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    Cold Granite
    Cold Granite
    Cold Granite
    Audiobook13 hours

    Cold Granite

    Written by Stuart MacBride

    Narrated by Steve Worsley

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    The very first Logan McRae novel in the No.1 bestselling crime series from Stuart MacBride.

    DS Logan McRae and the police in Aberdeen hunt a child killer who stalks the frozen streets.

    Winter in Aberdeen: murder, mayhem and terrible weather…

    It’s DS Logan McRae’s first day back on the job after a year off on the sick, and it couldn’t get much worse. Three-year-old David Reid’s body is discovered in a ditch: strangled, mutilated and a long time dead. And he’s only the first. There’s a serial killer stalking the Granite City and the local media are baying for blood.

    Soon the dead are piling up in the morgue almost as fast as the snow on the streets, and Logan knows time is running out. More children are going missing. More are going to die. And if Logan isn’t careful, he could end up joining them.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJun 8, 2017
    ISBN9780008260323
    Author

    Stuart MacBride

    Stuart MacBride is the Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae and Ash Henderson novels. His work has won several prizes and in 2015 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Dundee University. Stuart lives in the north-east of Scotland with his wife Fiona, cats Grendel, Onion and Beetroot, and other assorted animals.

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    Reviews for Cold Granite

    4/5

    494 ratings39 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Fantastic psychological thriller! The first of this author for me and was glad Scribd recommended it to me. The whole of this series is going straight to the top of my list!
    • 5/5
      Finally got round to reading through this after a number of false starts. What can I say. Loved it. Hard story as child abuse was never going to be all hearts and flowers, but the story is well written and the characters are excellent. Got a bit of a book crush on DS McRae. And Inspector Insch makes you smile too.A good number of twists and turns in the story, deliberate misdirection and interwoven stories which will keep you wondering right up to the end (even if you spot a few tells along the way for the sub plots, the main theme and villain is cleverly disguised throughout.) What a busy couple of weeks.I loved the depiction of Aberdeen too. I don't get up there as often as I like, but the narrative and the characters just put me in mind of too many people I know from North of the Border and it just makes me smile.Just bought books 2 through 9 so I should be busy for a while. Why did I miss this series before???
    • 4/5
      This got off to a rocky start, lots of bad language and scenes of post-mortem examination of abused children. If of tender sensibilities you may not even wish to begin this book. But if, like me, you enjoy a good story, well-told, it's worth carrying on after the rocky start, I'm glad I did. It went from a grudging 2.5 star beginning to a 4 star read, in the end.
    • 4/5
      This is the first book of Stuart MacBride's Logan McRae series and it won't be my last. The characters are well developed and the plot has many twists and turns. Although the story was very noir and dark and the language was over the top, I still found the book to be a page turner with lots of suspense. I am now looking forward to reading the 2nd book in the series.
    • 4/5
      A page turner! So much going on, so many twists and possibilities. I'll be reading the 2nd in this series shortly.
    • 3/5
      OK but very predictable. Much better Scottish crime out there.
    • 4/5
      This is the first novel featuring Detective Sergeant Logan McRae, who is a very human and flawed character. When we meet him he has been off work for a year, after being seriously knifed in the stomach. We also learn that whatever happened on the day he was injured, resulted in his losing his relationship with pathologist Dr Isobel MacAlister. This is unfortunate, as their paths will cross many times in this book. In fact, almost as soon as McRae returns to work, the crime rate is about to soar.This is a gritty and hard hitting novel, involving two different investigations, which somehow merge along the way. The first involves the fact that little boys are being abducted and killed. The second concerns the murder of a gangster, who has ended up in the river minus his kneecaps. Thrown into the deep end, McRae finds himself trying to solve the crimes, stay warm (which doesn't sound easy in the portrait the author paints of a freezing Aberdeen!) and try to discover who is leaking information to the press. There are some fantastic characters - DI Insch, with his constant munching of sweets, slimy journalist Colin Miller, possible future love interest WPC Watson and that isn't even mentioning the criminals encountered. Stuart MacBride manages to tie in several story lines in a believable way, has great dialogue and a fast moving plot. I look forward to following this series.
    • 4/5
      The first in the DS McRae series and the reader is introduced to Detective Sergeant Logan McRae newly returned to active duty after a serious stabbing incident, which we learn a little about as the story proceeds. The bodies of a number of children are discovered, mutilated and sexually abused and in the gritty atmosphere of a dark and constantly rainy Aberdeen Logan must find the killer before the body count mounts. As in all Stuart Macbride books the humour is dark and the story at times bleak and difficult to read but equally unputdownable. The pace is very fast, characters introduced at every opportunity ( I particularly like Roadkill working for the council ensuring all the streets around Aberdeen are kept free of.....roadkill!) The somewhat obscene DI Steel plays a minor role but it's good to note that in later books she takes centre stage much to the annoyance of Logan McRae as her manners and attitude leave much to be desired. This is my second reading of Cold Granite and it is a great introduction to the wonderful writing style of Stuart Macbride and the harsh environment around Aberdeen situated in the Grampian region of North East Scotland.
