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Ash Henderson #1
Birthdays for the Dead
Paperback. Pub Date :2012-08-30 496 English HarperCollins UK The Number One bestselling crime thriller from the award-winning Stuart MacBride.A bloody. brilliant and brutal story of murder. kidnap and revenge.Detective Constable Ash Henderson has a dark secret ... Five years ago his daughter. Rebecca. went missing on the eve of her thirteenth birthday.A year later the first card homemade. with a Polaroid picture stuck to the front - Rebecca. strapped to a chair . gagged and terrified.Every year another each one worse than the last.The tabloids call him 'The Birthday Boy' He's been snatching girls for twelve years. always in the run-up to their thirteenth birthday. sending the families his homemade cards showing their daughters being slowly tortured to death.But Ash hasn't told anyone about Rebecca's birthday cards - they all think ...
496 pages, Paperback
First published January 5, 2012
472 people are currently reading
4082 people want to read
About the author
Stuart MacBride
87 books2,724 followersAka Stuart B. MacBride
The life and times of a bearded write-ist.
Stuart MacBride (that's me) was born in Dumbarton -- which is Glasgow as far as I'm concerned -- moving up to Aberdeen at the tender age of two, when fashions were questionable. Nothing much happened for years and years and years: learned to play the recorder, then forgot how when they changed from little coloured dots to proper musical notes (why the hell couldn't they have taught us the notes in the first bloody place? I could have been performing my earth-shattering rendition of 'Three Blind Mice' at the Albert Hall by now!); appeared in some bizarre World War Two musical production; did my best to avoid eating haggis and generally ran about the place a lot.
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.
And so to UNIVERSITY, far too young, naive and stupid to be away from the family home, sharing a subterranean flat in one of the seedier bits of Edinburgh with a mad Irishman, and four other bizarre individuals. The highlight of walking to the art school in the mornings (yes: we were students, but we still did mornings) was trying not to tread in the fresh bloodstains outside our front door, and dodging the undercover CID officers trying to buy drugs. Lovely place.
But university and I did not see eye to eye, so off I went to work offshore. Like many all-male environments, working offshore was the intellectual equivalent of Animal House, only without the clever bits. Swearing, smoking, eating, more swearing, pornography, swearing, drinking endless plastic cups of tea... and did I mention the swearing? But it was more money than I'd seen in my life! There's something about being handed a wadge of cash as you clamber off the minibus from the heliport, having spent the last two weeks offshore and the last two hours in an orange, rubber romper suit / body bag, then blowing most of it in the pubs and clubs of Aberdeen. And being young enough to get away without a hangover.
Then came a spell of working for myself as a graphic designer, which went the way of all flesh and into the heady world of studio management for a nation-wide marketing company. Then some more freelance design work, a handful of voiceovers for local radio and video production companies and a bash at being an actor (with a small 'a'), giving it up when it became clear there was no way I was ever going to be good enough to earn a decent living.
It was about this time I fell into bad company -- a blonde from Fife who conned me into marrying her -- and started producing websites for a friend's fledgling Internet company. From there it was a roller coaster ride (in that it made a lot of people feel decidedly unwell) from web designer to web manager, lead programmer, team lead and other assorted technical bollocks with three different companies, eventually ending up as a project manager for a global IT company.
But there was always the writing (well, that's not true, the writing only started two chapters above this one). I fell victim to that most dreadful of things: peer pressure. Two friends were writing novels and I thought, 'why not? I could do that'.
Took a few years though...
The life and times of a bearded write-ist.
Stuart MacBride (that's me) was born in Dumbarton -- which is Glasgow as far as I'm concerned -- moving up to Aberdeen at the tender age of two, when fashions were questionable. Nothing much happened for years and years and years: learned to play the recorder, then forgot how when they changed from little coloured dots to proper musical notes (why the hell couldn't they have taught us the notes in the first bloody place? I could have been performing my earth-shattering rendition of 'Three Blind Mice' at the Albert Hall by now!); appeared in some bizarre World War Two musical production; did my best to avoid eating haggis and generally ran about the place a lot.
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.
And so to UNIVERSITY, far too young, naive and stupid to be away from the family home, sharing a subterranean flat in one of the seedier bits of Edinburgh with a mad Irishman, and four other bizarre individuals. The highlight of walking to the art school in the mornings (yes: we were students, but we still did mornings) was trying not to tread in the fresh bloodstains outside our front door, and dodging the undercover CID officers trying to buy drugs. Lovely place.
But university and I did not see eye to eye, so off I went to work offshore. Like many all-male environments, working offshore was the intellectual equivalent of Animal House, only without the clever bits. Swearing, smoking, eating, more swearing, pornography, swearing, drinking endless plastic cups of tea... and did I mention the swearing? But it was more money than I'd seen in my life! There's something about being handed a wadge of cash as you clamber off the minibus from the heliport, having spent the last two weeks offshore and the last two hours in an orange, rubber romper suit / body bag, then blowing most of it in the pubs and clubs of Aberdeen. And being young enough to get away without a hangover.
Then came a spell of working for myself as a graphic designer, which went the way of all flesh and into the heady world of studio management for a nation-wide marketing company. Then some more freelance design work, a handful of voiceovers for local radio and video production companies and a bash at being an actor (with a small 'a'), giving it up when it became clear there was no way I was ever going to be good enough to earn a decent living.
It was about this time I fell into bad company -- a blonde from Fife who conned me into marrying her -- and started producing websites for a friend's fledgling Internet company. From there it was a roller coaster ride (in that it made a lot of people feel decidedly unwell) from web designer to web manager, lead programmer, team lead and other assorted technical bollocks with three different companies, eventually ending up as a project manager for a global IT company.
But there was always the writing (well, that's not true, the writing only started two chapters above this one). I fell victim to that most dreadful of things: peer pressure. Two friends were writing novels and I thought, 'why not? I could do that'.
Took a few years though...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 671 reviews
April 21, 2021
I am a huge fan of this author's Logan McRae Books so I was keen to get into this more recent series.
I see a number of reviews comment on how gruesome the crimes are. This is part and parcel of the standard Stuart MacBride novel but I must admit Birthdays for the Dead takes the prize for the sheer number of deaths and the unrelenting anger and aggressiveness of the the main character, Ash Henderson. I became overwhelmed and started to skim and the book lost a star for this.
On the other hand Ash could also, on occasion, be quite a nice person and his partnership with psychologist, Alice McDonald, absolutely made this book for me. She was the perfect foil for an angry, depressed man and her meandering monologues on anything and everything lightened the whole book. Plus she was super smart and her insights into other's behaviour were always instructive.
The ending was really dark and saw Ash at rock bottom. Or maybe he has further to fall yet. I have book 2 ready to read very soon and I really hope Alice is in it too!
I see a number of reviews comment on how gruesome the crimes are. This is part and parcel of the standard Stuart MacBride novel but I must admit Birthdays for the Dead takes the prize for the sheer number of deaths and the unrelenting anger and aggressiveness of the the main character, Ash Henderson. I became overwhelmed and started to skim and the book lost a star for this.
On the other hand Ash could also, on occasion, be quite a nice person and his partnership with psychologist, Alice McDonald, absolutely made this book for me. She was the perfect foil for an angry, depressed man and her meandering monologues on anything and everything lightened the whole book. Plus she was super smart and her insights into other's behaviour were always instructive.
The ending was really dark and saw Ash at rock bottom. Or maybe he has further to fall yet. I have book 2 ready to read very soon and I really hope Alice is in it too!
January 11, 2016
4.5 stars!
Scottish Noir-it's a thing. I finished my first book in this genre and it will not be the last.
This is more of a psychological thriller than a horror novel, but that doesn't make this story any less horrific. MacBride's way of telling the story took a little getting used to-there are a lot of holes and questions on the reader's part. But I had faith in MacBride and just continued on and shortly, my patience was rewarded.
The author did not take any shortcuts, he built his characters from the ground up and totally fleshed them out. He was wise enough to insert some humor into this otherwise, dark, DARK, story. If he hadn't, this one might have been too dark-even for me. I thought he would cop out at the end, that perhaps he had painted himself into too tight of a corner, but he didn't. Here was a denouement that was brave and it DELIVERED.
How have I not heard of Stuart MacBride before? If it hadn't been for our great group, I wouldn't have. Thanks to Kate and thanks to Horror Readers. Once again, I'm on the trail of a new-to-me author and it's a great feeling!
Highly recommended to fans of noir and dark, dark fiction!
Scottish Noir-it's a thing. I finished my first book in this genre and it will not be the last.
This is more of a psychological thriller than a horror novel, but that doesn't make this story any less horrific. MacBride's way of telling the story took a little getting used to-there are a lot of holes and questions on the reader's part. But I had faith in MacBride and just continued on and shortly, my patience was rewarded.
