and violence against women. Mina is a master of the genre, with wide appeal, especially for those who appreciate character-driven stories with literary weight, like those of Tana French, Karin Slaughter, and Laura Lippman."—Booklist (starred review)

“As the plot gains speed to a startling and abrupt end, readers will be left agasp and wanting more."—Library Journal

"The Less Dead isn't a typical thriller. At its heart, this is a story of mothers and daughters, and the ties that bind them.”—PopSugar

PRAISE FOR DENISE MINA

"One of the most talented, most daring, most humane writers of the past twenty years."—A.J. Finn, author of The Woman in the Window

"Denise Mina is superbly talented -- witty, original, and a mastermind of mystery. Absolutely terrific."—Hank Phillippi Ryan, national bestselling author of Trust Me

"If you haven't read Denise Mina yet, you should."—Alafair Burke, New York Times bestselling author of The Better Sister

"Denise Mina brilliantly manages to be funny, heart-wrenching, gut-punching and addictive all at once."—Nicci French, author of the international betseller Day of the Dead

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