(I received a free copy of this book from Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.)

DI Alex Morrow and her team have been shadowing a woman suspected of being involved in a large drug-smuggling and money-laundering operation. Roxanna Fuentecilla recently moved from London to Glasgow in suspicious circumstances and Morrow's bosses want all the glory when she's finally arrested. But then Roxanna disappears. She's left her partner and her two children and something about the situation, and the children's evasive attitude, leads Morrow to question what's really going on.
In the nearby picturesque town of Helensburgh, Iain Fraser is struggling to live with his overwhelming guilt. Under orders from the infamous Mark Barratt he's just killed a woman and now he's left with blood on his hands. Meanwhile Miss Grierson, a former scout leader who left the sleepy seaside town decades ago, has returned. Allegedly she's here to sort out her recently deceased mother's estate, but Iain knows her mother died over two years ago and suspects she has an ulterior motive.

Having read and enjoyed both the Garnethill and Paddy Meehan series' by Denise Mina, I started reading this Alex Morrow series. Leading up to now, the series had been pretty good but this book seemed to stall a little bit for me.

The good: characters play a big part in every story and those in this novel are well drawn out, especially the murderer. I felt something akin to sympathy for the one character who probably shouldn't elicit sympathy, but there you have it. I also found that the bad guy got nearly as much "page time" as the detectives...and that impressed me too. Gives the reader a good look at what the detectives are up against...
Also, the mystery itself was fascinating. Several threads ran through this story (which, as most mystery readers will know, can be a good or bad thing!) and I did wonder how they were going to come together in the end but, as usual, Mina brings them to a nice conclusion, one that makes sense but doesn't try to overdo the surprise.

The not-good: After saying that the depiction of the killer was well done, the same can't be said for Alex. I didn't really feel any growth from her in this novel. Secondly, the start was complicated, as all the characters seemed to invade the novel, one after the other. Finally, the Scottish setting was fine - but the Scottish dialogue, in particular the local references and lingo - made it difficult at times to get right into.

Overall, a good mystery and a 'bad guy' that you can really get invested in.


Paul
ARH

Really enjoyed this story. Great plot, and a new author. Would recommend this to friends readily.