Mina, Denise – THE FIELD OF BLOOD

[LJ Roberts]

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.