Garnethill -- Denise Mina

Maureen O'Donnell gets massively drunk with a friend one night, goes home to her flat in Glasgow's Garnethill district, falls into bed and passes out.

The next morning, she finds her married lover tied to a chair in her living room with his throat cut.

After being questioned by the police, she realizes that she's the prime suspect.  Not wanting to spend the rest of her life in prison (or a mental institution, which, given her history, is more likely), she begins her own investigation. 

I'm hideously tired today -- I couldn't sleep last night, so around 2:30, I got up and started reading.  An hour or so later, I was ready to go back to bed, but at that point I was so hooked that I fought off my exhaustion and finished the book -- EVEN THOUGH I HAD ALREADY IDENTIFIED THE KILLER.

Usually, I get annoyed if I even have an inkling about the conclusion, but in this case, I just became more and more engrossed.  I think it was partly because I suspected that Maureen was going to do something that would make Burke proud, and who wouldn't want to stay up a little later for that?

Denise Mina has a real way with description:

The lady realized that Tanya was a bit mental -- it wouldn't have taken a hardened professional to spot it: she had a booming voice and the concentration span of a spliffed goldfish.  The lady turned away and walked, as if casually, out of the shelter to stand in the drizzling rain.

...

The reserve funding was running out rapidly now and the house looked shoddy in comparison to its neighbors.  It stood out in the elegant street of terraced houses like a meatball in caviar.

...

His hairpiece sat so high on his head it looked as if he kept his sandwiches under it.

...

One of the strip lights was failing, palpitating nervously.

...

His jumper was tucked fussily into his jeans and there was something irritatingly meticulous about the way he did his hair. It looked as if he had carefully bouffanted it over a bald patch on his crown but he wasn't balding.  And his Italianism seemed affected; like a dull man accentuation a single feature as a substitute for a personality.

Yeah.  So, loved it.  I'll be reading more soon, but first I'm going to finally read my first Minette Walters.  My mystery/crime kick continues.