May 19

Two From The Archives – MacBride and Herron

The update of reviews to the blog always depends upon time.  It’s the same for everyone and all bloggers need to juggle the reading/reviewing balance. I find that I will often hit a reading sweet spot and fly through a number of books in a very short space of time.  I don’t hit reviewing sweet spots though and this means the books read outnumber the reviews written.

From time to time I will try a catch-up blitz and do a few shorter reviews in a single blog post. Rather than do my personal summary of the books read I have just moved directly to my thoughts on each book.  I never review books on the blog which I didn’t enjoy so I am not bringing together books I didn’t like – I am just trying to catch up and flag up some more great books which are readily available to pick up.

 

All That’s Dead – Stuart MacBride

One down…
A dark night in the isolated Scottish countryside. Nicholas Wilson, a prominent professor known for his divisive social media rants, leaves the house with his dog, as he does every night. But this time he doesn’t come back…

Two down…
The last thing Inspector Logan McRae wants is to take on such a high-profile case. But when a second man vanishes in similar circumstances, the media turns its merciless gaze on him, and he has no choice.

Who’s next?
Then body parts start arriving in the post. Someone out there is trying to make a point, and they’re making it in blood.

 

Book twelve in the Logan McRae series and Stuart Macbride is still not pulling any punches when it comes to putting his characters through the wringer.  In 2014 Scotland went to the polls to decide if we should become an independent country to say there were strong feelings on both sides is an understatement.  After the results were announced the matter was not allowed to rest and strong voices on both sides continue to dominate media platforms.

MacBride taps into this divisive anger and highlights the political tensions which would accompany anger which would surely surface if one of those strong voices were to be murdered (presumably by someone that disagreed with their opinion). It’s a murder story with lots of background politics and you know this will not sit well with McRae and Roberta Steel – a treat for readers awaits.

Another strong entry to the series, I enjoyed this one but did find it uncomforable seeing our political disagreements escalated into a dark tale of murder. The interactions between the characters are always a joy in the McRae books and the humour shines through.

Reading a Stuart MacBride book is never a bad decision, All That’s Dead brought the fun and the thrills and I will be back for more.

 

 

Real Tigers – Mick Herron

Catherine Standish knows that chance encounters never happen to spooks.

She’s worked in the Intelligence Service long enough to understand treachery, double-dealing and stabbing in the back.

What she doesn’t know is why anyone would target her: a recovering drunk pushing paper with the other lost causes in Jackson Lamb’s kingdom of exiles at Slough House.

Whoever it is holding her hostage, it can’t be personal. It must be about Slough House. Most likely, it is about Jackson Lamb.

And say what you like about Lamb, he’ll never leave a joe in the lurch.

He might even be someone you could trust with your life . . .

 

If you aren’t reading the Mick Herron Slough House books yet then you are missing out on one of the very best reading experiences. Jackson Lamb heads up the “Slow Horses” a team of misfits who have worked for the secret security services but have, in some way, failed in their duties and are put out to pasture in Slough House and given mundane and tedious tasks.  They are trained agents who all feel their talents are not being used to the best of their abilities.  Lamb appears a slovenly dinosaur of a character but returning readers (this is book 3) will know that he is still sharper and more devious than many of the active agents – he is too dangerous to be cut loose but a loose cannon who would not play well with others.

Real Tigers opens with a kidnap of one of Lamb’s team and the dis-united bunch are sparked into action to look out for one of their own.  As is typical of a Mick Herron book there are lots of clever sub plots brought into play and sharp eyed reader will still miss lots of the subtle clues and red herrings. The writing almost feels a masterclass of language efficiency (except when Lamb speaks and considerably lowers the tone, but raises the enjoyment).

I read a lot of spy thrillers many years ago then fell out of love with them. The Mick Herron books have brought me back into the fold, these are page-turners of the highest order and each story is a treasure. Real Tigers allows the reader a deeper dig into the characters inhabiting Slough House, they are complicated, angry people but you will root for them and you want them to gain the upper hand over the M16 agents who will cross their paths.

Real Tigers, read the series from the start to get the most enjoyment from Real Tigers but don’t put off discovering the joys of Slough House and its dysfunctional occupants.

 

 

 

 

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January 10

In The Cold Dark Ground – Stuart MacBride

In The Cold Dark GroundSergeant Logan McRae is in trouble…

His missing-persons investigation has just turned up a body in the woods – naked, hands tied behind its back, and a bin bag duct-taped over its head. The Major Investigation Team charges up from Aberdeen, under the beady eye of Logan’s ex-boss Detective Chief Inspector Steel. And, as usual, she wants him to do her job for her.

