Patrick Anderson
Slip of the Knife is a readable, stylishly written thriller, but by including so much of Paddy's personal life, Mina often lets her crime story get lost while Paddy worries about her sister's forbidden romance and her son's progress in school…it's difficult for a novelist to juggle horrid crimes with the stuff of everyday life. Dashiell Hammett's Sam Spade didn't have an everyday life, which simplified things considerably. But Mina and other modern writers are expanding the boundaries of the crime novel, even at the risk that some readers will skip the kitchen-sink scenes in search of the next murder most foul.
—The Washington Post
Publishers Weekly
Set in 1990, Mina's superb third thriller to feature Paddy Meehan (after 2006's Edgar-finalist The Dead Hour) finds the Glaswegian journalist embroiled in the most politically charged and personal story of her career. When the corpse of Meehan's ex-lover, journalist Terry Hewitt, turns up in the countryside near Port Glasgow, everything points to an IRA execution. After Meehan discovers that Terry willed her his notes and a house in the country, she decides to investigate his murder. Distracted by the imminent parole of Callum Ogilvy-the young cousin of her ex-fiancé convicted for his role in a child's murder in Field of Blood(2005)-Meehan soon realizes that everyone from the Scottish police to the IRA is intent on keeping the motive for Terry's death a secret. When Terry's colleague is killed and her own young son is threatened, Meehan knows she must uncover the men responsible before she becomes their next victim. This gripping read, with its intricate plotting and realistic regional dialogue, will leave even the most astute reader guessing until the end. (Feb.)
Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information
Library Journal
Paddy Meehan (Dead Hour) is one of the most fascinating female characters in contemporary crime fiction. A foul-mouthed, hot-headed, fiercely loyal, and perennially overweight 27 year old, Paddy gives as good as she gets in the rough-and-tumble, mostly male world of Glasgow journalism. As Mina's new thriller opens, things are looking pretty good for Paddy. She writes a popular weekly column for the Daily News. With her five-year-old son, Peter, she has finally moved out of her family home into an apartment with her friend Dub McKenzie. Then police come to her door to tell her that her ex-boyfriend, Terry Hewitt, has been murdered. Terry's killing looks like an IRA hit, but the IRA denies responsibility. As Paddy begins to investigate, she discovers a secret that might put her and her loved ones in danger. Secondary threads having to do with friends and family threaten at times to upstage the main plotline, but the whole novel is so engrossing that it hardly matters. Highly recommended. [See Prepub Alert, LJ10/15/07.]
—Jane la Plante
