A really good thriller which I read in one sitting. The writing is descriptive and atmospheric. Margo is not a likeable character but I think that adds to the grittiness and tension in the story.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

Very much enjoyed this book.

The concept of an adopted child looking for her family makes it different and the story is interesting because it touches on addiction and sex work.

The main character is slightly unlikeable which makes it more like reality as you can’t like everybody!

This is a very good read from Denise Mina, which we have come to expect. Really good characterisation and a plot filled with sex workers, drug addicts and murder victims. Set in Glasgow, the plot centres around Margo, a doctor, who is recently pregnant. When her adoptive mother dies, she embarks on the search for her birth family. It's well written, has an excellent plot and is filled with suspense. I would recommend the author and her previous books too. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

Margo Dunlop is a doctor in General practice in Glasgow. She is currently on leave of absence because her mother, who adopted her as a baby has died. When clearing out her mother's house she discovers letters from her birth mother's sister.
She arranges to meet at an adoptive agency her mother's elder sister Nikki. Her mother Susan was murdered some years ago. Both sisters were sex workers. She is left waiting long after the agreed meeting time. When Nikki eventually arrives, she angers Margo. She tells Margor her mother was killed by an ex policeman Martin McPhail. Nikki wants Susan to access his medical records. Margo makes an excuse and leaves. Her mind is in a turmoil. She is pregnant, but has not told anyone. She has recently parted from her partner Joe. Her adoptive brother Thomas, lives and works in Saudi and is harassing her to clear their adoptive mother's house and sell it.
Her best friend Lilah is being stalked by her ex - Richard ( who is Joe's brother ). Margo is supportive for Lilah. When Margo goes onto the internet to see how her mother Susan died, she is amazed as she is the double in looks of Susan. However someone else has noticed that. They are following Margo, watching and waiting.
A very involved story, expertly told by an excellent author. You can always rely on this author to write interesting books. Very well recommended.

I’d like to thank Random House UK, Vintage and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Less Dead’ by Denise Mina in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It’s only when Margo’s mother dies that she discovers she was adopted by finding a bundle of letters addressed to herself from her birth-mother’s sister Nikki that had never been given to her. Margo arranges through an adoption charity to meet Nikki who tells her that her birth-mother was a drug-addicted sex-worker who was murdered soon after giving Margo away. She asks for Margo’s help in finding the identity of the killer.

‘The Less Dead’ is a gritty novel with a tough Glasgow background and down-to-earn characters. I was looking forward to reading it as I’d enjoyed another of Denise Mina’s novels many years ago but I’m afraid I didn’t enjoy this one. Though interesting and different to most other thrillers I’ve read, I found the plot unconvincing and didn’t like the characters, finding it hard to be empathetic with them. From reading other reviews it’s clear that the majority of readers have enjoyed this novel especially those who live in Glasgow and know the area but I’m afraid I couldn’t get into it and wasn’t interested enough to finish the book to the end for which I apologise.

This is a hugely accomplished novel, an original storyline and twists to keep you guessing. Margo, a doctor, traces her birth mother through an agency and finds that she is the daughter of a teenage sex worker, addicted to heroin. Great start. She meets her aunt who is convinced she knows who killed Susan and others but as it is an ex-copper the police don’t want to know. Gritty and intriguing this is class.
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Superb! Part psychological thriller, part police/crime drama, part story of strong women overcoming the odds - all brilliant. An unusual and different novel with excellent characters and a great storyline. I really enjoyed it!

The death of Margo’s adoptive mother leads to her uncovering unknown information about her birth family. The shock of connecting with her aunt for the first time leaves Margo’s middle class existence shaken to the core. She finds out that her birth mother lead a troubled life and was murdered mere days after her birth. The draw of discovering more about her own identity and unmasking her mother’s killer drives Margo to become involved in a dark, gritty underworld that she can only pretend to understand. Denise Mina brings these two worlds together expertly, and she never paints the lives of sex workers as simple patronising victimhood, there is much more substance to her characters than that. I love Denise Mina’s style so much, she never lets you down!

Goodness me, gentle reader, but this book is a cracker! Want to know how good it is? Though it is very different, it reminds me in many ways of The Long Drop and that was OUTSTANDING! I read it from cover to cover in one day. I was so engrossed in the story and everything Mina was telling me that I did not want to stop – and believe me, that’s been a rare experience in this lockdown.

Margo Dunlop is mourning the death of her adoptive mother and is vulnerable with many changes in her life right now. Margot is a doctor, pregnant and on bereavement leave and has just split from her partner, Joe.

