The Long Drop

By Denise Mina,

Book cover of The Long Drop

Book description

'A masterpiece by the woman who may be Britain's finest living crime novelist' Daily Telegraph

'Absorbing... this is a bravura performance, a true original' Ian Rankin

Glasgow, 1957. It is a December night and William Watt is desperate. His family has been murdered and he needs to find out who…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Why read it?

2 authors picked The Long Drop as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

The Long Drop is a Scottish crime book like no other. 

It features an imagined night featuring two key figures in the terrible world of one of Scotland’s most notorious murderers Peter Manuel.

In this long night of the soul Peter Manuel and William Watt wander through Glasgow and its underbelly as Manuel leads Watt on a journey of lies, drink, and trickery.

It is Tartan Noir at its most terrifying. A Jekyll and Hyde story of a night based on true events.

From Lin's list on Tartan Noir and Bloody Scotland.

An accomplished author of imaginative thrillers and police procedurals, Mina here draws on the actual case of 1950s Scottish mass murderer Peter Manuel and conjures up a complex fictional context that transforms the factual account into noir art (2017). Her gritty pre-urban renewal Glasgow demonstrates how a story’s setting can be as vivid and determinant as its human characters. Running nearly the length of its lean narrative is a murder trial that throws a harsh light on conflicting strata of the city’s brutally misogynistic society, from its corrupt business elite to its grimy criminal underbelly. When the drama is over…

From W.A.'s list on crime stories of the past 50 years.

Want books like The Long Drop?

Our community of 10,000+ authors has personally recommended 81 books like The Long Drop.

Browse books like The Long Drop

5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Glasgow, Scotland, and presidential biography?

10,000+ authors have recommended their favorite books and what they love about them. Browse their picks for the best books about Glasgow, Scotland, and presidential biography.

Glasgow Explore 28 books about Glasgow
Scotland Explore 308 books about Scotland
Presidential Biography Explore 19 books about presidential biography