    • 4/5
      The book was brilliantly narrated. Thoroughly enjoyed the book too but it did get a wee bit long winded towards the end.
    • 5/5
      I liked this book a lot! The narrators Scottish accent fit perfectly. The story was pretty grim at times, dead children are a tough subject, but the writing was good, colorful, lots of interesting characters. I’d read the next book in the series for sure.
    • 5/5
      DS Logan McRae and the police in Aberdeen hunt a child killer who stalks the frozen streets. Winter in Aberdeen: murder, mayhem and terrible weather. Soon the dead are piling up and Logan knows time is running out. Another of my favourite authors and the first of the Logan McRae series. This is a gritty, hard hitting novel with a fast moving plot. There is a great combination of police procedure and forensics plus good solid characters and dark Scottish humour.
    • 4/5
      I am a little late getting into this series by Stuart MacBride -- after all, this book came out in 2005. That said, it was an engaging, gritty, and occasionally funny and complex police procedural... with lots of cases, including a serial killer, and lots of action. Well-written, I am most certainly moving on to the next in the series... excited that I have 11 others to look forward to reading.
    • 4/5
      A new author for me and a bleak story set in a very bleak wintry Aberdeen involving nasty child disappearances and murders. The characters encompass the victims, their families, the local ne’er do well crooks, the pathologist, and the team of cops. Unusually, and refreshingly, the mainly cop gets on with his boss - a nice change. Including the pathologist delivers somy gruesome ortopsy detail! Well worth the read and I’ll look out another.
    • 4/5
      I'm glad to have discovered this series - there are plenty left for me to read. This is set in Aberdeen, and is a little dark in places, but generally brisk and gently humorous. It read like a spin-off from another series (but I don't think it is) with the hero Logan returning to work after a serious injury resulting from a previous case which is constantly harked back to, and having previously been in a relationship with the pathologist, who now hates him.There were various missing and murdered children and one adult, and I am happy to say that not all of these turned out to be miraculously linked; although some were, others turned out to be unlinked tragedies. I like Logan and the feisty WPC Jackie, although I still hate the journalist Miller very much.
    • 5/5
      If you think it's grim oop north, carry on for another 400 miles until you get to Aberdeen. Obviously cold, according to Stuart Macbride, it'll also almost certainly be raining - and usually in an amusing way. Meanwhile DS Logan McRae isn't so amused by the serial killer who's after the city's children. The plot abounds with red-herrings, possible leads, misdirection and all the rest, including some memorable characters and good jokes, though on occasion some strain too hard for memorability - 'the day was dark as a lawyer's soul'(!). The relationship between polis and press is very well done, and the finale, too, is suitably gripping. McRae and those around him do come off the page, and Aberdeen sounds well worth a visit. With an umbrella.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed my first book by this author. I loved how the various plots kept you guessing as to what was actually going on. I'll definitely be reading books by Stuart MacBride again.
    • 4/5
      Complex plot with Detective Sergeant Logan McRae just returned from sick leave and having to solve a brutal child murder with a journalist seemingly with access to confidential inside information. Entertaining dialogue between the characters which jump off the page. Not for the sqeamish or prudish though.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed it. A good first book in a mystery series set in Scotland. Not quite as good as Rankin or Robinson but a very respectable first novel. Will read book 2 and hope that the series stays as good.
    • 4/5
      I've only read one other of Stuart MacBrides's novels and that was not in the McRae series. If I ws going to read one I wanted to start with the first in the series ... that's what lead me to Cold Granite. Even though the subject matter of the novel was some hard reading at times I really enjoyed the Logan McRae's character. I found a well developed plot populated with a series of complex characters. I look forward to ready more of McRae's escapades as I make my way through the series.
    • 4/5
      Enjoyed this book. .The characters are down to earth. Scottish weather more or less accurate. The meanings of the Aberdeen slang could be guessed. Will read more from this author.
    • 4/5
      When Logan McRae comes back on the force after months of medical leave due to a crippling stabbing wound to the stomach, he is immediately pulled into a tense case as a young boy is found murdered and another goes missing. The pressure rises at every turn and is not aided by media frenzy as they seem to be always a step ahead. There is also the case of the body without kneecaps found in the harbor demanding attention.

