A sickness in the family by Denise Mina ***

Reading dates: 1 – 6 February 2015

A sickness in the family is a gripping, well put together graphic novel, with exquisite drawings. It is a quick, intense, enjoyable read but one that, for me, fell flat at the resolution. It reminded me a little too much of Hitchcock’s film Psycho. Its complexity, however, was that of a short story. I like very few short stories, not my form. I wanted something more epic. Somehow the threads for this are there in each of the characters — especially the marriage counsellor — and the work could have expanded. Although, one could argue, at the expense of some dilution of the main narrative. Still, the theme (brought about by that resolution I was just dissing) is fascinating and rather original.