Wow! This is probably one of the best police procedural/crime novels that I have ever read. It is my first Stuart MacBride book, but it definitely will not be my last. I am always excited by the advent of a new addition to this series. And All That's Dead certainly doesn't disappoint. Graphic, grisly, but strangely enchanting, MacBride weaves his web entangling the reader in a desperate chase to catch an elusive and deadly chameleon. While Logan was off recuperating, author MacBride was kind enough to give us an in-between standalone featuring Detective Sergeant Robert Steel. She used to be Detective Chief Inspector Roberta Steel and Logan’s boss until she got caught breaking the rules. She is infuriating. Uncouth, crude, always with the bra strap, has such a mean streak, but there’s also some softness trying to get out. I waited with bated breath until she showed up in All That’s Dead. I love her and Logan and all the rest – Tufty, Milky, Rennie, Tara, Susan, the whole lot of them. They are like a family, a very dysfunctional family. Aberdeen based anti independence campaigner Professor Wilson has gone missing, with only bloodstains in his kitchen to indicate that something sinister has occurred. There are serious tensions between those for and those against Scottish Nationalism, and Wilson ( an arrogant and opinionated individual) has made many enemies in general, but in particular amongst those in favour of independence. I thoroughly enjoyed All That’s Dead which is another fine addition to an excellent series. It made me laugh while clinging to the edge of my seat as the tension and excitement rise. There are plenty of twists and turns as Logan tries to find out what happened to Professor Wilson, many of them gory as Mr MacBride does not shy away from the violence implicit in crimes of this nature.

King explains: “You know how the Alt-Right is full of white supremacists, gun nuts, racists, and neo-Nazis? Well, Alt-Nats are our own home-grown version. Only without the guns and Nazis. And it’s the English they hate.” Having read all the previous books in the series, this is the first time I have listened to an audio version. I was afraid the Scottish accent might be an issue, but thankfully it was just enough of it to make it feel authentic, but not to make the words undecipherable. The lector managed to make different accents quite distinct, so you could easily tell people apart just by that alone. Nationalism is a blight on every country, and in the book, nationalism is taken to obscene lengths. Steel sums up the feelings of many Scots: “I’m all for independence. But I want a Scotland of the Enlightenment; a nation of fairness and equality; a nation that cares about the smallest, weakest person living here every bit as much as the biggest, richest one. A nation that welcomes everyone: aye, even the English … What I don’t want is some sort of apartheid s****hole full of racist, moronic, ethnic cleansing w*** spasms like you.” As well as reading the book, I listened to an audio recording (which I paid for myself) narrated by Steve Worsley. He was superb, with one of the best ranges of voices which I've encountered. I was never in doubt as to which character I was listening to and whilst some narrators come between the reader and the book, Worsley never does. In fact he makes it more accessible. I've listened to other recordings from this series and Worsley is consistently good throughout.MacBride is speaking from his home in the wilds of north-east Scotland, where he lives with his wife and a multitude of cats (Grendel, his Maine Coon, was bought with the proceeds of his very first advance, some 16 years ago). His new novel, The Coffinmaker’s Garden, opens in barnstorming fashion as serial killer Gordon Smith’s home crumbles into the sea, revealing the human remains he hid in his garden. Ex-Detective Inspector Ash Henderson, who MacBride has put through the mill in his previous appearances (in Birthdays for the Dead, Ash’s daughter is the victim of a serial killer abducting and torturing girls), is put on the case. So everything as you'd expect it to be in a Logan McRae book, and absolutely nothing to dent favourite reading status. Except maybe for that happy home life thing, which, now that I think about it, is worrying. We all know what happened last time Logan was happy. We all know the deviousness that can lie at the heart of a beardy crime writing genius from Scotland. I enjoyed the usual romp: a race against the newspaper, Steel at her best. I thought Tufty’s lolspeak was a bit much, but even he came good at the end. Also liked the Scottish nationalism and the commentary on fake news/internet trolls. MacBride’s writing is as engrossing as ever, but for some reason I thought this book dragged a bit. Maybe it was because the dynamic duo of Logan and Steel — or Logan and Rennie - was missing. King and Logan are good characters, but they don’t play off each other very well. Grief Series (UK) & Zion Art Studio (Mexico) welcome you to celebrate Day of the Dead reimagined with the people of Yorkshire. The poem focuses on manifesting Yeats' new stance of exploring his political mind and celebrating those whom he believes are worthy of praise. Notably, in all four of the refrains, Yeats mentions John O'Leary, who was an Irish separatist 'of a different kind'. O'Leary's political stance was much less self-interested than many of his contemporaries, as he instead focused on getting the greatest good for Ireland. It is clear through the poem that Yeats admires this and wishes for a return to the less egotistical and self-driven politics of a bygone era. Yeats does, however, appear to question whether these great historical figures, whom he admired and previously emulated in the style of his earlier work, are comprehensive in their understanding of the world in which they lived.

