Cover Image: The Long Drop

The Long Drop

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Member Reviews

Thanks to NetGalley and to Little, Brown and Company for a preview copy of this book.

This is the second Mina book I have read- however, the other was an audible edition. Perhaps I would have been able to appreciate this more had I listened. I found myself going back and forth several times, confused as to the timeline, as to who actually did what and even at the end- was not sure.

There were no likeable characters in the book. The plot line was hard to follow and the ending confusing. What more can I say?

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This is a literary retelling of the final days & trial of Peter Manuel, a serial killer who was hanged in Glasgow’s Barlinnie Prison on July 11, 1958. Nicknamed “the Beast of Birkenshaw”, he was convicted of 7 murders & suspected of others.

On Sept. 17, 1956 Glasgow businessman William Watt’s wife, daughter & sister-in-law were murdered while he was away on a trip. But police were under tremendous pressure to make an arrest & decided Watt was as good a suspect as any. He spent more than 2 months in prison until prominent lawyer Lawrence Dowdall secured his release. Watt went on to spend much of the next year carrying out his own investigation in an effort to clear his name. On Jan. 1,1958 another family was murdered & from then on, Manuel’s days were numbered.

Much has been written about the case & the author stays true to the facts while adding her own spin on some of the unanswered questions. The story has 2 main threads that are told in alternating chapters. The first takes place over the course of one night in Dec. 1957 as she imagines a meeting between Watt & Manuel. We follow them as they hit every bar in town, both with private agendas. Watt believes Manuel knows where the murder weapon is & he wants it. And Manuel…..well, he just wants money & someone to toy with.

The other thread begins 6 months later in 1958 as Peter Manuel goes on trial. One by one we hear from all those called to testify including Manuel’s parents & Watt himself.

As both story lines progress, ugly truths are gradually revealed as we follow the 2 MC’s in dual time lines. Mina does a wonderful job of slowly peeling back the layers of these 2 complex characters. Watt initially comes across as a crass, nouveau riche social climber desperate for respect. But it’s her portrait of Manuel that makes your blood run cold. He can turn from charming manipulator to violent sociopath in a heartbeat & will genuinely make your skin crawl. It’s like watching a chess game between 2 well matched opponents & there’s a continuous power shift as they try to outmanoeuvre each other.

It’s stylishly written & rich in period detail. Glasgow in the 1950’s is another character in itself. Parts of the blackened city would later be levelled but at the time it was a dark & gritty place with well known gangsters controlling their turf. It also illustrates the popular beliefs & societal prejudices at a time when the class system was still in effect.

This is not a thriller in the traditional sense as most of the violence is described in retrospect. There is much more dialogue than action. It’s a thought provoking & psychological study of 2 flawed men that keeps you guessing & I particularly enjoyed the author’s twist on how Watt’s family ended up dead. Who knows….maybe it’s true.

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It's always a joy to open a new novel by Denise Mina and start reading. She has a brilliant voice, and manages to evoke people and places vividly, and tells human stories with enormous humor and sympathy. I felt that way starting The Long Drop. But that feeling waned a bit as I read. Mina has often delighted me by making me care about characters who have little going for them; you see the world from the perspective of their experience, and end up more generous for it. But here she gives our sympathy a workout, focusing on two unpleasant people, flipping our understanding of them on its head. She has done an interesting job of imagining herself into an actual crime and into the infamous Gorbles and the shady world of Glasgow cops and robbers. It's all very sinister. But in the end, I found both the major characters and their situation strangely uninvolving. Maybe it was my mood, but I never developed a connection with the story as I usually do.

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The story of the murder of three women and the subsequent trial. I loved the details that flashed through the novel and the sense of uncertainty.

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Excellent book! Great characters and a brilliant storyline. I would highly recommend this book.

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I wasn't able to finish this. It simply did not hold my attention.

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Based on an actual case in 1950’s Ireland, Mina imagines what may have gone on behind the scenes. A house full of dead women, their father suspected of their murders. William Watt swears he had nothing to do with the killings and offers to pay anyone who can exonerate him. There follows a meeting with criminal Peter Manual who seems to have information about the murder no one should be privy to…unless they were there. When the trial takes place, it’s Peter defending himself against the murder charges, not William. What did the two men discuss during their meeting and is there a high enough price for murder?

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