In Conversation: Richard Armitage & Denise Mina

Review by Louise Cannon

Firstly, author, Andrew Raymond was the author for Crime In the Spotlight reading a section from one of his new books from the DCI Lomond series. He sounds an author worth checking out. I have a book to review and he informed me there’s another on the way… Now, onto the main event…

Sitting and watching a conversation between Richard Armitage and Denise Mina is fascinating. It just flows and instantly captivates. They know how to hook you, not only into their books, but a little into their worlds. They make you think, some of the talk was highly relatable, some of that, for me, on sad notes, but still…
That’s the beauty and skill of their conversation, whether they were talking about easy topics or more difficult, heart-rendering ones, they made you feel it, they made you understand a time, a place, a person.
They’re highly talented and together are a powerhouse, ultimately, giving a powerful, moving talk about their books and also incredible insights through their experiences…

Richard Armitage, known for screen and on the page. He’s known for Spooks, The Hobbit Trilogy and Obsession, topped the bestseller chart with his sensational debut thriller Geneva and his new cold case novel is The Cut.

Denise Mina has collected a shelf load of awards in a glittering career, including the McIlvanney Prize, CWA Daggers, and two Theakston’s Crime Novel of the Year awards. Her new novel is The Good Liar. She studied forensic science for cross examining in the lawyers world. It was insightful how she talked about some forms of evidence now not being considered reliable, such as bite marks and blood splatters and such things used pre-DNA. She also pondered why so many people in prisons are of the working class. More about her book later…

After being very impressed by the story-telling of Geneva, liking it more than I expected, I remembered Richard Armitage mentioning The Cut last year. It’s now published and is an excellent book. His talk about The Cut is heart-rendering and sincere. If you were bullied in the 90’s you’ll really feel the emotion of what was an incredibly powerful and moving talk. The Cut takes place between 1993 and present day and sounds pacey and atmospherically intense as he delves into the corrosive nature of bullying and sounds like there are many twists and turns along the way…

Richard Armitage talked about how he is interested in the person you’d say was the villain of the piece, what caused the effect. Perhaps, refreshingly and original, he said he would like people to be divided by that particular character in the book.

Denise Mina’s novel, The Good Liar, is about a Glaswegian in London, as well as examining this, also looks at the effects of a chaotic family structure and climbing the social ladder to find safety, but is that all a pretence? Is it really a safer place in life to be?

There was interesting chat about how Scots in London downplay their Scottishness, in a way that then no one can quite place you. I found this recognisable when in London, but then again, I don’t have the accent of my home town either, even when coming from there, so it can be fun playing “guess where I come from,” or, I’ve just thought, could be used more mysteriously and not just for a bit of entertainment.

Both books involve young people and flawed characters, but the authors also, interestingly discussed families in present day with chaotic lives and how children are desperate to get those “Likes” on social media platforms. Then, how some parents also like to live vicariously through their children instead of leading their own lives… It was a thought-provoking discussion they had.

Whilst talking about audiobooks, Audible in-particular and then going to book format, Richard Armitage talked about the musicality of writing for audio format and stripping back to present scenes and more, which, like accent descriptions etc are added in the printed book. He disclosed how he had to present a manuscript to Audible before they signed everything off. It shows, even with a celebrity status, it wasn’t an instant yes, nor was it just for the sake of it.

Denise Mina has done an audio piece as well that had to be read in a P.G. Wodehouse like rhythm. Having just seen the fabulous Wodehouse In Wonderland play starring Robert Daws, I knew exactly what she was talking about. I had to smile at this unexpected linkage.

This fascinating talk concluded with the excitement that Geneva and The Cut are optioned for TV. It’s one of many stages which may or may not go ahead, but it’s a start and something for you to perhaps remember he felt confident enough to mention it at Bloody Scotland.

There will be more books to come from both authors…