Books by Denise Mina
Denise Mina’s pint-sized Rizzio dramatises the bloody murder of Mary, Queen of Scots’ Italian secretary, David Rizzio, and the subsequent coup d’etat in Holyrood Palace, Edinburgh, in March 1566. Rizzio is a short but perfectly formed little book that brilliantly evokes the tense and stifled atmosphere of the Queen’s private chambers as she, six months pregnant, considers her predicament: her hasty love marriage to the handsome, charismatic and reckless Lord Darnley is dead in the water; her lords are revolting; relations with her powerful, Protestant cousin Elizabeth I of England have soured. Now, during a private dinner party for friends, events come to a brutal and shocking climax.
At only just over 100 pages (or two hours, in the audio version), it’s perfect for a car journey or slow afternoon. After Rizzio, you might move on to Lucy Jago’s excellent recent novel A Net for Small Fishes, about a real-life scandal that rocked the court of Mary’s son, James VI (James I of England) who went on to unite the English and Scottish crowns.
From our article Books like Wolf Hall
“The book explores celebrity and the modern penchant for using private trauma for public entertainment in a hugely entertaining story told at a lightning pace. Mina has been called the “modern crime queen” and this book warrants a bend of the knee.” Read more...
Anthony Franze, Thriller and Crime Writer
Interviews where books by Denise Mina were recommended
The Best Thrillers of 2020, recommended by Anthony Franze
Every year, the International Thriller Writers awards highlight the best new thrillers of the previous year. Anthony Franze, administrator of the awards and an acclaimed thriller author in his own right, talks us through their 2020 shortlist for the best new thriller published in hardback.
