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Paddy Meehan #1
Field of Blood
Set in Glasgow in 1981, a time of hunger strikes, riots and unemployment that decimated the old industrial heartlands, The Field of Blood is the first in the tense Paddy Meehan series from Scotland's princess of crime, Denise Mina.
The vicious murder of a young child provides rookie journalist Paddy Meehan with her first big break when the suspect turns out to be her fiance's 11-year old cousin. Launching her own investigation into the horrific crime, Paddy uncovers lines of deception deep in Glasgow's past, with more horrific crimes in the future if she fails to solve the mystery.
Infused with Mina's unique blend of dark humor, personal insights and social injustice, the story grips the reader while challenging our perceptions of childhood innocence, crime and punishment, and right or wrong.
The vicious murder of a young child provides rookie journalist Paddy Meehan with her first big break when the suspect turns out to be her fiance's 11-year old cousin. Launching her own investigation into the horrific crime, Paddy uncovers lines of deception deep in Glasgow's past, with more horrific crimes in the future if she fails to solve the mystery.
Infused with Mina's unique blend of dark humor, personal insights and social injustice, the story grips the reader while challenging our perceptions of childhood innocence, crime and punishment, and right or wrong.
456 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2005
About the author
Denise Mina
103 books2,302 followersDenise Mina was born in Glasgow in 1966. Because of her father's job as an Engineer, the family followed the north sea oil boom of the seventies around Europe
She left school at sixteen and did a number of poorly paid jobs, including working in a meat factory, as a bar maid, kitchen porter and cook.
Eventually she settled in auxiliary nursing for geriatric and terminal care patients.
At twenty one she passed exams, got into study Law at Glasgow University and went on to research a PhD thesis at Strathclyde University on the ascription of mental illness to female offenders, teaching criminology and criminal law in the mean time.
Misusing her grant she stayed at home and wrote a novel, 'Garnethill' when she was supposed to be studying instead.
She left school at sixteen and did a number of poorly paid jobs, including working in a meat factory, as a bar maid, kitchen porter and cook.
Eventually she settled in auxiliary nursing for geriatric and terminal care patients.
At twenty one she passed exams, got into study Law at Glasgow University and went on to research a PhD thesis at Strathclyde University on the ascription of mental illness to female offenders, teaching criminology and criminal law in the mean time.
Misusing her grant she stayed at home and wrote a novel, 'Garnethill' when she was supposed to be studying instead.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 441 reviews
December 11, 2014
Posted to The Literary Lawyer.ca
An Excellent Character novel with Format Issues 3.5 Stars
This novel is an exercise is what could have been. It is a great story with an incredibly engaging protagonist. Unfortunately, questionable story formatting and unnecessary side stories lead to confusion and frustration in the first half of the book. This had the potential to be a 5 star read but was ultimately weighed down by these issues.
Plot summary
Patricia "Paddy" Meehan is a 20/21 year old "copyboy" at her local Glasgow newspaper. She comes from a conservative Catholic family, has a fiancée, career aspirations, image issues and a healthy temper. These elements of her life conflict on a regular basis. She is not content to work a low level position at the paper and fancies a future as a journalist. The city is buzzing after a three year boy is brutally murdered and two preteen boys are arrested for the crime. When Paddy learns of the identity of the boys, he life is thrown into disarray as one of the children is related to her fiancée. This leads her to question their guilt and follow the leads down some dangerous paths. As the mystery unfolds, she learns about family, herself and what it means to be an adult.
The Good
Amazing Characters
Paddy Meehan is so delicately crafted that she would not be out of place in a Tana French novel. Her character and her flaws are enjoyable, interesting and compelling. Even the secondary characters are drawn with care and developed beyond the average crime novel. It is the characters that make the novel. I was drawn into Paddy's life and despite the issues with the story formatting, I was reading to see what choices Paddy would make and how her issues would resolve. In terms of characterization alone, Paddy is one of the best characters I have read in many years.
The Story is not Bad Either
Set against the background of these wonderful characters is a main plot that is quite engaging. The investigation is at times a series of blunders as an inexperienced character feels her way through clues, suppositions and gut feelings. This is entertaining as it is at the same time a coming of age story for Paddy. The story is set in 1981 and does an excellent job of conveying the sensibilities of a conservative family at this time and the prejudices and assumptions of Paddy's society.
The Bad
You Need a Map
The author clearly makes an attempt to make multiple parallels to another person with same name as our protagonist. Paddy Meehan was also the name of the name of a famous low level crook who was framed for a crime that he did not commit. In order to tell us this parallel story, the author uses a confusing mesh of chapter and "parts" to tell us of Paddy's conviction as well as his backstory. In my opinion, this element of the story was handled very poorly and I may be the first time in my life I was longing for the author to just give us an info dump instead of another storyline. While I understand the parallels the author was making, I am still fuzzy on what exactly the elder Paddy was meant to have done and the reasons for his setup. These element were finally abandoned 3/4 of the way into the book and it did not look back after that. This is the major reason the story lost 1 1/2 stars from me.
Can this Book Stand Alone
Yes. This is the first in the series.
Final Thoughts
Don't let my star rating scare you away from what is really a very good book. I will most certainly read the second in the series as the author's skill in character creation and development is evident. It is rather unfortunate that story is weighted down by some poor story formatting and by some poor editing choices. Maybe my complaints won't be a concern for you. Regardless, I recommend this for fans of Tana French and readers that prefer their mysteries to be character driven.