The author did not take any shortcuts, he built his characters from the ground up and totally fleshed them out. He was wise enough to insert some humor into this otherwise, dark, DARK, story. If he hadn't, this one might have been too dark-even for me. I thought he would cop out at the end, that perhaps he had painted himself into too tight of a corner, but he didn't. Here was a denouement that was brave and it DELIVERED.
How have I not heard of Stuart MacBride before? If it hadn't been for our great group, I wouldn't have. Thanks to Kate and thanks to Horror Readers. Once again, I'm on the trail of a new-to-me author and it's a great feeling!
Highly recommended to fans of noir and dark, dark fiction!
March 30, 2013
This is a relentlessly dark book featuring a very flawed protagonist. A serial killer is stalking twelve-year-old girls in Scotland. He abducts the children a few days before their thirteenth birthdays, then tortures them over a period of days, killing them on their birthdays. Every year thereafter, he sends a "birthday" card to the parents, with a Polaroid photo attached, showing their daughter's progressive torture and ultimate death.
The newspapers call the killer the "Birthday Boy," and DC Ash Henderson is one of the detectives on the case. But Henderson has a dark, well-kept secret. His own daughter, Rebecca, disappeared five years earlier and a year after that, Henderson received a card from the Birthday Boy. Henderson allows everyone, including his ex-wife, to believe that Rebecca is simply a runaway. He desperately wants to remain on the case to find justice for Rebecca and he knows that he will be removed from the case if the other investigators learn that his daughter is a victim.
Henderson is also deeply indebted to vicious loan sharks who are looking to beat him up, or worse. He's dating strippers, drinking way too much and getting beaten up a lot, all of which also gets in the way of the investigation. As the book opens he is paired with a new profiler who has joined the team and who has to be one of the wierder members of this profession ever to grace the pages of crime fiction.
As the investigation continues, more victims will be abducted, adding pressure to an already tense investigation, and Henderson, especially given his personal stake, will adopt whatever tactics seem appropriate to finding the Birthday Boy before he can kill again.
It's clear from this book that Stuart MacBride is an excellent writer, but I found it otherwise hard to enjoy this book. As I suggested above, Ash Henderson is a deeply flawed character and a lot of his troubles are self-inflicted. As a cop desperately trying to find the person who tortured and killed his own daughter, he should be the object of a tremendous amount of sympathy. But he behaves in such alarming ways that it becomes difficult to empathize with him even under these tragic circumstances.
Additionally, there are the crimes themselves. Frankly, the idea of a serial killer targeting children and torturing them in the ways described in this book is very hard to take, even for someone accustomed to reading a lot of hard-boiled crime fiction.
Finally, as much as Henderson wants to remain on the case, it seems inconceivable that he would withhold the fact that his own daughter has been a victim of the killer. The police investigators and profilers are working desperately with all the information at hand. And the fact that they do not know that Rebecca Henderson is a victim is skewing and ultimately compromising the investigation. It simply makes no sense that an intelligent detective would allow this to happen. In the end, while I appreciated MacBride's obvious skills as a writer, I think I would have been happier reading one of the books in his Logan McRae series, which I understand is very well done and not nearly as unsettling.
The newspapers call the killer the "Birthday Boy," and DC Ash Henderson is one of the detectives on the case. But Henderson has a dark, well-kept secret. His own daughter, Rebecca, disappeared five years earlier and a year after that, Henderson received a card from the Birthday Boy. Henderson allows everyone, including his ex-wife, to believe that Rebecca is simply a runaway. He desperately wants to remain on the case to find justice for Rebecca and he knows that he will be removed from the case if the other investigators learn that his daughter is a victim.
Henderson is also deeply indebted to vicious loan sharks who are looking to beat him up, or worse. He's dating strippers, drinking way too much and getting beaten up a lot, all of which also gets in the way of the investigation. As the book opens he is paired with a new profiler who has joined the team and who has to be one of the wierder members of this profession ever to grace the pages of crime fiction.
As the investigation continues, more victims will be abducted, adding pressure to an already tense investigation, and Henderson, especially given his personal stake, will adopt whatever tactics seem appropriate to finding the Birthday Boy before he can kill again.
It's clear from this book that Stuart MacBride is an excellent writer, but I found it otherwise hard to enjoy this book. As I suggested above, Ash Henderson is a deeply flawed character and a lot of his troubles are self-inflicted. As a cop desperately trying to find the person who tortured and killed his own daughter, he should be the object of a tremendous amount of sympathy. But he behaves in such alarming ways that it becomes difficult to empathize with him even under these tragic circumstances.
Additionally, there are the crimes themselves. Frankly, the idea of a serial killer targeting children and torturing them in the ways described in this book is very hard to take, even for someone accustomed to reading a lot of hard-boiled crime fiction.
Finally, as much as Henderson wants to remain on the case, it seems inconceivable that he would withhold the fact that his own daughter has been a victim of the killer. The police investigators and profilers are working desperately with all the information at hand. And the fact that they do not know that Rebecca Henderson is a victim is skewing and ultimately compromising the investigation. It simply makes no sense that an intelligent detective would allow this to happen. In the end, while I appreciated MacBride's obvious skills as a writer, I think I would have been happier reading one of the books in his Logan McRae series, which I understand is very well done and not nearly as unsettling.
March 30, 2024
DC Ash Henderson and the team in Oldcastle, Scotland are searching for the‘Birthday Boy’, a serial killer who has been snatching girls for twelve years just before their 13th birthday. However, Ash has a very personal reason for wanting to apprehend the killer.
This is definitely not for the faint hearted. It’s very dark, gritty and violent almost relentlessly so, and is the very definition of Tartan Noir. At times it’s a disbelief suspender with the things that Ash gets up to or is on the receiving end of. I’m not sure how he manages to stand up or continue to stick the boot/fist etc in. It’s bleak, certainly not a happy tale especially with the heartbreaking ending.
Will I read more? Not sure yet ….
This is definitely not for the faint hearted. It’s very dark, gritty and violent almost relentlessly so, and is the very definition of Tartan Noir. At times it’s a disbelief suspender with the things that Ash gets up to or is on the receiving end of. I’m not sure how he manages to stand up or continue to stick the boot/fist etc in. It’s bleak, certainly not a happy tale especially with the heartbreaking ending.
Will I read more? Not sure yet ….
May 20, 2018
I really enjoy Stuart MacBride's Logan MacRae series which is dark and gritty but found the start of this series just a bit too dark. The premise is pretty nasty for a start - a serial killer nicknamed "the Birthday Boy" abducts 12 year old girls a few days before their 13th birthdays and slowly tortures and kills them, taking photos as he goes. Every year on their birthdays he sends a birthday card with a photo documenting their torture to their parents. DC Ash Henderson's daughter Rebecca disappeared five years ago when she was 12, her family and friends believing she has run away, but Ash has been receiving cards form the Birthday Boy for the last five years.
Ash Henderson was not a character I felt much empathy for, despite his marriage having broken down after his daughter went missing, with Ash keeping the pain of her murder to himself. Much of his misery is of his own doing. He owns thousands of pounds to loan sharks (not clear why - possibly gambling), keeps getting beaten up for not paying his loans and also crosses the line himself torturing and beating up potential suspects and even blackmailing them. And that ending - brave and very dark but it was too much for me! Lovers of noir will probably enjoy this but I think I'll be going back to Logan MacRae.
Ash Henderson was not a character I felt much empathy for, despite his marriage having broken down after his daughter went missing, with Ash keeping the pain of her murder to himself. Much of his misery is of his own doing. He owns thousands of pounds to loan sharks (not clear why - possibly gambling), keeps getting beaten up for not paying his loans and also crosses the line himself torturing and beating up potential suspects and even blackmailing them. And that ending - brave and very dark but it was too much for me! Lovers of noir will probably enjoy this but I think I'll be going back to Logan MacRae.
January 19, 2016
This book is a stripped down muscle car, roaring with unbridled horsepower, racing like the literary equivalent of Steve McQueen in BULLITT through dark territory, pedal to the metal without headlights, questionable brakes and Steve himself at the wheel, taking the story through it's paces, hitting every twist and turn like a pro, ricocheting off the curves, pieces flying, until the very end, when the reader crawls out of the smoking wreck, soaked in sweat, twitching like a junkie.....and ready for another ride.
No one writes like Stuart MacBride. Not only does he imbue every word with pure Scottish attitude, he captures the heart of noir in it's essence......the road to redemption and the highway to Hell are sometimes one and the same, and the most you can hope for is to arrive at either destination.....bloodied and broken but alive.
Highest possible recommendation.
