- Format: Kindle Edition
- File Size: 572 KB
- Print Length: 416 pages
- Page Numbers Source ISBN: 1409100952
- Publisher: Orion (May 12, 2011)
- Sold by: Amazon Digital Services
- Language: English
- ASIN: B0050C86Y0
- Source: I bought it
When wealthy Sarah Erroll dies a violent death at her home in a posh part of Glasgow, the local community is stunned by what appears to be a truly gratuitous act.
Heavily pregnant with twins, DS Alex Morrow is called in to investigate and soon discovers that there is more to Sarah's murder than it first seems.
On the other side of town, Thomas Anderson is called into the headmaster's office at his boarding school to be told that his tyrannical father - a banker responsible for the loss of many livelihoods in the recession - has committed suicide. Thomas returns to the family home to find his mother and sister in a state of numb shock. The head of the household is dead, yet their initial reaction is not of grief, but relief.
As Alex Morrow slowly unravels the connections between the two cases, she must also deal with the death of her own father and her brother's continuing criminal activities. Trying her hardest to disentangle herself from her family's disreputable history, she faces the challenge of an uninspired police force who have zero sympathy with Sarah Erroll, a middle-class victim who it appears was acting as an high class escort. Can Morrow solve the mystery of a cold-blooded murder without support? In THE END OF THE WASP SEASON she faces her greatest challenge yet as her work and home lives collide with potentially disastrous consequences.
My take:
This is #2 of Mina's Alex Morrow series, with #3 planned for publication in 2013.
I reviewed the debut title STILL MIDNIGHT a few weeks back.
In that first title Alex Morrow had recently returned to work after a breakdown and period of convalescence. DS Morrow has secrets that she would rather colleagues and bosses didn't know about. THE END OF THE WASP SEASON relates another of those secrets - Alex is attending her father's funeral, and meets up with her half-brother, local crime boss Danny McGrath. In STILL MIDNIGHT Alex asked Danny for a favour. In THE END OF THE WASP SEASON he has one to ask of her.
The opening pages of the novel though describe the death of Sarah Erroll at the hands of two gawky teenage boys. Sarah's attempt to phone 999 is treated as a prank call and Sarah signs her own death warrant when she tells one of the boys that she recognises him. The reader is really never given a clear description of how Sarah Erroll dies but a lot is made of using the blood spatters to determine which of the boys was responsible.
One of the boys, Thomas Anderson, is later told that his father has hung himself, although this is not the motivation behind the murder. He has to return home to become "head" of the family at fifteen, and then it becomes obvious how damaged and dysfunctional this family really is.
At work Alex's former DS colleague John Bannerman has been made DI, and he has resorted to bullying tactics with his team. The team on the other hand not only dislike Bannerman but they have no empathy with Sarah Erroll, the victim of the murder. The investigation by Morrow takes place against the background of police department politics. The fact that Alex Morrow is just over four months pregnant with twins is definitely a complicating factor.
Alex Morrow finds that she actually went to school with a woman who was the primary carer for Sarah Erroll's mother. A little predictably Kay and her sons become prime suspects for Sarah's murder. The unempathetic Bannerman is keen to wrap the investigation quickly by charging Kay.
I really enjoyed this novel, including the puzzle of the title. If you read it watch out for references to wasps. I love titles where the meaning is open to interpretation!
So, do yourself a favour - read these in order, go looking for STILL MIDNIGHT, read that first, and then savour THE END OF THE WASP SEASON.
My rating: 5.0
Other reviews to check
Read the first chapter on Denise Mina's website.
I have this and Still Midnight and will try to remember to read them in order.
ReplyDeleteKerrie - Thanks - an excellent review! I have to confess that, although I've been eager to meet D.I. Alex Morrow for a bit now, I haven't yet, 'though I do like Mina's Garnethill novels. Time for me to do something about that!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you liked this book.
ReplyDeleteI loved the Garnethill trilogy, and liked the Paddy Meehan series.
I thought Still Midnight was a bit flat, and I didn't like the sections with the criminals.
However, I'm glad to see that this book is so good, and if I can get it, I will read it.
I finished this book and liked it. Although I did not like several characters, I have grown to appreciate Alex Morrow, whom I was ambivalent about in Still Midnight.
ReplyDeleteHer character is much more fully developed in this book.
And I found Kay and her family to be quite realistic. She also came across as an honest, hardworking, and principled person, as revealed later on in the book.