Content Advisories
It is difficult to find commentary on the sex/violence/language content of book if you are interested. I make an effort to give you the information so you can make an informed decision before reading. *Disclaimer* I do not take note or count the occurrences of adult language as I read. I am simply giving approximations.
Scale 1 - Lowest 5 - Highest
Sex - 3
Paddy deals head on with staunch and conservative approach to sex. There are some clumsy attempts at sexual behavior. There is a moderately graphic but short sex scene. There is discussion of a sexual assault and a character that threatens sexual assault in a graphic manner.
Language - 3.5
There is moderate use of mild obscenities and moderate use of the f-word. Overall, the usage is little higher than average. There are also of variety of insults that are Scottish slang.
Violence - 2.5
There is a murder of a child at the beginning of the book but it is not graphic. A couple of characters are attacked but it is not graphic. There is another murder and it is moderately graphic and seen from the victims perspective. We are told of a sexual assault but it is not described in detail.
An Excellent Character novel with Format Issues 3.5 Stars
This novel is an exercise is what could have been. It is a great story with an incredibly engaging protagonist. Unfortunately, questionable story formatting and unnecessary side stories lead to confusion and frustration in the first half of the book. This had the potential to be a 5 star read but was ultimately weighed down by these issues.
Plot summary
Patricia "Paddy" Meehan is a 20/21 year old "copyboy" at her local Glasgow newspaper. She comes from a conservative Catholic family, has a fiancée, career aspirations, image issues and a healthy temper. These elements of her life conflict on a regular basis. She is not content to work a low level position at the paper and fancies a future as a journalist. The city is buzzing after a three year boy is brutally murdered and two preteen boys are arrested for the crime. When Paddy learns of the identity of the boys, he life is thrown into disarray as one of the children is related to her fiancée. This leads her to question their guilt and follow the leads down some dangerous paths. As the mystery unfolds, she learns about family, herself and what it means to be an adult.
The Good
Amazing Characters
Paddy Meehan is so delicately crafted that she would not be out of place in a Tana French novel. Her character and her flaws are enjoyable, interesting and compelling. Even the secondary characters are drawn with care and developed beyond the average crime novel. It is the characters that make the novel. I was drawn into Paddy's life and despite the issues with the story formatting, I was reading to see what choices Paddy would make and how her issues would resolve. In terms of characterization alone, Paddy is one of the best characters I have read in many years.
The Story is not Bad Either
Set against the background of these wonderful characters is a main plot that is quite engaging. The investigation is at times a series of blunders as an inexperienced character feels her way through clues, suppositions and gut feelings. This is entertaining as it is at the same time a coming of age story for Paddy. The story is set in 1981 and does an excellent job of conveying the sensibilities of a conservative family at this time and the prejudices and assumptions of Paddy's society.
The Bad
You Need a Map
The author clearly makes an attempt to make multiple parallels to another person with same name as our protagonist. Paddy Meehan was also the name of the name of a famous low level crook who was framed for a crime that he did not commit. In order to tell us this parallel story, the author uses a confusing mesh of chapter and "parts" to tell us of Paddy's conviction as well as his backstory. In my opinion, this element of the story was handled very poorly and I may be the first time in my life I was longing for the author to just give us an info dump instead of another storyline. While I understand the parallels the author was making, I am still fuzzy on what exactly the elder Paddy was meant to have done and the reasons for his setup. These element were finally abandoned 3/4 of the way into the book and it did not look back after that. This is the major reason the story lost 1 1/2 stars from me.
Can this Book Stand Alone
Yes. This is the first in the series.
Final Thoughts
Don't let my star rating scare you away from what is really a very good book. I will most certainly read the second in the series as the author's skill in character creation and development is evident. It is rather unfortunate that story is weighted down by some poor story formatting and by some poor editing choices. Maybe my complaints won't be a concern for you. Regardless, I recommend this for fans of Tana French and readers that prefer their mysteries to be character driven.
Content Advisories
It is difficult to find commentary on the sex/violence/language content of book if you are interested. I make an effort to give you the information so you can make an informed decision before reading. *Disclaimer* I do not take note or count the occurrences of adult language as I read. I am simply giving approximations.
Scale 1 - Lowest 5 - Highest
Sex - 3
Paddy deals head on with staunch and conservative approach to sex. There are some clumsy attempts at sexual behavior. There is a moderately graphic but short sex scene. There is discussion of a sexual assault and a character that threatens sexual assault in a graphic manner.
Language - 3.5
There is moderate use of mild obscenities and moderate use of the f-word. Overall, the usage is little higher than average. There are also of variety of insults that are Scottish slang.
Violence - 2.5
There is a murder of a child at the beginning of the book but it is not graphic. A couple of characters are attacked but it is not graphic. There is another murder and it is moderately graphic and seen from the victims perspective. We are told of a sexual assault but it is not described in detail.
April 22, 2017
How did this book make it past an editor? I love Denise Mina, but this book is terrible. The randomly-placed chapters that cut away from the narrative to tell the story of a real-life criminal from the 60s who happens to have the same name as the protagonist slow the momentum of the book and add little to the story. This book is also full of tiny continuity errors -- Paddy lights a cigarette, then immediately stuffs both hands into her pockets and starts talking or crying. . . so, what happened to the cigarette? It's not in her hands or mouth, so did it just disappear? She requests an envelope of clippings from the newspaper, reads and returns them, and then later requests the same envelope of clippings, and Mina describes how the clippings have curled around each other because they "haven't been read in years." Paddy just read them recently! Gah!