January 3, 2013
Ash Henderson is a tough cop who doesn't follow the rules. He owes some bad people a buttload of money.
Alice McDonald is a "delightfully quirky" (her own words) superintelligent psychologist who talks. A lot.
Some 13-year-olds get kidnapped, abducted, and photographed into birthday cards for their parents. It's up to Alice and Ash to--
Fuck, dude! How did MacBride get this premise past the drawing board? The most interesting part of the story was my mental image of a girl who'd been decapitated and had her head stuck into her eviscerated abdomen. The rest of the plot is littered with bureaucratic humdrum, irritating renditions of various Scottish dialects, and an unparalleled love of that literary device where the narrative is interrupted by radio song lyrics and television anchors.
Why did I waste a day and a half reading this book? I guess I hoped it would redeem itself by the end, but I as I got to the last hundred pages, then the last fifty pages, then the last five pages, I realized it was a lost cause. Like trying to save Ash's daughters.
Alice McDonald is a "delightfully quirky" (her own words) superintelligent psychologist who talks. A lot.
Some 13-year-olds get kidnapped, abducted, and photographed into birthday cards for their parents. It's up to Alice and Ash to--
Fuck, dude! How did MacBride get this premise past the drawing board? The most interesting part of the story was my mental image of a girl who'd been decapitated and had her head stuck into her eviscerated abdomen. The rest of the plot is littered with bureaucratic humdrum, irritating renditions of various Scottish dialects, and an unparalleled love of that literary device where the narrative is interrupted by radio song lyrics and television anchors.
Why did I waste a day and a half reading this book? I guess I hoped it would redeem itself by the end, but I as I got to the last hundred pages, then the last fifty pages, then the last five pages, I realized it was a lost cause. Like trying to save Ash's daughters.
March 12, 2012
Ahhhh, Stuart. You have to give the reader something to hold on to, and your dark-to-laughs ratio has to be even. If you kill your protagonist's older daughter, you have to leave the other one alone. Got about a third through and couldn't keep going. In saying this, it is with a heavy heart because I LOVE Stuart MacBride and have read all of his Logan McRae novels. He is a brilliant writer and usually has an amazing mix of dark and humor. His Inspector Steele is without literary peer.
June 19, 2016
Swedish review
Media kallar honom "Födelsedagsfiraren" för att han kidnappar flickor precis innan de ska fylla tretton år och sedan skickar han ett födelsdagskort till deras familjer som visar hur han långsamt torterar dem till döds. Varje år får de ett nytt kort. För fem år sedan försvann kriminalinspektör Ash Hendersons dotter Rebecca. Ett år senare får han ett kort på posten, men han hemlighåller detta för om det skulle komma fram skulle han inte få vara kvar på utredningen.
Att skriva en bok om barn som torteras ihjäl kan inte vara lätt och det är definitivt inte något som är lätt att läsa om. Men Stuart McBride har lyckats sätta samman en bok som inte blir för nattsvart och det tack vare den lysande karaktären Alice McDonald, en kriminalpsykolog med sina egna problem, tack vara henne så känns det inte som man vadar i elände och misär hela tiden medan man läser boken. Alice uppväger Ash Henderson mer självdestruktiva karaktär. Ash är skild med pengaskulder och han får i början av boken ett nytt kort på Rebecca och vetskapen av detta behåller han för sig själv. Polisen och hans ex-fru tror alla att Rebecca har rymt hemifrån. Men så hittar de en kropp och med det så har de äntligen konkreta bevis istället för bara bilder.
Detta är en bok som är väldigt svårt att sluta läsa, hela tiden ville jag läsa ett kapitel till för att få reda på vem som låg bakom kidnappningarna och boken är väldigt spännande och tacksam nog också rolig, utan Alice, vars olika fobier gör boken underhållande att läsa, skulle jag gå under i allt mörker. Jag till och med ringde till min mamma på kvällen för att läsa stycken ur boken för henne när Alice hade sagt eller gjort något kul.
Detta är en bok som är bra från början till slutet och jag ser fram emot att läsa bok 2 i serien.
Jag vill tacka HarperCollins Nordic för att ha försett mig med ett recensionsex för en ärlig recension.
*************
English review
Media calls him "The Birthday boy" because he kidnappers girls just before they turn thirteen and then he sends pictures of them home to their families showing how he slowly tortures them to death. Every year they get a new card. 5 years ago Detective Constable Ash Henderson's daughter Rebecca was kidnapped. One year later get a card, but he keeps that a secret for his colleagues and because if they would know would he not be able to stay on the investigation.
To write a book about children being tortured cannot be easy and it's definitely not something that is easy to read about. But, Stuart McBride has managed to put together a book that is not too dark thanks to the character Alice McDonald, a criminal psychologist with her own problems, and thanks to her it doesn't feel like you are drowning in misery while you are reading the book. Alice counterbalance Ash Henderson more destructive character. Ash is divorced with debts and he gets, in the beginning, a new picture of Rebecca and the knowledge about this, he keeps to himself. The cops and his ex-wife all thinks that Rebecca just ran away. But, then they find a body och with that they finally have solid evidence besides the pictures.
Birthday for the Dead was a book that was hard to put down. I couldn't stop reading because I really wanted to know who was behind the kidnappings and the book was really thrilling och thankfully also funny thanks to Alice, whose phobias made the books really entertaining to read. Without Alice, would the book have been way too dark to read. I even called my mum during the evening to read her sections from the book when Alice had said or done something funny.
I want to thank HarperCollins Nordic for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
Read this review and others on A Bookaholic Swede
Media kallar honom "Födelsedagsfiraren" för att han kidnappar flickor precis innan de ska fylla tretton år och sedan skickar han ett födelsdagskort till deras familjer som visar hur han långsamt torterar dem till döds. Varje år får de ett nytt kort. För fem år sedan försvann kriminalinspektör Ash Hendersons dotter Rebecca. Ett år senare får han ett kort på posten, men han hemlighåller detta för om det skulle komma fram skulle han inte få vara kvar på utredningen.
Att skriva en bok om barn som torteras ihjäl kan inte vara lätt och det är definitivt inte något som är lätt att läsa om. Men Stuart McBride har lyckats sätta samman en bok som inte blir för nattsvart och det tack vare den lysande karaktären Alice McDonald, en kriminalpsykolog med sina egna problem, tack vara henne så känns det inte som man vadar i elände och misär hela tiden medan man läser boken. Alice uppväger Ash Henderson mer självdestruktiva karaktär. Ash är skild med pengaskulder och han får i början av boken ett nytt kort på Rebecca och vetskapen av detta behåller han för sig själv. Polisen och hans ex-fru tror alla att Rebecca har rymt hemifrån. Men så hittar de en kropp och med det så har de äntligen konkreta bevis istället för bara bilder.
Detta är en bok som är väldigt svårt att sluta läsa, hela tiden ville jag läsa ett kapitel till för att få reda på vem som låg bakom kidnappningarna och boken är väldigt spännande och tacksam nog också rolig, utan Alice, vars olika fobier gör boken underhållande att läsa, skulle jag gå under i allt mörker. Jag till och med ringde till min mamma på kvällen för att läsa stycken ur boken för henne när Alice hade sagt eller gjort något kul.
Detta är en bok som är bra från början till slutet och jag ser fram emot att läsa bok 2 i serien.
Jag vill tacka HarperCollins Nordic för att ha försett mig med ett recensionsex för en ärlig recension.
*************
English review
Media calls him "The Birthday boy" because he kidnappers girls just before they turn thirteen and then he sends pictures of them home to their families showing how he slowly tortures them to death. Every year they get a new card. 5 years ago Detective Constable Ash Henderson's daughter Rebecca was kidnapped. One year later get a card, but he keeps that a secret for his colleagues and because if they would know would he not be able to stay on the investigation.
To write a book about children being tortured cannot be easy and it's definitely not something that is easy to read about. But, Stuart McBride has managed to put together a book that is not too dark thanks to the character Alice McDonald, a criminal psychologist with her own problems, and thanks to her it doesn't feel like you are drowning in misery while you are reading the book. Alice counterbalance Ash Henderson more destructive character. Ash is divorced with debts and he gets, in the beginning, a new picture of Rebecca and the knowledge about this, he keeps to himself. The cops and his ex-wife all thinks that Rebecca just ran away. But, then they find a body och with that they finally have solid evidence besides the pictures.
Birthday for the Dead was a book that was hard to put down. I couldn't stop reading because I really wanted to know who was behind the kidnappings and the book was really thrilling och thankfully also funny thanks to Alice, whose phobias made the books really entertaining to read. Without Alice, would the book have been way too dark to read. I even called my mum during the evening to read her sections from the book when Alice had said or done something funny.
I want to thank HarperCollins Nordic for providing me with a free copy for an honest review!
