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The Dead Hour (Abridged): A Novel Audiobook
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(3.02) - 1,038 listener ratings
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Publisher Description
In the brilliant sequel to Field of Blood, reporter Paddy Meehan is riding high on the success of solving the Brian Wilcox case. Then an encounter with a mysterious blonde who later turns up dead draws Paddy into a web of violence and greed.
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"I read a lot of genre fiction - mostly mysteries. My favorite authors have been Ruth Rendell and P. D. James. In recent years I have added Ian Rankin to that list. I have been aware of Denise Mina but my local public library has never had any of her books until this one. Based on this one example I am close to adding her to my "A" list. This was a very good read. I am looking forward to readig more of her work."
— Guy (4 out of 5 stars)
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“Surely Paddy Meehan is the most unlikely, and most realistic, investigator in recent crime fiction. And The Dead Hour is arguably the most gripping, surprising, and satisfying thriller in many a season. Ms. Mina gives a reader everything from grim deeds and grisly forensics to cutthroat office politics, sharp humor, warm family scenes, and earthly sex. She can show as much with a raised eyebrow as with an outright threat…The Dead Hour is some kind of magnificent.”
— Wall Street Journal -
“Denise Mina has made Paddy smart, feisty, hot-blooded, and guilty-stricken, a riveting creature of her time and place. Ms. Mina writes inviting, colorful novels that happen to involve some degree of chicanery…She is on footing with Ian Rankin and Peter Robinson with this book.”
— New York Times -
“Her plotting skills are top-drawer, but it’s in character description where Mina combines a painter’s eye with a social worker’s keen perspective.”
— Ms. -
“Gloriously visceral…The Dead Hour showcases the author in peak form as she continues the story of her young newspaper journalist Paddy Meehan…Mina excels at narrative and social commentary.”
— Newsday -
“The Dead Hour is an intense and entertaining work of crime fiction that feels so real it’ll leave dirt underneath the reader’s fingernails. And Paddy Meehan is a brilliant auctorial concoction.”
— Denver Post -
“Paddy Meehan is the anti-Nancy Drew…A winningly breezy sleuth-meets reporter series.”
— USA Today -
“Brutally funny.”
— People -
“Paddy’s company is always a pleasure. And Mina’s narrative instincts are so strong, you end up savoring the wait [to discover the connections between characters].”
— Philadelphia Inquirer -
“Subtle and shrewd.”
— Chicago Tribune -
“Mina, a colorful, muscular writer, has got a real winner with Paddy, and readers will hope she doesn’t grow up too fast.”
— Portsmouth Herald -
“If Denise Mina isn’t careful, she’s going to undermine her status as a successful thriller writer by creating characters we would care about in any old situation. In Paddy Meehan, Mina has created a unique character who’s a swirling mass of disappointment, ambition, anger, curiosity, sweetness, rudeness, and determination: in short, a real human being.”
— Providence Journal -
“Mina has taken a tired and often complacent genre and, while hardly subverting it, given it new life.”
— Times Literary Supplement -
“Mina has succeeded in making her Paddy an original, a feisty little creature.”
— Washington Times -
“Hopefully this won’t be the last breathless adventure for one of the most entertaining reporter sleuths in recent crime fiction.”
— Publishers Weekly (starred review)
Awards
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A 2007 Anthony Award Finalist for Best Novel
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A 2007 Macavity Award Finalist for Best Mystery Novel
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A 2007 Edgar Allan Poe Award Nominee for Best Novel
The Dead Hour Listener Reviews
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" I am listening to the audiobook of The Dead Hour and I'm enjoying every bit of it!! "
— Barb, 1/27/2016 -
" As always with Mina's books -- the topic is intense, but told from many angles and the ending is left hanging. You are left wondering what really happened. Still her books are compelling, and hard to put down. Understanding Scottish life, or gaining an understanding helps -- the books are graphic. "
— Jacquie, 2/10/2014 -
" Incredible! This book was so suspenseful that I read it in two evenings. Much better than the first book in the series (Field of Blood) - the action is spread evenly throughout the story, instead of all happening in the last dozen pages. And now on to the third one... I feel like once I'm done reading all of Denise Mina's books, I may just have to quit reading altogether. She is THAT good. "
— Celeste, 1/15/2014 -
" Denise Mina has written one of the best crime novels I've read in a long time. Her characters jump out of the pages at the investigation of a murder of a mysterious blonde woman -- they're real, they're so human that you want to meet them for a cup of coffee! Two down, one to go in this series! "
— Sarah, 1/14/2014 -