DISCLOSURE: I listened to the audiobook of All That's Dead by Stuart MacBride, narrated by Steve Worsley, and published by Harper Collins Audio. All opinions expressed in this reveiw are entirely my own personal opinions. Colourful, playful and contemplative, All That Lives will be a space of connection with radical gentleness at its heart. With its fair share of provocative events programmed by Centre for Live Art Yorkshire (CLAY) we hope you’ll laugh ‘til you cry, remember the good times and leave with a lighter heart. With rumours circling about lead detective DI King’s youthful ties to violent nationalist groups, a still-recovering McRae has to shadow the high-profile investigation while tiptoeing through police infighting and waiting for a journalist to toss his unpinned grenade into the mix. Carnage is hovering for all involved. Cinematography is fine with some striking and ominous frame shots. Sound effects are impressive and detailed (with lots and lots of squelching lol). And the zombie transformation scenes - no matter how repetitive they get - always look pretty insane!David Knights, writing in the Keighley News was very positive about the novel saying that the novel "is up there with the best of Logan’s previous outings." [4] The use of the strong ABAB rhyme scheme maintains a spiteful and accusatory tone, and unpleasant adjectives such as 'greasy' are very much indicative of this. Gee, I wonder where Stuart MacBride got his inspiration from 🤔. All That’s Dead is extremely politically tinted, if you hadn’t guessed that yet, and thus sadly incredibly apt in this day and age. This may not be to everyone’s liking and I dare say the author took quite a risk putting this out there. Personally, it didn’t bother me at all. It makes for a great story and ultimately that’s all I’m ever looking for. I'm a big fan of MacBride because I love his style, I love his plots and I love his leading characters. I'm a little sad now after reading All That's Dead because it just didn't work so well for me. The 4 starts are of course because the style and the characters are the same. It's the plot I'm having a problem with. I think it is because I'm not British or Scottish but I just couldn't relate to this book because it was more about politics than anything else. an incredibly timeless novel... It is dark and gritty, and MacBride fuels his characters with an energy and language that are infectious."

Logan’s injuries are still causing him pain and, (combined with very little sleep), he’s struggling to make sense of events, aware that he’s being blind sided by a world where every spotlight makes the corners where it doesn’t shine, an even darker and deeper threat. When a second high-profile personality goes missing, Councillor Lansdale, Logan and company really begin to feel the pressure. Lansdale's hands have not turned up, but he's still just as missing as Professor Wilson. The closer Logan and King get to the truth, the closer they get to a plot that is much bigger than this case, which threatens to eat them alive. The whole book revolves around just one nasty case and includes some very topical political issues. There is a lot of good old fashioned police work as well as interesting forensic details and an entertaining young policeman who knows his way around computers. Add all that to Logan's perceptive brain and the murderer does not stand a chance.

It took me a while to fully get into the story, and to be quite honest, I never truly did. Mostly it’s because the political aspect of the book was not interesting to me, and I was merely into it from the investigation side of things. This is also the only reason I gave this book a 3-star rating. Experience beautiful, pioneering visual and digital art, live performance and empathetic conversation during I love the reoccurring characters of Logan, Steel, Tufty and Rennie, and the camaraderie between them makes me laugh out loud the entire way through and brings beings a lightness to what otherwise are incredibly grim tales... As Logan begins his stint on the investigation into the abduction of Professor Nicholas Wilson, he soon realises that the team is up against a perpetrator who knows how to avoid leaving trace evidence and soon the team are facing a series of similar abductions and chasing their tails to find and catch the perpetrator, have to face the fact that they are getting nowhere as body parts start to arrive in the mail. I loved this book and can highly recommend it to everyone. I have already bought book number one in this series. My husband is scouring the library for the rest, as he is also hooked. Read and be enthralled. Ten out of five stars!.

The crime, the many unexpected twists and turns before the eventual solution, are so well designed, that you are compelled to keep reading right to the bitter end. But that is just window-dressing for the real treasures in this novel: the wonderful writing and the amazing characters. There's a papery rustling sound. Then a cold metallic one as a ghost white arm appears from behind Nicholas, painfully bright in the torch's glow. The arm holds an axe, the blade chipped and brown with rust. Yet another rip-roaring novel from the incomparable Stuart MacBride. Since I started reading his novels about five years ago I have eagerly awaited each and every instalment and he never fails to produce a book that utterly grips me. This may be the 12th addition to the DI Logan McRae series by Stuart MacBride set in Aberdeen, but I still anticipate the newest book with an eagerness and anticipation that places me amongst the community of readers that are die hard fans of the series. At this stage, I know there is little that will surprise me, but this makes little difference to the huge level of enjoyment that I know I am guaranteed to experience. All the elements I expect are here, the humour, the comic wit, the mayhem, the iconic, shambolic lesbian queen that is DS Roberta Steel, and a Logan that MacBride has really put through the mill, it is nothing short of a miracle that he has managed to survive. Here, Logan is returning to work after a year of recovering from a previous stabbing. His new boss at Professional Standards, the crocheting Superintendent Julie Bevan, is easing him into work to support DI Frank King, whose past a journalist is planning to expose, and it is Logan's job to help Police Scotland manage this disastrous state of affairs. As the investigation heats up, McRae has to contend with not only the mess that is a faltering King, but also Tufty in serious overdrive, the idiot that is DS Rennie and a host of superior officers whose only concern is that they are not held responsible for any fall out from a botched investigation.Experience beautiful, pioneering visual and digital art, live performance and empathetic conversation during a glorious celebration of life - and death. Sometimes those strong threads of brutality and banter can make it easy to overlook that he's also got a great touch for character and character relationships in his storytelling, and bringing the setting and some relevant social issues to life. All of that is well on show in his twelfth novel starring Aberdeen detective Logan McRae.