Read this review and others on A Bookaholic Swede
January 6, 2013
I had a hard time even finishing this book.
The main plot about the serial killer is remotely interesting, but all the subplots are superfluous, when not completely unbelievable. The main character (narrator) is entangled in a lot of complex stories, but he remains shallow and is absolutely not credible. Other characters are caricatural, and none of them is likable either.
A lot of the times, you don't even understand what's going on in the story, it is so messy!
I finished it in a hurry just to know the end, which was not satisfying either...
Too bad, I usually like Stuart MacBride books, but I feel he really messed up this one, trying to be very "noir".
The main plot about the serial killer is remotely interesting, but all the subplots are superfluous, when not completely unbelievable. The main character (narrator) is entangled in a lot of complex stories, but he remains shallow and is absolutely not credible. Other characters are caricatural, and none of them is likable either.
A lot of the times, you don't even understand what's going on in the story, it is so messy!
I finished it in a hurry just to know the end, which was not satisfying either...
Too bad, I usually like Stuart MacBride books, but I feel he really messed up this one, trying to be very "noir".
January 11, 2016
Really enjoyed this--my first book by Stuart MacBride. It was much more character-driven, despite the horrendous premise of the novel. It remained fast-paced, but more in regards to the relations between the characters, and humor infused throughout, that made this one difficult to put down.
I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that the ending the author chose was absolutely the perfect fit for a novel like this, in my humble opinion. It was one of those that I'm sure each reader will have a strong opinion on of their own, but it couldn't have been any better for myself.
Highly recommended!
I don't want to give anything away, but I will say that the ending the author chose was absolutely the perfect fit for a novel like this, in my humble opinion. It was one of those that I'm sure each reader will have a strong opinion on of their own, but it couldn't have been any better for myself.
Highly recommended!
December 14, 2017
I read like seventy pages and that's as far as I could go. A lot of my friends recommended me to read a Stuart MacBride and that's why I picked up this one. I felt the writing and the story development hollow and flat. I will try to read it again, maybe but for now I am done with this one.
March 27, 2023
I know Stuart MacBride because I’ve read some books in the Logan MacRae series which I really like. I was curious to see what this other character is like and I must say that reading this book has only increased my esteem for this author.
This is a rather dark story, starting from the plot: a serial killer nicknamed "The Birthday Boy" kidnaps girls a few days before their thirteenth birthday, slowly tortures and kills them, taking photos that he sends every year to their parents together with a greeting card. Detective Constable Ash Henderson's daughter, Rebecca, went missing five years ago when she was 12, her family and friends believe she ran away, but Ash has received greeting cards from the killer every year and has decided to keep quiet so as not to be ousted from the investigation.
This is the kind of book that shifts the center of gravity of the thriller more towards the psychological element than the action. Here, police psychologists have more space, determined to enter the killer's mind to understand his moves and final purpose, rather than the policemen, very determined, angry, but often helpless in the face of a murderer who seems elusive.
Ash Anderson is not an upright policeman, he is a violent man, used to using quick, brutal methods to get what he wants, without any brakes when he is under pressure. Much of his misfortunes are his fault, the result of hasty and questionable decisions. For his situation it should inspire empathy, but he is the kind of individual who digs his own grave, from the first pages to the end, not disdaining methods bordering on criminality, from blackmail to the beating and torture of suspects.
On the other hand, MacBride puts Dr. Alice McDonald next to him, a very capable psychologist ("first of her course" as she likes to repeat), a little introverted but honest and with an innocent way of doing that often makes her look like a teenager. She is a diametrically opposed figure to Hash, but with whom she forms a strange but efficient team.
It seems that in this book MacBride wanted to show what peaks of evil human beings are capable of reaching, the killer with his macabre design, but also the policemen, Hash in the lead, not always upright law enforcements, here often in the grip of anger or the desire to take justice into their own hands. As always there is a touch of humor to the author’s writing, even if he fails to lighten a story that gets darker as the chapters progress. After a somewhat slow first part, the story flows well in a crescendo of twists and brutal actions, up to an ending that is brilliant, but also shocking and which closes the book as the author's final touch to his masterpiece.
In the end, I strongly recommend MacBride to thriller lovers, if Ash Anderosno is too much, Logan MacRae is an excellent alternative, his stories always tell the worst of mankind, but there is a lighter humor and less tormented characters.
This is a rather dark story, starting from the plot: a serial killer nicknamed "The Birthday Boy" kidnaps girls a few days before their thirteenth birthday, slowly tortures and kills them, taking photos that he sends every year to their parents together with a greeting card. Detective Constable Ash Henderson's daughter, Rebecca, went missing five years ago when she was 12, her family and friends believe she ran away, but Ash has received greeting cards from the killer every year and has decided to keep quiet so as not to be ousted from the investigation.
This is the kind of book that shifts the center of gravity of the thriller more towards the psychological element than the action. Here, police psychologists have more space, determined to enter the killer's mind to understand his moves and final purpose, rather than the policemen, very determined, angry, but often helpless in the face of a murderer who seems elusive.
Ash Anderson is not an upright policeman, he is a violent man, used to using quick, brutal methods to get what he wants, without any brakes when he is under pressure. Much of his misfortunes are his fault, the result of hasty and questionable decisions. For his situation it should inspire empathy, but he is the kind of individual who digs his own grave, from the first pages to the end, not disdaining methods bordering on criminality, from blackmail to the beating and torture of suspects.
On the other hand, MacBride puts Dr. Alice McDonald next to him, a very capable psychologist ("first of her course" as she likes to repeat), a little introverted but honest and with an innocent way of doing that often makes her look like a teenager. She is a diametrically opposed figure to Hash, but with whom she forms a strange but efficient team.
It seems that in this book MacBride wanted to show what peaks of evil human beings are capable of reaching, the killer with his macabre design, but also the policemen, Hash in the lead, not always upright law enforcements, here often in the grip of anger or the desire to take justice into their own hands. As always there is a touch of humor to the author’s writing, even if he fails to lighten a story that gets darker as the chapters progress. After a somewhat slow first part, the story flows well in a crescendo of twists and brutal actions, up to an ending that is brilliant, but also shocking and which closes the book as the author's final touch to his masterpiece.
In the end, I strongly recommend MacBride to thriller lovers, if Ash Anderosno is too much, Logan MacRae is an excellent alternative, his stories always tell the worst of mankind, but there is a lighter humor and less tormented characters.
April 15, 2022
BIRTHDAYS FOR THE DEAD was Stuart MacBride’s first DS Ash Henderson novel. I read numbers 2 and 3 last year but my library didn’t get a copy of the first in the series until recently.
There were a lot of problems with this book — in particular, with MacBride’s choice of Henderson as the main protagonist and “hero” of the story. Henderson is not a likeable character. He is constantly angry with the world, unhinged, crosses the line by beating up “nefarious” characters, or even those he just suspects of being corrupt, and steals from said nefarious characters in order to pay money he owes to loan sharks. Yes, there is a good reason for his fury. His daughter, Rebecca, was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered five years earlier by “the Birthday Boy”, a serial killer who abducts 12 year old girls just before their thirteenth birthday, slowly mutilates them, taking photos as this occurs, and each year, on their birthdays, sends one picture of this slow torture process to their families. Henderson owes the loan sharks because, prior to receiving his first picture, he thought Rebecca had just run off, and so spent lots of money that he didn’t have trying to find her. To stay on the Birthday Boy case, he hasn’t told anyone (except one friend) what had actually happened. It would be a conflict of interest for him to keep pursuing suspects if anyone knew his daughter was one of the victims, so his family, friends, and colleagues think Rebecca is just a runaway.
So not only is the protagonist dark and nasty, but the entire premise of the story is very bleak and gloomy. It is lightened only by the presence of sweet, innocent Dr. Alice McDonald, a psychologist assigned to assist Henderson.
Amongst the mayhem of the frantic search for the Birthday Boy, the many scenes of beatings and physical assault, we can find MacBride’s trademark humour. This is black comedy at its zenith. But it is hard to take, and perhaps a bit overdone. Too dark for most people, I think.
Even I, who like dark humour, particularly MacBride’s Logan McRae series, found it a bit too bleak. So why give it four stars? Because I couldn’t put it down. I read this rather long book in one day.
