Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #337 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-02
• Binding: Paperback
• 528 pages

Synopsis
This is a new Logan McRae thriller from the bestselling author of "Cold Granite", set to rival Ian Rankin. It's summertime in the Granite city: the sun is shining, the sky is blue, and people are dying! It starts with Rosie Williams, a prostitute, stripped naked and beaten to death down by the docks - the heart of Aberdeen's red light district. For DS Logan McRae it's a bad start to another bad day. Only a few short months ago, he was the golden boy of Grampian police. But one botched raid later, he's palmed off on a DI everyone knows is a jinx, waiting for the axe to fall with all the other rejects in the 'Screw-up Squad'. Logan's not going to take it lying down. He's determined to escape DI Steel and her unconventional methods, and the best way to do that is to crack the case in double-quick time. But, Rosie Williams won't be the only one making an unscheduled trip to the morgue. Across the city, six people are burning to death in a petrol-soaked squat, the doors and windows screwed shut from the outside. And despite Logan's best efforts, it's not long before another prostitute turns up on the slab!

Stuart MacBride's characteristic grittiness, gallows humour and lively characterization make this his second unputdownable novel, confirming his status as the rising star of crime fiction.

Customer Reviews

Good but flawed
I enjoyed this despite it's faults (and there are several) but read through quickly so can't really give it a 4 or less. It's light reading at it's best.
Several characters are extremely cliched (does every single mention of DI Steele have to include cigarettes and of DI Insch have to include sweets - WE GET IT okay!), repetitive at times (how many times do you have to mention the rubbish and magazines in the car) the swearing did get annoying sometimes and the author is still obsessed with the weather (which is pretty true to the Aberdeen character).
But I still enjoyed the book despite it's flaws - just don't expect it to do more than entertain.

It must be bought
I just loved reading this book and once I started, I literally couldn't put the book down!

I love the author's work having read the first book also and I've just started the next book too since I bought the 3 paperbacks at once.

These books were meant to be for my holiday but looks like I'll have to buy the latest one because I'll have finished the others!

Thoroughly recommended
Logan McRae is confined to DI Steel's `Screw-Up Squad', investigating a series of horrific murders against Aberdeen's prostitutes, as a maniacal arsonist is terrorising the city. He is in a full-blown relationship with Watson, something begun in COLD GRANITE.

What is interesting is that the author manages to mix things up a bit in terms of his style. It still feels like a series, but offers a different approach which keeps the reading experience fresh. The gallows humour is as evident as before, and Steel, who also features in BROKEN SKIN gets her first outing here. She is a nice contrast to Logan's old boss, Insch, and behind her raucous humour and crass one-liners is a decent, if not terribly efficient police officer.

MacBride hasn't created the usual loner, maverick plod in Logan McRae, whose flashes of inspiration pull the elements together and saves the day. It is a bold move, which is one of the great appeals of the series. McRae is likeable and believable, not adverse to making mistakes, though clearly better at his job than some of his superiors. It is the sympathetic and human core to the novel which keeps the more outre characters in check, although that said, Steel almost steals the show.

The story elements are artfully handled and he is not afraid to leave certain things hanging at the end, which again is the sign of a writer writing with confidence.

Some scenes cut through the black-humour of the dialogue. The newly-orphaned kid, who is no angel, but faces a life in care. The scene is delivered so poignantly, that it reminds you that behind the thrills and spills of the crimes committed, that the victims are soon forgotten. Another scene involves one of the supporting cast that will have you wincing.

Top marks and I would recommend the other two, as well. Can't wait for the new one.