I figured out the murder as soon as the relevant character(s) was/were introduced. That was disappointing. The motivation for the murder is never really explored, which is disappointing after a long slog through the first half of the book.
Don't let this be your first Denise Mina book. Start with the Garnet Hill trilogy and go from there.
I figured out the murder as soon as the relevant character(s) was/were introduced. That was disappointing. The motivation for the murder is never really explored, which is disappointing after a long slog through the first half of the book.
Don't let this be your first Denise Mina book. Start with the Garnet Hill trilogy and go from there.
July 11, 2016
Man, Denise Mina. Just really good stuff. She may not be everyone’s cup of tea but I have yet to be disappointed and Field of Blood continues that tradition. This is the first book in a series about young, up-and-coming journalist Paddy Meehan, a remarkable character.
It’s Glasgow, early 80s, and the goal of most girls Paddy knows is to get married and have babies as soon as they can snag a husband. Meanwhile, in the newsroom, it’s still very much a man’s world and Paddy wants in. While her family is pushing her toward marriage and her fiancé has unflatteringly labeled her as “ambitious,” she nevertheless pursues a news story with ties to her community, which quickly turns her people against her.
Paddy’s potential big break is a tragic child murder investigation. It’s not tough to figure out the crime but that’s generally not the point of Mina’s writing. The real fascination is in watching Paddy navigate treacherous waters as she’s placed in real danger for the first time in her life. Mina doesn’t sugarcoat the awkward or uncomfortable situations in which Paddy finds herself, or the mistakes that she makes. Her vulnerabilities and self-recriminations make her wholly authentic and that’s the best thing about this story. Life is not always fair and people don’t get what they seem to deserve. We get to see the human sides of all her characters – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
This is my kind of crime writing. I’ll take this over the typical psychological thriller any day of the week!
It’s Glasgow, early 80s, and the goal of most girls Paddy knows is to get married and have babies as soon as they can snag a husband. Meanwhile, in the newsroom, it’s still very much a man’s world and Paddy wants in. While her family is pushing her toward marriage and her fiancé has unflatteringly labeled her as “ambitious,” she nevertheless pursues a news story with ties to her community, which quickly turns her people against her.
Paddy’s potential big break is a tragic child murder investigation. It’s not tough to figure out the crime but that’s generally not the point of Mina’s writing. The real fascination is in watching Paddy navigate treacherous waters as she’s placed in real danger for the first time in her life. Mina doesn’t sugarcoat the awkward or uncomfortable situations in which Paddy finds herself, or the mistakes that she makes. Her vulnerabilities and self-recriminations make her wholly authentic and that’s the best thing about this story. Life is not always fair and people don’t get what they seem to deserve. We get to see the human sides of all her characters – the good, the bad, and the ugly.
This is my kind of crime writing. I’ll take this over the typical psychological thriller any day of the week!
April 12, 2020
Not a single likeable character, and serious formatting issues.
November 16, 2011
Denise Mina is a hot new Scottish mystery writer. I was drawn to this book partly because the protagonist works in a seedy newsroom at a second-rate newspaper, where she is regularly abused by the dyspeptic employees, partly because she's new and mostly because she's a woman, and partly because this puts the murder mystery genre in a newly fascinating place, the roughest sections of Glasgow. It also vividly works in the Protestant-Catholic tensions of that city, which mirrors Belfast in many respects. And when you think of it, isn't half the fun of reading mysteries to learn about the places and cultures in which they're set?
February 18, 2016
The more Denise Mina I read, even out of order as I did with this (#1 in the Paddy Meehan trilogy, I read #2 a couple of years ago) the more impressed I generally am. The quality of writing coming off each page, the skill with which the cast of characters and the situations in which they live and loathe in, the not simple but not OTT and realistic plot at the centre of things, this is highly impressive Scottish crime/noir.
The story follows Paddy Meehan, a young ambitious copy-girl at a Glasgow newspaper striving to improve her lot and escape her suffocating Irish roots, seeking a break as a journalist in investigating the killing of a local toddler. There are intelligent points made about sexism, journalism, society and culture in the early '80s setting, without it ever seeming preachy, and a side story of Meehan's namesake - an Irishman framed for a murder more than a decade earlier - acts as a convincing counterpoint.
I will be seeking further books by Mina, she doesn't seem to ever disappoint. I will be rationing them out to myself, however, all the better to best enjoy them.
The story follows Paddy Meehan, a young ambitious copy-girl at a Glasgow newspaper striving to improve her lot and escape her suffocating Irish roots, seeking a break as a journalist in investigating the killing of a local toddler. There are intelligent points made about sexism, journalism, society and culture in the early '80s setting, without it ever seeming preachy, and a side story of Meehan's namesake - an Irishman framed for a murder more than a decade earlier - acts as a convincing counterpoint.
I will be seeking further books by Mina, she doesn't seem to ever disappoint. I will be rationing them out to myself, however, all the better to best enjoy them.
June 9, 2017
This was my first book that I have read from this author, and I enjoyed it very much. Looking forward to continuing on with this series. Paddy Meehan is a young journalist earning her stripes in Scotland.
November 30, 2013
The first book in a trilogy. Set in 1980's Glasgow, Scotland. Eighteen year old, Paddy Meehan has an entry level position at a newspaper called a "copyboy" and wants to be a investigative journalist. A child murder happens and Paddy makes a link to a previous child murder eight year prior and put her life in danger to get her first byline and solve two murder cases. I am on the fence on this book, I thought it story and characters were so-so. The historical details of Glasgow under Thatcherism and strict class and religious divisions, descriptions of the newspaper work environment; kept me interested. However, Paddy's struggles in her career and personal live were believable but not very engaging. I will try another book in the series and see where this characters goes.
