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    The Dead Hour
    The Dead Hour
    The Dead Hour
    Audiobook (abridged)7 hours

    The Dead Hour

    Written by Denise Mina

    Narrated by Heather O'Neill

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHighbridge Company
    Release dateJun 26, 2006
    ISBN9781598872439
    The Dead Hour
    Author

    Denise Mina

    Denise Mina was born in East Kilbride in 1966. Her first book, Garnethill, won the CWA Dagger for Best First Crime Novel. She has won the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year twice, and the MacIlvanney Prize twice. She is a presenter of TV and radio programmes, and appears regularly in the media. 

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    Reviews for The Dead Hour

    4.5/5

    14 ratings11 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is the second in her mystery series featuring crime reporter Paddy Meehan. Paddy has been promoted from her former go-fer position at the Scottish Daily News, although she is now the only person at her house in the Eastern Star housing estate who is “earning.” As usual in these books, Paddy gets involved in, and solves for the “polis,” a heinous murder. Heather O’Neill, who has a perfect Glaswegian accent, read this book to me on compact disc. Hearing this book read in the lilting cadences of a Scotch burr made the experience even more enjoyable and exciting to me than reading it.
    • 4/5
      Paddy Meehan, a spirited night-shift journalist, is trying desperately to take home regular pay cheques to her Mum while establishing her career. She follows police calls to try to get a story that will give her a boost at the newspaper, a newspaper ruthlessly cutting back and paring costs. What a great character: smart, quick on the uptake, yet considerate of anyone in need, she has enough street smarts to spot fib or felon. This was a page-turner and kept my attention throughout, especially closing in on the exciting finish. Mina has created a feisty, strong female protagonist who has normal insecurities normal of a teenager carrying the responsibility of being the only wage-earner at home. Although the series is a mere three volumes. I hope someday Paddy makes a comeback. The atmosphere is truly Glaswegian. A cliffhanger at the end means I'll be starting the next in the series as soon as possible!
    • 4/5
      I really liked the main character in this book. She makes some dumb choices, but her story is compelling. The plot is not as good, in fact it has some problems. But I liked the character enough to go out and buy the other two books in the series. I wanted to know what had already happened to her in the first book and what happened to her after this one.This was one of the 6 books nominated for best mystery in 2007 by the Edgar Awards. I thought Janissay Tree and Gentlemen and Players were both better books but this one was worthy of it's nomination.
    • 4/5
      It's been three years since Patricia "Paddy" Meehan’s big scoop and she became a full-fledged reporter. Since then, however, she has been stuck on the night shift, which turns into a potential blessing when the paper changes direction, redundancies are announced, and Paddy comes across a domestic-cum-murder, complete with intrigue, bribery, and drugs, which could save her from being made redundant, but which could also cost her life.As in Field of Blood, Mina's descriptions of 80's Glasgow with all its financial and personal problems are painfully true to life and people's dejection is obvious. I still can't find myself warming to Paddy, though. Although the plot is interesting and the twists and turns make The Dead Hour quite thrilling, Paddy's voice eludes me for some reason and she seems to just follow the plot wherever it goes rather than being active. My problem with her might just be that she's not funny and it's somewhat of a requirement for me in a book with such a gruesome and graphic plot. I have Slip of the Knife to read as well and, considering the cliff-hanger upon which The Dead Hour ends, I'm hoping to gain more sympathy for Paddy. I do enjoy Mina's writing tremendously, especially her capturing of a time and place and the relationships between her characters are quite raw and genuine, but Ms. Meehan might not be a good fit for me.
    • 5/5
      Investigative journalist Patricia 'Paddy' Meehan had always thought that she would be further along on her career path after spending three years in her chosen field. Yet, even three years after breaking a big story, Paddy is still working the perpetual night shift with her newspaper - The Scottish Daily News. She's still chasing police calls for that one story which will finally promote her out of the solitary, twilight existence that makes mountains of candy bars and multiple cups of coffee practically a medical necessity. With her father and brothers chronically unemployed and her family perilously short of money, Paddy desperately needs the work.Responding with the police to a particular late-night call, Paddy arrives at an elegant villa. The loud noise complaint called into the police seems to be fairly run-of-the-mill to her; especially when the domestic dispute that prompted such a call seems to be calming down. As a matter of fact, a domestic disturbance in such a wealthy suburb doesn't seem all that unusual an occurrence to Paddy - at first. The police officers actually don't seem all that concerned by the situation before them; letting the man who answers the door off with just a warning to keep the noise down.Paddy can see that the elegant blonde woman standing in the shadows of the doorway is bleeding from an apparent head injury. But the woman