Book 2 in the series ( I hadn't read book 1) and I have to say that by 10% into I felt the need to go back and read the first one.: it did help a lot with the second. Again we are given the unlikely duo of Anna and Fin searching for a missing woman but ending up becoming involved in a stolen art object and meeting with some unsavoury characters along the way. Again the story has its dark humourous parts especially between Anna and Fin. Good descriptive text especially regarding the old French chateau at the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review.

I found this a confusing read and could not relate to the characters or really understand the plot. I found that the mystery throughout was flat, dull, repetitive and lacked conviction.
The most interesting parts were those that described the places that they were visiting.
I felt that the book failed for me o meet the write up that it was given

A dive into the deep end with this further outing for Anna and Fin. Intrigue, religious fervour, deceit and complicated relationships drive the action. Sometimes a bit difficult to follow the plot but worth the effort.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the opportunity to review this book.

Denise Mina is a relatively new author me (I've only read an historical fiction book of hers before, Rizzio) and I didn't realise Confidence was part of a series when I started it. That was all OK though, as the back stories of lead characters, crime podcasters Anna and Fin are explained and I enjoyed the 'jumping straight into the story' feeling.

So yes, the story. I have to admit that while it was fast-paced thriller, I found it both a tad confusing and not quite enough to pull me in? A mix of art heist and religious artefact mystery, it sat just on the other side on convincing for me, so while I was turning the pages to see what would happen, it was more to see if the story would crank up, but that wasn't to be.

I wanted to like this book as the details on the cover made it sound really interesting. Unfortunately I found the events and timeline confusing and the characters unappealing. That said I did finish the book and found the storyline quite gripping.
as this is the first book I have read by Denise Mina I am interested enough to try another as I understand that this may not be her best.

Anna and Finn run a podcast. They are concerned about a young woman Lisa Lee. She enters buildings and videos inside. Lisa recently went into a chateau in france and there was a silver casket that could date to the life of Christ. Lisa has vanished and the casket is to be auctioned.
Anna McDonald changed her name after she was gang raped. Her two young daughters don't know but Finn Cohen's partner Sofia maliciously reveals when on holiday with Finn, Anna, Hamish ( Anna's ex ) and his partner Estelle ( who used to be with Finn ) are all together with Hamish and Anna's daughters.
Anna and Finn flee from the difficult atmosphere on the holiday. They then interview a distraught Lisa's father. They then join forces with a wealthy south african Bram Van Wyk and his son ( who he has just leant about ) Marcos.
Bram talks about a catholic priest who knew of the caskets identity. Bram is determined to bid at the auction on behalf of another wealthy businessman for the casket.
The action switches between Scotland, Rome and Paris. Anna fears that Lisa has been murdered. What secrets will the casket reveal?
In my opinion this is not one of the author's best. But having said that I don't believe she could write a bad one. Very involved and interesting. Very different from others I have read by this author.

Very pacy, very clever and a modern plot that is different. I read this very quickly but for me there was too much breathless action and not enough character development and , well, just chance to breathe.

This book promised much, but delivered little. Very confusing plot and I had no sense that any of the characters were more than cardboard cut outs. Sorry, I’m sure other readers will love it, but it just wasn’t for me.

Confidence
By Denise Mina

I was a big fan of Anna and Fin's first outing in Conviction. It was a page turner with lots of foreign locations and the complex characters had interesting back stories. I was eager to catch up with them when I saw that the second in the series was out. Unfortunately, for me, this was a big let down.

I didn't understand Anna in this story at all. Her character was oddly flat and Fin was part of the wallpaper. The narrative was coarse and clunky and strewn with so many non-sequiturs that I kept getting flung out of the story to go back and reread for context. I couldn't work up any interest in the mystery which felt a bit like a poor man's DaVinci Code. There is no real resolution and felt a bit like a farce.

I feel bad for not liking this more, my expectations were much higher. On a good note, it's a very fast read.

Thanks to #netgalley and #randomhouseUK for the egalley.

I devoured [book:Conviction|42283333] in double quick time so taken was I by Anna and Fin and their complicated lives and personalities, but in this second outing they are sidelined to role of spectators in a mystery that fails to captivate in the way of the original.

Lisa Lee has gone missing from her North Berwick home following the discovery of what is purported to be a casket holding the remains of Jesus's gowns in which he was wrapped following the crucifixion. Lisa is a urban explorer with a meagre YouTube following that explodes after her disappearance and it's only then that Anna comes across the email Lisa had sent to them looking for help with her situation.

Anna and Fin escape a dire family retreat and go off in search of Lisa finding themselves dragged along for the ride and becoming bit players in what's supposed to be their story.

In Conviction, Mina grabs us and never lets go plunging us into the messy lives and backstories of characters whose relationship is tempestuous at best, but everything seems much more tepid from the off as we begin with a lengthy description of a YouTube video and the novel fails to catch alight from there unfortunately.

