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Stuart MacBride is the No.1 Sunday Times bestselling author of the Logan McRae and Ash Henderson novels. He’s also published standalones, novellas and short stories as well as a children’s picture book. 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. 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 Coffin Maker has a secret garden that’s been exposed as the North Sea erodes the cliffs around his condemned house. Human bones reveal a serial killer even as they fall into the water destroying evidence. Where did Gordon Smith disappear to and how will his victims be identified?
MacBride has loved crime fiction ever since mainlining the Hardy Boys as a child. He tried writing his first book in his mid-20s, as a couple of friends were giving it a go; he wrote a “dreadful” comedy crime novel, but persevered and landed an agent. His fifth attempt at a novel, Cold Granite, became his debut: the first in the Logan McRae series, it sees the Aberdeen detective sergeant out to catch a child killer who is stalking the city’s streets. MacBride called up the Grampian police and a hospital mortuary, asking questions about everything from police procedure to rigor mortis. One year ago, I discovered and subsequently devoured MacBride’s Logan McRae series of novels. He had written them over a period of several years; I read them in one. Ash Henderson is arrogant, rude, violent and treats everyone as less intelligent than himself. The only person he appears to have some tenderness for is McDonald, a functioning alcoholic who can't work unless she's had a large helping of alcohol. 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. 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.
As a massive storm batters the Scottish coast, Gordon Smith's home is falling into the North Sea. But the crumbling headland has revealed what he's got buried in his garden: human remains.
The book begins in the coastal village of Clachmara ,which due to coastal erosion is slowly falling into the North Sea. A massive storm is blowing and a fishing boat is in trouble with the Coastguard helicopter in attendance.. Single parent Margaret Compton is horrified to realise that her young son Alfie is missing, a lad with a fascination for helicopters. Rushing into the storm she finds him watching the rescue attempt on the cliffs next to an abandoned house, Part of the cliff falls into the sea ,just after Margaret has snatched Alfie to safety and a cache of human bones is exposed.. I have enjoyed the 'Logan, McRae' series for a few years now and would highly recommend it to readers who fancy a crime series that's full of humour and a little different. I have been meaning t start this series for sometime and although I realise it is not an ideal place to start with book 3 I didn't feel that it spoilt my enjoyment of this book. There was plenty to like about this book and I had mixed feelings throughout without completely connecting with either the characters or plot. For me the characters were too similar to the one's I already know from Stuart MacBride's other series. None of the characters was likeable: Alice in particular acts and talks like a sulking toddler rather than a grownup, a forensic psychologist no less. The novel is mostly told from Ash’s point of view in the first person and as he has a rather dark, cynical take on life it makes the read fun and even laugh out loud funny at times. I am Scottish so it all seems very natural and makes perfect sense to me but I can’t judge if it would be the same for non natives. I wouldn’t say that his judgement is always sound as his decision making seems to involve violence on a regular basis, both given and received, but he can always justify it, perhaps. Old school is probably the best description. Next up was an elongated spell in Westhill -- a small suburb seven miles west of Aberdeen -- where I embarked upon a mediocre academic career, hindered by a complete inability to spell and an attention span the length of a gnat's doodad.I loved this book! The author’s stylized technique, dialog, and biting wit between characters carried it into exceptional territory causing me to laugh in several instances despite content: Der Garten des Sargmachers’ ist der dritte Band der Ash Henderson Reihe des Autors Stuart McBride. Es ist jedoch in meinen Augen nicht unbedingt nötig, die beiden Vorgängerbände zu lesen um dem Fortgang der Handlung zu folgen. Logan McRae is the everyman, a decent guy trying to do good in a world that is both cruel and absurd. When he does break the rules, it’s for the greater good. Ash Henderson is a very different character, a vigilante fuelled by a need for revenge, constrained only by what he can get away with. While the humour is there, the overall feel is bleaker.
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