The tenth story in the Logan McRae series see him dealing with a missing person murder, a brewing drug turf war, a new superintendent who takes a dislike to him, DCI Steel, professional standards and the usual bevy of unsavoury characters that tend to crop up. There's also the impending decision to take Samantha off life support and the death of Wee Hamish Mowat which puts him in the crosshairs of lunatic henchman Reuben.

I love this series but I do wish there was some happiness for Logan in his personal life, I think he's suffered enough over the last few books and whilst it was sad it was also time for him to let Samantha go. Aside from this it was the usual black humour and break neck speed of the story that kept me glued to it for the two days it took me to read it. Another fantastic addition to the series which for the first time truly tested Logans ethics and left me wondering what direction this character will now go.

What's not to love about a Stuart MacBride novel all that gritty Scottish Humour and the lovely DI Steel...this book must be one of his best...wonderful 

I won this book at Ezzulia and I was very pleased to win it, because I had heard such positive stories about the books bij Stuart MacBride. I couldn't wait to start with it. But, while reading, my enthusiasm got tempered.

Now, I've been thinking what to think about 'Shatter The Bones', but actually all I can say about is: average. Everything about it was in my opinion average. Story, setting, writing style, nothing was really remarkable... Yes, it was a detective story and it was nice and easy to read, but if you would ask me next year what the book was about, I probably couldn't give you an answer. I don't like that. I want to read stories I'll never forget after reading. But this isn't one of those. Unfortunately.

It's just average...

"One mistake can cost you everything…

When you catch a twisted killer there should be a reward, right? What Acting Detective Inspector Logan McRae gets instead is a ‘development opportunity’ out in the depths of rural Aberdeenshire. Welcome to divisional policing – catching drug dealers, shop lifters, vandals and the odd escaped farm animal.

Then a little girl’s body washes up just outside the sleepy town of Banff, kicking off a massive manhunt. The Major Investigation Team is up from Aberdeen, wanting answers, and they don’t care who they trample over to get them.

Logan’s got enough on his plate keeping B Division together, but DCI Steel wants him back on her team. As his old colleagues stomp around the countryside, burning bridges, Logan gets dragged deeper and deeper into the investigation.

One thing’s clear: there are dangerous predators lurking in the wilds of Aberdeenshire, and not everyone’s going to get out of this alive…"

❖ ❖❖

     "Logan hit the send button again. 'I need you to--' His left shoe parted company with the wall. 'AAAAAAAAGH!' Cracking through dark green spears, sending little green bombs flying, and thumping into the frozen earth below. THUMP. 'Officer Down!'

     'Laz? Jesus, what the hell's...' Steel's voice faded for a second. 'You! I want an armed response unit and an ambulance round to--'

     'Gah...' He scrabbled upright, bits of squashed Brussels sprouts sticking to his dirt-smeared suit. 'Officer back up again!'"

The Missing and the Dead, Book 9 of the Logan McRae series, is a little bit different than previous books in that Logan spends the majority of his time out of CID and in divisional policing. I found this change to be both a strength and a weakness.

On the strength side, I liked all of the day-to-day "beat cop" situations.

I also liked watching Logan command his team. Even though he's been transferred out of CID, Logan is still a sergeant, in this case a duty sergeant, and much like I loved watching him be a DI in the previous book, I loved watching a take-charge Logan here as well. He's such a great leader. Also, this new environment from CID to DP brings with it a new cast of characters, which were all unique and likable in true MacBride style. 

On the weakness side, while I did like the day-to-day policing, during the 60%-70% mark I got a bit of "beat cop" fatigue. It started to become somewhat redundant, and by that point I wanted the story to move forward on all of its dangling threads. There were moments where I actually felt like skimming, which is unusual for me when it comes to this series. Also, even though I loved the new cast of characters and their interaction with Logan, I really missed Rennie. Thankfully, Steel was still out and about for much of this. 

In regards to Logan, I love his growth as a character, particularly as it relates to the situation with Samantha. I love who Logan has become over the course of the series and I can't wait to see where he goes from here. Of course, there were one or two moments where I wanted to knock him upside the head, but that's par for the course when it comes to Logan. 

So, even though The Missing and the Dead has some weak points and I would probably consider it the weakest of the series so far simply because some portions could have been pared down, I still liked it and think it's a great addition to the series, especially as it applies to Logan's growth as a character. 

Final rating: 3.5 stars

When you finish all published books in a series and then have to wait for a new release: