The Long Drop, published by Penguin Random House UK, and written by Denise Mina,
is ‘long-listed’ for Harrogate Crime Writers this July. It is referenced to the serial killer, Peter Manuel, and his trial in a Glasgow court room. Mina is a story teller and in this instance it would not be difficult to give away the plot! The truth is already out there and has been told on TV. The characters tell the story of some of the worst parts of life in Glasgow in 1957 and 1958. It was brought to life for me in her use of dialogue between the two main protagonists, Wait and Manuel, and the other low life ones than inhabit their world.
It could be trail of dead bodies, but it isn't. The murdered are treated with respect, although later in the book, when Manuel defends himself we only have his version. He is a killer and he wants the focus of attention and the brutalized dead are of no significance to him. He thinks he is a story-teller. He thinks he is the star, but he is so badly wrong.
I love the detail given by Mina. I like the way she portrays the ‘polis’, the criminals, the club life and heavy drinking and the streets of Glasgow too. The detail and dialogue are amazing. Also we have an insight into the Manuel household, the not so clever father and his devout catholic wife. That is sad too. The court room scenes have energy and then there is the end. Again in detail. This is not a happy read, but a well executed one.
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