As we meet her, she is in the offices of an adoption agency waiting to meet her aunt, having discovered that her mother, Susan Brodie, died not long after giving birth to Margo. Nikki is Susan’s sister and she is very late to the meeting; held up as a result of a trial she is involved with. (Mina fans will enjoy the wee Easter egg she throws in for us at the courthouse). When Nikki finally appears, just as Margo is about to leave, she is taken aback by how much Margo looks like her birth mother.

Nikki tells Margo that Susan was a prostitute and an addict and that she was murdered at the age of 19, by a serial killer who murdered 9 women but was never caught. Nikki was also an addict, also working the streets – and part of the richness of this book is embodied in the way in which Mina explores middle class attitudes to sex, drugs and violence and the delicacy with which Margo tries to engage with Nikki, all the time just a wee bit at sea as to how to relate to her.

Indeed, after their first meeting she gives her false contact details, so unsure is she as to whether she wants Nikki anywhere near her life. Nikki shows her threatening letters she’s received over the years which she believes come from the killer, containing scraps of evidence that come from the site where Susan’s body was found, a bus stop in Easterhouse.

Mina conveys so well the Glasgow of the 80’s, a time when heroin was really the drug of ‘choice’ on the streets of the city and more women entered the world of selling sex than ever before, to be able to get their fix.

Nikki believes she knows who was responsible for the deaths of Susan and the other women and when Margo finds that a similar letter is waiting for her, she is driven to find out what’s going on.

What makes this book work so incredibly well is the fragile relationship between these women and the way that they dance around each other, not quite knowing how to relate, despite the fact that they are blood relatives. But who hasn’t been there, right? The notion of family and what it is, how it works is explored through the relationships of all the women in this book, as is the unremitting question of male violence and how that so easily transcends any notion of class distinction.

Margo has difficulty in dealing with the sex worker side of Nikki’s life, her past drug addiction and the violence that is a part and parcel of the life of a sex worker but at the same time she is appalled by the casual and brutal attitude of the Police to these women’s deaths. Because they were sex workers, their deaths were treated as some kind of work related accident; they were disposable – or in the title of the book, the ‘less dead’, women whose deaths were less significant because they were not part of polite society. And because they were in the main, poor and working class, they was no moral outrage; they had no-one who would speak up for them and demand justice. They were disposable in a world where you can always get another one where that one came from. It is only Diane Gallagher, a woman cop in a sea of men who is prepared to be more human and even she is holding back.

There is a strong and menacing plot running through this book, as Margo is threatened by our unseen killer, the tension rising as she tries to find the killer, her suspicion falling on more than one many man she encounters with a propensity to use his fists. Margo may think she’s getting to the truth, but the killer is always one step ahead and she’s really not seeing the wood from the trees.

Mina’s love of true crime comes through in the form of Jack Robertson, a rather sleazy author who has written about Susan’s and the other women’s deaths and is now being sued for pointing the finger. He is obviously is keen to have his theories validated.

The core of the story, though, is the relationships between all the women in the book, from Margo’s friend Lilah to the women who stand up in solidarity for each other in court.

Glasgow takes centre stage as a character, of course, and is richly and graphically depicted from the wonderful Mitchell Library to the two sides of the Saltmarket; one striving to get to Bohemia but not quite making it; the other populated by men tumbling out of pubs looking for a fight and not caring where they get it.

Verdict: The Less Dead on one level is a suspenseful, menacing thriller and pitch perfect at that. But it is also about the bond between women; about friendship; about how you choose which family you want to belong to and the power dynamics that play out in all families. The writing is fabulous. This is prose you can happily drown in, like a warm bath reaching for you and drawing you in.

After being raised as an adoptee in a middle class family and following the death of her adoptive mother Margot finds letters from her birth aunt Nikki and, having just found out that she's pregnant Margot - a doctor - wants to find out what genetic material her child will get from Margot's birth family.

This opens a whole other world - Margot's mother was a sex worker and drug addict in Glasgow. She and several other women were murdered and their killer never caught - is he now threatening Margot?

Well written and interesting.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher I read a free advance copy of the book. This review is voluntary, honest and my own opinion.