But it’s not going to be easy: a new Superintendent is on her way up from the Serious Organised Crime Task Force, hell-bent on making Logan’s life miserable; Professional Standards are gunning for Steel; and Wee Hamish Mowat, head of Aberdeen’s criminal underbelly, is dying – leaving rival gangs from all over the UK eying his territory.

There’s a war brewing and Logan’s trapped right in the middle, whether he likes it or not.

 

My thanks to Jaime at HarperCollins for my review copy.

Logan McRae is back in his 10th outing and although you did not know it – this is the book that you have been waiting for. Everything that Stuart MacBride has been building up in the first 9 McRae novels seems to be coming to a head within In the Cold Dark Ground and it is magnificent. Absolute jaw-dropping, edge of the seat brilliance.

Now comes the tricky part – I want to talk about things that happen in the book and I can’t. I cannot even hint at the stuff I REALLY want to talk about because spoiling the twists, shocks, surprises and the WTF moments would seriously impact on your enjoyment of the book.  Well I say ‘enjoyment’ but aside from the usual dark humour we can expect from MacBride’s books I can let share that Logan is in for a tough time. Again. Poor sod.

In The Cold Dark Ground opens with Logan and his team investigating a missing-persons case, However, a body soon turns up and the Major Investigations Team (and Roberta Steel) are not far behind. Before long Steel is stomping all-over Logan’s life again.  But Logan has more pressing issues to contend with, his girlfriend remains in her coma, the gangsters of Aberdeen (and beyond) are restless as an ailing Wee Hamish Mowat struggles to retain control of his territory. Logan is still Wee Hamish’s preferred successor to his criminal empire, however, Logan has other ideas…as does Hamish’s second in command – the psychotic Reuben who intends to step up to the top spot himself and needs to ensure he has Logan’s loyalty.

This is Stuart MacBride at his finest. He has written some harrowing storylines in the past but In The Cold Dark Ground blew me away. The tension I felt while reading some scenes was unlike anything I have experienced from a book for a long, long time. There are moments that could have you in tears…laughter or sorrow. We see some characters in a new light and there are welcome returns for old friends and some new faces we MAY see in future.

I could write a few more paragraphs telling you how much I enjoyed In The Cold Dark Ground but I will spare you that.  I loved it. A 5/5 review score was guaranteed before I was even half-way through the book – it could even be a 6/5 I enjoyed it so much.  My only concern is that I read it too soon, now I have a very long wait to find out what happens next!

 

In The Cold Dark Ground is published on 14th January in Hardcover and Digital format.   You can (pre)order your copy here: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Cold-Dark-Ground-Logan-McRae/dp/0007494645/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1452463726&sr=1-1

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April 27

22 Dead Little Bodies – Stuart MacBride

22 Dead Little BodiesA short novel featuring Aberdeen’s finest investigative duo, Acting DI Logan McRae and DCI Roberta Steel.

CID isn’t what it used to be…

It’s been a bad week for acting Detective Inspector Logan McRae. Every time his unit turns up anything interesting, DCI Steel’s Major Investigation Team waltzes in and takes over, leaving CID with all the dull and horrible jobs.

Like dealing with Mrs Black – who hates her neighbour, the police, and everyone else. Or identifying the homeless man who drank himself to death behind some bins. Or tracking down the wife and kids of someone who’s just committed suicide.

But when the dead bodies start turning up, one thing’s certain – Logan’s week is about to get a whole lot worse…

 

My thanks to Killer Reads for my copy which I won in one of their fun (and frequent) competitions.

It is a new Logan McRae story and it is as good as I hoped it would be. McRae and Steel are back in fine form and 22 Dead Little Bodies brings their on their stories in this short novel.

There are two central investigations running through the book: a suicide ‘rescue’ in Aberdeen makes McRae a YouTube star, yet the man that he is trying to save has caused some problems for Police Scotland’s finest – they cannot locate his family.

McRae then has an unfortunate encounter with a serial complainer who wants the police to arrest her disruptive neighbour. Investigations reveal that the there is a deep rooted fiction between the warring neighbours – can DCI Steel really resolve months of fighting just by raising her voice to them?

Fans of Stuart MacBride can rest assured that this is a great fun read. There are the usual combination of laugh out loud moments and genuine moments of dark horror as Mr MacBride revisits the bleaker side of life too.

22 Dead Little Bodies is exactly what I enjoy reading and reminds me that I still have The Missing and the Dead waiting for me.

 

22 Dead Little Bodies is published by Harper and is available now in Hardback and digital format.

Stuart MacBride is on Twitter: @StuartMacbride

www.StuartMacBride.com

 

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