After a nomadic childhood, during which she lived in Glasgow, Paris, London, Invergordon, Bergen, and Perth, Denise Mina left school early. She worked a number of dead-end jobs before beginning to study to get into Glasgow University Law School. Mina then went on to receive a PhD from Strathclyde University, where she “misused” her student grant to write her first novel, Garnethill. She has written twelve novels, most notably the Detective Alex Morrow series; three plays; and five graphic novels; and regularly contributes to television and radio in the UK.