Gods and Beasts

A Novel

By: Denise Mina

Narrated by: Moira Quirk

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 gunman fill bags with cash, then carries them to the door. He opens the door and bows his head; the robber fires off the AK-47, tearing the grandfather in two.

DS Alex Morrow arrives on the scene and finds that the alarm system had been disabled before the robbery. Yet upon investigation, none of the employees can be linked to the gunman. And the grandfather-a life-long campaigner for social justice-is above reproach. As Morrow searches for the killer, she discovers a hidden, sinister political network. Soon it is chillingly clear: no corner of the city is safe, and her involvement will go deeper than she could ever have imagined.

Can't get enough of Denise Mina

What did you love best about Gods and Beasts?

Denise Mina's narrative voice is so genuine. There's nothing like it. She has been my favorite author for years.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Gods and Beasts?

The conversations between Rosie and Martin were captured with such nuance I felt as if they could be real people.

What does Moira Quirk bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Her use of accents seems right-on.

Any additional comments?

Though not Denise Mina's best work, perhaps, I loved soaking up every minute of the story.

Wonderful writing, not-so-wonderful performance

Would you recommend this book to a friend? Why or why not?

Why, oh why, oh why didn't they have the wonderful Jane McFarlane perform this one? The writing is typical smart, lucid Mina -- the performance is distractingly mediocre. Not sure I'm going to finish listening -- and I've never done that before. Pity.

Would you be willing to try another one of Moira Quirk’s performances?

No.

Great storytelling

Any additional comments?

I've quite enjoyed all three of the Alex Morrow books. Well-written, believable with good characters. I was concerned when I read one review that trashed the reader, someone different than the wonderful lady who voiced the first two books, but after listening for just a short while I thought she did just as good a job as her predecessor. Will certainly read more of this author's work,

Gets better at the end but a bridging book

I’m working my way through the Alex Morrow books and this was not my favorite. I wasn’t engaged until the end. It made me excited to read the next book but overall it felt like a bridge book. Relatively little character development compared to the others and less focus on one singular crime. Worth reading if you’re doing the whole series but not stand alone like the End of Wasp Season.

A challenge to expectations

The story is gritty and dishearteningly realistic. It presents a depiction of corruption and its workings in an all-too-believeable weaving of elements of society and politics. I think Mina will go down as one of the finest writers of mystery fiction of our time.

I read a lot of criticism of the reader of this book. I think she did a great job! Outstanding, in fact. But I, too, was disappointed at first not to hear the same reader who has done earlier performances and who seemed to me to be the voice of Denise Mina. As the reading went on, I got used to the new voice and I am sorry to hear her disparaged just because she wasn't the expected. I thought she gave a very measured and nuanced performance. In fact she was very clear and perhaps a little bit more easily understood than the previous reader.