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You wouldn't expect everything to be tickety-boo in DS Logan McRae's world, would you? Well, true to form it's raining in Aberdeen, there's a vicious rapist on the loose, neither Logan nor his girlfriend Jackie seem to be able to keep out of trouble, and our man finds himself at the mercy of two barking mad inspectors. Most of the trouble stems from Rob Macintyre, an unpleasant little toerag who police are convinced is the rapist – and who just happens to be Aberdeen football club's star striker. And naturally he's being represented by an old adversary of the police, lawyer Sandy Moir-Farquharson. Logan also has to track down whoever killed a man when some very extreme sex games went wrong. He ends up learning far more than he ever wants to about Aberdeen's S&M community – much of this knowledge coming from a very unlikely source. Oh, and there's a murderous small boy on the loose as well. Long-suffering Logan is still under the thumb of DI Steel, who has him fetching and carrying and doing all her dirty jobs for her. And he seems to be up in front of Professional Standards more often than a seaside donkey plying its trade. I bet the police love MacBride's books, as they feature the grind of police enquiries, complete with lucky and unlucky breaks. And he's done a great job of locating the stories in a city that has its own distinctive character. BROKEN SKIN is a first-rate read as MacBride juggles black humour and bleak cases. He's a wonderful storyteller, particularly when he's in deadpan mode, and his dialogue is electric. I'm very fond of the cameo roles which tend to enliven the action even further – Ma Stewart, the old dear who covers up her shady goings-on by dispensing tea and cake to all and sundry, was my favourite this time out. And there's a classic running gag featuring the increasingly choleric DI Insch directing Gilbert and Sullivan and press-ganging half the station into getting involved. Perhaps the only thing to suffer in all of this is the characterisation of the main leads, which tends towards the broad brush strokes (MacBride never convinces me why Logan and Jackie stay together), but hey, who cares when you can tell a tale like this!
Reviewed by Sharon Wheeler, April 2007
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Contact: Yvonne Klein (ymk@reviewingtheevidence.com)
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