The Garnethill trilogy of novels focuses on Maureen O’Donnell, an amateur detective who has a traumatic personal life, which tends to lead to her doing her own sleuthing when loved ones of people she knows turn up dead. Mina would continue the Garnethill trilogy with Exile, which was published in 2000, and she would conclude the trilogy with novel Resolution, which was published in 2001. Mina won the Crime Writers Association’s John Creasy Dagger for Best First Crime Novels in 1998 for Garnethill. While teaching criminology and criminal law at Strathclyde University, Minu pursued her love of writing, and she wrote the first novel in the Garnethill trilogy of novels, Garnethill, which was published in 1998. However, Mina decided that these career paths were not for her, and she returned to education, having left school at 16, and went on to study law at Glasgow University, where she earned her degree, and continued on to study for her PhD, as well as teaching Strathclyde University After leaving school, Mina had a variety of jobs, usually manual labour, including working in a meat processing factory, and also working as an auxillary nurse. Several of the novels have also been made into movies.īorn in Glasgow in 1966, Denise Mina is the daughter of an engineer, and due to this, she moved around a lot in her formative years throughout Europe. Most of the novels are set in Glasgow, where the author spent a significant time of her childhood. She would also write the Alex Morrow series of novels, her longest series to date. The success of the Garnethill Trilogy led Denise to write the Paddy Meehan series that also found much success. Her debut novel “Garnethill” was the first of the Garnet Trilogy series of novels. Most of the novels can be classified as mystery thrillers. Denise Mina is best known for the Garnethill Trilogy, the Paddy Mehan series, and the Alex Morrow novels.

Denise mina trilogy