Dark Blood

July 18, 2011
A marvelously imperfect lead drives MacBride's intricate sixth crime novel featuring Aberdeen Det. Sgt. Logan McRae (after Blind Eye). McRae, once his department's "golden boy," has fallen from grace over the preceding year-and-a-half and is now a violent alcoholic and in bed with his city's biggest crime lord. He lands a distasteful assignment after the release into his jurisdiction of sex offender Richard Knox, convicted of raping an old man and suspected of assaulting six others, who has completed part of his sentence and a term of being under round-the-clock supervision. The court's decision naturally arouses dissent in the community, and McRae finds Knox's declarations of penitence unpersuasive. He also has his hands full with identifying a man buried alive in concrete as well as finding those responsible for the sadistic murder. Early on, MacBride raises the suspense by letting the reader share Knox's thoughts, but he falters at the end with an inappropriate thank you from one character to another.

September 1, 2011
For five books, MacBride's Aberdeen, Scotlandset Logan McRae series of police procedurals has featured a delightfully dark blend of gory crimes, memorably offbeat characters, wonderfully profane slang, and a thrilling pace. Almost all of those elements are present in the sixth installmentexcept for the pace. Maybe there are too many plot threads: a confidential informant has gone missing, a violent rapist has relocated to Aberdeen, and Logan's working a counterfeit-goods case and a jewelry-store robbery, too. Or maybe the bad guys aren't as memorable as in Flesh House (2008) or Blind Eye (2009). Some of the threads knot, and some of them don't. It feels as though MacBride has become more interested in his characters' work and social lives than in the crimes. They gripe, argue, make tea, screw up, and occasionally even solve crimes. It's still good fun but also, at nearly 500 pages, a bit of a plod. The partnership between McRae and DI Steel is still one of the most entertaining in crime fiction, but series fans will hope MacBride tightens things up in the next book.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2011, American Library Association.)