June 21, 2007
Great fun - as Mina always is. I can't wait to read the second one when it's out in a cheap edition. This goes swiftly - in reading and in narrative. And Mina writes plucky, loveable, less-than-perfect female leads that seem somehow familiar and interesting, damaged but smart.
February 20, 2016
This was my first Denise Mina (a Christmas gift from my wife) and I was instantly hooked! Fantastic crime noir and a wonderful author. Make sure to read the brilliant Garnethill trilogy (and then everything else, but I really don't have to tell you, I'm sure)
May 12, 2015
Basically, I think this review pretty much says what I thought.
But just so that this wouldn't be a "oh, look at that other person's words instead" sort of review ... this was, well, okay. I liked it.
It had a solid enough story - young protagonist, girl from a Catholic family in very early 1980s Glasgow, really wanting to follow her dream and be a journalist instead of doing what her family circle expects and demands of her, i.e. settle down young with a suitable man, get married and dedicate the rest of her life to popping out lots of kids and taking care of home, gets rather deeply into a horrible crime she's researching due to having a semi-personal connection with it and having hunches about the police not getting things quite right.
The characters and setting worked. They felt realistic, Paddy in particular, but also quite a few of the secondary characters, even those we met quite briefly, came across as real people, with pasts and futures and lives of their own, instead of just being there to advance the plot. That's always a good thing.
The mystery/crime part worked, too, although I kept feeling a bit annoyed at how slow Paddy was at times when I'd made the relevant realisations pages if not chapters earlier. But then, it's much easier to read someone else's story than figure things out when they're happening in your own!
What did not work for me was "the other" Paddy Meehan's story. Yeah, it ... well, I see, I think, what the author wanted to achieve, and it was an interesting idea - having this girl share her name with (and thus have some interest in) a falsely imprisoned and therefore pretty well-known small-time crook - but the execution just ... yeah. No. I didn't care about the other Paddy Meehan, I wasn't interested in his life or thoughts, and having entire chapters dedicated to him when I was much more interested in what was going on in girl-Paddy's life ... that just pulled me out of the story and made me grit my teeth to make my way through those bits to get back to the more interesting stuff again.
Anyway. I did enjoy the book okay - not sure I'll want more, but it's nicely standalone, so I don't really feel any need to.
But just so that this wouldn't be a "oh, look at that other person's words instead" sort of review ... this was, well, okay. I liked it.
It had a solid enough story - young protagonist, girl from a Catholic family in very early 1980s Glasgow, really wanting to follow her dream and be a journalist instead of doing what her family circle expects and demands of her, i.e. settle down young with a suitable man, get married and dedicate the rest of her life to popping out lots of kids and taking care of home, gets rather deeply into a horrible crime she's researching due to having a semi-personal connection with it and having hunches about the police not getting things quite right.
The characters and setting worked. They felt realistic, Paddy in particular, but also quite a few of the secondary characters, even those we met quite briefly, came across as real people, with pasts and futures and lives of their own, instead of just being there to advance the plot. That's always a good thing.
The mystery/crime part worked, too, although I kept feeling a bit annoyed at how slow Paddy was at times when I'd made the relevant realisations pages if not chapters earlier. But then, it's much easier to read someone else's story than figure things out when they're happening in your own!
What did not work for me was "the other" Paddy Meehan's story. Yeah, it ... well, I see, I think, what the author wanted to achieve, and it was an interesting idea - having this girl share her name with (and thus have some interest in) a falsely imprisoned and therefore pretty well-known small-time crook - but the execution just ... yeah. No. I didn't care about the other Paddy Meehan, I wasn't interested in his life or thoughts, and having entire chapters dedicated to him when I was much more interested in what was going on in girl-Paddy's life ... that just pulled me out of the story and made me grit my teeth to make my way through those bits to get back to the more interesting stuff again.
Anyway. I did enjoy the book okay - not sure I'll want more, but it's nicely standalone, so I don't really feel any need to.
April 17, 2018
The first book in Denise Mina's trilogy about 80's era Glasgow newspaper reporter Paddy Meehan is a little slow to get started and the heroine is so young (18ish) and subservient to her coldly Catholic family that the beginning is just a bit of a slog. There are also some flashbacks inserted that detail the story of real-life petty criminal Paddy Meehan, whom the heroine is obsessed with as they share a namesake, that seem to break up the momentum.
Keep going.
The story does gather steam and I loved the thick Glaswegian atmosphere, taut with Catholic/Protestant resentments and Thatcher-era recession. The mystery involves the murder of a child and the first few pages were frankly tough to read as Mina can get into the head of her characters SO well. The story once it gathers steam becomes a real page-turner as Meehan, who is struggling as a copy boy at a second-rate Glasgow paper, discovers a familial connection to the case and struggles to balance her journalistic impulse and desire to further her career with placating her family's byzantine values. There's lots to ponder here on the state of feminism and the life of Catholics in Scotland, as well as religion's role in keeping people divided and holding them back. I resolved the mystery at the same time as Paddy so points for keeping me guessing and for communicating the world of 1980's Glasgow so vividly.
Keep going.