There were a lot of problems with this book — in particular, with MacBride’s choice of Henderson as the main protagonist and “hero” of the story. Henderson is not a likeable character. He is constantly angry with the world, unhinged, crosses the line by beating up “nefarious” characters, or even those he just suspects of being corrupt, and steals from said nefarious characters in order to pay money he owes to loan sharks. Yes, there is a good reason for his fury. His daughter, Rebecca, was kidnapped, tortured, and murdered five years earlier by “the Birthday Boy”, a serial killer who abducts 12 year old girls just before their thirteenth birthday, slowly mutilates them, taking photos as this occurs, and each year, on their birthdays, sends one picture of this slow torture process to their families. Henderson owes the loan sharks because, prior to receiving his first picture, he thought Rebecca had just run off, and so spent lots of money that he didn’t have trying to find her. To stay on the Birthday Boy case, he hasn’t told anyone (except one friend) what had actually happened. It would be a conflict of interest for him to keep pursuing suspects if anyone knew his daughter was one of the victims, so his family, friends, and colleagues think Rebecca is just a runaway.
So not only is the protagonist dark and nasty, but the entire premise of the story is very bleak and gloomy. It is lightened only by the presence of sweet, innocent Dr. Alice McDonald, a psychologist assigned to assist Henderson.
Amongst the mayhem of the frantic search for the Birthday Boy, the many scenes of beatings and physical assault, we can find MacBride’s trademark humour. This is black comedy at its zenith. But it is hard to take, and perhaps a bit overdone. Too dark for most people, I think.
Even I, who like dark humour, particularly MacBride’s Logan McRae series, found it a bit too bleak. So why give it four stars? Because I couldn’t put it down. I read this rather long book in one day.
May 19, 2019
“Stuart MacBride - Dertien”
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Goede thriller mét veel geweld (niet supergortig, maar wel lekker agressief) en humor. 👊😹 Speciaal boek!
Goed verhaal, maar wel veel nevengebeurtenissen waardoor het soms verwarrend is. 🤨
Het begin had een goed tempo, het eind leek me echter wat afgeraffeld. 🤷♀️
Maar, ik apprecieerde de rauwe manier van omgang van het hoofdpersonage enorm! 👊
Ik lees zeker nog meer van hem!
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Goede thriller mét veel geweld (niet supergortig, maar wel lekker agressief) en humor. 👊😹 Speciaal boek!
Goed verhaal, maar wel veel nevengebeurtenissen waardoor het soms verwarrend is. 🤨
Het begin had een goed tempo, het eind leek me echter wat afgeraffeld. 🤷♀️
Maar, ik apprecieerde de rauwe manier van omgang van het hoofdpersonage enorm! 👊
Ik lees zeker nog meer van hem!
September 8, 2016
I adore Stuart MacBride’s Logan McRae series, so it should come as no surprise to know I jumped at his Ash Henderson series with a lot of expectations. Fortunately, the male did not disappoint. Whilst I favour his Aberdonian detective, I certainly had fun with this new character.
In his Logan McRae books, Stuart MacBride demonstrates how he was more than capable of throwing in all the things you would expect to find in a gritty crime novel. Suspense. Intrigue. Mystery. Wonderful characters. Questionable motives. The darkness of humanity. For me, however, this introduction to the world of Ash Henderson was missing one vital aspect: the dark humour. The Logan McRae series have me laughing endlessly, earning me many questionable looks, whereas I merely smirked a couple of times with this one. Truthfully, I missed the humour. Of course, this is not a bad thing. The book was still a lot of fun. But I really did miss his brilliant humour, I missed the characters that left me chuckling at the book in public.
The lack of dark humour, though, is replaced by a different kind of darkness. Ash Henderson is far from the detective McRae is. I’d love to see how the two of them would interact, would love to see what would happen if they crossed paths, as they’re two very different people. McRae is the good cop to Henderson’s bad cop. Ash Henderson is a much darker person, we really get to see the extremes people will go to when their world is spinning out of control. I adored this. Honestly, it was great. There was such inner turmoil with our main character meaning he was a much darker read than McRae. McRae is a brilliant character for so many reasons, and none of these reasons apply as to why Henderson is a brilliant character. There are so many different reasons for why Henderson is a great character, mostly watching him toe the line between good and bad makes the book worth it. He really is a great character to read.
That aside, it did take much longer to get into this story than usual. The Logan McRae books pull you in from the get-go, whereas this book seemed to drag a bit at first. I wasn’t as pulled in. The criminal storyline was a lot of fun, but I felt as though there was far too much going on at once. Usually, MacBride is brilliant at having multiple aspects of a story occurring at once, but with this one it felt a little bit clumsy. It felt as though he was trying to do too many things at once, and didn’t refine it as much as he usually does.
Overall, it was a great read. It was more than enough to ensure I will be continuing on with his Ash Henderson series. That being said, as enjoyable as it was, it was not quite the mind-blowing read you are usually given in the Logan McRae series. More than worth it, without a doubt, but not his best.
In his Logan McRae books, Stuart MacBride demonstrates how he was more than capable of throwing in all the things you would expect to find in a gritty crime novel. Suspense. Intrigue. Mystery. Wonderful characters. Questionable motives. The darkness of humanity. For me, however, this introduction to the world of Ash Henderson was missing one vital aspect: the dark humour. The Logan McRae series have me laughing endlessly, earning me many questionable looks, whereas I merely smirked a couple of times with this one. Truthfully, I missed the humour. Of course, this is not a bad thing. The book was still a lot of fun. But I really did miss his brilliant humour, I missed the characters that left me chuckling at the book in public.
The lack of dark humour, though, is replaced by a different kind of darkness. Ash Henderson is far from the detective McRae is. I’d love to see how the two of them would interact, would love to see what would happen if they crossed paths, as they’re two very different people. McRae is the good cop to Henderson’s bad cop. Ash Henderson is a much darker person, we really get to see the extremes people will go to when their world is spinning out of control. I adored this. Honestly, it was great. There was such inner turmoil with our main character meaning he was a much darker read than McRae. McRae is a brilliant character for so many reasons, and none of these reasons apply as to why Henderson is a brilliant character. There are so many different reasons for why Henderson is a great character, mostly watching him toe the line between good and bad makes the book worth it. He really is a great character to read.
That aside, it did take much longer to get into this story than usual. The Logan McRae books pull you in from the get-go, whereas this book seemed to drag a bit at first. I wasn’t as pulled in. The criminal storyline was a lot of fun, but I felt as though there was far too much going on at once. Usually, MacBride is brilliant at having multiple aspects of a story occurring at once, but with this one it felt a little bit clumsy. It felt as though he was trying to do too many things at once, and didn’t refine it as much as he usually does.
Overall, it was a great read. It was more than enough to ensure I will be continuing on with his Ash Henderson series. That being said, as enjoyable as it was, it was not quite the mind-blowing read you are usually given in the Logan McRae series. More than worth it, without a doubt, but not his best.
February 27, 2015
Detective Constable Ash Henderson has a dark secret! Five years ago his daughter, Rebecca, went missing on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. A year later the first card arrived: homemade, with a Polaroid picture stuck to the front -- Rebecca, strapped to a chair, gagged and terrified. Every year another card: each one worse than the last.
The tabloids call him The Birthday Boy. He's been snatching girls for twelve years, always in the run-up to their thirteenth birthday, sending the families his homemade cards showing their daughters being slowly tortured to death. But Ash hasn't told anyone about Rebecca's birthday cards -- they all think she's just run away from home -- because if anyone finds out, he'll be taken off the investigation. And he's sacrificed too much to give up before his daughter's killer gets what he deserves!
This was a great suspense/thriller with a ton of twists and turns, a ton of violence, and a ton of surprises all the way to the very last sentence.
The tabloids call him The Birthday Boy. He's been snatching girls for twelve years, always in the run-up to their thirteenth birthday, sending the families his homemade cards showing their daughters being slowly tortured to death. But Ash hasn't told anyone about Rebecca's birthday cards -- they all think she's just run away from home -- because if anyone finds out, he'll be taken off the investigation. And he's sacrificed too much to give up before his daughter's killer gets what he deserves!
This was a great suspense/thriller with a ton of twists and turns, a ton of violence, and a ton of surprises all the way to the very last sentence.
October 16, 2017
I remember hearing about this when it 1st came out, thinking, great he has a new character, a fresh start. Ash Henderson is a little different to Logan, flawed in his own way but not as engaging. I also found the character relationships lacking. The dark humour was there but I found the crime/thrills/adult themes too dark as compared to the Logan series. This darkness would normally be balanced out by his humorous dialogue and writing. However I found this balance lacking a little. The character has potential and I did read the following novel featuring Ash, so something caught my attention.
January 19, 2016
4.5*
Since the day I caught up on John Connolly's Charlie Parker series, there's been something missing from my life-- a great dark mystery thriller series!
Well, this one will do. I should say that this was not at all similar to Connolly's series, but it hit the spot anyway. This was a dark one, there was plenty of pain to be had, and I couldn't put it down!