also clearly doesn't want any help; and the well-dressed, ingratiating man at the front door assures Paddy that everything is just fine and that she should leave. Paddy wonders how the police were so easily convinced to leave the area after issuing just a warning. She soon has her answer when the man slips a significant amount of cash into her hand; asking her to make sure that she keeps any mention of the incident, whatever it is, out of the press. Then he firmly closes the door in her face.The next morning Paddy happens to see a television news report. The lead news story is absolutely horrific: the blonde woman's body has been discovered. She was murdered; brutally beaten, tortured and left to die. Far from being the spoiled trophy wife Paddy had assumed her to be, the victim turns out to be a prosecution lawyer with a social conscience.Bewildered as to why the woman wouldn't accept any help and leave the house when she could, Paddy begins to make connections that no one else can see. When she witnesses the body of a suicide victim being pulled from the river shortly afterwards, Paddy suspects that the two deaths are linked in some way. Paddy is determined to follow her reporter's instincts all the way with this particular story; it's exactly the type of story that will make her or break her...or kill her.Denise Mina is a new author for me, and this is the first book that I've ever read by her. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, I found myself really connecting with the main character, Paddy. She was a feisty, capable person, a hardworking woman in a man's world who doesn't suffer fools kindly. She's not afraid to call things as she sees them; and she is quite willing to go head to head with whomever it is that she suspects is in the wrong. She is also vulnerable, fallible, and she makes mistakes; yet she also does her utmost to fix those mistakes to the best of her ability. I give this book a definite A! and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.
    • 5/5
      Protagonist: 21-year-old journalist Paddy MeehanSetting: Glasgow, Scotland in 1984Series: #2First Line: Paddy Meehan was comfortable in the back of the car.The Dead Hour opens with Paddy Meehan, a crime reporter for the Scottish Daily News following up a late-night disturbance complaint in the posh suburb of Bearsden. The handsome man at the door assures Paddy (as he had the police) that the incident won't happen again. Behind him is a blond woman with a bloody face, Vhari Burnett, a well-respected lawyer. The man bribes Paddy (as he had the police) to keep quiet. The next day the news of Vhari's murder dismays Paddy. When a suicide is fished out of the river, Paddy begins to think the two deaths might be connected. The story alternates between the viewpoint of Paddy and that of Vhari's sister Kate, a cocaine addict.I think Paddy is one of the best characters in current fiction. She lives in an area of Glasgow that has high unemployment, and she's seen more than her share of violent domestics. Her mother wants her married. Paddy wants something better for herself. In so many ways, Paddy is an "Every Woman" and it would be almost impossible not to root for her...or to want to shake her when she does something stupid. The Dead Hour ends with such a cliffhanger that it will be extremely difficult for me to keep my hands off the next book.
    • 4/5
      Terrific Tartan noir with young Paddy Meehan getting in over her head again. Great on the sexual politics of a provincial newsroom in the 1980s with a few too many scenes following the physical breakdown of a coke-head on the run. Satisfying enough to hunt down the third in the series.
    • 4/5
      The second of the Paddy Meehan books, and just as satisfying as the other ones. Mina has created a wonderful character and tells a good story - that's enough for me
    • 4/5
      This is the 2nd in the Paddy Meehan series and another great thriller.
    • 4/5
      The Dead Hour is the 2nd book in this series about Glasgow reporter Paddy Meehan. Set in the early 1980’s Paddy is slowing making her way in a definite man’s world at The Daily News. Working the night shift, she and her driver follow the action through the radio and arrive at a disturbance call in an upper class area. Paddy notes that the handsome man at the door appears to know the police and is not letting anyone into the house. She sidles up to get a statement and catches a glimpse of a battered woman inside. The woman quickly steps backs out of sight, the man presses money into Paddy’s hand and shuts the door. The police shrug and leave, Paddy dismisses the incident, only to have it come back to haunt her when she finds out the next day that the woman is unmarried and has been found in her house, dead.This book deals with the dark and violent subjects of cocaine, murder, and torture in a very real and gritty way. Alongside of this we have comedic relief in Paddy’s very Irish family, and the realistic dealings of upheavals in the press business. The result is a seamless story from a very accomplished author.
    • 5/5
      I STILL love Paddy!The plot's fine, the crime's interesting, the 80s setting is a lot of fun, and I'm getting a little education about that era's recession and how it affected Scotland. BUT it's all about Paddy for me. DM is pure genius - the best ever - at conveying the heart of this character poignantly, compellingly, achingly - and sparingly.In particular, the scene where paddy first gets it on with the married guy - if that isn't the truest depiction of the complicated emotions surrounding sex, I don't know what is.DM is one of my favorite authors, male or female. But she writes women like no one else I've seen.