The story does gather steam and I loved the thick Glaswegian atmosphere, taut with Catholic/Protestant resentments and Thatcher-era recession. The mystery involves the murder of a child and the first few pages were frankly tough to read as Mina can get into the head of her characters SO well. The story once it gathers steam becomes a real page-turner as Meehan, who is struggling as a copy boy at a second-rate Glasgow paper, discovers a familial connection to the case and struggles to balance her journalistic impulse and desire to further her career with placating her family's byzantine values. There's lots to ponder here on the state of feminism and the life of Catholics in Scotland, as well as religion's role in keeping people divided and holding them back. I resolved the mystery at the same time as Paddy so points for keeping me guessing and for communicating the world of 1980's Glasgow so vividly.
November 16, 2010
This is the first in a new series by Scotland’s top new female crime writer, Denise Mina.
Glasgow, 1981. The body of a four-year-old boy is found tortured and battered to death. The police find out that two eleven-year-old boys are the culprits.
Paddy (Patricia) Meehan has started work on the Scottish Daily News. She wants to be an independant investigative journalist. But all around her is the pressure to conform. Her colleagues and family want her to get married to her fiancé, Sean, and have children.
Paddy discovers that one of the boys charged with the child’s murder is Sean’s cousin, Callum. Callum’s name is News, and her family blame her. Shunned by those closest to her, Paddy is alone.
I don't like Mina’s Dickensian style of portraying society. I don't like the darkness of her character's lives and surroundings - she doesn't have the writing skill to lighten the atmosphere. I didn't like her first series and this one's not for me either.
Glasgow, 1981. The body of a four-year-old boy is found tortured and battered to death. The police find out that two eleven-year-old boys are the culprits.
Paddy (Patricia) Meehan has started work on the Scottish Daily News. She wants to be an independant investigative journalist. But all around her is the pressure to conform. Her colleagues and family want her to get married to her fiancé, Sean, and have children.
Paddy discovers that one of the boys charged with the child’s murder is Sean’s cousin, Callum. Callum’s name is News, and her family blame her. Shunned by those closest to her, Paddy is alone.
I don't like Mina’s Dickensian style of portraying society. I don't like the darkness of her character's lives and surroundings - she doesn't have the writing skill to lighten the atmosphere. I didn't like her first series and this one's not for me either.
May 12, 2023
I read the first novel in this series second.
I read the second novel first. It didn’t matter!
Denise Mina and the fabulous narrator kept me engrossed throughout the well written novel and she taught me even more about the hardships in Scotland. This is particularly true in the small, poor villages, and probably no different than similar, poor villages in Ireland.
Learning more about history, while enjoying police or journalist procedures in this murder mystery makes it twice as good.
I am Scotts-Irish one one side and Irish-French-German on the other side....Until Ancestry changes the DNA percentages again and my childhood history as I understood it :)
Have fun with this.
I read the second novel first. It didn’t matter!
Denise Mina and the fabulous narrator kept me engrossed throughout the well written novel and she taught me even more about the hardships in Scotland. This is particularly true in the small, poor villages, and probably no different than similar, poor villages in Ireland.
Learning more about history, while enjoying police or journalist procedures in this murder mystery makes it twice as good.
I am Scotts-Irish one one side and Irish-French-German on the other side....Until Ancestry changes the DNA percentages again and my childhood history as I understood it :)
Have fun with this.
January 2, 2023
4 stars - English Ebook
The first book in the Paddy Meehan series takes Paddy, a young woman in a "runner" position at a newspaper in Glasgow on an unusual journey.
Paddy's namesake was a criminal who was falsely imprisoned for a murder and his tale is interspersed with hers. While Paddy has ambitions, her Irish family is very traditional, as is her fiance, Sean.
When a gruesome murder of a young boy is thought to have been committed by two older boys, Paddy realizes that she has a connection to one of the boy's through Sean's family. Her conscience does not allow her to use it, but when she confesses this to one of the female interns, she runs with the story. That breaks the relationschip with Paddy's family.
Paddy turns to her work and begins to see things in the case that don't quite fit together and begins to believe that there must have been someone else involved in this murder.
She turns up an old case with some startling similarities. As she goes deeper, and another murder occurs, she finds that her actions may have put her in deep danger.
This was a great mystery not just because of the actual mystery, but because we get to see a young woman make some critical choices on how she wants to live her life.
Next to the mixed lines in the book it made it interesting to read.
I am looking forward to seeing where the next book in the series goes from here.
The first book in the Paddy Meehan series takes Paddy, a young woman in a "runner" position at a newspaper in Glasgow on an unusual journey.
Paddy's namesake was a criminal who was falsely imprisoned for a murder and his tale is interspersed with hers. While Paddy has ambitions, her Irish family is very traditional, as is her fiance, Sean.
When a gruesome murder of a young boy is thought to have been committed by two older boys, Paddy realizes that she has a connection to one of the boy's through Sean's family. Her conscience does not allow her to use it, but when she confesses this to one of the female interns, she runs with the story. That breaks the relationschip with Paddy's family.
Paddy turns to her work and begins to see things in the case that don't quite fit together and begins to believe that there must have been someone else involved in this murder.
She turns up an old case with some startling similarities. As she goes deeper, and another murder occurs, she finds that her actions may have put her in deep danger.
This was a great mystery not just because of the actual mystery, but because we get to see a young woman make some critical choices on how she wants to live her life.
Next to the mixed lines in the book it made it interesting to read.
I am looking forward to seeing where the next book in the series goes from here.
July 26, 2019
My first foray into "tartan noir."
