The Last Breath, by Denise Mina

Four key elements have helped the novelist Denise Mina climb the greasy pole of crime fiction. First, there is her pithily characterised heroine, journalist Paddy Meehan. In some ways, Meehan is a distaff Philip Marlowe: sardonic, tenacious in pursuit of facts, and unafraid to insult people higher up the social scale (although Paddy uses more four-letter words).

Second is the transplanting of the tarnished American private eye into a saltily evoked Scottish setting. Some may even feel that there is an overdose of Celticness in this book: an Irish journalist in a Scottish city deals with some intimidating IRA minions, which means more appearances of the word "ye" than might be found in Ruth Rendell or Minette Walters. Another plus point is the dialogue, among the most persuasively idiomatic in current fiction, crime or otherwise. This really is one of Mina's strong suits. (Paddy to an unsympathetic newspaper editor: "Ye look as if a rival had just had an anal relapse.")

But the element that really shines is the effortless characterisation. Everyone in The Last Breath is fully rounded, often within a few lines: from a quietly threatening IRA man to a bitterly witty female mortuary attendant, from a terrified victim of nameless killers to a creepily ingratiating paedophile. Paddy herself, a tough-talking journo holding down a column on one of Scotland's main newspapers, but struggling with a messy private life and a problem with authority, is one of the most distinctive figures in the crime field. She arrived fully formed in the award-winning The Field of Blood, and Mina has been refining and sharpening her quirky personality ever since.

Here, Paddy receives an unwelcome call from the police. Her ex-lover, Terry, has been found in a ditch, naked, hooded, and shot through the head. Terry has left her an impressive Georgian property in Ayrshire and a hefty pile of notebooks. She begins to pry out the facts behind his murder, and is visited by an IRA man who identifies himself as "Michael Collins". While putting the fear of God in her, he tells her the killing is (despite the hallmarks of an IRA hit) not the work of the Provos. But is the IRA at work in Scotland? And how will Paddy's involvement with a newly-released paedophile and child killer further complicate her already complicated life? The strong-willed heroine, both likeable and infuriating, helps ensure that The Last Breath will add more lustre to Mina's burgeoning reputation.

Bantam, £12.99. Order for £11.50 (free p&p) on 08700 798 897

Interesting? Click here to explore further