Resolution

Denise Mina wraps up her Garnethill Trilogy with a slamdunk. I'm sorry to say goodbye to Maureen and her friends, but readers can appreciate Mina's decision to keep the series short and say all she had to say in 3 volumes instead of 20. The action is fresh. And there are flashes of humor that come just at the right time.

All the demons come home to roost in the third novel of Mina's brilliant trilogy (Garnethill, Exile, Resolution), intrepid protagonist Maureen O'Donnell finally confronted with the resolution of her past sexual abuse and subsequent breakdown, broken relationships, a chronic inability to commit and a pattern of diversion that has taken her to dangerous places to protect the innocent who cannot protect themselves. Finally, Angus Farrell is facing trial for two murders, Maureen's married boyfriend and another man unfortunate enough to have harbored incriminating information against Angus. Although Farrell's more disturbing crimes are his heinous sexual attacks against helpless young women under his care at the mental hospital where Maureen was taken after her breakdown, she is happy to see the monster held accountable, hopefully protecting the only eye witness to the abuse, Siobhan, from having to testify. Filled with eccentric characters and vivid descriptions of life in Glasgow, this final novel brings Maureen to the end of her journey, increasingly self-destructive behavior no longer tolerable, nor is the crippling fear of her abuser, Maureen's father, Michael. Thanks to the efforts of Marie, Maureen's oldest sibling, Michael has returned to Glasgow, joyfully embraced by Una, the sister who gives birth to a girl, further ratcheting up Maureen's need to deal with Michael for the sake of the new baby. The trial, an abrasive press and the subtle threats sent by Angus to intimidate Maureen are exacerbated by the shadow of her father's presence, Maureen driven to one more detour in favor of the helpless as she prepares to reclaim her future: wee Ella McGee, in the process of taking her son to small claims court, is brutally beaten and hospitalized. Before Maureen can get to the bottom of Ella's attack, Ella is dead, her son by her side at the end. One of the charms of this trilogy is Mina's ability to draw the reader into Maureen's intimate daily dilemmas, at the same time adding the predicaments that seduce Maureen into rescuing those who have fallen through the cracks in an indifferent society: in Garnethill, it is the mental patients who fall prey to Farrell's abuse and Douglas's murder; in Exile, the disappearance and murder of a woman caught in the nightmare world of the drug trade; and in Resolution, the inexplicable death of a feisty old woman and the fate of innocent females exploited by powerful men. Mina brings immediacy to each of these issues, the sordid details of each situation compelling and deeply relevant; meanwhile, we witness Maureen's helpless descent into alcoholism to cope with her rage and a desperate need to regain control of her life. The characters are oddly familiar, dysfunctional siblings, an alcoholic mother who denies Maureen's abuse, a loyal brother-cum-former-drug-dealer, a best friend through every dangerous escapade and the protagonist's reluctant embrace of a more hopeful future, albeit at a terrible cost. Mina s

This book, the third in Denise Mina's GARNETHILL trilogy, was absolutely superb. Mina tells a gritty story that was as fascinating as it was disturbing. Mina ties together all of the unresolved items from the previous two books (hence RESOLUTION) very nicely. I was totally satisfied with how things played out. Mina is the writer that other authors such as Karin Slaughter wish they could be and I would hope in the future that Mina brings Maureen back, perhaps 10 or 15 years older. She is an interesting, intriguing character and it seems there is a lot more to her story that can be explored.

Denise Mina concludes her extraordinary trilogy with a superb book. Resolution matches Garnethill and brings to full circle the saga of Maureen O'Donnell, the most interesting character, male or female, to emerge in crime fiction in recent years. Resolution stands on its own, although it is best read in sequence.

This is another excellent book by Denise Mina ... part of a fabulous series.