August 27, 2007
THE FIELD OF BLOOD (Amateur Sleuth-Scotland-1960s/1980s) – G
Mina, Denise – Standalone
Bantam Press, 2005- Hardcover
"Paddy" Meehan is 18 and growing up in a strict Catholic family but knew she way lying when she took her first communion. She's working as a copyboy, but wants to be a reporter. A young child is brutally murdered and the cousin of her fiancé is one of the accused. But Paddy doesn't believe it and decides to find out the truth. Interspersed with present Paddy's story, is that of the real Paddy Meehen, a safecracker wrongly convicted of murder in the 1960s/70s.
*** I'd not read Mina before. She has created a wonderful character in "Paddy," who, in spite of her repressive upbringing and poor self-image, is smart, ambitious and determined. The story does have good suspense, but not until late in the story. The story of the real Paddy was interesting but I think the book would have been tighter and better without it. The book is good, but could have been much better.
Mina, Denise – Standalone
Bantam Press, 2005- Hardcover
"Paddy" Meehan is 18 and growing up in a strict Catholic family but knew she way lying when she took her first communion. She's working as a copyboy, but wants to be a reporter. A young child is brutally murdered and the cousin of her fiancé is one of the accused. But Paddy doesn't believe it and decides to find out the truth. Interspersed with present Paddy's story, is that of the real Paddy Meehen, a safecracker wrongly convicted of murder in the 1960s/70s.
*** I'd not read Mina before. She has created a wonderful character in "Paddy," who, in spite of her repressive upbringing and poor self-image, is smart, ambitious and determined. The story does have good suspense, but not until late in the story. The story of the real Paddy was interesting but I think the book would have been tighter and better without it. The book is good, but could have been much better.
March 4, 2012
Denise Mina is one heck of a writer. She not only gives us taut, suspenseful mysteries, but she fills them with expertly drawn characters, real people who feel pain, hurt,shame and eventually, triumph. Set in gritty Glasgow in 1981, with a back story set in the 60's, this novel gives us the inside scoop on newsrooms, with a myriad of colorful, drunken newsmen, and at the same time sheds light on the poverty stricken inhabitants of that failing city, giving insight into how horrendous crimes can be committed. The heroine, Paddy Meehan, a young woman born into that stultifying society, suffers from a terrible sense of self worth but is imbued with such desire to make it in the newspaper business that we just know she will succeed, and overcome the huge odds stacked against her.
Paddy solves the case of the 3 year old boy found murdered and sexually violated, but not without causing a great deal of suffering to her family, her fiance, and to herself. In the end, though, victory is hers.
This is a terrific read. I can't wait to read the next Paddy Meehan mystery!
Paddy solves the case of the 3 year old boy found murdered and sexually violated, but not without causing a great deal of suffering to her family, her fiance, and to herself. In the end, though, victory is hers.
This is a terrific read. I can't wait to read the next Paddy Meehan mystery!
January 28, 2020
Setting: Glasgow; 1981. This is the first book in a series featuring Patricia (Paddy) Meehan, copy boy at the Scottish Daily News but with dreams of being an investigative journalist. When two young boys are arrested for the kidnap and murder of a small child, the police think they have an open-and-shut case. But Paddy thinks that there is more to the story - that there is someone else behind the boys' actions. She is even more convinced when she discovers the kidnap occurred on the eighth anniversary of a similar kidnap and murder where the father of the child was imprisoned for the murder and later killed himself. Paddy also finds she has familial links to one of the boys, but her investigations upset her own family when an article appears in her newspaper - even though she had nothing to do with it. As Paddy continues with her solo investigations, she puts herself and others in mortal danger...
Looking forward to reading more of this series, which has great characters and a dark and seedy setting - 9/10.
Looking forward to reading more of this series, which has great characters and a dark and seedy setting - 9/10.
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February 5, 2009From the author of the acclaimed Garnethill trilogy comes the much-praised debut of a projected five-part series starring Paddy Meehan. In this hardboiled Scottish crime thriller, Mina takes on journalistic ethics, newsroom culture, sexism, and coming-of-age dilemmas. Critics agree that her well-rounded characters, including the nuanced Paddy, fit seamlessly into her compelling descriptions of a tight working-class community in the early 1980s. But it's not all dark; Mina peppers her frightening tale with empathy and humor. A couple of distractions may deter readers (i.e., the doings of a Scottish criminal also named Paddy Meehan), but critics agree that this new series will give Ian Rankin and Val McDermid a run for their money.
This is an excerpt from a review published in Bookmarks magazine.
October 18, 2012
BOTTOM LINE: #1 Paddy Meehan, would-be journalist, a city in Scotland; amateur sleuth, VERY dark. A young boy goes missing, and newspaper gopher Paddy sees her big chance to become a journalist - her ties to the Irish community in a Scottish slum just might give her the break she needs, but things go badly awry.
At 600 pages my large print copy was daunting, and after 100+ pages I simply gave up: too grim for my taste. Although Mina is a powerful writer and the pacing was good, if a bit erratic at times, and I rather liked Paddy, this was just not my cuppa.
At 600 pages my large print copy was daunting, and after 100+ pages I simply gave up: too grim for my taste. Although Mina is a powerful writer and the pacing was good, if a bit erratic at times, and I rather liked Paddy, this was just not my cuppa.
April 27, 2008
This is the first of a series with Paddy Meehan, a fledgling reporter in Glasgow. It came highly recommended as part of the "Tartan Noir" genre (Scottish detective books). I almost thought I couldn't read it with the horrifying first chapter, but Paddy really grew on me and I had to continue with the series.
March 4, 2017
This was about average as a stand alone novel, but I see that it is a series. I'm not sure how that's going to go, but I might be curious enough to read one more.
