Three Fires

'Love everything by Denise Mina but this one is special. A slim volume that packs a mighty punch. Historical fiction at its timely gripping best!'

-- Graham Norton

'This little book is beautifully done... remarkable, moving and thought-provoking... a rare achievement'

-- Allan Massie * The Scotsman *

'a slight but powerful morality tale about souring utopias and the dangers of absolute certainty'

-- Antonia Senior * Times, Best New Historical Fiction *

'[A] vivid historical thriller. Even readers who know what comes next will be captivated by Mina's lyricism. This is a triumph'

* Publishers Weekly US (Starred Review) *

'Three Fires is a brisk, pointed and eminently readable account that examines the virtues and failings of a remarkable individual, and helps us see our own world in relation to the late Middle Ages in a way that feels bracingly relevant and alive'

* The Herald *

'Perfectly succinct and powerfully stirring, it’s a tour de force of historic fiction, delivered with sparkling style, astute social commentary and the kind of page-turning pace you’d hope for from a rip-roaring thriller'

* LoveReading, Star Book *

'Mina gives us literary gold with this reimagining of the Bonfire of the Vanities... exquisite prose' 

* Sunday Post *

'A fascinating book that works beautifully at several different levels'

-- Ken Lussey * Undiscovered Scotland *

'Denise's use of language brings real humanity to her characters... she also breathes humour into her tale'

-- Nora McElhone * Dundee Courier *

'Short, vibrant ... There is no mincing of words here. Mina sees clear parallels between yesterday’s horrors and today’s challenges. Nor does she find comfort in Savonarola’s execution. He was a man who wrote extensively—he is often credited as a source of inspiration to Martin Luther, for example—and for good and for bad, Savonarola's influence is with us now. Powerful stuff'

* Historical Novel Society *

'[Mina] writes about the political and religious conflicts of the day with well-informed precision, but she does so with a cheekily contemporary flair... Quite the gut punch for a novel of its slim stature, and one that will have readers pondering the frighteningly short distance between Savonarola’s times and our own'

-- Book Reporter

'This fast and compelling read is a good historical thriller for readers of history and fiction' 

* Library Journal *

'A wholly satisfying, unnerving tale with eerie connections to our modern world dominated by income inequality, grift and freedom of speech'

* Toronto St