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Logan McRae is the lead protagonist in the Loan McRae series of novels by Scottish writer Stuart MacBride. McRae made his first appearance in the novels in the debut novel in the series “Cold Granite” that was first published in 2005. MacBride’s novels are within the crime mystery genre.
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Order of Logan McRae Series
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Cold Granite | 2005 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | Dying Light | 2006 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | Bloodshot / Broken Skin | 2007 | Description / Buy | |
| 4 | Flesh House | 2008 | Description / Buy | |
| 5 | Blind Eye | 2009 | Description / Buy | |
| 6 | Dark Blood | 2010 | Description / Buy | |
| 7 | Shatter The Bones | 2011 | Description / Buy | |
| 8 | Close to the Bone | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
| 9 | The Missing and the Dead | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 10 | In the Cold Dark Ground | 2016 | Description / Buy | |
| 11 | The Blood Road | 2018 | Description / Buy | |
| 12 | All That’s Dead | 2019 | Description / Buy |
Order of Logan McRae Short Story Collections
| # | Read | Title | Published | Details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Partners in Crime (Short Story) | 2012 | Description / Buy | |
| 2 | The 45% Hangover (Short Story) | 2014 | Description / Buy | |
| 3 | 22 Dead Little Bodies and Other Stories | 2015 | Description / Buy |
The Logan McRae series of books is a series of crime fiction novels written by the Scottish author Stuart MacBride. The series features, as you would have guessed from the name, the character of Logan McRae, a Detective Sergeant in the Grampian Police force. The Logan McRae series is set in Aberdeen, in the north-east of Scotland, also known as the Granite City. As Stuart MacBride was raised in the city of Aberdeen, he felt it was fitting that the Logan McRae series was set in a city that he knew, and would be able to write about from first-hand experience.
Detective Sargent Logan McRae is a police officer that had started from the lowest cadres of the police force to become one of the most efficient detectives. The series begins with DS McRae coming back from a yearlong layoff to recover from an illness.
The first book to be released in the Logan McRae series was Cold Granite, which was released in 2005. At the beginning of Cold Granite, we are introduced to the main character of the series, DS Logan McRae, who is returning to his job after a year off of work on sick leave. It’s not the quiet start that McRae had hoped for, as a four year-old boy’s body is found in a ditch, naked, mutilated, and strangled to death. But this is only the first child’s body that will be uncovered, as a child killer roams the streets of Aberdeen in the cold, wet winter. As well as the body county piling up, McRae also has to contend with his new boss, DI Insch, as well as other colleagues whom are determined to make his job just that little bit more difficult, including Inspector Napier of Professional Standards, who is watching every move McRae makes closely. Logan McRae must catch this killer, but in doing so, he’s putting his own life at risk. Staurt MacBride won the Barry Award in 2006 for Best First Novel, as well as being nominated for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, and the International Thriller Writers Best Debut Novel Award.
Cold Granite was followed up in 2006 by the second book in the Logan McRae series, Dying Light, which also achieved a modicum of critical success, again earning MacBride a nomination for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, but he lost out to Allan Guthrie’s Two-Way Split. Dying Light was also nominated for the 2007 Barry Award for Best Crime Novel, this time losing out to George Pelecanos‘ The Night Gardener. In Dying Light, Logan McRae is charged with investigating the brutal death of a prostitute, found naked and beaten to death in Aberdeen’s red light district. As McRae investigates this death, he’s being seen as a liability by his colleagues, and when a PC is shot on duty, thanks to Logan, things do not get any easier for the Detective Sergeant. It’s up to McRae to get to the bottom of it all, and redeem himself in the eyes of his colleagues, and, perhaps more importantly, those in charge, so they can get him out of the Screw-Up Squad and away from DI Steel.
With the release of Broken Skin (also known as Bloodshot), the third book in the Logan McRae series, MacBride again received a nomination for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, and again he was unable to claim the top prize. However, he did win the ITV3 Crime Thriller Award for Breakthrough Author of the Year. As with the first two books in the series, Logan McRae’s professional life is not simple at all, even though his personal life is taking a turn for the better. Broken Skin focuses on the city of Aberdeen’s murky underworld, with attention turning to the city’s bondage community, when an unidentified male is linked with a stash of pornography uncovered during an investigation into his assault. All the while, the Granite City Rapist is stalking the streets, leaving a trail of devastation in his path, and the investigation into this case starts to impinge on the life of our hero.
