The End of the Wasp Season by Denise Mina 390 pages

This is the first book that I read by Mina. It is a murder mystery set in Scotland that is more multi-dimensional than the usual mystery. A rich and rather hated millionaire hangs himself from a tree in front of his mansion. The ones he left behind are hardly loved ones, since they hated him, too. A savage murder of a young woman in a wealthy suburb of Glasgow occurs which ultimately is tied to the millionaire. The rather pregnant detective assigned to the case has much on her mind besides the case. Office politics, most of the office detest the boss, and she tries to rise above the rumbling dissatisfaction. While Alex is a very interesting detective (reminding me of Marge, the pregnant detective of Fargo, most of the other characters (the children and wives of Lars Anderson) are disagreeable. Lots of random threads knitted together quite cleverly.