Anna's voice feels lost in describing various European locales and Fin does little more than press record on his phone and the supporting cast are left to carry the mystery and fail to do so in an interesting way.

There can be no doubting Mina's talent, but I think this one loses what made Anna and Fin great in the first place and could be a case of difficult second album syndrome in that we got so much of them in the first book that there may not have been much more to give.

I really like Denise Mina’s crime novels but I struggled a little with Confidence. For a start, I had completely forgotten that I’d read the first in the Anna and Fin series, Conviction, and had no memory of the plot, so in the first few pages of this latest book I was overwhelmed with information about the characters that I didn’t fully understand. Don’t get me wrong, I still flew through Confidence like I would with any smart thriller, but it was giving me big Dan Brown vibes and I was not especially into that. I felt myself rushing through the boring bits (particularly the italicised sections giving background information as if monologues on Anna’s podcast) and so I couldn’t quite piece the whole complicated tale of art and religious antiquities theft together.

This is a very clever and well plotted story by Denise Mina. It's book two in the series featuring Anna and Fin, a pair of crime podcasters. it started very well but failed to inspire me. We have art smugglers, religious artefacts, quirky characters and a missing girl. All the ingredients for a good read, but it just never worked for me as it was all a bit confusing and far fetched. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

I wasn't much the wiser having finished this book than I was at the beginning. I nearly gave up early on due to my lack of familiarity with modern Internet communications (what is Reddit?!). However, I persevered and these things became less important as the story became more of a modern day Indiana Jones adventure. The action circulates around a Roman artifact, thought to have belonged to Pontius Pilate and have religious significance.

The action is fast paced but, what with aliases, double crossing and general muddying of the waters, it seemed a bit too convoluted. What did happen to the original casket? Who stole it in the first place? Who is Marcos's mother? So many questions .. You'll have to read it yourself to see what you think.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publishers for the opportunity to review this book.

Denise Mina never disappoints and this was another excellently plotted and original story with her skillful humor woven into a dark story. I just as particularly impressed with the character development, and sone of the unexpected choices Mina made with her protagonist. Highly recommend!

I enjoyed this one, it’s well written, the plot is faced paced with plenty of plot twists, especially towards the end. The story is packed with suspect characters and an underlying sense of threat. It’s an engrossing mystery crime thriller. Recommend a read.
Thanks to #NetGallery #DeniseMina for an arc of #Confidence in exchange for an honest review.

Lisa Lee is a film maker online and has vanished after filming in an abandoned chateau in France. The chateau was full of all sorts of treasures including a priceless silver casket which has also gone missing. everyone who had seen this casket during history had also vanished and disappeared.
Journalists Anna and Fin are at the centre of an internet whirlwind to try and find her and are caught up in the world of art smuggling trying to find her and the casket. Will they succeed!!

We first met Anna and Fin in Conviction. They are true crime podcasters and are an appealing couple (except they're not a couple) still friendly with their exes Hamish and Estelle to the extent that they're on holiday with them along with Fin's poisonous girlfriend. What a horror! When Sofie reveals a part of Anna's past to her daughter, Anna leaves the holiday rental and goes home ostensibly to pick up an email from a young woman who has just gone missing. Fin goes with her and they are ambushed at Anna's house by Bram who wants to them to help him find the missing woman. Of course this is not really what he's after and soon they are up in helicopters and private planes roaming over Italy and France.

Conviction was great. I loved it. It was fun and absurd and full of humour. Confidence is just as good. I'm already looking forward to the next in the series. There will be a next, right?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC.

Anna and Fin are podcasters with an unusual family dynamic. When their "summer" holiday is disrupted. Anna and Fin are drawn into the worlds of Urban Explorers, Art Thieves, and Billianiare Con-Artists. This is the second book in the Anna and Fin series, following on from Conviction.

Parts of this book reminded me of the Dan Brown books, the travelling around Europe, secret societies and art theif. This book is also perfect for fans of the TV series, Only Murderers in the Building!

A remarkable, utterly different mystery/thriller. The 'voice' of narrator "Anna",with her own backstory, is there for all to hear as she takes us on a fast moving journey across Europe, bringing humour, unusual characters and a brilliant story line to life along the way. No wonder Denise Mina gets praise from famous authors. Film directors should be queuing up for the rights to this book - it's enjoyable, entertaining informative and intriguing from beginning to - a very clever - ending.

When Lisa, an amateur film maker goes missing there is an internet frenzy to find her. Two investigating journalists set our to discover what happened - but maybe Lisa is not the innocent she appeared. When a valuable roman casket turns up for auction the story changes and the race to discover who is telling the truth is on. Well crafted tale, great pacing and characters. Recommended.