The Less Dead

By: Denise Mina

Narrated by: Katie Leung

Length: 8 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's Summary

Brought to you by Penguin. 

When Margo goes in search of her birth mother for the first time, she meets her aunt Nikki instead. Margo learns that her mother, Susan, was a sex worker murdered soon after Margo's adoption. To this day, Susan's killer has never been found. 

Nikki asks Margo for help. She has received threatening and haunting letters from the murderer for decades. She is determined to find him, but she can't do it alone....

A brilliant, thought-provoking and heart-wrenching new thriller about identity and the value of a life, from the award-winning author of The Long Drop and Conviction.

©2020 Denise Mina (P)2020 Penguin Audio

Great but...

This started really well - the characters are engaging and really, no one writes working class characters with as much insight and compassion as Denise Mina. The premise is a good one - doctor adopted at birth finds out her mother was murdered and had been working as a prostitute. There are some loose ends - Margo's family are not revealed in as much detail as I expected, and a shocking event is left hanging without the reader ever finding out what happened next.

The ending is sudden and problematic - one of those slightly trendy crime fiction endings that are ambivalent and unsatisfying. It's pretty clear to anyone who has watched tv or read any crime fiction that the ending that's hinted at would never happen and any intelligent person would be able to work that out.

Still, great read until the end. I just wish crime fiction editors would start insisting on a properly wrapped up story.

Great narration - would definitely listen to more from this narrator.

Don't Believe the Hype

Like a tube of Pringles. Can't stop eating them until they're gone then wish you hadn't bothered. Even the author was fed up by the end and seemingly just stopped typing.

A long moderately engaging murder mystery

The book is well narrated. The story is a bit thin and I expected a better conclusion, but it’s been a reasonably entertaining way of passing my lockdown runs.

Disappointingly dull.

The story never really gets going and falls into the flaw of a character taking risky actions against their declared better judgement.

More than just a Crime Novel

Well drawn drawn characters abound in this story of the investigation of a cold case working girl's murder. There is a genuine empathy and a respect for the street girls which I found thought provoking and the humour in some parts was a nice counterpoint to the dark subject matter.

Waste of 5 hours

Stuck with this as the reviews were amazing. Terrible book from start to finish. Ending is pathetic

Good on the whole

This book left me feeling anxious. Not a particularly bad feeling, considering the subject matter, and shows the talent of the author. The ending was average, and left me wanting more of a conclusion. I feel disappointed, simply because the book before this was fantastic. I will definitely read more by Denise Mina!

'A heartwarming tale set in a vibrant Glasgow '

This is not a quote you would hear from VisitScotland about this book 😅
I have qualms about plots involving such gritty misogyny , but it is very well handled and feels authentic. The narration, with tricky accents is very professional. Quite an accomplishment.

really good not over hyped

best read this year why should I have to blether on for 15 words when I've said what I wanted
to say

Story good

Narrator sounded bored reading this that nearly put me off but I had already bought