Well ... I guess the moral of this story is be careful what you wish for. I'm pretty sure (in fact as I have read the book, I know) that when Margo decided to try and track down her birth mother she hadn't been expecting to find anything quite as dark and deadly as this twisted tale. Sex worker and recovering addict, Susan had sacrificed a lot and worked really hard to give Margo a better start, only to have it all taken when she is brutally murdered as many other women had been before her. Meeting her maternal Aunt, Nikki, is only the start of Margo's troubles and learning who she is and where she really comes from soon put her life at risk.

Now this may be the first Denise Mina book I have read but I can instantly see the attraction. This book goes beyond your usual murder mystery, psychological thriller style far, challenging readers in a much more measured and cerebral way, and yet wrapping it up in a story which completely draws you in and keep you hooked. From the very start I got the impression of Margo as someone is is very controlled, very measured, and so the chaotic whirlwind that is her Aunt Nikki is provides a stark contrast from the moment they meet. It is not simply because Margo is a Doctor and Nikki a former sex worker, although that clearly plays a very large part in the complete dichotomy of their personalities. Other than a passing resemblance there is nothing that that have in common beyond DNA and yet neither can predict how that will soon change.

There is a great sense of threat that feeds throughout the novel. Partly this is driven by the fact that Susan's killer has never been caught and brought to justice. There are conspiracy theories abound about who was really guilty, one of which leads to a significant sub story within the book, but this whole idea of Susan as being somehow disposable is really where we find the moral core of the whole story. From a police perspective, Susan was just one of many sex workers murdered, another faceless, unimportant nobody whose death was not worth investigating, a sense which still prevails amongst many to this day. That somehow if you are not the picture perfect wife, sister or mother, then your life isn;t glamourous of sexy enough to be more than a minor detail on a new bulletin or in the corner of a newspaper. That your life is reduce to half a dozen lines of text and nothing more. You are the eponymous 'Less Dead' of the books title. This book challenges those perceptions - proves that Susan did matter to those who loved her, those who would still given anything to find her killer.

The police are not completely written off, there is one sympathetic character in former DCI Diane Gallagher, but she is somewhat of an anomaly in a sea of institutional prejudice. As the murder took place in the eighties, the whole idea of this level of bigotry and prejudice rings true and is captured perfectly on the page. Even Margo's own reactions to her new found family speak volumes about that judgment of those who have everything when faced with those who don't. The contrast between their live, their upbringing, even the way in which they speak and act, is marked and acutely observed, although it is often Nikki who comes across in the most sympathetic and likable way in spite of this being Margo's story. Denise Mina goes to great lengths to show that Nikki is more than her former career, her loyalty and bravado beautiful to read.

The atmosphere and tension that flows through the book is pitch perfect and the language evocative. The author really captures that sense of loss that margo feels having recently lost her adoptive mother, that uncertainty of change which is being heightened by all of her discoveries about her biological family. This is not a fast paced book, although it is awash with that sense of threat, and there are moments in which I found my pulse picking up and my nerves jangling ,and when you read the book you will understand why. Although, at times, I found myself despairing at Margo's actions, I also understood why she reacted as she did, and I never once wanted to walk away. But then the closing chapters of the book, where the truth of what has gone before becomes abundantly clear, is absolutely perfect. Surprising, maybe even a little shocking. Compared to some of the volatility that comes before it, the book ends in a somewhat sedate way and yet it is just ... right. Definitely a book that makes me want to read more of the author's work, and one I would recommend.

After the death of her adoptive mother, Margo finds a collection of letters from her biological aunt, Nikki, asking for her help in finding justice for her birth mother, Susan, who had been a prostitute and was murdered soon after Margo’s birth. Herself now pregnant and separated from her boyfriend, Margo is drawn into the search to find out more about Susan- what was she reaaly like, and was she the victim of a serial killer who is still out there? I am a big fan of Mina’s Alex Morrow police procedurals, and this shares some common ground- the gritty Glasgow setting, the often sympathetic representation of the underclass of society and a convincing realism. However I was disappointed with the loose structure of the plot, the investigation being amateur rendering it less convincing, and found that there was too much side plot featuring the domestic violence scenario of Margo’s friend that never really went anywhere. The big strength of this book was the frank but compassionate portrayal of sex workers, their reasons for going on the streets and the consequences, but apart from that I would have to say this is one of Mina’s less successful novels.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

The Less Dead features Margo, a doctor who has just found out that she is pregnant, and who has been prompted by the death of her adoptive mother to try and find her biological family. However, this meeting leads Margo down a dark path, as she discovers that her mother was a sex worker who was murdered shortly after Margo was adopted. The murder has never been solved and Margo starts to be drawn into the mystery and haunted by the ghosts of her past.

