All That's Dead: The new Logan McRae crime thriller from the No.1 bestselling author (Logan McRae, Book 12)

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David Knights, writing in the Keighley News was very positive about the novel saying that the novel "is up there with the best of Logan’s previous outings." [4]

All That's Dead is the twelfth novel in the bestselling Logan 'Lazarus' McRae series written by Stuart MacBride. In the lead up to the celebration Ellie is establishing links between artists and communities in Yorkshire and Mexico City. In collaboration with The Faro De Oriente, Mexico City we are building community shrines called Ofrendas. Nationalism is a blight on every country, and in the book, nationalism is taken to obscene lengths. Steel sums up the feelings of many Scots: “I’m all for independence. But I want a Scotland of the Enlightenment; a nation of fairness and equality; a nation that cares about the smallest, weakest person living here every bit as much as the biggest, richest one. A nation that welcomes everyone: aye, even the English … What I don’t want is some sort of apartheid s****hole full of racist, moronic, ethnic cleansing w*** spasms like you.”

I had the pleasure to listen to the audiobook by a narrator with a Scottish accent and I loved it! It managed to bring Stuart MacBride’s humour and beautiful writing to life like I wouldn’t be able to do it myself by simply reading. Putting credibility of the basic premise to the side, the plotting in this also felt stronger to me than the last couple I’d read. It’s pretty dark and extremely gruesome, but the general atmosphere of humour stops it from ever becoming grim. MacBride’s signature is entertainment and when he’s at his best, he delivers in spades. The writing is great, as always, and I’d forgotten how much I enjoy his use of contemporary Scots banter and dialect – again always exaggerated, but very funny, and not at all problematic for non-Scots to enjoy. an incredibly timeless novel... It is dark and gritty, and MacBride fuels his characters with an energy and language that are infectious." Grief Series (UK) & Zion Art Studio (Mexico) welcome you to celebrate Day of the Dead reimagined with the people of Yorkshire.

All-in-all, not sure it’s his very best but I enjoyed it hugely, and with MacBride that’s what it’s all about! I’m delighted to resume my membership of the Logan McRae fan club, and am happily looking forward to his next outing now. 4½ stars for me, so rounded up. With rumours circling about lead detective DI King’s youthful ties to violent nationalist groups, a still-recovering McRae has to shadow the high-profile investigation while tiptoeing through police infighting and waiting for a journalist to toss his unpinned grenade into the mix. Carnage is hovering for all involved. I'm a big fan of MacBride because I love his style, I love his plots and I love his leading characters. I'm a little sad now after reading All That's Dead because it just didn't work so well for me. The 4 starts are of course because the style and the characters are the same. It's the plot I'm having a problem with. I think it is because I'm not British or Scottish but I just couldn't relate to this book because it was more about politics than anything else. 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. Aberdeen based anti independence campaigner Professor Wilson has gone missing, with only bloodstains in his kitchen to indicate that something sinister has occurred. There are serious tensions between those for and those against Scottish Nationalism, and Wilson ( an arrogant and opinionated individual) has made many enemies in general, but in particular amongst those in favour of independence.I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for an advance copy of All That’s Dead, the twelfth novel to feature DI Logan MacRae of Police Scotland. King explains: “You know how the Alt-Right is full of white supremacists, gun nuts, racists, and neo-Nazis? Well, Alt-Nats are our own home-grown version. Only without the guns and Nazis. And it’s the English they hate.”

I could rave about All That’s Dead all week. This is with no doubt at all my favourite crime series and Stuart MacBride is my favourite crime writer. I urge you to read them. Everybody needs to meet Roberta Steel! And Tufty. Poor Tufty… Logan is a quirky, yet charismatic character, even though this is only the second book I've read in the series, I like him and his cynical outlook and self-deprecating humour. The interactions between the police colleagues are realistic and amusing, a necessary contrast with the terrible crimes they investigate. As well as reading the book, I listened to an audio recording (which I paid for myself) narrated by Steve Worsley. He was superb, with one of the best ranges of voices which I've encountered. I was never in doubt as to which character I was listening to and whilst some narrators come between the reader and the book, Worsley never does. In fact he makes it more accessible. I've listened to other recordings from this series and Worsley is consistently good throughout.

When a second high-profile personality goes missing, Councillor Lansdale, Logan and company really begin to feel the pressure. Lansdale's hands have not turned up, but he's still just as missing as Professor Wilson. The closer Logan and King get to the truth, the closer they get to a plot that is much bigger than this case, which threatens to eat them alive. 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. If you’re not reading this series, you are missing a massive treat. Like others in the series, All That’s Dead can very well be read as a stand-alone, but the characters, their interplay and development, all make for a reading of this series from the beginning to enjoy watching them grow and to follow their progress. Because these are characters you are invested in; people you care about, from the annoying, irrepressible, on overdrive PC Quirrel, universally known as Tufty, to D.S. Roberta Steele, the permanently vaping, never quite finding a bra that fits, fabulously foul mouthed detective. Gee, I wonder where Stuart MacBride got his inspiration from 🤔. All That’s Dead is extremely politically tinted, if you hadn’t guessed that yet, and thus sadly incredibly apt in this day and age. This may not be to everyone’s liking and I dare say the author took quite a risk putting this out there. Personally, it didn’t bother me at all. It makes for a great story and ultimately that’s all I’m ever looking for.