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The Coffinmaker’s Garden: From the No. 1 Sunday Times best selling crime author comes his latest gripping new 2021 suspense thriller

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But, in the meantime, I had to get on with the day job and produce a proper full-length police thriller. One that didn’t include haunted funfairs, mummies, or anatomically impossible taxidermy. And still the question remained: what the hell was I going to do about the pandemic? The media are baying for blood, the top brass are after a scapegoat, and ex-Detective Inspector Ash Henderson is done playing nice. He’s got a killer to catch, and God help anyone who gets in his way. There’s still an element of ‘crime fiction as a mirror’ about it, but a lot of ‘crime fiction as an escape’ too. Maybe not quite as much of an escape as Tufty the Vampire Slayer, or The Horrible Haunting of Tartan Haggis MacFunland, but an escape nonetheless.

Overall, this is tartan noir at its best. It’s exciting, suspenseful with an excellent plot and a well written, humorous storyline. However, if there’s to be another in the series the characters need to rethink their food choices if they are to survive without a coronary before the finale! I did work out a few of the twists in the tale along the way, and perhaps that is just because I read so much crime fiction that I just kind of expected it. But it didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the story, or stop me from wanting to see just how Ash would ensure that the killer was caught or at the very least received their dues. And it was a rather fitting ending to be fair, quite dramatic and right down to the wire, but very apt. It must be painful to live in Ash Henderson’s world and if you are thinking that Stuart MacBride may have been. a little easier on him with his advancing years, you’d be wrong. It is more a case of how much he can take than how much can you expect to be doled out. I’ve been reading this author’s work for ages & while I enjoy the Logan McRae books, have to admit I prefer this series. It’s been 7 years since A Song for the Dying. So I’m thrilled to see the return of Oldcastle’s crankiest, perpetually injured ex-DI.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.

I know I'm the odd one out here, but I really didn't enjoy this book. Too violent. Too dark. Too much rule breaking. Too much torture. Too much sexism. Too much racism. Too incredulous.As much as I love the Logan Macrae series, I have really struggled to like Ash Henderson. The previous stories were good but the character never sat well. It's all changed in this book. Maybe it's because the murdered daughter storyline is resolved (as much as losing a child can be resolved, it is still prevalent in this book) and we've moved on a few years and it's a wholly new serial killer (two actually, we are spoilt here) with no personal attachments but this book feels like a breath of fresh air after the first two. Ash is likeable and I wanted to know more. Granted he's still a thug and very dodgy and has very little morals but this time his character worked for me. Take a Look at Our Summary of November Highlights, Whether You're Looking for the Latest Releases or Gift Inspiration

For years I’ve been saying that crime writers reflect the fears of society. That’s why 1970s crime fiction is so different to 2000s, or 2010. It holds up a mirror to our collective psyche and asks, ‘What are you afraid of?’ What’s it like, writing such disturbing, visceral scenes? “I never sit down and think, ‘What would be the goriest thing I could do?’” MacBride says. “It is hard to write, but not because I’m thinking, ‘Oh dear lord.’ It’s more about how I get you to feel that, rather than me. How do I get that reaction from the reader? I’m coming at it as a challenge – how do I get you to feel this is something horrible?” He’s only made himself gag once, when writing a scene from the perspective of a man who had to eat a human eye or die. Describing it to me on Zoom – texture, crunch, saltiness – almost makes me gag as well, so I can see why; the scene was included in the second book he wrote, which has never been published.

A Sunday Times bestseller for the w/c 11th January 2021

I really enjoy this MC. He’s grumpy, snarky & never at a loss for words. The dialogue is particularly entertaining & some of the conversations made me laugh out loud….often followed by a cringe and/or “eeeww”. He’s the perfect foil for Alice, a timid psychologist who can introduce more topics into a single sentence than any other human.

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