I felt that the inclusion of Paddy Meehan (the male one) was superfluous, and really added nothing to the story.
I felt that the inclusion of Paddy Meehan (the male one) was superfluous, and really added nothing to the story.
September 13, 2020
This was a pretty good murder mystery with engaging characters.
January 30, 2021
Jo, this is the trilogy I would recommend reading, starting with this book. A fun, light read.
April 16, 2021
I've discovered a new favorite, and I'm not allowed to start the next book until I do my chores tomorrow.
August 7, 2020
I have read several books by Denise Mina and found them uniquely interesting. Field of Blood focused on Glasgow, Scotland on 1981. The reader meets a young woman, Paddy Meehan, of the poorer class, struggling to become a journalist, at a time when good Catholic girls got married and bore lots of children. She risks her family’s support, her fiancé’s proposal and ultimately her life in order to pursue a career at a very man-dominated newspaper. A great look at the seedier city in a time of great political unrest. Put in a sexual situation, Paddy notes: “She didn’t understand the geography of men’s genitals. She’d seen a cross section in a biology textbook. The teacher refused to teach the module on religious grounds...and gave them an hour to read through it in silence.” This unsophisticated lass still doggedly pursues her life long ambition to “report miscarriages of justice [and] correct them.” This book was published in 2005. I don’t know how I missed it or if there is a book two about Ms Meehan. I’ll have to look...
Yes there are more....
Yes there are more....
August 9, 2014
At first, I didn't like this book--found the protagonist Paddy to be sulky, petty, whiny, and unlikable. As the story went on, I started to think maybe I was warming up to her. She was earnest sometimes, she wasn't content with being a good Catholic housewife and found it offensive that her fiancé didn't want her to have a career, and she really kicked some butts when she was wronged. But despite her belief that she was smart and shrewd, she bungled everything. She didn't make connections that were pretty much shoved in her face. I don't generally read thrillers (I read this for a book club) and have no experience picking mysteries apart, but I kept picking up on everything far before she did. That made me not like her again.
At one point when she was confiding in a fellow journalist about something private, I thought she was deliberately trying to get her to use it as a news story; I couldn't see why she would be that oblivious, to tell a journalist about a personal connection to a major crime and then think nothing would happen when she said she herself couldn't use the story. I guess it's nice to have a protagonist journalist sometimes who isn't particularly quick on the uptake, though. I did like the honesty in her mental narration. Despite not being on board the Catholic beliefs train, she sure has her Catholic guilt installed perfectly.
There were several aspects of the book's storytelling that told me things I felt like I shouldn't have been told. For instance, I'm not worried at the end that Paddy might get murdered if the narration in the middle talks about the card games she and her sister would be playing for years into the future. I'm not convinced that Paddy has found the murderer when a weird loose end about a man with an earring was focused on so tenderly and never brought up again. I'm not breathlessly watching the mystery unfold when I've known for half the book that the Baby Brian Boys got driven to their destination in a car because of the peculiar opening chapter, nor am I shocked at a young journalist's death when the narration chooses to depart from the otherwise consistent perspective protagonist and show me her murder. I would have liked this book a lot more if I hadn't been frustrated at the thunder delivered with the revelations when I'd seen the lightning fifty pages ago.
Still, there were quite a few things I did like about the storytelling, and that was mostly character. I didn't like Paddy, but I liked the way she was told. She was always commenting on her own weight and feeling bad about it, punishing herself for it, sulking about it, and some of the ways she did that were very true to life. She ate something that wasn't on her diet and felt it might cancel out some of the effect if she refused to enjoy it. She fantasized about what she'd do when she lost the weight--thinking about telling someone who'd called her fat that he was fatter than her as she showed off in the skirt she'd optimistically already bought for her thin-woman future. She had big plans of being a famous journalist and already had her list building of who she would punish once she was successful.
The newsroom culture was fascinating, and Mina had it down. Paddy is judgy and insecure at the same time, so frequently building herself up for her supposed talents and then reality-checking herself only to realize she feels like she's just pretending to be a journalist. I like that she can see what's missing from a story--that she could tell when something got edited out before press time--and that she could read fellow journalist Heather's writing and recognize it as overwritten and childish. And I liked that Paddy, for all her ambition, was still so sheltered. When a short-haired, masculine woman in her office frequently stared at Paddy's breasts, she wondered what the heck that could mean. Gee.
I liked the odd little details of people, too. Mary Ann, Paddy's sister, was described as having an eloquent laugh that was practically its own language, and I really thought that was clever. It wasn't just a throwaway detail, either; Mary Ann did very little but laugh in this book. I liked that at a funeral Paddy was having some kind of selfish thought and her fiancé Sean thought she was expressing sorrow, offering her comfort (which she took). I liked how she and Sean bickered when they were alone but only seemed okay when they were around others, and how he's so insecure that he tries to make her ashamed of her ambition (while Paddy herself worries that Sean has chosen her because she'll feel lucky she landed anyone since she's fat). I liked how Paddy took on Heather's smoking habit. I liked how the Catholic family shows people it disapproves of something you've done by shunning you as you live among them. And I liked how the somewhat parallel crime saga of a wrongly jailed innocent man twenty years before wove into Paddy's 1980s plot.
I did not like the abundance of asides, many of them about setting, that the narration gave to us. And I did not like the ending. The motive for killing Baby Brian was very muddy, not to mention it was revealed in a classic presentation of "bad guy reveals everything in the end." I thought Paddy accidentally meeting the murderer earlier in the book and the importance of someone having an earring were far too constructed--especially since believing you have the wrong man based on him not having an earring is ridiculous since maybe he just wasn't wearing it at the time. Just happening to come across the murderer in a photograph so you can place his face is pretty contrived too.
