Welcome to Litsy!

#Movie2BookRecs @Klou
Movie: Carlito's Way

This is one of the books on my “currently reading” list that I want to clear out … one way or another … this year. 🤔

#beginswith #long

1950s Glasgow recreated in a murder trial "inspired by true events".

Argh. Typo. Should read "never witnessed public drunkenness before..."

Crime fiction set in 1950s Glasgow: definitely far away from the quarantine.

Really enjoyed Mina's style of writing. This was a fictitious account of the real life Scottish serial killer Peter Manuel. A good psychological thriller.
#Booked2020 #Spring #TartanNoir #Murder2020 (book 36)

This was my choice for Tartan Noir for #Booked2020 (hope it‘s ok to read out of season?). Itwas a good story, but it wasn‘t exactly my cup of tea. I like noir generally, and I understand that it‘s meant to be gritty, but some of the descriptions of violence in this one just seemed overly gruesome and unnecessary in their detail.

Reminded me of an old black and white film. I enjoyed going through the events of the crime in the courtroom, witness by witness. Getting the perspective of each of the players.

Mina can really write. I felt I had met each character in this dark creepy story. The ending was rather satisfying.

#LitsyAtoZ M
Denise Mina brings to life the true story of a notorious serial killer in 1950's Glasgow by imagining that the husband/father of victims spends a night drinking with peter Manuel the killer. Captures the city,time, & criminals with skill and the highlight is the story of the trial. I worried abt how she played with possible motives and the picture of watt the bereaved husband but overall an interesting and absorbing read.

“Mr. Cook knows how men talk about girls. He knows what might have happened to his Isabel.”

I loved this! It felt like Mina was sitting here chatting; telling the story; sharing her research; offering her opinion and asking questions (why did no one ask about this?). These are true crimes and she doesn‘t sensationalize.

I have the hardback and was constantly distracted by the pre-M8 map of Glasgow on the inside front cover - there is something very fascinating about old maps of familiar places.

I really liked the tone of this book. Part trial and part the night of, this book releases information in a super interesting way.

1st full day of convalescence in the new cast. If all goes according to plan, I may only have to wear this for 4-6 weeks. But 50 out of 60 mins each hour of the day needs to be in recline with my feet above my heart. Luckily, I'm a reader and this is not an unfamiliar position for me. 😂

When I am struggling to find my pace with a book, I will sometimes weave in a sure thing to get me going again so I don't hit a reading slump. This book is serving that purpose! I adore Denise Mona's writing and her characters. She is so good at plotting her books. It's hard not to get pulled in.

William Watt, whose wife & daughters were murdered, goes on a pub crawl through Glasgow with Peter Manuel, serial liar & the suspected killer. The story flits between that night & the murder trial. The courtroom scenes perfectly capture the dynamics of a trial w wonderful details - eg Watt's lawyer struggling to make him a likeable witness. Taut, economical language, intelligent. Lacked suspense: the crime was past & I didn't care who was guilty.

Excited to start The Long Drop after hearing great things. Love the writing so far.

"He has been up half the night playing narrative chess."

This book was well-written, but I was so bored 😴P.S. Sorry for the low quality photo. It's too dark to take a picture of my copy, and all the pictures of this edition online are pixelated!

Denise Mina always writes with assured excellence. This retelling and partial reimagining of the story of Peter Manuel, Glasgow's most notorious serial killer, moves briskly, with plenty of well-chosen details to bring the persons involved to life. 4⭐️

"How many men have you hanged, Harry? Give us a rough estimate."

Peter Manuel was executed by hangman Harry Allen, the namesake of Harry Wade in the play "Hangmen", by Martin McDonagh. Photo is of David Morrissey as Harry.

Nearly laughed out loud on the bus at the refusal to present this argument in court "because it is stupid" ?

The nickname explained.

True crime story set in 1950's Glasgow. Got the ebook from NetGalley. Loved the writing, didn't love the story or the people it portrayed. A very dark, bleak book.

So, this was nothing like other Denise Mina books I've read. Not really a mystery at all. I still like her writing and her commentary about misogyny but this lacks pace in a big way. Not at all what I was expecting.

Started this audiobook today. Learned that the author's last name is pronounced MY-nah (rather than Mean-ah).

#themoreyouknow💫

Sweeeeeet! Just in on audio from my most awesome local library!

Denise Mina: Telling the true crime stories of gritty Glasgow. http://lithub.com/denise-mina-telling-the-true-crime-stories-of-gritty-glasgow/

Morning reading. ☠️⚰️🖤

Afternoon plans. #birdseyeview

Look what was waiting for me in the mail. New books sure are pretty.

I cannot wait to read this book. Have read the first chapter and I just want more.

Procrasti-reading continues with a tiny bit of my fave Denise Mina ❤️💛💚💙💜