In some ways this is a typical noir crime novel, a crooked-cop-distraught-teased-by-serial-killer as the lead. Although I liked Ash at times, he was probably my least favorite character in the book. Despite this, I rooted for him the whole time, which is a sign that MacBride knows what he's doing. The plot seemed typical at first but slowly became subtly intricate (serial killer, office politics, family drama, crime boss drama, take your pick). Ash's daughter has been taken by a serial killer who enjoys photographing his torture of teenage girls and sending pics to parents every year on their birthday. However crappy Ash is as a human, you can't really blame him for becoming a shadow of himself after what has happened to his daughter.
Enter the bright light of the book, Ash's sidekick, Dr. Alice MacDonald. She was a great contrast--young, naive and quirky to a fault.
Time is ticking down on new victims as Ash and Alice struggle to find the killer.
Good stuff, I'm moving on to the next in the series!
Read
January 11, 2016DNF at 32 %
Since I learned next to nothing about the life and times of the characters in "Birthdays for the Dead", I'm sure I won't miss the last 2/3rds. The technique of throwing the reader into the midst of the action and then give the background story and character presentations in bits and pieces sometimes work, but not for me in this one.
"A lanky bloke in a black waist coat and bow tie sidled up behind the bar, wiping the wooden surface with a cloth. He smiled. 'Another?' Enough gel in his hair to keep him looking like a prick, even in a force ten gale.
"Thanks, Steve."
He knew the guy's name? Then that's just stupid! No, wait a second, it gets worse. This is actually the bartender in his local. How about "Steve sidled up behind the bar, this night he was wearing..." hm; "Steve, the lanky bartender sidled..." Damn! I can think of 10 more ways to write that so it makes sense and I format documents for a living...
Hang on - a short blonde just walked into the room. She looks annoyed and asks "Are you still on the computer?" I say "Two seconds, honey" - because she's my wife, why, how do you refer to your spouse? (And this is also how you can tell I'm perfectly sober, because if I was drunk, I would have spelled that "scheconds"). Makes perfect sense...
And if you think this is ridiculously petty, it's because it is. My problem (one of them...) is that when a narrative and I get off on the wrong foot, i tend to find the smallest annoyances even if I try not to.
In this case add an unsympathetic main character and torture killings of 12-year old girls and a fierce competition (i.e. lots of alternatives) in the genre I cannot think of a reason for me to go on.
Peter Robinson's Banks novels are up to 23 now and he runs circles round this story. Not gritty enough? Denise Mina is so far ahead that the dust has settled already.
If you were thinking of it, however, don't take my word for it! Many of my well-read, smart and very dependable friends tell me I'm off my rocker regarding this one, so...
Since I learned next to nothing about the life and times of the characters in "Birthdays for the Dead", I'm sure I won't miss the last 2/3rds. The technique of throwing the reader into the midst of the action and then give the background story and character presentations in bits and pieces sometimes work, but not for me in this one.
"A lanky bloke in a black waist coat and bow tie sidled up behind the bar, wiping the wooden surface with a cloth. He smiled. 'Another?' Enough gel in his hair to keep him looking like a prick, even in a force ten gale.
"Thanks, Steve."
He knew the guy's name? Then that's just stupid! No, wait a second, it gets worse. This is actually the bartender in his local. How about "Steve sidled up behind the bar, this night he was wearing..." hm; "Steve, the lanky bartender sidled..." Damn! I can think of 10 more ways to write that so it makes sense and I format documents for a living...
Hang on - a short blonde just walked into the room. She looks annoyed and asks "Are you still on the computer?" I say "Two seconds, honey" - because she's my wife, why, how do you refer to your spouse? (And this is also how you can tell I'm perfectly sober, because if I was drunk, I would have spelled that "scheconds"). Makes perfect sense...
And if you think this is ridiculously petty, it's because it is. My problem (one of them...) is that when a narrative and I get off on the wrong foot, i tend to find the smallest annoyances even if I try not to.
In this case add an unsympathetic main character and torture killings of 12-year old girls and a fierce competition (i.e. lots of alternatives) in the genre I cannot think of a reason for me to go on.
Peter Robinson's Banks novels are up to 23 now and he runs circles round this story. Not gritty enough? Denise Mina is so far ahead that the dust has settled already.
If you were thinking of it, however, don't take my word for it! Many of my well-read, smart and very dependable friends tell me I'm off my rocker regarding this one, so...
September 12, 2017
This is a crazy book, the premise is murder - and the "birthday cards" the killers sends to the parents a year after: polaroids of dead 13y old girls.
Pick any plot line from any crime novel and it's in there:
✓ Detective with a trauma in the past
✓ Detective has family trouble: divorced, angry ex-wife, troubled teenage daughter
✓ Detective has money troubles, owes loan shark, hunted by bone breakers
✓ Sordid past: Detective has been demoted
✓ Has to go see jailed former boss in jail for information
✓ Troubled by the Big Case that was never solved
✓ Stripper girlfriend
✓ Co-worker in love with boss
✓ Super eccentric / neurotic (new) forensic psychiatrist
✓ Eccentric / Drunk (old) forensic psychiatrist, who gave up because of The Case
✓ Locations all over Scotland: Up, down and out the islands...
✓ Assortment of gangsters helping and impeding his work
✓ Serial killer manhunt
Oh yeah and the list goes on...
So basically our detective is f*cked, mega f*cked, every plot move is in this book, every cliché, everyone is compromised or dead, and this book is apparently first in a series?!
Not much social commentary really. But lot's of misery. I guess if you want fast paced and insane (if clichéd) plots, this is the book for you?! As a reader I really am a sucker for plot, but this is ridiculous! Fun enough to finish, because it was crazy, but not going to read the rest of the series...
Pick any plot line from any crime novel and it's in there:
✓ Detective with a trauma in the past
✓ Detective has family trouble: divorced, angry ex-wife, troubled teenage daughter
✓ Detective has money troubles, owes loan shark, hunted by bone breakers
✓ Sordid past: Detective has been demoted
✓ Has to go see jailed former boss in jail for information
✓ Troubled by the Big Case that was never solved
✓ Stripper girlfriend
✓ Co-worker in love with boss
✓ Super eccentric / neurotic (new) forensic psychiatrist
✓ Eccentric / Drunk (old) forensic psychiatrist, who gave up because of The Case
✓ Locations all over Scotland: Up, down and out the islands...
✓ Assortment of gangsters helping and impeding his work
✓ Serial killer manhunt
Oh yeah and the list goes on...
So basically our detective is f*cked, mega f*cked, every plot move is in this book, every cliché, everyone is compromised or dead, and this book is apparently first in a series?!
Not much social commentary really. But lot's of misery. I guess if you want fast paced and insane (if clichéd) plots, this is the book for you?! As a reader I really am a sucker for plot, but this is ridiculous! Fun enough to finish, because it was crazy, but not going to read the rest of the series...
April 23, 2025
The darkest story I have read so far but what a treat. I read A Dark So Deadly (2017) before Birthdays for the Dead (2012) and immediately I was pleased that the criminal psychologist Alice McDonald was also in this book, it is a great character. Limbs that are decaying in mud or bones that crumble to the touch do not bother me, I know it’s fiction and I can compartmentalize but one thing that makes me shudder is bad writing, lack of multidimensional characters and predictable plots and that’s why I read MacBride, you will get gruesome corpses by the dozen but the style matters.
McDonald and Henderson relationship is very much like Tilly and Poe, MacBride published this installment of the Ash’s series in 2012 but Craven published his first Poe book in 2018. I know there are many quirky-straight relationships in crime fiction but the similarities are uncanny.
Ash is a very violent man and after a while his violence was too overwhelming, I understand where he is coming from but the scene with the radio personality was more of a filler, a violent filler that did not help the plot. One reviewer found this character extremely flawed, she mentioned the violence and gambling…gambling?! Henderson owed money because he needed it in order to pay investigators to search for Rebecca. He is a violent man with a heart of gold. I truly love this series!
McDonald and Henderson relationship is very much like Tilly and Poe, MacBride published this installment of the Ash’s series in 2012 but Craven published his first Poe book in 2018. I know there are many quirky-straight relationships in crime fiction but the similarities are uncanny.
Ash is a very violent man and after a while his violence was too overwhelming, I understand where he is coming from but the scene with the radio personality was more of a filler, a violent filler that did not help the plot. One reviewer found this character extremely flawed, she mentioned the violence and gambling…gambling?! Henderson owed money because he needed it in order to pay investigators to search for Rebecca. He is a violent man with a heart of gold. I truly love this series!
November 6, 2018
Holy cow. That was so not the ending I had expected. And I don’t like to be a spook sport so I won’t say anything else about that bit. Just wow.
I love MacBride. Absolutely love him. His tales are brilliant. And so was this one. A wonderful stand alone that could have been an offshoot of the Logan series. Same (but worse) gritty coppers. Only these ones so don’t play by the book. Did I happen to mention I love MacBride??
I love MacBride. Absolutely love him. His tales are brilliant. And so was this one. A wonderful stand alone that could have been an offshoot of the Logan series. Same (but worse) gritty coppers. Only these ones so don’t play by the book. Did I happen to mention I love MacBride??
April 12, 2023
This is the first book in the Ash Henderson series. I really enjoyed the DI Logan McRae series and so I have been looking forward to reading these books as well.
There are definite similarities between the two series (as evinced by their protagonists) as well as key differences. They are both demoted officers in the Scottish police, both detectives, both have complicated personal lives. McBride has a similarly humorous spin on police culture and practice.
Ash seems to have a smaller (or less) aligned moral compass than Logan. He definitely does morally questionable things that are beyond what I would have expected from Logan. But also Ash is in a much more compromised position than Logan ever was in Birthdays for the Dead. Another difference between this book and the Logan books, is that the crimes in this book are even more heinous and disturbing than almost anything that happened in the Logan books.
The story is about the search for a serial killer called the Birthday Boy who kidnaps girls a few days before their 13th birthday and then kills them (horribly, after torturing them for hours) and he sends pictures of the torture and death on the birthday of the victims to the parents for years afterwards. Ash is on the case but he is compromised by his own secrets. He is working with a criminal psychologist who is, to put it mildly, awkward and strange.
There’s a fair amount of humor in this book which was a key strong feature of the Logan books, so that’s nice. But if the other Ash books are like this one they may be a bit too dark for me to continue the series. The end of this book, even though Ash does discover who the Birthday Boy is, is simply devastating.
There are definite similarities between the two series (as evinced by their protagonists) as well as key differences. They are both demoted officers in the Scottish police, both detectives, both have complicated personal lives. McBride has a similarly humorous spin on police culture and practice.
Ash seems to have a smaller (or less) aligned moral compass than Logan. He definitely does morally questionable things that are beyond what I would have expected from Logan. But also Ash is in a much more compromised position than Logan ever was in Birthdays for the Dead. Another difference between this book and the Logan books, is that the crimes in this book are even more heinous and disturbing than almost anything that happened in the Logan books.
The story is about the search for a serial killer called the Birthday Boy who kidnaps girls a few days before their 13th birthday and then kills them (horribly, after torturing them for hours) and he sends pictures of the torture and death on the birthday of the victims to the parents for years afterwards. Ash is on the case but he is compromised by his own secrets. He is working with a criminal psychologist who is, to put it mildly, awkward and strange.
There’s a fair amount of humor in this book which was a key strong feature of the Logan books, so that’s nice. But if the other Ash books are like this one they may be a bit too dark for me to continue the series. The end of this book, even though Ash does discover who the Birthday Boy is, is simply devastating.
January 15, 2025
قصة قاتل متسلسل يخطف البنات في سن 13 سنة ثم يقوم بإرسال بطاقة لعائلاتهن في عيد ميلادهن.. ثم يقوم بقتلهم و التخلص منهم
مكبرايد كاتب جيد و لكن هذا الكتاب لم يعجبني لانه يخرج كثيرا عن سياق القصة و يدخل في حياة الكثير من الشخصيات غير المهمة
مكبرايد كاتب جيد و لكن هذا الكتاب لم يعجبني لانه يخرج كثيرا عن سياق القصة و يدخل في حياة الكثير من الشخصيات غير المهمة
November 24, 2011
I actually preferred this book to the later Logan McRae novels. Ash Henderson is as ruthless as the criminals he hunts. In debt to some nasty people, dating a pole dancer, and pretty quick to maim anyone he suspects of harming his daughter, this was a gritty standalone. The Birthday Boy is so called because he abducts girls before their 13th Birthday, then on their birthday, sends a birthday card to the parents with a picture of the girl being tortured on the front. It doesn't stop there, the parents receive a card every year on the birth date, with the photos getting more gruesome. When Ash's younger daughter is abducted he has to race against the clock to find her, whilst being taken off the investigation. Throw in a dysfunctional forensic psychologist and the old MacBride humour surfaces, loved it!
May 23, 2017
Ash Henderson, een grompot van een rechercheur, zit achter de Birthday Boy aan. Dit is de naam die de media aan een moordenaar heeft gegeven die meisjes van bijna 13 jaar ontvoerd en de ouders elk jaar een gruwelijke foto stuurt met de "stand van zaken". Ash' dochter Rebecca is ook in handen van deze moordenaar gevallen, maar omdat hij zelf het onderzoek wil blijven leiden, houdt hij dit geheim voor de buitenwereld en is Rebecca dus al 5 jaar vermist...
Dit was mijn eerste boek van Stuart MacBride en ik zit zwaar in dubio. Een onspoorde rechercheur die flink van het padje afgeraakt is, is altijd leuk om te lezen, maar hier gaat het gewoon om pure corruptie. Mensen vermoorden en collega's die er een verhaal omheen verzinnen om er mee weg te komen.. Erg ongeloofwaardig. En een thriller hoort voor mij toch wel een dosis geloofwaardigheid te hebben, zeker als het om een detective gaat.
De manier van schrijven is okee, al heb ik er wel aan moeten wennen. Ash' partner in crime is Dokter McDonalds, een persoontje die goed omschreven wordt als Dokter Mafketel en die nogal zenuwachtig wordt in bijzijn van nieuwe mensen. Vooral op het begin van het boek is het veel onsamenhangend geratel, echt véél geratel. Gelukkig wordt dit allemaal wel wat afgezwakt door een dosis humor, maar toch was het voor mij iets teveel op de voorgrond aanwezig. Tel daarbij op dat gedachten en gesprekken door elkaar vliegen en dat er flink wat personages worden geïntroduceerd en je krijgt een best chaotisch verhaal.. Ook sloeg Stuart MacBride flink wat kleine zijweggetjes in, die er voor zorgden dat je echt je koppie er goed bij moest houden, omdat het anders niet te volgen was.
Het viel het me op dat er veel werd gescholden in het boek. Ik ben echt niet vies van grove taal, maar dit ging soms gewoon wat te ver. Ben wel erg benieuwd of dat zijn manier van schrijven is of dat dat alleen in dit boek zo is.
De spanning was mede door deze dingen op de eerste helft niet echt te proeven. Op een gegeven moment slaat het echter om en komt er een race tegen de klok en zat ik op het puntje van mijn stoel! De meerdere eindes had ik allemaal niet verwacht en omdat ze open zijn, ben ik erg benieuwd naar het vervolg van dit boek; De Poppenspeler. Ga er maar gelijk aan beginnen, haha.
Voor deze hou ik m even op 2,5*. Vind er teveel "maar" in zitten, ondanks dat het verhaal zelf wel heel interessant was en de spanningsopbouw ook goed was gedaan.
Dit was mijn eerste boek van Stuart MacBride en ik zit zwaar in dubio. Een onspoorde rechercheur die flink van het padje afgeraakt is, is altijd leuk om te lezen, maar hier gaat het gewoon om pure corruptie. Mensen vermoorden en collega's die er een verhaal omheen verzinnen om er mee weg te komen.. Erg ongeloofwaardig. En een thriller hoort voor mij toch wel een dosis geloofwaardigheid te hebben, zeker als het om een detective gaat.
De manier van schrijven is okee, al heb ik er wel aan moeten wennen. Ash' partner in crime is Dokter McDonalds, een persoontje die goed omschreven wordt als Dokter Mafketel en die nogal zenuwachtig wordt in bijzijn van nieuwe mensen. Vooral op het begin van het boek is het veel onsamenhangend geratel, echt véél geratel. Gelukkig wordt dit allemaal wel wat afgezwakt door een dosis humor, maar toch was het voor mij iets teveel op de voorgrond aanwezig. Tel daarbij op dat gedachten en gesprekken door elkaar vliegen en dat er flink wat personages worden geïntroduceerd en je krijgt een best chaotisch verhaal.. Ook sloeg Stuart MacBride flink wat kleine zijweggetjes in, die er voor zorgden dat je echt je koppie er goed bij moest houden, omdat het anders niet te volgen was.
Het viel het me op dat er veel werd gescholden in het boek. Ik ben echt niet vies van grove taal, maar dit ging soms gewoon wat te ver. Ben wel erg benieuwd of dat zijn manier van schrijven is of dat dat alleen in dit boek zo is.
De spanning was mede door deze dingen op de eerste helft niet echt te proeven. Op een gegeven moment slaat het echter om en komt er een race tegen de klok en zat ik op het puntje van mijn stoel! De meerdere eindes had ik allemaal niet verwacht en omdat ze open zijn, ben ik erg benieuwd naar het vervolg van dit boek; De Poppenspeler. Ga er maar gelijk aan beginnen, haha.
Voor deze hou ik m even op 2,5*. Vind er teveel "maar" in zitten, ondanks dat het verhaal zelf wel heel interessant was en de spanningsopbouw ook goed was gedaan.
March 26, 2017
Birthdays For the Dead by Stuart MacBride
Ash Henderson series Book #1
3.5 stars
From The Book:
A bloody, brilliant and brutal story of murder, kidnap and revenge.
Detective Constable Ash Henderson has a dark secret. Five years ago his daughter, Rebecca, went missing on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. A year later the first card arrived: home-made, with a Polaroid picture stuck to the front – Rebecca, strapped to a chair, gagged and terrified. Every year another card: each one worse than the last. The tabloids call him ‘The Birthday Boy’. He’s been snatching girls for twelve years, always just before their thirteenth birthday, killing them slowly, then torturing their families with his homemade cards.
Ash hasn’t told anyone what really happened to Rebecca – they all think she ran away – because if anyone finds out, he’ll be taken off the investigation. And he’s sacrificed too much to give up before his daughter’s murderer gets what he deserves.
My Thoughts:
The jury is still out on Ash Henderson but it is totally back in the box on Dr. McDonald, the forensic profiler and psychologist. My opinion is that she needs a psychiatrist...and he might want to take a look at the rest of the team. What a nut job! Even Ash calls her "DrFruitLoop". And then there is Ash... "a horse of an entirely different color" doesn't even begin to describe him. I entirely understood his need to find these girls but what have the police been doing for the past ten or twelve years since the "Birthday Boy" took the first one? He is a total loose cannon with an explosive temper...owes money to a group of loan sharks...has an on the border drug problem because of chronic pain with his back...and the problems with his ex wife and 12 year old remaining daughter are just too numerous to mention.
All of the characters are totally unlikable and nonredeemable for the most part. One reviewer described the story as "cringe - worthy". That does pretty much round it off. This book is not for those that don't want loads of blood and violence in their reads...but the characters are so off the wall you just have to see how they plan to solve this.
Ash Henderson series Book #1
3.5 stars
From The Book:
A bloody, brilliant and brutal story of murder, kidnap and revenge.
Detective Constable Ash Henderson has a dark secret. Five years ago his daughter, Rebecca, went missing on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. A year later the first card arrived: home-made, with a Polaroid picture stuck to the front – Rebecca, strapped to a chair, gagged and terrified. Every year another card: each one worse than the last. The tabloids call him ‘The Birthday Boy’. He’s been snatching girls for twelve years, always just before their thirteenth birthday, killing them slowly, then torturing their families with his homemade cards.
Ash hasn’t told anyone what really happened to Rebecca – they all think she ran away – because if anyone finds out, he’ll be taken off the investigation. And he’s sacrificed too much to give up before his daughter’s murderer gets what he deserves.
My Thoughts:
The jury is still out on Ash Henderson but it is totally back in the box on Dr. McDonald, the forensic profiler and psychologist. My opinion is that she needs a psychiatrist...and he might want to take a look at the rest of the team. What a nut job! Even Ash calls her "DrFruitLoop". And then there is Ash... "a horse of an entirely different color" doesn't even begin to describe him. I entirely understood his need to find these girls but what have the police been doing for the past ten or twelve years since the "Birthday Boy" took the first one? He is a total loose cannon with an explosive temper...owes money to a group of loan sharks...has an on the border drug problem because of chronic pain with his back...and the problems with his ex wife and 12 year old remaining daughter are just too numerous to mention.
All of the characters are totally unlikable and nonredeemable for the most part. One reviewer described the story as "cringe - worthy". That does pretty much round it off. This book is not for those that don't want loads of blood and violence in their reads...but the characters are so off the wall you just have to see how they plan to solve this.
February 8, 2017
Birthdays for the Dead is the first in what I presume will be a series of novels featuring unorthodox and nonconformist detective constable Ash Henderson. The Birthday Boy has been kidnapping and murdering young girls for years and tormenting their families further by sending them pictures of the gruesome torture. Ash is assigned to resolve, but fails to mention to his superiors that his own daughter Rebecca vanished five years ago presumably a further victim of The Birthday Boy.
I don’t believe you read a novel by Stuart Macbride primarily for the plot and Birthdays for the Dead is no exception to this rule as the storyline although enjoyable is secondary to the characterization, style and sheer “in your face fun” of this wonderful read. The novel is interspaced with moments of great “Scottish” dry humour and interludes of extreme violence. The action, pace and rhythm is astounding and I found myself so caught up in the unique Stuart Macbride storytelling machine that I finished the 500 odd pages in two days! The ability to combine both humour and violence is almost a Macbride trade mark and Birthday for the Dead consumes the reader with this relentless style...”The photographer looked up from his viewfinder. Too slow. I smacked the flat of my hand against the lens, driving the whole camera into the hairy little sh**’s face. Crack- his head jerked back, a bead of scarlet glistening in one nostril. Weak chin, pointy nose, hairy hands, hairy head. Like someone had cross-bred a rat with a chimp and given it a top-of-the-range Canon digital camera.”.....
The reader is entertained with a never-ending cast of characters: the almost childlike exuberance of criminal psychologist Dr. Alice McDonald and her inability to appreciate the finer characteristics of a superior malt whiskey, the supercilious ramblings of Sensational Steve....”The conservatory glowed like a bonfire as the sun set. It was big enough for a baby grand piano, a leather sofa with matching armchairs, coffee table, a couple of large pot plants, and Sensational Steve’s ego”..., the evil intent and foulness of Mrs Kerrigan ...” A light clicked on above a featureless doorway and there she was: black suit with a red silk-shirt, golden crucifix resting in the wrinkled crease of her freckled cleavage. Her greying hair was piled up in a loose bun, curls escaping its grasp, waving in the breeze. Mrs Kerrigan smiled baring sharp little teeth”...
In the last quarter of the book a shocking revelation befalls Ash that sees him spiralling out of control as conventional policing fails and brutally and violence prevail. I was dragged alone in this rollercoaster game of cat and mouse and hoped against all the odds that constable Ash Henderson would attain some kind of peace and contentment.
This is edge of the seat writing of the finest, a blend of Scottish noir mixed with a type of western and gangster undertones. It is raw, in your face, brutal and yet retains a humour that only Stuart Macbride brings successfully to all his novels. It is truly a story that once started is impossible to put down and comes from me to you with a 5 star recommendation.
I don’t believe you read a novel by Stuart Macbride primarily for the plot and Birthdays for the Dead is no exception to this rule as the storyline although enjoyable is secondary to the characterization, style and sheer “in your face fun” of this wonderful read. The novel is interspaced with moments of great “Scottish” dry humour and interludes of extreme violence. The action, pace and rhythm is astounding and I found myself so caught up in the unique Stuart Macbride storytelling machine that I finished the 500 odd pages in two days! The ability to combine both humour and violence is almost a Macbride trade mark and Birthday for the Dead consumes the reader with this relentless style...”The photographer looked up from his viewfinder. Too slow. I smacked the flat of my hand against the lens, driving the whole camera into the hairy little sh**’s face. Crack- his head jerked back, a bead of scarlet glistening in one nostril. Weak chin, pointy nose, hairy hands, hairy head. Like someone had cross-bred a rat with a chimp and given it a top-of-the-range Canon digital camera.”.....
The reader is entertained with a never-ending cast of characters: the almost childlike exuberance of criminal psychologist Dr. Alice McDonald and her inability to appreciate the finer characteristics of a superior malt whiskey, the supercilious ramblings of Sensational Steve....”The conservatory glowed like a bonfire as the sun set. It was big enough for a baby grand piano, a leather sofa with matching armchairs, coffee table, a couple of large pot plants, and Sensational Steve’s ego”..., the evil intent and foulness of Mrs Kerrigan ...” A light clicked on above a featureless doorway and there she was: black suit with a red silk-shirt, golden crucifix resting in the wrinkled crease of her freckled cleavage. Her greying hair was piled up in a loose bun, curls escaping its grasp, waving in the breeze. Mrs Kerrigan smiled baring sharp little teeth”...
In the last quarter of the book a shocking revelation befalls Ash that sees him spiralling out of control as conventional policing fails and brutally and violence prevail. I was dragged alone in this rollercoaster game of cat and mouse and hoped against all the odds that constable Ash Henderson would attain some kind of peace and contentment.
This is edge of the seat writing of the finest, a blend of Scottish noir mixed with a type of western and gangster undertones. It is raw, in your face, brutal and yet retains a humour that only Stuart Macbride brings successfully to all his novels. It is truly a story that once started is impossible to put down and comes from me to you with a 5 star recommendation.
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