Tag Archives: Logan McRae

Now We Are Dead by Stuart MacBride

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5 Stars from me

It’s fair to say that Stuart MacBride had me at Cold Granite…

Now We Are Dead focuses on Sergeant Roberta Steel who has taken a bit of a tumble down the ranks after fitting up a suspect. Not one to learn from her mistakes she is hell bent on seeing him behind bars and, despite numerous colourful warnings, pursues him in her own special way.

Steel is a fabulous character, she is loveable yet should be detestable and must be an absolute nightmare to work with. I love love love her funny ways and how she is always shuggling her errant underwire and eyeing up anyone female who crosses her path.

I did miss Logan but it is testament to MacBride’s mastery of a incredible storyline that this book is brilliant even without it’s star player being involved.

Another absolute stonker from Stuart MacBride – reading his books makes me so happy 🙂

Synopsis: From the No. 1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae series, comes a standalone spinoff featuring DS Roberta Steel. Sergeant Roberta Steel has recently been demoted after being caught fitting up a suspect. The trouble is, the man she got sent down has had his sentence quashed now he’s back on the streets. And women are being attacked again. But if DS Steel goes anywhere near him his lawyers will get her thrown off the force for good. The Powers That Be won’t listen to her not after what happened last time. Besides, she’s got more than enough ongoing cases to keep her busy perhaps she should focus on solving them instead of harassing an innocent man?

But Steel knows he’s guilty and the longer he gets away with it, the more women will suffer. The question is: how much is she willing to sacrifice to stop him? 

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A Dark so Deadly by Stuart MacBride

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5 stars from me!

I just didn’t want this book to end! As much as I desperately wanted to know who the killer was, I felt like I could have kept on reading about these characters for ever.

Poor DC Callum MacGregor, sometimes life really does rain down on you from a great height doesn’t it but he is such a fantastic character throughout this book, so well defined, and the fact he is essentially just a really decent guy radiates from the pages.

The ‘Misfit Mob’ have all the markings of being more than just a standalone – or maybe they will be the launchpad for a whole new series starring DC Callum MacGregor; I hope so. Mother and her little band of rejects make for a very interesting read.

I also love the parallels between these characters and earlier MacBride genius inventions. The bag of jellybabies is not lost on us.

Really good book, inventive story, interesting new characters and I simply didn’t want to put it down.

 

Synopsis: Gripping standalone thriller from the Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae series.

Welcome to the Misfit Mob…

It’s where Police Scotland dumps the officers it can’t get rid of, but wants to: the outcasts, the troublemakers, the compromised. Officers like DC Callum MacGregor, lumbered with all the boring go-nowhere cases. So when an ancient mummy turns up at the Oldcastle tip, it’s his job to find out which museum it’s been stolen from.

But then Callum uncovers links between his ancient corpse and three missing young men, and life starts to get a lot more interesting. O Division’s Major Investigation Teams already have more cases than they can cope with, so, against everyone’s better judgement, the Misfit Mob are just going to have to manage this one on their own.

No one expects them to succeed, but right now they’re the only thing standing between the killer’s victims and a slow, lingering death. The question is, can they prove everyone wrong before he strikes again?

The Missing and The Dead by Stuart MacBride

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Missing and Dead

It was so good to catch up with Logan McRae again, it’s been too long! I wish this series would be snapped up for TV rights and it would make for great viewing.

Logan’s new role in the police isn’t filling him with joy but it does seem to be giving him a bit more stability… until Steel pops up again because she’s missing him. They make a great pair though.

The thing I love most about a Stuart MacBride novel is that although at time the subject matter may be silly, or gritty, or gross, the way the sentences are constructed is always intelligent. The words fly across the page because the flow is perfect; I never get bored, skim read or lose my place.

Logan’s ‘relationship’ with his poor girlfriend is both depressing and uplifting as although he is essentially tied to a ghost it also shows what a truly wonderful human being he is as he lives in virtual poverty in order to support her medical care.

Fabulous book (aren’t they all by Mr MacBride?), already looking forward to the next.

Synopsis: One mistake can cost you everything…

When you catch a twisted killer there should be a reward, right? What Acting Detective Inspector Logan McRae gets instead is a ‘development opportunity’ out in the depths of rural Aberdeenshire. Welcome to divisional policing – catching drug dealers, shop lifters, vandals and the odd escaped farm animal.

Then a little girl’s body washes up just outside the sleepy town of Banff, kicking off a massive manhunt. The Major Investigation Team is up from Aberdeen, wanting answers, and they don’t care who they trample over to get them.

Logan’s got enough on his plate keeping B Division together, but DCI Steel wants him back on her team. As his old colleagues stomp around the countryside, burning bridges, Logan gets dragged deeper and deeper into the investigation.

One thing’s clear: there are dangerous predators lurking in the wilds of Aberdeenshire, and not everyone’s going to get out of this alive…

Cold Granite by Stuart MacBride

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Cold Granite5 Stars from me!

Cold Granite is the first book in the DS Logan McRae series and it is a belter!

I am a fan of Stuart MacBride and cannot believe that I don’t have a review of Cold Granite on here! It was only when I was reviewing another fabulous Scottish crime debut that I realised and so I’ve quickly put together a review as Cold Granite is a brilliant book and the DS Logan McRae series is not to be missed.

I was first introduced to the book on a flight home from New York when the person to my left was chuckling to themselves while reading it. When I got a chance to glance at the cover it didn’t strike me as looking like a particularly amusing book but once I secured a copy and sat down to read it for myself I soon discovered that the story is full of humorous touches and one liners; welcome relief from the stark gruesomeness of the tale itself.

Logan ‘Laz’ is brilliant character, he puts me in mind of Gary Goodhew from the Cambridge Blue books, his personality is perfect for the role and he bounces off of his quirky superiors in a delightful manner. It is the wonderful DI Steel who brings much of the humour to the book, she is fabulous to read. Then there is DI Insch who bears the brunt of many an eloquently penned joke. Both are great.

The Aberdeen described in Cold Granite is not one that I would imagine the tourist board appreciating! It sounds like hell on earth but the descriptive writting required to bring about this assault to the senses is quite flawless.

If you like crime books, you must read Cold Granite.

Synopsis: Winter in Aberdeen: murder, mayhem and terrible weather…

It’s DS Logan McRae’s first day back on the job after a year off on the sick, and it couldn’t get much worse. Three-year-old David Reid’s body is discovered in a ditch, strangled, mutilated and a long time dead. And he’s only the first. There’s a serial killer stalking the Granite City and the local media are baying for blood.

Soon the dead are piling up in the morgue almost as fast as the snow on the streets, and Logan knows time is running out. More children are going missing. More are going to die. And if Logan isn’t careful, he could end up joining them…