The Long Drop cover art

The Long Drop

 Preview

Get 30 days of Premium Plus free

£8.99/month after 30-day free trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options
Buy Now for £12.99

Buy Now for £12.99

About this listen

Random House presents the unabridged, downloadable audiobook edition of The Long Drop by Denise Mina, read by David Monteath.

William Watt wants answers about his family's murder. Peter Manuel has them. But Peter Manuel is a liar.

William Watt is an ordinary businessman, a fool, a social climber.

Peter Manuel is a famous liar, a rapist, a criminal. He claims he can get hold of the gun used to murder Watt's family.

One December night in 1957, Watt meets Manuel in a Glasgow bar to find out what he knows.

Based on true events, The Long Drop is an extraordinarily unsettling, evocative and compelling novel from a writer at the height of her powers.

 Crime Crime Thrillers Fiction Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Suspense Thriller & Suspense Thriller Murder

Critic reviews

Angry, vital and unputdownable, The Long Drop’s themes of self-deception resonate long after the final page. This is crime fiction at its very best (Joseph Knox, author of Sirens)
Not a single word is wasted in this beautifully written novel. Unsettling, evocative and staggeringly good, it is possibly Mina’s finest achievement
A wonderfully atmospheric, unsettling read. (Louise Rhind-Tutt)
Deeply unsettling and thought provoking in all the best ways (Doug Johnstone)
The Long Drop is an exceptional book. The pages reek of fifties Glasgow, forming an oppressive backdrop to a true crime story that fascinates and appals from start to finish. Mina’s prose cuts to the bone, laying bare the prideful wickedness of men in a tale that is as often touching as it is frightening. A feast of a crime novel.
The Long Drop is a fascinating, quietly insidious work, unsettling but absorbing (Marcel Berlins)
It is a beautifully written book, a masterpiece by the woman who may be Britain’s finest living crime novelist
The Long Drop is not just a success and a thrilling read in its own right, but a game-changer for the genre. (Stuart Kelly)
A relentlessly tense and exciting read, every page oozes menace and its core of truth makes it all the more unsettling.
Deliciously shadowy. (Claire Allfree)
All stars
Most relevant
Amazing novel and brilliantly narrated by David Monteath.
This novel chilled me. Manuel was always just the bogey man to me and he’s been portrayed here in a way that aptly characterises him, and Watt. Mina focuses in on the Watt Murders and the relationship between Watt & Manuel, but cleverly uses the court scenes to fill the reader in on the other abhorrent crimes. There’s some horrible details, because the things he did were horrible; but there has been incredible care given to the difficult balance of conveying the horror and not sensationalising the violence.

Brilliant Audible Recording!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great narration, Great writing. Will listen to more of her books. Thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely Recommend !!!

Superb Book.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I remember Manuel as the bogey man of my early childhood. Scotland is a wee count and these particularly gruesome crimes preoccupied the press and public. Not a straightforward novel but then the murders weren’t either. Well written and well narrated. The ending is well known but official documents of the trial are still unavailable, though it was widely reported at the time.

The first Scots serial killer

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Very well narrated but this was a bleak time in Glasgow. It is an interesting story but I wasn't a big fan of the flashback nature of the telling.

Bleak time

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Although beautifully written this goes on and on. Having to give up as life is too short and I just don't care enough about the characters to find out what happens.
Such a shame as I loved the Alex Morrow stories.

Heavy going

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews