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Logan McRae #1-3
Cold Granite / Dying Light / Broken Skin
The first three crime novels in the Number One bestselling series by the award-winning Stuart MacBride.
Cold Granite: It’s winter in Aberdeen and a serial killer’s innocent victims are piling up almost as fast as the snow in the streets. DS Logan McRae investigates after a year off the job sick – but knows time is running out fast…
Dying Light: A woman is found dead by the docks, in the heart of Aberdeen’s Red Light District. For DS Logan McRae it’s a bad start to another bad day. Rosie Williams is just the first – how many more will die?
Broken Skin: A serial rapist leaves a string of victims as DS Logan McRae’s investigations suggest that someone in the local bondage community has developed a taste for full-blown violence. The Granite City’s seedy side is about to be exposed…
1120 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 25, 2009
195 people are currently reading
134 people want to read
About the author
Stuart MacBride
88 books2,737 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 - 7 of 7 reviews
June 8, 2016
Upon finding out there was a police procedural set in Aberdeen, a city I knew well, I knew I would have to be all over those books. I enjoy such books wherever they are set, but having them based in a city I know makes it all the more fun. Thus, I went in with high hopes.
Fortunately, I was not disappointed.
MacBride’s books are filled with a dark humour that is right up my street. Giving a realistic take on the police force, having them dealing with multiple crimes throughout the book, pulling me in right from the start. Everything about these books appealed to me. The multiple layers to the crime. The way he sets the scene. The realistic characters. The humour.
I could rant and rave all day, but it all comes down to one simple fact: these books should not be missed.
Fortunately, I was not disappointed.
MacBride’s books are filled with a dark humour that is right up my street. Giving a realistic take on the police force, having them dealing with multiple crimes throughout the book, pulling me in right from the start. Everything about these books appealed to me. The multiple layers to the crime. The way he sets the scene. The realistic characters. The humour.
I could rant and rave all day, but it all comes down to one simple fact: these books should not be missed.
September 26, 2022
Terrible female characterisation
The plots and crimes themselves were interesting enough to hold interest but quite frankly, from the first few pages where a main female character is introduced using the sounds she makes during sex to the end of the three books and only three more, highly stereotypical regular female characters later I was bored of the misogyny. I honestly won't be reading any more of his books as it was just so off-putting. Women are not all either ball busters, ice queens, butch dykes or after other women's partners.
The plots and crimes themselves were interesting enough to hold interest but quite frankly, from the first few pages where a main female character is introduced using the sounds she makes during sex to the end of the three books and only three more, highly stereotypical regular female characters later I was bored of the misogyny. I honestly won't be reading any more of his books as it was just so off-putting. Women are not all either ball busters, ice queens, butch dykes or after other women's partners.
June 26, 2025
Brilliant
October 22, 2015
Just finished the series and thoroughly enjoyed all three books. Good characters. Looking forward to reading more Stuart MacBride books.
ETA: On my gosh just saw there are 8 books in the series. I am so excited!! More of Logan McRae !!
ETA: On my gosh just saw there are 8 books in the series. I am so excited!! More of Logan McRae !!
March 23, 2016
Interesting story, albeit quite graphic. Good start as this is the first in the series, so gives you a good background and insight to the lead detective. Good enough for me to want to carry on with the next in the series.
January 28, 2025
A bit gruesome. Didn’t enjoy the narration of audio version. Ok.
(Note to remind me what read and whether liked.)
(Note to remind me what read and whether liked.)
April 6, 2017
jolly good read. cold granite is a gripping police procedural.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews