Logan McRae Novels

Author: Stuart MacBride

Tags: Detective, Thriller, Violence

The Noir genre has been defined in many ways by many people and there is a really good discussion of it in Wikipedia. Paraphrasing them all it denotes a darkness of theme and subject matter, generally featuring violence........and I love it! I can't get enough of it. In real life I abhor it but in a novel, the darker the better for me. The Logan McRae novels are Scottish Noir at its best! Just reading the titles gives you an idea of just how grizzly these books can get.

Apparently, there is an official sub-genre called Tartan Noir in which Ian Rankin (John Rebus Novels) and Val McDermid (Dr Tony Hill Novels) proudly sit. I have read all of Rankin's novels and will review them later but I haven't yet read McDermid's, although I have watched the awesome Tyne Tees Television presentation of Wire in the Blood starring Robson Green. Personally, I prefer calling this genre Scottish Noir as I also use the terms Irish Noir, English Noir, German Noir, Swedish Noir, and Norwegian Noir, all with slightly different flavors and I don't know what their equivalents of "tartan" would be. Maybe Lederhosen Noir for German but it doesn't have the same ring to it really.

To the average tourist, Aberdeen is a beautiful city set in the bucolic county of Aberdeenshire on the East Coast of Scotland. Complete with a historic city center, ancient university, art museums, parks, the river Dee, a scenic coastline, and being a stone's throw away from medieval castles, beautiful farmland, and Balmoral, the country home of the royal family (I was once bitten there by one of Princess Anne' s horses), it appears to be an idyllic place to while away a significant portion of one's life. However, to Stuart MacBride, it is nothing of the sort.

To the author, Aberdeenshire is a dark foreboding place and a hotbed of criminal activity and police corruption and incompetence. Adding to the atmosphere, everyone pessimistically accepts their lot in life, the buildings are built of depressing grey granite, and even the weather with its slate grey skies, harsh winds, and bitter cold rain and snow is determined to suck the lifeblood out of the people brave enough to live there.

But then there is DS Logan McRae. Not so much of an optimist but more of a fatalist who believes he can right the wrongs of the world, or, more immediately, Aberdeen through grit, hard work, and the occasional flash of brilliance. Unfortunately for him, he is surrounded by some who are less competent than himself and, even though he doesn't look for it, trouble always seems to find him.

The series starts with McRae returning to work after a year-long recovery from stab wounds and, since he probably died a few times while he was in surgery, his colleagues, in their darkly humorous way, soon nickname him Lazarus. He is quickly plunged into the investigation of a murdered child that quickly turns into a media sensation when other children go missing, confidential information is leaked to the press, and fingers are pointed at a convenient scapegoat.

This first book typifies the soul of a Stuart MacBride novel. The action is local, the criminals are not masterminds even though there is always the threat of a local organized crime gang lurking in the background. Since the police are only armed with mace, extendable batons, and dog spray, there are no major shootouts, although there is sometimes a need to call out an armed response team. The police inquiries clearly show the fallible side of humans, mistakes are common and the best laid plans always seem to be thwarted by the randomness of life.

Detective Inspector Roberta Steel is in charge of a squad that she refers to as the "Screw-up Squad". Even though Logan McRae has closed some important cases, he has a habit of running afoul of superior officers who have clearly been promoted to their level of incompetence. Consequently, he has occasionally received undue blame and eventually finds himself working for Steel. The working and personal relationships between him and his boss are a major theme that underpins the series and provides many very funny situations. Steel is a train-wreck but is a competent police officer and an unwitting mentor to McRae.

There are no holds barred in this series. Although there is a lot to laugh at and few guns are in evidence, the humor is often dark and there are plenty of things or than guns that can be used as weapons and tools of torture and, human nature being what it is, frequently are. If you are squeamish, you should probably avoid this series but if you enjoy realism and how the police really work or don't work, you will enjoy these books. You will also learn a lot about Scotland and life in the harsh north east. More importantly, after you've read a few books you will be able to identify Rowies, Stovies, and Finnan Haddie (Spoiler alert: You can eat them all but you may not want to eat them all).

Unfortunately, it has been three years since the last Logan Mcrae book and Stuart MacBride has started the not dissimilar Ash Henderson series in the same genre (yes!), albeit with a new and very interesting cast of characters. I'm trying to get hold of the third and latest book but the libraries do not yet carry it. Heaven forbid if I have to buy it. I have no information as to whether an other Logan McRae book will be forthcoming but one can only hope!

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