Publisher's Weekly Review
At the start of McBride's vivid third Det. Sgt. Logan MacRae police procedural (after 2006's Dying Light), the Aberdeen police, on the trail of a serial rapist, catch Scottish sports hero Rob Macintyre stalking tarted-up Woman Police Constable Jackie Watson, MacRae's live-in lover. Macintyre's arrest ignites public sentiment against the police, stifling the investigation. Meanwhile, a second case drags MacRae into the local s&m scene, where he gets an unexpected education in the sordid details from his red-faced assistant constable, and then he has to track down an eight-year-old killer. The one thing the three cases have in common is that nothing is what it seems. MacRae bounces back and forth among them, yanked between two cranky, childlike detective inspectors demanding overtime and loyalty. When Jackie starts behaving suspiciously, Logan fears the truth may be worse than unfaithfulness. With a dose of sharp wit, MacBride effortlessly interweaves the plot strands while conjuring up three-dimensional characters who slog through the relentless sleet of Aberdeen. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Long-suffering Detective Sergeant Logan MacRae (Dying Light, 2006, etc.) must maneuver around a high-profile crime wave, a tricky romance and a pair of bosses who could easily qualify as the Scylla and Charybdis of Scottish law enforcement. Large and potty-mouthed, Detective Inspector Steel smells "of stale cigarette smoke and Chanel Number Five." Even larger, equally profane Detective Inspector Insch has "all the warmth of a butcher's bandsaw." Their low boiling points constantly make Logan's life miserable. And when they're both suddenly compelled to deal with a rash of crimes that attract reporters like maggots, they react with predictable ire, as if Logan were somehow to blame for the outbreak. Everyone at Grampian Police Force Headquarters knows who the brutal rapist of Aberdeen women is, but arrest and conviction are stymied because Rob Macintyre, lightning-fast professional footballer, is a local hero, and his alibi is ironclad. The case competes for headlines with the murder of an elderly Good Samaritan in broad daylight by someone who, though surrounded, stabs a policewoman and eludes capture--an eight-year-old desperado. As for the romance, Logan keeps learning the hard way that PC Jackie Watson is a burdensome woman to love. A procedural that manages to be authoritative, funny and at times surprisingly moving despite its ponderous length. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
"*Starred Review* Sardonic humor and dark themes suffuse MacBride's third top-notch Scottish police procedural to star Aberdeen detective sergeant Logan McRae. This time around, DS McRae faces a trio of troublesome cases: an eight-year-old boy who has murdered an elderly pensioner; a porn star who has died a most ignominious (and invasive) death; and a series of rapes whose chief suspect, a popular soccer player, repeatedly eludes arrest. Under the supervision of chain-smoking, expletive-spewing, armpit-scratching female inspector Steel, Logan bounces between assignments, hoping for a break. Steel isn't the worst of the police department higher-ups: perpetually irked Detective Inspector Insch gives Logan grief every moment he isn't stuffing his face with fruit pastilles. Things aren't going well for Logan on the domestic front, either; his colleague and live-in lover has become increasingly distant and distracted. Could she be slipping between the sheets with another DS? Like fellow countryman Ian Rankin (who receives a few wry nods in the course of the novel), MacBride deftly blends a suspenseful story line and subversive wit. Relentless rain soaks the long-suffering citizens of Aberdeen (is it any wonder they're inclined to such unsavory acts?). But MacBride offsets the grim goings-on with a cast of irrepressible characters whose banter is bawdy and crime-solving talent sublime."--"Block, Allison" Copyright 2007 Booklist
Library Journal Review
In MacBride's latest Scottish police procedural, Aberdeen detective sergeant Logan MacRae (Dying Light) must identify a man who had been tortured to death while working the case of an eight-year-old murderer of an old man. At the same time, girlfriend Jackie Watson becomes obsessed with a series of brutal rapes after the prime suspect-a star soccer player who was arrested during a rape attempt on Jackie-is released when his fiancee gives him an alibi. Nothing is ever simple in MacBride's brutal and gritty crime novels, as police investigations are hampered by laws and wily defense lawyers. In the same league as fellow Scots Ian Rankin and Val McDermid, MacBride writes like a champion. [See Prepub Mystery, LJ 4/1/07.] (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.