I will openly admit that I am a HUGE fan of Denise Mina, but this is one of her books that I’ve enjoyed most to be honest! The characters are great, and felt very realistic- they’re not all likeable (Margo’s best friend Lilah would get tiresome very quickly!) but they do feel real. I am also from Glasgow, and I LOVE a book set in Glasgow, particularly when it’s in areas that I’m familiar with, and the descriptions of the city are rich in detail, and accurate to a fault. The mystery is great, fingers are being pointed in different directions, and everyone has a motive for their accusations. The story unwinds at a good pace, and resolves in a very satisfying conclusion. I really enjoyed this - big thumbs up / five stars from me!!

Thanks to netgalley and the publisher for allowing me to review this book.
what a book and I couldn't put it down. Read it in one day. Brilliant and well done to the author.

Denise Mina is a master of her craft, no doubt. Her novels are all greatly written, both in wordsmith and plotwise. The Less Dead is no exception.

I found the writing exquisite. One of the best I've read this year for sure. It engaged me from the first sentence and it was a pleasure to read, despite the heavy subjects treated in this novel.

I liked all the characters, how well they were built and how slow approximation between Margo and her biological aunt went, making it believable and real. I specially liked how Margo grows a lot during the novel, learning to see things from others' perspective and how that made her decide how to act.

The ending was surprising but so well done that, once again, it felt so real, so credible. I absolutely recommend this novel.

I"d like to thank NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review.

If I had to sum this book up in one sentence it would be gritty. The atmosphere created is incredible. What could be casually referred to as Glasgow's seedy underbelly is brought so well to life, that it made me realise how patronising the phrase sounds. There are no easy answers to why a person is a sex worker, and Denise Mina is careful not to fall into the trap of creating a caricature such as 'the tart with a heart' for example. There are some acute observations about 'othering' and how society treats those people who do not conform to what is considered to be acceptable behaviour.

'When we get killed they call us the 'less dead', like we were never really alive to begin with. See, if Susan was a doctor, like you, they'd have brought the fucking army in. You'd be the perfect victim'

Whilst the story held so much potential, for me it didn't come together in a satisfying way. What started as an adopted woman meeting her biological family, became a quest to discover what happened to her biological mother. The character of Margot was never really fully explored, and I would have liked to have understood her a little bit more. The friends she has around her are equally underdeveloped, and an interesting storyline involving her friend Lilah and an abusive relationship seemed to trail nowhere. The characters of McPhail, Diane Gallagher and Jack Robertson are dropped into the book, and again, rather than add to the development of the book, just seem to create isolated scenes that distract from the pace. Most disappointingly, Nikki, Margot's aunt is not given adequate room to grow. I usually finish a book in a few days, this book took me a week to read because it just didn't grab me the way I hoped it would.

My thanks go to the publishers and Net Galley for the advance copy in return for an honest review.

I had mixed feelings about this book as I really struggled to get into it at the beginning but I stuck with it and am glad that I did as the end certainly had me gripped, having said that I felt it ended quite abruptly and there was more to tell.

A tense read full of drama, suspense and suspicion. 🤗

Another great book from Netgalley. I was not sure all the time I was reading this where it was going to go and that is a good sign for a good book. It twists and turns and I could accept the characters really well. It may have been good to know a little more about Joe and Thomas but they were not really necessary for the book to flow and would have probably made the book to long and moved from the premise of the book. Margo was a force to be reckoned with at times but at other times she came across as sad and vulnerable which was, I guess, the point of the story. It opens your eyes about “ladies of the night” and how they get to the job a lot of times through deprivation and upbringing occasionally but also they can get out of the situation with help. Nikki was a product of this. This is the first book I have read of Denise Mina but will definitely read more

Margo Dunlop is pregnant and grieving for her adoptive mother when she finds letters from her biological family requesting contact. After meeting her aunt Nikki and learning of her biological mother's life as a prostitute and her unsolved murder, Margo is drawn into a a darker, dangerous Glasgow than the one she's familiar with.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Mina explores themes of family, particularly motherhood, identity and belonging. Mina conveys the danger and shame faced by women in the sex trade who are treated as worthless by those in positions of authority. The culture clash between Margo and Nikki demonstrates how different their worlds and their concerns are. I felt the ending was a little abrupt but that may be because I was so engrossed!

This was a first read of this author, and even though the book was not really my cup of tea, it was still a good solid read, and I can't wait to see what this author brings next. Recommended.