MacBride has an army of devotees who appreciate the character-driven narrative he creates and each member of the cast is detailed and three-dimensional. 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. He has his hands full in this novel trying to corral a motley crew of colleagues, including the irrepressible DS Roberta Steele who, as ever, has a way with words and attitude that has me in stitches on a regular basis. DS Rennie wants to be McRae’s best “sidekick” while DC “Tufty” is torn between becoming a computer geek or appearing in a CGI movie as a space alien. Logan’s injuries are still causing him pain and, (combined with very little sleep), he’s struggling to make sense of events, aware that he’s being blind sided by a world where every spotlight makes the corners where it doesn’t shine, an even darker and deeper threat.

He's given a nice, simple case to ease him back into the world of work, only it turns out to be anything but. I even annotated several sections that reminded me how funny he can be and given how gory some of the action is, that’s a welcome relief. Book number 12 in the Logan McRae series, ALL THAT'S DEAD, finds him still an Inspector in Professional Standards, sucked into an ongoing murder investigation when the lead investigator is himself about to be outed by the papers as a member of a Scottish Nationalist group.Do I recommend this book, for what its worth, absolutely, as an iron man event with prize money, your guaranteed face planting the floor with laughing fits or risk running to a padded room for a cup of tea and a lie down. The book gets going in the second half and does become more exciting but the plot becomes increasingly far-fetched. Brutal violence, shocking beliefs, hate and anger mixed with swearing galore - if these guys had a swear box they would be minted, and dark humour.

Every time I review a Stuart Macbride novel I have a terrible time because honestly all I want to do is dance the awesome book dance. This may not be to everyone’s liking and I dare say the author took quite a risk putting this out there. We flip between the police investigation, Logan dealing with being back on the job and his lasting effects from his injuries and the bad guy.It has been somewhat overshadowed by Brexit in the press but is still a hot button topic in Scotland. Although this one is a bit more political than I would have liked, it was an addictive story filled with what Stuart MacBride does best.

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. Are you the kind of groovy individual that likes to be kept up-to-date with all the latest info, gossip, and lies? He is reputed to be a passionate potato grower, but claims to have a "vegetable patch full of weeds". The crime, the many unexpected twists and turns before the eventual solution, are so well designed, that you are compelled to keep reading right to the bitter end. We all know the deviousness that can lie at the heart of a beardy crime writing genius from Scotland.

The best part of the book was at the end, when they had to find the perpetrator and the tension really amped up. Swearing, smoking, eating, more swearing, pornography, swearing, drinking endless plastic cups of tea. It's better than sacking him as that would make the police look guilty, instead, he'll be in charge of the case and if it isn't settled quickly, he'll be the scapegoat. 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.