Book Details:  

Category:
FICTION, SUSPENSE & THRILLERS
Format:
TRADE PAPERBACK
Publish Date:
3/8/2010
Price:
$13.99/$0.00
ISBN:
9780316015608
Pages:
384

   

STORY PLOT:

Paddy Meehan is no stranger to murder–as a reporter she lives at crime scenes–but nothing has prepared her for this visit from the police. Her former boyfriend and fellow journalist Terry Patterson has been found hooded and shot through the head. Paddy knows she will be of little help–she had not seen Terry in more than six months. So she is bewildered to learn that in his will he has left her his house and several suitcases full of notes. Drawn into a maze of secrets and lies, Paddy begins making connections to Terry’s murder that no one else has seen, and soon finds herself trapped in the most important–and dangerous–story of her career.  

MY REVIEW:

It was an absolute pleasure to read this book.  primary characters are three-dimensional, fallible yet honorable. The dialogue is often hysterical and the main character’s thoughts and conversations sparkle with wit, sarcasm, charm and well-chosen Scottish profanity.  

Denise Mina’s writing style is unfailingly original, with non-stock characters, and a sly, sharp-edged humor. Her characters are not simple, and their decisions are not simple. Much of the action is unexpected, yet rings true.  

It’s a very good mystery -thriller to read alone and also great for your book club..  

ABOUT AUTHOR:

Denise Mina is the author of The Dead Hour, Field of Blood, Deception, and the Garnethill trilogy, the first installment of which won her the John Creasey Memorial Prize for best first crime novel. She lives in Glasgow.  

READING GROUP GUIDE:  

QUESTIONS AND TOPIC for DISCUSSIONS :

1. Why do you think Denise Mina chooses to begin the novel from 

  

Terry’s point of view? Is his death so early in the novel a surprise?  

2. Paddy’s family members play important roles in this novel. How  

have the Meehan family dynamics changed since the death of  

Paddy’s father? What is the importance of Mary Ann’s vocation  

to her mother? Discuss the alternative forms of “family” that the  

novel presents. How does Paddy’s own defi nition of family change  

in the course of the novel?  

   

3. How does Paddy’s life as a single mother affect her relationship to 

  

her work? What does the novel suggest about the balance between  

personal and professional obligations for a character like Paddy?  

4. Discuss the role Callum Ogilvy plays in the story. Does your  

opinion of him change from the novel’s beginning to end?  

5. Discuss the ways in which religion limits different characters’  

views of each other in the novel.  

6. Much of  

Slip of the Knife

is concerned with changes to the 

  

journalistic profession and the economic diffi culties facing  

newspapers today. Describe some of these changes, and discuss  

the ways in which they affect the kinds of journalism that gets  

published.  

7. Discuss the differences between Brian Donaldson and Martin 

  

McBree. Is either of them ever a sympathetic character? Why do  

you think Denise Mina chooses to narrate parts of the novel from  

Martin McBree’s perspective?  

 

  

 

8.

. McBree Explain why the Scottish police are protecting Martin

  

How does this novel change your understanding of presentday  

relations between Scotland and Ireland? Among Scotland,  

Ireland, and England?  

9. What is  

Slip of the Knife   

saying about the usefulness of revenge? 

  

Does the novel carry a message about what makes a political  

cause just or unjust?  

10. What do you think the future holds for Paddy and Dub as a  

couple?  

THE GIVEAWAY:

* 3 Copies*  

From March 25th – March 29th  

* USA & CANADA Only  

*No P.O. Boxes  

*Leave your Email-Id to enter  

Thanks Valerie@Hachett for the review copy and the giveaway.