Wednesday 20 March 2013

Book: Birthdays For The Dead by Stuart MacBride


Detective Ash Henderson has a secret. Everyone thinks his daughter ran away years ago but he knows different, because he has the pictures. Ash’s daughter was taken by the notorious serial killer known as The Birthday Boy but he can’t tell anyone or he’ll be taken off the case.

When victims are found Ash must work with the eccentric psychologist Dr MacDonald as she attempts to build a profile of the man they are tracking down.

In this novel Stuart MacBride takes a break from his successful Logan McRae series but manages to retain his trademark humour amongst some very grisly goings on.

As well as finding the killer Ash has the local gangsters to contend with but as a former bare-knuckle fighter he’s not one to back down from a confrontation. This set-up makes for some fantastic scenes. Mr Pain paying Ash a visit and a fabricated lead which ends in big trouble provide added drama to an already enthralling tale.

Some parts of the story’s climax are pretty predictable but that doesn’t detract from what is another superior crime fiction book from one of Scotland’s top authors.

Ric’s Rating: Highly Recommended.    

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