Still Midnight

By: Denise Mina

Narrated by: Jane MacFarlane

Length: 11 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

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 have slipped from a van into a house, demanding a man who is not, and has never been, inside the front door. In the confusion that ensues, one family member is shot and another kidnapped, the assailants demanding an impossible ransom. Is this the amateur crime gone horribly wrong that it seems, or something much more unexpected?

©2010 Denise Mina (P)2010 BBC Audio

I'm a Fan

Would you listen to Still Midnight again? Why?

After a long long time maybe. I only listen to non-fiction and classics more than once.

What other book might you compare Still Midnight to and why?

Not fair, Denise Mina is unique. Her locations, her characters can't be met anywhere else I know of.

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

Her beautiful (appropriate) Scottish accent and a subtle way of reading I really appreciate. I hate the drama kings and queens. I want to hear a story. I don't want to hear someone emote.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Don't want to spoil the experience for anyone. There were a lot of great moments and lot of moving ones, not sentimental, just really deep.

Any additional comments?

I've said it, I'm a fan. If you don't like naturalistic characters and a little squalor with your stories, you won't like most of Denise Mina. I also highly recommend "Deception." I don't think it's available here. Don't bother with abridgments. The FLAVOR of her work IS her work.

Surprised at how much I liked it

I don't usually enjoy books about terrorism with plots involving ethnic factors. But these issues were side issues in this book, with the actual story involving petty criminals looking for a big score and an officer moving one foot in front of the other trying to survive a shattering loss. I would have given the story a 3 1/2 if I could have - 3 is too low. I loved the story until the end, when the book just seemed to stop. But I look forward to reading another by this author.

Great listening experience!

I read Denise Mina's latest, Gods and Beasts, and decided to try listening to this one, the first in the Alex Morrow series. Jane MacFarlane is a wonderful narrator and Denise Mina's writing is intelligent, riveting, often funny. She writes fascinating characters with depth and believability. Her writing reminds me of Kate Atkinson's; the same sort of intelligence and humor, the same kinds of interesting plot turns. Highly recommended. You'll have to excuse me; I'm downloading The End of the Wasp Season (Book 2 in this series, I believe) and I have to go now . . .

The ending, or lack thereof, left me disappointed

The characters were well-developed and real. The plot interesting. I was excited, thinking I had found a new author to follow and then, all of a sudden, the.

Yes, that's what it felt like. I even went back and rewound, thinking I must have missed something. To me the story just hung there. It was so well written until that moment that I might just go ahead and give Ms. Mina another try...but not quite yet.

Stick with it - you will be glad.

So depressing at first I wanted to quit - but somehow the story emerged - worth the trip.

All the good reviews are true!

I've gotten pretty cynical about glowing reviews, but in this case, believe them. I'm more likely to mentally process, rather than actually visualize, what I am reading or listening to, but this book had me seeing the action. The characters, although different from those in many UK mysteries, ring true and the protagonist has just enough tragic backstory to be interesting but not a downer. Just bought the next in the series.

Great writer and fantastic reader.

Denise Mina is extraordinary

Any additional comments?

This is a beautifully performed audiobook of an expertly written, compassionately humane and socially aware novel. Highly recommended.

Good Stand Alone and Good Series

Any additional comments?

I bought this one months ago and forgot I had it. Even though that meant I read it out of sequence with the other two Alex Morrow books by Denise Mona, which I have read, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Mina presents real life struggles of real people. Sometimes that means the reader faces the folly and sinfulness of humanity, nevertheless, I find myself glad for her insights. I wish there were a little less curses in the dialogue, but I have been able to ignore most of that because the characters are developed well and the story will keep my interest.

Maybe this is better for UK readers

Instead of forking over major bucks to travel abroad, I just travel there via an audiobook for a few bucks. I was hoping for a good visit on this book, but it really let me down. There is some wonderful fiction from UK- Tana French and Adrian McKinty, so when I listen to a book like this I really notice when it lacks the quality of those other writers from 'generally' the same region. I gave this book a good three hours, but I kept asking myself why should I keep going if the author had failed to interest me in any of the characters? I didn't really feel like I was in Glasgow. I didn't feel like this was anything that you wouldn't see on just some random tv show. So, I abandoned it. But at least the narrator is very good, so I'll give it that. But I tried this writer and didn't like them and, to all the people who whined about the ending of this book- thanks for spoiling that for people looking at the reviews. That kills it quite a bit when just to voice your feelings you ruin the reading experience for other people.

A Series Worth Following

I bought this one on sale as an exploration, and am now on the 5th one and plan to explore the rest of Denise Mina's work. As I watched this author mature, there is a profound understanding of human nature, social challenges, police work, and no easy answers. Her work is worthy of more attention on the American side of the Atlantic, and frankly could be a British TV series similar to the work of to Vera.