      This story featuring a police force dealing with multiple cases of policing and court appearances at the same time, under close scrutiny of the media and rising pressure from the public, has a very authentic feel. As the pace pick up rapidly the different strands of the story come together. The characterizations may suffer a bit under the complexity of the plot, but it is a nicely tense read.
    • 4/5
      What can I say...it's Stuart MacBride. Smart, tightly plotted & laugh out loud funny, usually at the most inappropriate times. Highly recommend this series.
    • 3/5
      DS Logan McRae is back at Grampian Police HQ in the cold of Aberdeen after a year on the sick from being stabbed repeatedly in the stomach and it's not the best start. His first day back they find a dead young boy, with only more to come. Not only that, but the Media are baying for blood and they want Logan to co-operate; but they're not playing fair. It's a race against time before any more dead children show up.


      This was a wonderful début novel. The only other crime thriller writer I have read is Ian Rankin (of course) and I wanted to address this, but didn't want to look to America for one like Cornwell. His writing style is similar to Rankin's in the sense that he couples humour and Human-repartee well with the grim forensic and policing.

      Logan McRae is a very likeable character. There's nothing flat about the writing at all, but at times I felt the supporting cast were a bit dull and two-dimensional. For a début novel this is sterling stuff.
    • 5/5
      What a page turner. I absolutely relished this. I first 'met ' Logan half way through the series and I enjoyed it, but parts didn't make sense. It's definitely a series you need to start at the beginning to understand fully. Logan is just so likeable , though he does have a lot of slightly unbelievable flashes of brilliance. Insch was my surprise favourite character....my fellow sugar/sweet holic. I'd forgotten about DI Steel. It is gritty, and realistic sounding. He's a very talented author. The victims are so ...pathetic in the proper sense and the outrage the police feel at the crimes is palpable. Went and bought Dying Light before completion.
    • 4/5
      I really enjoyed this book of murder and misadventure in the Scottish city of Aberdeen. This setting is different to the usual setting of books I read and helped to make it more enjoyable. The characters are flawed but so believable and help to make this the perfect start of a series.
    • 3/5
      Gritty Scottish police procedural. While I like the tone of the book and MacBride's writing style, I'm not at all comfortable with the graphic nature of what a sexual sadist is doing to children under five. Not sure that I want to read a story where poor wee bairns have their genitals sliced off and objects inserted where they shouldn't be. Different matter if the victims were paedophiles.It hasn’t put me off reading more of MacBride’s work, though.
    • 4/5
      First on the Logan McRae series, good police procedural. Enjoyed it.
    • 4/5
      Work weary detective sergeant Logan McRae hunts down a serial killer of mutilated, dead children and he has plenty of obstacles along the way. He has been off sick for a year and is still on medication..This a very gritty,and no holds barred book, with a very unflattering weather picture of Aberdeen where it all happens, Unrelenting rain, snow in sub zero temperatures, and every gory detail explained, during post mortems. If this was a film, I would not be watching it, but there was a lot of humour in this book, (I loved DI Insh who kept eating various sweets. after giving up smoking, his comments were priceless) . The suspense never let up.
    • 4/5
      DS Logan McRae returns to the Aberdeen police force after having had a year off to recuperate from being stabbed 23 times and gets thrown into a case involving a pedophilic serial killer. Although the characters are not cynical enough to completely warrant the Noir label, the story is certainly grim and gruesome enough. And rainy and snowy and cold. And really, really good. This is MacBride's first novel, but there is no sign of that - talk about hitting the ground running (including the little nod to Ian Rankin)! Our hero is a reasonably clever guy without having any "magic" inspiration and the numerous plotlines (which all get tied up at the end) keep the interest piqued. The stakes are high, the characters utterly believable, and the resolution not an easy guess, albeit a little bit overdramatic. Not at all shabby for a first novel - I'm definitely going to read more of this locale and these characters.
    • 5/5
      This was a new author for me, and I loved it. A great 'hardboiled' crime novel with memorable characters. A very intricate plot that kept me enthralled til the end. The main character, DS Logan McRae, is very lovable (constantly blushing) and has a knack for solving mysteries. I can't wait to continue with the series. It is DS McRae's first day back on the job after a serious injury, and things start off bad. A young boy's body is found. As more bodies of children turn up, and others are kidnapped, it is a race against time to find the person who is responsible. As a side note there is a possible budding relationship forming between Logan and a fellow officer, WPC Jackie Watson. And there are multiple 'gross out' points in the book as decomposing bodies and autopsies are described.