Korte bespreking: Wanneer inspecteur Logan McRae van het politiecorps van Aberdeen na een lange periode van verlof - hij werd ernstig mishandeld - weer aan het werk gaat, wordt hij met zijn collega's geconfronteerd met de gruwelijke moorden op vier kort na elkaar gevonden peuters. Hiernaast heeft Logan te maken met een afrekening in het gokmilieu, met een psychiatrische patiënt die een zelfstandig leven buiten een inrichting niet aankan en speelt er op de achtergrond een rechtszaak tegen een verpleger die zijn handen niet van kleine jongetjes kon afhouden. Logan, die een relatie heeft gehad met de bloedmooie patholoog-anatoom Isobel MacAlister, krijgt van hoofdinspecteur Insch een assistente toegewezen: agente Jackie Watson, bijgenaamd de ballenbreekster. Spannende psychologische politie-speurderroman, het debuut van de Schotse auteur die zelf het grootste deel van zijn leven in Aberdeen doorbracht en deze stad door en door kent. Dit 'Tartan Noir'-verhaal speelt zich af tijdens de koude, donkere en regenachtige dagen voor Kerstmis. Kleine druk. - Redactie

Alison en Jenny McGregor zijn Aberdeens beroemdste zingende moeder-dochterduo. Ze zijn door naar de halve finale van het populaire programma Britain?s Next Big Star, staan in alle roddelbladen en hebben miljoenen YouTube-hits. Iedereen is dol op hen. Maar dan slaat hun droomleventje om in een nachtmerrie. Het duo wordt ontvoerd en in alle media verschijnen eisen om losgeld, met de mededeling dat fans de komende twee weken diep in de buidel moeten tasten willen ze Alison en Jenny ooit levend terugzien.
Terwijl de deadline nadert, proberen Logan McRae en zijn collega?s wanhopig de twee vrouwen te vinden, maar de kidnappers hebben geen enkel spoor achtergelaten. Het onderzoek loopt dood en de prijs van roem lijkt hoger dan ooit?
?Vier sterren.? de Volkskrant over Slachthuis
?Heel goed boek. 8 1/2.? Panorama over Slachthuis
?Bruut en grappig.? Val McDermid
?MacBride zet zijn triomftocht als auteur voort!? Crimezone.nl overVers bloed
Stuart MacBride is geboren en getogen in Aberdeen. Zijn internationale bestsellers Steenkoud, Dood kalm en Slachthuis werden bekroond met verschillende prijzen.

Alison en Jenny McGregor zijn Aberdeens beroemdste zingende moeder-dochterduo. Ze zijn door naar de halve finale van het populaire programma Britain?s Next Big Star, staan in alle roddelbladen en hebben miljoenen YouTube-hits. Iedereen is dol op hen. Maar dan slaat hun droomleventje om in een nachtmerrie. Het duo wordt ontvoerd en in alle media verschijnen eisen om losgeld, met de mededeling dat fans de komende twee weken diep in de buidel moeten tasten willen ze Alison en Jenny ooit levend terugzien.
Terwijl de deadline nadert, proberen Logan McRae en zijn collega?s wanhopig de twee vrouwen te vinden, maar de kidnappers hebben geen enkel spoor achtergelaten. Het onderzoek loopt dood en de prijs van roem lijkt hoger dan ooit?
?Vier sterren.? de Volkskrant over Slachthuis
?Heel goed boek. 8 1/2.? Panorama over Slachthuis
?Bruut en grappig.? Val McDermid
?MacBride zet zijn triomftocht als auteur voort!? Crimezone.nl overVers bloed
Stuart MacBride is geboren en getogen in Aberdeen. Zijn internationale bestsellers Steenkoud, Dood kalm en Slachthuis werden bekroond met verschillende prijzen.

