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Signposting to practical help, advice and local services will be available via our facilitated Crossing sessions with facilitators trained in holding meaningful, helpful conversations around the themes of life and death. It is an interesting subject to cover and I enjoyed the running commentary on Independence. It has been somewhat overshadowed by Brexit in the press but is still a hot button topic in Scotland. I was particularly interested in what Mr MacBride calls the Alt-Nat, the rabid pro-independence movement which surfaced during the referendum as I hadn’t realised the extent of it. It makes for interesting if shameful reading for any Scot. For non Scots the politics may not be quite as interesting but the story they shape will surely hold the attention. Colourful, playful and contemplative, All That Lives will be a space of connection with radical gentleness at its heart. This is the 12th book in the Logan McRae series by author Stuart MacBride. I have read all of these books but could easily be read as a stand alone. The Logan McRae series is set in Aberdeen. With rumours circling about lead detective DI King’s youthful ties to violent nationalist groups, a still-recovering McRae has to shadow the high-profile investigation while tiptoeing through police infighting and waiting for a journalist to toss his unpinned grenade into the mix. Carnage is hovering for all involved.
As Logan begins his stint on the investigation into the abduction of Professor Nicholas Wilson, he soon realises that the team is up against a perpetrator who knows how to avoid leaving trace evidence and soon the team are facing a series of similar abductions and chasing their tails to find and catch the perpetrator, have to face the fact that they are getting nowhere as body parts start to arrive in the mail. While Logan was off recuperating, author MacBride was kind enough to give us an in-between standalone featuring Detective Sergeant Robert Steel. She used to be Detective Chief Inspector Roberta Steel and Logan’s boss until she got caught breaking the rules. She is infuriating. Uncouth, crude, always with the bra strap, has such a mean streak, but there’s also some softness trying to get out. I waited with bated breath until she showed up in All That’s Dead. I love her and Logan and all the rest – Tufty, Milky, Rennie, Tara, Susan, the whole lot of them. They are like a family, a very dysfunctional family.
This latest installment may stand out as being the most Scottish of them all, as the murder mystery at its heart and the dark suspicions concerning one of the investigators are both centered on ties to Scottish nationalism. There is a large faction of Scottish society longing to come out from under the rule of Great Britain and stand on their own. In ALL THAT'S DEAD, Logan is going to learn that association with these radical factions could be enough to get you killed --- or worse.
Logan is a quirky, yet charismatic character, even though this is only the second book I've read in the series, I like him and his cynical outlook and self-deprecating humour. The interactions between the police colleagues are realistic and amusing, a necessary contrast with the terrible crimes they investigate. Macrae has a new role in the police force after a lengthy time off recovering from injury. It’s made him more measured, more self-reliant and more assertive, which is an intriguing direction to take the character. It does fit, though, and it gives a new dynamic to his interactions with Tufty, Rennie and Steel etc. Tufty was maybe a tad too.....bouncy? Didn’t detract from the book for me, however and Steel remains her glorious, wrinkled, acerbic self. The smoky tang of whisky catches in his nostrils as they step in close, their breath warm against his cheek. The high-profile anti-independence campaigner, Professor Wilson, has gone missing, leaving nothing but bloodstains behind. There’s a war brewing between the factions for and against Scottish Nationalism. Infighting in the police ranks. And it’s all playing out in the merciless glare of the media. Logan’s superiors want results, and they want them now.The joy of all of this is that not only do we get a fabulously plotted, gloriously characterised crime novel with a devious perpetrator and a gory campaign plan, but we get it in a smart talking, witty and clever wrapper that makes us laugh out loud and extends our liking for these characters a hundredfold. When a second high-profile personality goes missing, Councillor Lansdale, Logan and company really begin to feel the pressure. Lansdale's hands have not turned up, but he's still just as missing as Professor Wilson. The closer Logan and King get to the truth, the closer they get to a plot that is much bigger than this case, which threatens to eat them alive. Logan’s injuries are still causing him pain and, (combined with very little sleep), he’s struggling to make sense of events, aware that he’s being blind sided by a world where every spotlight makes the corners where it doesn’t shine, an even darker and deeper threat. With its fair share of provocative events programmed by Centre for Live Art Yorkshire (CLAY) we hope you’ll laugh ‘til you cry, remember the good times and leave with a lighter heart. And I must not forget to mention Roberta Steel's way with words, both Scottish and English. It is the way she strings them together that makes them memorable, funny and very quotable but maybe not here.
Logan is at his very best and is currently that most unusual of characters in a crime novel, that is a man with a nice home, a serious, happy relationship, and no problems with alcohol. He also seems to be handling his job in Professional Standards in his usual level headed way. All That’s Dead is book number 12 in the Logan McRae series, however, each of these books can be read as a standalone, as it features Inspector Logan McRae in different situations. This was my first novel from the series, as well from Stuart MacBride, and I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve only just met the hero that is Logan McRae and I’m planning on hanging out with him more in the future.
Definition of dead
You'll get a lot more out of this book if you've read the rest of the series but it's not essential, another hit for Stuart MacBride,another very funny book on a great series. I loved this book and can highly recommend it to everyone. I have already bought book number one in this series. My husband is scouring the library for the rest, as he is also hooked. Read and be enthralled. Ten out of five stars!. I enjoyed the usual romp: a race against the newspaper, Steel at her best. I thought Tufty’s lolspeak was a bit much, but even he came good at the end. Also liked the Scottish nationalism and the commentary on fake news/internet trolls. MacBride’s writing is as engrossing as ever, but for some reason I thought this book dragged a bit. Maybe it was because the dynamic duo of Logan and Steel — or Logan and Rennie - was missing. King and Logan are good characters, but they don’t play off each other very well. Learn about Mexican Day of the Dead traditions and contribute objects to an immersive public Ofrenda The cast are fantastic and everyone shines. I love that they're actually young actors cast as high schoolers (Hollywood take some notes!).
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