This House of Burning Bones is the 15th novel in the ‘Logan McRae’ series. The protagonist is a Police Scotland Detective Inspector, based in Aberdeen.
Andrew Shaw breaks into a mansion and is there when the owner arrives home. A hostel for migrants is firebombed. A celebrity is kidnapped. Three incidents that eventually become full-blown police investigations.
Detective Inspector Logan McRae leads a team of rough diamonds with hearts of gold. Their inner nature is kind, compassionate, generous and good-natured. However, they cover that up well. Outwardly, they are grumpy, disrespectful and foul-mouthed.
Aberdeen is in the middle of a flu epidemic. The police force is short-staffed with many officers away sick.
McRae is promoted to Acting Detective Chief Inspector and given an impossible number of investigations to supervise. Much incompetency results.
While reading the 627 pages, I often shouted: do this; have someone check that; and go there. They didn’t listen to me.
Stuart MacBride’s writing style took me a while to appreciate. This House of Burning Bones has dozens of characters, many with nicknames that regular readers of the series will know well. There are innumerable swear words, a fair bit of violence, and incidental detail that hinders plot development.
Fans of Logan McRae will love it.
Reviewed by Clive Hodges
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
ABOUT THE AUTHORStuart MacBride is the Sunday Times No.1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae and Ash Henderson novels. He’s also published standalones, novellas, and short stories, as well as a slightly twisted children’s picture book for slightly twisted children. Stuart lives in the northeast of Scotland with his wife Fiona, cats Gherkin, Onion and Beetroot, some hens, some horses, and an impressive collection of assorted weeds.
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