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DS Logan McRae is in the doghouse. He's gone from being the hero in COLD GRANITE to villain in not very long at all when a raid he is in charge of goes horribly wrong and a PC ends up in a coma in hospital. COLD GRANITE was one of my books of last year -- darkly funny and rooted firmly in the city of Aberdeen. And in many ways DYING LIGHT is more of the same. But this time Logan has been exiled to the 'Screw-up Squad' led by the barking mad Detective Inspector Steel. There's a serial killer murdering prostitutes, an arsonist leaving people to die in sealed-up houses, an anti-police councillor never missing an opportunity to take pot-shots at the Grampian force, a woman who has reported her husband missing, and the really very unpleasant Malk the Knife all jostling for centre stage. DYING LIGHT is a cracking good read, although it pretty much follows the formula of COLD GRANITE -- lots of police legwork, countless knock-backs, bonkers colleagues and equally eccentric members of the public. This time, though, it's summer, and Logan has to prove himself all over again. He's a good cop, but he's bounced around as a pawn in the power games above his head. He has to tread a careful path between sweet-munching DI Insch and the chain-smoking DI Steel if he's to find favour again. One of the attractions of this series is Stuart MacBride's cast of characters. Just when you think he's about to go tumbling over the top, he sneaks in a subtle little twist to make you feel that these, erm, strange people are human! Ball-breaking WPC Jackie Watson has now shacked up with Logan, and there's a running gag through the book about how much time they actually get to spend together. And there's still the tension between Logan and his ex, the ice queen pathologist Isobel MacAlister. COLD GRANITE is, incidentally, even more violent than its predecessor -- some of the scenes with Malk the Knife had me feeling decidedly queasy. It's a good second outing for MacBride and it'll be interesting to see where he goes with the third book.
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, May 2006
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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