Dark Blood (Logan McRae #6) by Stuart MacBride
Genre: Mystery, Crime Fiction
Read: 1st November 2018
Purchase: Amazon
★★★ 3 stars
Firstly, let me say I LOVE Stuart MacBride! No matter how drab or unexciting the storyline, his wit and dark humour make for entertaining reading. With each book I am reminded why he is one of my favourite authors.
DARK BLOOD is the sixth in the Logan McRae series, and so far throughout each book, it has yet to stop raining in Aberdeen. lol But MacBride turns it into an almost comical read in his descriptions of the drab and miserable weather. I always enjoy his books, though they take me longer to read due to their length no doubt, they never cease to entertain.
In this sixth installment of the McRae series, a serial rapist of elderly men has been released from prison down in Newcastle and has been transported to "sunny" Aberdeen to take up residence in his old granny's house - where hopefully he will be safe. Hopefully the case, on DS McRae's watch anyhow, as he has been tasked with ensuring the safety of Richard Knox.
But this is just the tip of the Aberdeen iceberg. Logan's drinking is causing a supreme lack of judgement in character and interpersonal skills, which is proving detrimental to his personal and working relationships. This has been brought to his attention, unwelcomely, by DI Steel and his girlfriend, IB technician Samantha. Added to that, is the amount of crimes that are in need of his immediate attention that keep piling up. Not to mention the demands from the new DI Beattie, whom Logan cannot bring himself to call "boss" having been promoted above him from his former rank of DS, and who seems to have an even an even greater lack of judgement who is constantly calling on Logan - "have you organised that meeting yet?" - and for updates on the case he should be running but that Logan is doing all the running around for instead.
And then there is DI Steel. I really do love to hate her sometimes. When she was first introduced I couldn't stand her, but then she grew on me. The banter between her and Logan can be quite amusing and entertaining. But at the same time you feel sorry for the DS, always on the receiving end of her wrath and despite giving him time off, always calling him back in half an hour later. Not to mention her constant lewd cracks and comments which, in the real world, would be considered sexual harrassment. Or her constant scratching of her nether regions or adjustment of her bra. If DI Steel were a male, she would be considered a sleaze and a little more than repulsive. But to give a woman that character, to me doesn't empower her any - just makes her overbearingly gross.
At this stage in the series, I would have liked to have seen some development of Logan's character and even DI Steel. But they are both the same. Logan always appears on the receiving end of constant bad luck and if something were to go wrong, it was always somehow Logan's fault. I can accept that every now and then, but all the time? It gets a bit old. Ideally, I would have like to have seen Logan rise to the rank of DI, and then he wouldn't have to work under or take orders from DI Steel. I am hoping in books to come he will have done so, particularly as a DI position has now become available.
Having said all that, I do still enjoy reading the series. I just wish the characters would progress a little more. And I also missed the banter Logan had with Rennie as with previous books, but in this one he chose to avoide Rennie for pinching his girlfriend Samantha on the butt. All inappropriate behaviour in the real world, but I'm not too PC that it bothers me that much.
Aside from my deviation into slight character assassination, DARK BLOOD had a number of themes running as with most Logan McRae books, highlighting the fact the police are overworked and underpaid. We have Richard Knox, the serial rapist as mentioned above, the jewellery store robberies, the counterfeit goods, the murder of an informant, the ever present threat of Malk the Knife and his heavies and Aberdeen crime lord Hamish Mowat. Then there are the red herrings along the way, earning McRae an even more beaten up car, a busted arm, battered and bruised ribs and the like, and not to mention, the blame for all and sundry having gone wrong.
So while I can find plenty of fault with the story, I still always enjoy a MacBride thriller for his wit and dark humour which ultimately make it thoroughly entertaining even when the book is just medicore. Having said that, I do hope future installments pick up and DS Logan McRae gets more recognition for his hard work instead of blame. And the hope that DI Steel becomes a little more personable.
Still enjoyable, if not just for the wit and dry humour. Each book can be read as a standalone and in no real order but to maintain character development and backstories, I recommend reading in order.
