Reviewed by Craig Sisterson
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. Four-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!
Few writers can mix brutality and belly laughs quite like Scottish author Stuart MacBride, whose long-running Aberdeen crime series starring DS Logan McRae can have you cringing on one page, chuckling on the next. Even if you've come to the series a little later (the most recent instalment, ALL THAT'S DEAD in 2019, is the thirteenth novel to go along with a handful of short stories and novellas), it's well worth going back to the beginning with this very first instalment. A superb start to a terrific series.
MacBride engages readers from the outset in this first appearance of DS Logan McRae, as well as bringing cold, damp Aberdeen to drizzly life on the page. McRae has just returned from a year out recovering from a very serious stabbing, and is a likable protagonist who's easy to follow even as he's quickly hemmed in on all sides. If he wanted to ease himself back in, he's out of luck.
Freezing rain drums down onto the crime scene tent as McRae soaks in the view of the mutilated body of a young boy. Not bad enough? He's then graced with the arrival of pathologist Dr Isobel MacAlister, his ex who could make the rain seem warm. As more children disappear and further bodies are found it becomes clear there's a serial killer at work. High stakes, intense pressure. And how do some in the media seem to know so much about what's going on?
If you can handle crime fiction that veers far away from cosy (okay, let's be blunt - things get quite gruesome in the early Stuart MacBride novels) then there's lots to like in COLD GRANITE.
MacBride flips on its head the tradition of the genius detective or maverick investigator, with DS Logan McRae being more of a determined everyman than a super-cop. In fact it's his colleagues and superiors who provide the colour and over-the-top personalities, such as sweets-loving am-dram fan DI Insch and the sharp-tongued chain-smoking lesbian DI Steel. In a way the city of Aberdeen is a character itself.
There's terrific banter and black humour among the Aberdeen cops as they investigate some tough crimes, including the death of a four-year-old boy. I thought MacBride nailed a quite authentic sense of a team, with all its varied personalities who tread on each others' toes and give each other plenty of stick even as they work together towards a common goal. MacBride has a great touch for character relationships and team dynamics (complete with realistic if coarse language and off-colour humour).
Overall, COLD GRANITE was an early showcase for what was then an exciting new voice in Tartan Noir, who has since gone on to become an established great of modern Scottish crime writing.
MacBride's storytelling is high quality and well worth a read by those not concerned by weak stomachs. Dark crimes and dark humour - one for the fans of authors like Mo Hayder, Mark Billingham, Paul Cleave, and Sebastian Fitzek. With COLD GRANITE, MacBride came strong out of the gate.
Craig Sisterson is a lapsed Kiwi lawyer who now lives in London and writes for magazines and newspapers in several countries. He’s interviewed hundreds of crime writers and talked about the genre on national radio, top podcasts, and onstage at festivals on three continents. Craig's been a judge of the Ned Kelly Awards, McIlvanney Prize, is founder of the Ngaio Marsh Awards and co-founder of Rotorua Noir. His book SOUTHERN CROSS CRIME, was published in 2020.
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