A Maxim Jakubowski Great Male Crime Sleuth.

With the retirement of Ian Rankin's Inspector Rebus, MacBride's grittier than granite Aberdeen cop has quickly taken over the mantle of Scottish hard man of the hour and his sales are reaching an ever-growing audience. A moody, heavy drinker and smoker, McRae is a man for the times, grappling with conviction with the ills of society and, if the cases he has to deal with are often violent, they are also realistic and tinged with humour. He has featured in seven novels so far, and DARK BLOOD about the re-location of a rapist on his patch  is a perfect way to get hooked.

The Lovereading view...

Scotland has for some years now been pre-eminent in the delivery of some mind-blowingly good crime writers. Of course Ian Rankin probably tops the bill, for the moment at least.  Stuart MacBride however is fast becoming a crime writer to look up to with his edge-of-the-seat page turners, full of gruesome and gut-wrenching crimes, gritty settings, strong characterisation with a taut narrative that's shot through with the blackest of humour.  So, if you're looking for intelligent and edgy crime fiction then you're missing a treat if you don't pick up a Stuart MacBride.  Dark Blood is his 6th novel and now available in paperback in the increasingly popular series of Aberdeen thrillers with DS Logan McRae at the helm.  Shatter the Bones, his 7th novel is just out in hardback.

Stuart's novels to date include Cold Granite, Dying Light, Broken Skin, Flesh House and Blind Eye. He has been shortlisted for the Theakstons's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award twice, he won the 2007 CWA Dagger in the Library, awarded for a body of work, and was named Best Breakthrough Author at the 2008 ITV Crime Thriller Awards.  

Comparison: Paul Johnston, Ian Rankin, Graham Hurley
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Synopsis

Richard Knox has served his time, so why shouldn't he be allowed to live wherever he wants? Yes, in the past he was a violent rapist, but he's seen the error of his ways. Found God. Wants to leave his dark past in Newcastle behind him and make a new start. Or so he says. Detective Sergeant Logan McRae isn't exactly thrilled to be part of the team helping Knox settle into his new Aberdeen home. He's even less thrilled to be stuck with DSI Danby from Northumbria Police - the man who put Knox behind bars for ten years - supposedly here to 'keep an eye on things'. Only things are about to go very, very wrong. Edinburgh gangster Malk the Knife wants a slice of the development boom Donald Trump's golf course is bringing to the Granite City, whether local crime lord Wee Hamish Mowat likes it or not. Three heavies from Newcastle want a 'quiet word' with DSI Danby about a missing mob accountant. And Richard Knox's dark past isn't done with him yet!

Logan McRae series:
1. Cold Granite
2. Dying Light
3. Broken Skin   
4. Flesh House
5. Blind Eye
6. Dark Blood
7. Shatter the Bones

Reviews

'A terrific writer ! bodies abound, blood flows freely and McRae is a delight'
The Times

'One of the most disturbing and uncompromising novels in the highly successful Logan McRae series ! admirers of tough, modern crime novels will be in seventh heaven - or should that be hell?'
Express

'Some of the grittiest crime-writing in the field ! etched in the darkest of hues and with dialogue so sharp you might cut yourself'

Independent Praise for Stuart MacBride:

'Hard-hitting prose with a bone-dry humour and characters you can genuinely believe in, Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae series of novels are a real treat'
Simon Kernick

'Fierce, unflinching and shot through with the blackest of humour; this is crime fiction of the highest order by a writer whose dark star is most definitely on the rise'
Mark Billingham

'If you're looking for taut narrative, gut-churning incident, strong characterisation ! then look no further'
Reginald Hill

'Ferocious and funny'
Val McDermid

About the Author

Stuart MacBride is the author of several bestselling novels featuring DS Logan McRae, and the near-future thriller Halfhead. The McRae books have won him the CWA’s Dagger in the Library, the Barry Award for Best Debut Novel, and Best Breakthrough Author at the ITV3 crime thriller awards. Stuart lives in the north-east of Scotland with his wife Fiona, cat Grendel, about a million spiders (as yet unnamed), and a vegetable plot full of weeds (called Frank).   Maxim Jakubowski's view on Stuart MacBride... BLIND EYE  is the 5th and latest volume in the increasingly popular series of Aberdeen thrillers with DS Logan McRae at the helm. In turns grim, gritty and gruesome, but also with mordant humour and sparkling dialogue between his warring cops, this is Tartan Noir at its very best, and literally begs for a TV adaptation. Not all Scottish cops are as polished as Ian Rankin’s Rebus, and MacBride’s coppers would jump out of the screen.   Author photo © Paul Levitton     Logan McRae series: 1. Cold Granite 2. Dying Light 3. Broken Skin    4. Flesh House 5. Blind Eye 6. Dark Blood 7. Shatter the Bones More books by this author Author 'Like for Like' recommendation