Stuart MacBride has penned several more novels in the Logan McRae series, and shows no signs of stopping at the moment. He followed up Broken Skin with Flesh House, then Blind Eye, Dark Blood, Shatter The Bones, Close to the Bone and The Missing and the Dead. We follow the career and live of Logan McRae as he tries to clean up the streets of Aberdeen as best he can, while trying to keep his bosses off his back. Even if you’re not familiar with the city of Aberdeen, MacBride paints a picture of a beautiful Scottish city, with a seedy underbelly.
The first novel in the series picks up from the point when McRae is assigned the task of tracking down a child killer that has unleashed mayhem, and murder in the frozen streets of Aberdeen. The novel does not hold back from the gruesome, with the detective called to the scene of the murder of a four-year-old boy, whose body has been mutilated and abandoned in a ditch after being strangled to death.
The body is just the first of many as the ghost-like serial killer is hell-bent on unleashing terror on Granite City, even as the residents bay for his blood. Soon children’s bodies are piling up in the city morgue with no sign of the killer relenting in his insatiable thirst for death. With more children disappearing from the streets, Logan homes in on the killer, but if he is not careful, he may just find himself in the killer’s sights.
LOGAN MCRAE AWARDS
The Logan McRae series of novels has been the recipient of many awards and has made the shortlist of many prestigious awards. The first novel in the series, “Cold Granite” won Best First Novel in the Barry Awards, and the 2007 Crime Writers Association’s Dagger Award. The novel was also nominated for the Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award, and the 2006 Best Debut Novel at the International Thriller Writers Awards. Dying Light the second novel in the series was nominated for Best British Crime Novel in the 2007 Barry Awards. It also made the shortlist for the 2007 Crime Novel of the Year by Theakston’s Old Peculier. The third novel in the series “Broken Skin” made the shortlist for the 2009 Crime Novel of the Year Award by Theakston’s Old Peculier.
BEST LOGAN MCRAE BOOKS
Cold Granite: The multiple award-winning first novel in the series, “Cold Granite” is regarded by most fans of Stuart MacBride as one of the best novels he ever wrote in the series.
In the Cold Dark Ground: The 10th novel of the Logan McRae series of novels is another highly regarded title. Logan finds himself at the center of a war that he cannot escape unless he solves the mystery therein. Logan is called in to investigate a body found in the woods with a bin duct tape over its head, hands behind its back, and worst of all it is naked. What follows is a thrilling police procedural that looks at the internal politics in the police force and in gangland. Logan suddenly discovers that her new boss is a jerk who vents his frustrations with the Professional Standards on her. Meanwhile, the Aberdeen criminal underworld is rudderless as Hamish Mowat its leader is dying, a scenario that attracting rival gangs fighting to take over his territory.
Close to the Bone: Another incredible novel in the Logan McRae series is the 9th novel in the series. When Acting Detective Inspector McRae does a very good job, he expects a reward. What he gets instead is a transfer to the remote corners of Aberdeenshire, where he is a beat officer helping to catch vandals, shop lifters, petty drug peddlers and even assist to recover escaped farm animals. But Logan is the best detective the Major Police Division has got, and hence when a dead girl’s body is found in Banhoff, the only logical choice is to recall him from his rural division. Dragged deeper into the case it is soon clear to the detective that the dangerous predator is determined to take a few people with him if he ever gets caught.
OTHER BOOK SERIES YOU MAY LIKE
Fans of the Logan McRae series of novels also love the “Inspector McLean” series of novels by James Oswald. These detective crime novels feature detective inspector Anthony McLean who investigates some of the eeriest murder cases that no one in the force would touch. Logan McRae fans also enjoy the “Douglas Brodie” series of novels by Gordon Ferris. Brodie is a Glasgow based reporter who gives his all in the fight for the justice of persons wrongly declared guilty by the corrupt police in his hometown.
Logan McRae FAQs
Q: Who writes the Logan McRae series of books?
A: The Logan McRae series of books are written by Scottish author Stuart MacBride.
Q: Where is the Logan McRae series of books set?
A: The Logan McRae series of books are set in the city of Aberdeen in Scotland.
Q: What is the first book in the Logan McRae series?
A: The first book in the Staurt MacBride’s Logan McRae series is Cold Granite, which was released in 2005.
What Is The Next Book in The Logan Mcrae Series?
There doesn't seem to be an upcoming book in The Logan Mcrae Series. The newest book is All That’s Dead and was released on May, 16th 2019.