Author:Stuart MacBride
At just over 200 pages I’m not sure if this is a short novel or a long novella, but either way MacBride is back! No sign of Logan MacRae though, it’s his long standing colleague and foil Roberta Steel who takes the starring role here for the first time since 2018’s Now We Are Dead. The author describes the book as his homage to the golden age of detective fiction, and indeed there is certainly something of an Agatha Christie feel about the plot and setting – a murder occurs at a wedding party at a remote Highland castle hotel, but suspects and culprit alike are stranded there when bad weather cuts them off from the rest of civilisation. Steel is one of the guests at the event and feels, somewhat reluctantly, obliged to take charge of the investigation to try to bring the killer to justice. This is a very entertaining read, with the all the usual MacBride elements of gripping suspense, macabre violence and black humour lovingly mixed together in equal measure, and is certainly highly recommended for his legion of followers.
Length of Read:Short
Might appeal to people who enjoyed…
MacBride’s previous work, whodunnits in general, Agatha Christie.
One thing you’ve learned
This work was written just prior to the first Covid lockdown and so has been on the backburner for quite a while, but it sets the ground now for a full length Steel novel to be published in the Spring.
I’m four books into the Logan MacRae books on Audible. They are excellent. Expansive crime thrillers with grit, humour and characters a plenty. Highly recommended.
Love this guys books and it’s my birthday coming up so hopefully I can drop enough hints to my wife.
Thank God it’s a short one. I’m a big fan, but his last one was over 600 pages, and I haven’t summoned up the courage to tackle it yet.