I can't give it more than three stars because of the plot feeling so hollow to me, but some of those little moments attached to the characters were really nice.
At one point when she was confiding in a fellow journalist about something private, I thought she was deliberately trying to get her to use it as a news story; I couldn't see why she would be that oblivious, to tell a journalist about a personal connection to a major crime and then think nothing would happen when she said she herself couldn't use the story. I guess it's nice to have a protagonist journalist sometimes who isn't particularly quick on the uptake, though. I did like the honesty in her mental narration. Despite not being on board the Catholic beliefs train, she sure has her Catholic guilt installed perfectly.
There were several aspects of the book's storytelling that told me things I felt like I shouldn't have been told. For instance, I'm not worried at the end that Paddy might get murdered if the narration in the middle talks about the card games she and her sister would be playing for years into the future. I'm not convinced that Paddy has found the murderer when a weird loose end about a man with an earring was focused on so tenderly and never brought up again. I'm not breathlessly watching the mystery unfold when I've known for half the book that the Baby Brian Boys got driven to their destination in a car because of the peculiar opening chapter, nor am I shocked at a young journalist's death when the narration chooses to depart from the otherwise consistent perspective protagonist and show me her murder. I would have liked this book a lot more if I hadn't been frustrated at the thunder delivered with the revelations when I'd seen the lightning fifty pages ago.
Still, there were quite a few things I did like about the storytelling, and that was mostly character. I didn't like Paddy, but I liked the way she was told. She was always commenting on her own weight and feeling bad about it, punishing herself for it, sulking about it, and some of the ways she did that were very true to life. She ate something that wasn't on her diet and felt it might cancel out some of the effect if she refused to enjoy it. She fantasized about what she'd do when she lost the weight--thinking about telling someone who'd called her fat that he was fatter than her as she showed off in the skirt she'd optimistically already bought for her thin-woman future. She had big plans of being a famous journalist and already had her list building of who she would punish once she was successful.
The newsroom culture was fascinating, and Mina had it down. Paddy is judgy and insecure at the same time, so frequently building herself up for her supposed talents and then reality-checking herself only to realize she feels like she's just pretending to be a journalist. I like that she can see what's missing from a story--that she could tell when something got edited out before press time--and that she could read fellow journalist Heather's writing and recognize it as overwritten and childish. And I liked that Paddy, for all her ambition, was still so sheltered. When a short-haired, masculine woman in her office frequently stared at Paddy's breasts, she wondered what the heck that could mean. Gee.
I liked the odd little details of people, too. Mary Ann, Paddy's sister, was described as having an eloquent laugh that was practically its own language, and I really thought that was clever. It wasn't just a throwaway detail, either; Mary Ann did very little but laugh in this book. I liked that at a funeral Paddy was having some kind of selfish thought and her fiancé Sean thought she was expressing sorrow, offering her comfort (which she took). I liked how she and Sean bickered when they were alone but only seemed okay when they were around others, and how he's so insecure that he tries to make her ashamed of her ambition (while Paddy herself worries that Sean has chosen her because she'll feel lucky she landed anyone since she's fat). I liked how Paddy took on Heather's smoking habit. I liked how the Catholic family shows people it disapproves of something you've done by shunning you as you live among them. And I liked how the somewhat parallel crime saga of a wrongly jailed innocent man twenty years before wove into Paddy's 1980s plot.
I did not like the abundance of asides, many of them about setting, that the narration gave to us. And I did not like the ending. The motive for killing Baby Brian was very muddy, not to mention it was revealed in a classic presentation of "bad guy reveals everything in the end." I thought Paddy accidentally meeting the murderer earlier in the book and the importance of someone having an earring were far too constructed--especially since believing you have the wrong man based on him not having an earring is ridiculous since maybe he just wasn't wearing it at the time. Just happening to come across the murderer in a photograph so you can place his face is pretty contrived too.
I can't give it more than three stars because of the plot feeling so hollow to me, but some of those little moments attached to the characters were really nice.
March 17, 2020
You have to love Paddy Meehan, the overweight young wannabe journalist heroine of this story. She's a lapsed but pretending Catholic, she's got a mouth on her that could stop an oncoming freight train, and she's smart, smart, smart. Except when she makes howling mistakes, which is often. Cleverly done with great gritty details of life in Glasgow before everyone was on a cell phone.
April 20, 2021
I had to force myself to read on with this book.
It is well written and the pace is good but I had 2 issues with it.
Firstly I was extremely uncomfortable reading a story that parallels the killing of Jamie Bulger.
That very real and dreadful event still horrifies me.
Also, the book is overwritten with unnecessary sub plots and several backdrops leading the reader all over the place.
I wasn’t that fond of the (female) Paddy Meehan character either to be honest.
I have bought another book (an Amazon deal) by Denise Mina that is of a completely different series. I am hoping it is better.
It is well written and the pace is good but I had 2 issues with it.
Firstly I was extremely uncomfortable reading a story that parallels the killing of Jamie Bulger.
That very real and dreadful event still horrifies me.
Also, the book is overwritten with unnecessary sub plots and several backdrops leading the reader all over the place.
I wasn’t that fond of the (female) Paddy Meehan character either to be honest.
I have bought another book (an Amazon deal) by Denise Mina that is of a completely different series. I am hoping it is better.
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