Review: Conviction by Denise Mina

Looking for a puzzling, quirky, surprisingly comic, readable book? Definitely check this one out. Find out more in my review of Conviction by Denise Mina

Conviction by Denise Mina. Published on June 18, 2019 by Mullholland Books.

Synopsis: The day Anna McDonald’s quiet, respectable life exploded started off like all the days before: Packing up the kids for school, making breakfast, listening to yet another true crime podcast. Then her husband comes downstairs with an announcement, and Anna is suddenly, shockingly alone.
Reeling, desperate for distraction, Anna returns to the podcast. Other people’s problems are much better than one’s own — a sunken yacht, a murdered family, a hint of international conspiracy. But this case actually is Anna’s problem. She knows one of the victims from an earlier life, a life she’s taken great pains to leave behind. And she is convinced that she knows what really happened.Then an unexpected visitor arrives on her front stoop, a meddling neighbor intervenes, and life as Anna knows it is well and truly over. The devils of her past are awakened — and in hot pursuit. Convinced she has no other options, she goes on the run, and in pursuit of the truth, with a washed-up musician at her side and the podcast as her guide.

Review: Conviction by Denise Mina

I’d read some of Mina’s Paddy Meehan books back in the early 2000s and liked them – they featured a female reporter in Glasgow. But then I started reading YA and read fewer thrillers.

When I saw the podcast element of this one, I was hooked. I love podcasts – I listen to them every day while walking the dog. I do a mix of news, true crime. Right now I’m listening to Catch and Kill.

This book was just the kind of mix of quirky, funny and suspenseful that I love.

Anna loves podcasts too. There are some reasons for that, some of which she’s willing to tell us (a distraction from issues with her marriage) and some she’s not. When she recognizes someone from her past in her podcast AND her husband makes an announcement, her life is set on an unexpected course.

The narrative of this was first person and a bit jumbly. Anna would allude to something but tell us she’d get to that later. She’d mention something and then just drop it. As a result, you need to pay attention to all the details, as they could be important later.

At first I was intrigued but a bit confused, but gradually, all the puzzle pieces Anna kept offering began to fall into place.

Definitely recommend this if you enjoy mysteries and thrillers and are okay with a plot that’s not a linear police procedural but a little more unconventional!

Want more mystery and thriller reviews? You can find them here!