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The End of the Wasp Season

by Denise Mina
Reagan Arthur: Little, Brown. Sept. 2011. c.352p. ISBN 9780316069335. $25.99. F
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Scottish crime vet Mina brings back prickly Detective Superintendent Alex Morrow for a second downbeat thriller (after Still Midnight). Now pregnant with twins, Morrow is called to a dilapidated manor on the outskirts of Glasgow where a young woman has been stomped to death. Perplexingly, an untouched fortune in cash waits hidden nearby. After learning that her childhood friend Kay recently worked in the home, Morrow grows suspicious (albeit reluctantly) of Kay's teen sons. Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away in Kent, disgraced financier Lars Anderson hangs himself, leaving behind an emotionally ruined boy of his own. As Mina gradually reveals the connection between the deaths, she also explores how psychological brutality, particularly toward children, is a horrific crime of its own.
VERDICT Mina exhibits her usual thoughtful flair for tough female protagonists and morally complex suspects and victims. Fans of Scottish crime fiction are probably hooked already, but introduce this author to readers of George Pelecanos and Henning Mankell. [Five-city tour.]
Reviewed by Annabelle Mortensen, Skokie P.L., IL , Aug 01, 2011
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