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Relentless rain reflects the tormented mood that permeates MacBride's impressive debut set in Aberdeen, Scotland. Det. Sgt. Logan MacRae, back from a lengthy convalescence caused by a crazed suspect's knife attack, is plunged straightaway into the investigation of a brutally murdered child. To make matters worse, the victim's family learns of the death from a reporter before the police have a chance to inform them. Angered and embarrassed by the press leak, Logan, aided by WPC Jackie Watson, vows to expose the source within the precinct. Enter Colin Miller, flashy journalist, who befriends Logan, causing suspicious stares from Logan's superiors. More children go missing, and soon the populace of Aberdeen is screaming for blood. Further inciting the rabble, a notorious defense attorney earns acquittal for a habitual child molester. As a result, a hapless, ruined scholar–turned–street sweeper becomes a scapegoat for the chilling fear that grips the community. Logan must eliminate the distractions caused by the sensational publicity and summon his barely restored strength to anticipate the killer's next move. MacBride allows his characters their humanity, while weaving intriguing subplots in this edge-of-your-seat page-turner.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Starred Review One year after being stabbed in the line of duty, Scottish Detective Sergeant Logan McRae returns to his Aberdeen beat to tackle a case that makes even his most callous colleagues cringe: the strangling and mutilation of a four-year-old boy. Fears of a pedophile serial killer are confirmed when more children turn up missing and, then, dead. To make matters worse, someone is leaking privileged police information to a member of the press. DS McRae digs in his heels, doing his best to ignore the dirty looks of ex-girlfriend Isobel, the forensic pathologist on the case. MacBride's impressive first outing has plenty of atmosphere, subversive humor, and a sinuous plot reminiscent of fellow countryman Ian Rankin. Among his memorable characters: an overeducated schizophrenic with a secret cache of roadkill and a grumpy detective inspector forever gnawing on fruit pastilles. Dubbed "Granite City" for its stark, stone edifices, Aberdeen is a place of social misfits and surly moods, where gunmetal gray clouds dump endless buckets of icy rain. "Everyone looked murderous and inbred," writes MacBride. "The whole city looked like a casting call for Deliverance." Newcomers to the police procedural, take note: MacBride's deft debut is more macabre than most. Allison Block
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review

'Hurray for a new McRae' Sun '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 'Riveting and gruesome' Daily Telegraph 'Tartan noir's greatest exponent' Daily Mirror Praise for Stuart MacBride 'The novel rattles along like a bolting horse and the dialogue crackles like a firework display ! DI Steel should be declared a national treasure' Andrew Taylor, Spectator 'Grim, gritty and great fun' Daily Sport 'Riveting and gruesome' Daily Telegraph 'Stuart MacBride goes straight for the jugular with a tight, thrilling novel' Glasgow Herald' Another brilliant, riveting police procedural. I'm green with envy!' R D Wingfield 'This intelligent, exciting police procedural should make the leading writers of the genre start looking over their shoulders' Sunday Telegraph 'An impressive debut ! an edge-of-your-seat page-turner' Publishers Weekly 'A gritty, roller-coaster, in-your-face thriller' Aberdeen Press and Journal 'A cracking new writer on the crime scene who hooks you from the first page and never lets you go. The action is ferocious and the pace unrelenting' Northern Echo 'Compelling reading' Telegraph 'Gripping' Daily Mirror

Product Description

The new Logan McRae novel set in gritty Aberdeen from the author of Cold Granite and *Blind Eye*

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 has seen the error of his ways, found God, and 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, and he's even less thrilled to be stuck with DSI Danby, the man who put Knox behind bars for 10 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, while 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.

Review

'Slick, gruesome and brutally intelligent, this is bare knuckles thriller-writing.' Michael Marshall 'Compelling' SFX Praise for Stuart MacBride: 'Riveting and gruesome' Telegraph 'Grim, gritty and great fun' Daily Sport 'Stuart MacBride goes straight for the jugular with a tight, thrilling novel' Glasgow Herald 'The action is fercious and the pace unrelenting' Northern Echo

Product Description

A terrifying serial killer thriller set in the gritty Glasgow of the near future, from the author of the Logan McRae series

Glasgow, not too far in the future. A new punishment has been devised for the perpetrators of serious crimes, one that not only reduces the prison population, but also benefits society at large. The process is known as halfheading: the offender's lower jaw is removed and they are lobotomized, then put to work as cleaners in municipal areas where they serve as a warning to all. But it seems one halfhead procedure wasn't quite successful—six years after her surgery, Dr. Fiona Westfield "wakes up" surrounded by the butchered remains of a man she has just brutally killed. As her mind slowly begins to return, she sets out on a quest for vengeance. William Hunter, Assistant Section Director of the Network—a military wing of the police—is soon the trail of the killer. But before long the investigation leads back to a terrible tragedy in his own past, as well as to a terrifying conspiracy to sow violence and misery among Glasgow's most vulnerable citizens.