‘Still Midnight’ by Denise Mina
Published by Orion, July 2009.
ISBN:  978-1-4091-0094-2

Denise Mina has chosen to write her latest novel Still Midnight against her familiar city of Glasgow.  She enjoys describing places and in this book she includes some of the more spectacular Scottish countryside,  some of the better maintained parts of Glasgow but, best of all she captures the houses and habitations of what has been called the low life of the city.  More than the buildings she portrays the lives of their inhabitants, most of whom live on the edge of society and find it difficult to make a success of anything.

Into this kind of background she puts a  Ugandan Asian immigrant shopkeeper and his family,  the father with the family nickname of Nugget,  married to a large dominant wife Sadiqua,  an older son Billah with a wife by an arranged marriage who has recently given birth to a son,  a younger son Omah and a seventeen year old daughter Aleesha.  It is a quiet Sunday evening and the family is about to be invaded and their peace shattered by the two armed men waiting in a new white van parked outside.  From the van emerge two armed men,  in balaclavas, flourishing guns and making a demand for two million pounds from Bob.  When the money is not forthcoming and the family fail to understand the message a gun is fired accidentally seriously injuring Aleesha's hand.  The two intruders kidnap the old man and threaten to kill this old fucker if the money is not produced by the next night.

The police officer put in charge of the investigation gives the organising of it to D.S.Bannerman with policewoman Alex Morrow as helper.  The story focuses more on the activities of Alex who feels deprived at not being put in charge and their relationship is skillfully told.  Alex would have been a better candidate for seniority as she was brought up in this deprived part of Glasgow,  went to school with some of the victims and perpetrators and has a half-brother Danny who makes his living in the shadow of Glasgow's underworld.  The story is punctuated  by one of the terrorists romantic dreams of a possible happy relationship with the wounded Aleesha and with the father's memories of a violent childhood in Uganda.  The solving of the crime makes a complicated and enthralling story, with hints of racial tension and a convincing depiction of the language, life-style, motivation and dress of the various characters good and bad.  Good reading and recommended.
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Rosemary Brown