" I enjoy a good mystery but this was borderline to dark for me. It wasn't even about solving the case it was just about hoping people stayed alive. It was too much of a true crime novel for me - too close to reality. It was about a drug deal gone so horribly wrong and frightening because it is all possible. "
— Elaine, 1/13/2014 -
" Better then #1. Enjoyable but no memorable. "
— Cindy, 1/8/2014 -
" I have read anmd enjoyed all of Denise Mina's mysteries. A really interesting Scottish mystery writer. Gritty and quirky and different. "
— Susan, 1/8/2014 -
" This mystery features a young investigative reported in Glasgow and it was quite enjoyable. It probably deserves more than a 3star rating, but not quite a 4. I certainly will keep going with the series. "
— Gail, 1/4/2014 -
" Paddy is a great female character, making it in a man's world. "
— Meredith, 12/6/2013 -
" Good drama paired with a terrific insight into the recession in Scotland brought on by the Thatcher regime. "
— Marzie, 12/4/2013 -
" Paddy Meehan is great character but this book was not as good as the other two. Three books in the series so far, the first and third were very good this one slow and somewhat boring. "
— Paulette, 12/1/2013 -
" This was actually the first book by Denise Mina that I read, and I really liked it. Paddy Meehan is a great combination of ambitious and kind of sleazy, so it's entertaining to follow her through the story. "
— Kathleen, 10/30/2013 -
" I don't feel I can adequately judge this book due to Mother Nature being a bitch and interrupting it for me. It was a little slow for my liking, but it was still a decent read. "
— Ashley, 9/18/2013 -
" Very entertaining. I liked that it took place in Glasgow, Scotland - I don't think I've read a book that has been set there before. The only thing that was slightly disappointing is that I thought it would be more of a whodunit. Other than that, I really enjoyed it. "
— Stacey, 8/17/2013 -
" Another great thriller from Denise Mina, featuring newspaper writer Paddy Meehan. Paddy has to be one of my all time favorite protagonists. She incredibly flawed yet completely aware of her short comings. She's also incredibly smart and ballsy. "
— Jaqi, 4/13/2013 -
" A night-shift reporter for a Glasgow paper allows herself to be compromised by a casual payoff and reaps the consequences when murder ensues. Mina is a fine writer and sharp observer of contemporary Glaswegian society, high and low. "
— Sam, 12/2/2012 -
" Good, but not as good as the Garnethill Trilogy. "
— Vikki, 6/8/2012 -
" Scottish mystery. Slowly builds and develpos plot with out feeling like the story lags. "
— Rachee, 4/22/2012 -
" This is a fantastic book from a wonderful author. I cannot wait to read the rest of them. I am so glad I swapped this book out, for another, at the Hostel in Spain. Such a great find. I love Paddy Meehan! "
— Erika, 4/6/2012 -
" Another great book by Denise Mina. I like how the protagonist is flawed and makes mistakes but is also moral and trying to do the right thing. "
— Roki, 3/18/2012 -
" Not one of the better mysteries I have read. I struggled to get through this. "
— Julie, 2/3/2012 -
" Good drama paired with a terrific insight into the recession in Scotland brought on by the Thatcher regime. "
— Marzie, 6/22/2011 -
" Good, but not as good as the Garnethill Trilogy. "
— Vikki, 6/4/2011 -
" This was actually the first book by Denise Mina that I read, and I really liked it. Paddy Meehan is a great combination of ambitious and kind of sleazy, so it's entertaining to follow her through the story. "
— Kathleen, 3/30/2011 -
" I actually liked this one more than the first Paddy Meehan book I read. I think I was more aware of the quiet tone. Great main character and interesting look at a very particular time, place and people but the background doesn't overwhelm the story. WIll be reading more "
— Coki, 12/17/2010 -
" Scottish mystery. Slowly builds and develpos plot with out feeling like the story lags. "
— Rachee, 11/21/2010 -
" I wanted to give this book a 4, but it's not quite there. A gritty character, like her city (Glasgow), Paddy Meehan, really captured my interest. The writing is crisp and very descriptive; the ending left me wanting more. This is the second in a trilogy; now I plan to read the other two. "
— Joan, 8/4/2010 -
" Paddy Meehan is great character but this book was not as good as the other two. Three books in the series so far, the first and third were very good this one slow and somewhat boring. "
— Paulette, 5/31/2010
About Denise Mina
Denise Mina is the author of mystery, horror, and historical fiction. She has written novels for four series, as well as stand-alone novels and graphic novels. The Field of Blood won the Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel, The Long Drop won the Gordon Burn Prize, and Garnethill.
About Heather O’Neill
Heather O’Neill is a novelist, short-story writer and essayist. Her previous works include The Lonely Hearts Hotel, which won the Paragraphe Hugh MacLennan Prize for Fiction and was longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction and CBC’s Canada Reads, as well as Lullabies for Little Criminals, The Girl Who Was Saturday Night, and Daydreams of Angels, which were shortlisted for the Governor General’s Literary Award for Fiction, the Orange Prize for Fiction and the Scotiabank Giller Prize two years in a row. O’Neill has also won CBC’s Canada Reads and the Danuta Gleed Award.