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Ash Henderson #2
Omicidi quasi perfetti. La vendetta sta chiamando
A heart-stopping crime thriller and the fourth consecutive No. 1 Bestseller from the author of the Logan McRae series and Birthdays for the Dead.
He’s back…
Eight years ago, ‘The Inside Man’ murdered four women and left three more in critical condition – all of them with their stomachs slit open and a plastic doll stitched inside.
And then the killer just … disappeared.
Ash Henderson was a Detective Inspector on the initial investigation, but a lot can change in eight years. His family has been destroyed, his career is in tatters, and one of Oldcastle’s most vicious criminals is making sure he spends the rest of his life in prison.
Now a nurse has turned up dead on a patch of waste ground, a plastic doll buried beneath her skin, and it looks as if Ash might finally get a shot at redemption. At earning his freedom.
At revenge.
He’s back…
Eight years ago, ‘The Inside Man’ murdered four women and left three more in critical condition – all of them with their stomachs slit open and a plastic doll stitched inside.
And then the killer just … disappeared.
Ash Henderson was a Detective Inspector on the initial investigation, but a lot can change in eight years. His family has been destroyed, his career is in tatters, and one of Oldcastle’s most vicious criminals is making sure he spends the rest of his life in prison.
Now a nurse has turned up dead on a patch of waste ground, a plastic doll buried beneath her skin, and it looks as if Ash might finally get a shot at redemption. At earning his freedom.
At revenge.
Hardcover
First published December 17, 2013
311 people are currently reading
2247 people want to read
About the author
Stuart MacBride
82 books2,696 followersAka Stuart B. MacBride
The life and times of a bearded write-ist.
Stuart MacBride (that's me) was born in Dumbarton -- which is Glasgow as far as I'm concerned -- moving up to Aberdeen at the tender age of two, when fashions were questionable. Nothing much happened for years and years and years: learned to play the recorder, then forgot how when they changed from little coloured dots to proper musical notes (why the hell couldn't they have taught us the notes in the first bloody place? I could have been performing my earth-shattering rendition of 'Three Blind Mice' at the Albert Hall by now!); appeared in some bizarre World War Two musical production; did my best to avoid eating haggis and generally ran about the place a lot.
Next up was an elongated spell in Westhill -- a small suburb seven miles west of Aberdeen -- where I embarked upon a mediocre academic career, hindered by a complete inability to spell and an attention span the length of a gnat's doodad.
And so to UNIVERSITY, far too young, naive and stupid to be away from the family home, sharing a subterranean flat in one of the seedier bits of Edinburgh with a mad Irishman, and four other bizarre individuals. The highlight of walking to the art school in the mornings (yes: we were students, but we still did mornings) was trying not to tread in the fresh bloodstains outside our front door, and dodging the undercover CID officers trying to buy drugs. Lovely place.
But university and I did not see eye to eye, so off I went to work offshore. Like many all-male environments, working offshore was the intellectual equivalent of Animal House, only without the clever bits. Swearing, smoking, eating, more swearing, pornography, swearing, drinking endless plastic cups of tea... and did I mention the swearing? But it was more money than I'd seen in my life! There's something about being handed a wadge of cash as you clamber off the minibus from the heliport, having spent the last two weeks offshore and the last two hours in an orange, rubber romper suit / body bag, then blowing most of it in the pubs and clubs of Aberdeen. And being young enough to get away without a hangover.
Then came a spell of working for myself as a graphic designer, which went the way of all flesh and into the heady world of studio management for a nation-wide marketing company. Then some more freelance design work, a handful of voiceovers for local radio and video production companies and a bash at being an actor (with a small 'a'), giving it up when it became clear there was no way I was ever going to be good enough to earn a decent living.
It was about this time I fell into bad company -- a blonde from Fife who conned me into marrying her -- and started producing websites for a friend's fledgling Internet company. From there it was a roller coaster ride (in that it made a lot of people feel decidedly unwell) from web designer to web manager, lead programmer, team lead and other assorted technical bollocks with three different companies, eventually ending up as a project manager for a global IT company.
But there was always the writing (well, that's not true, the writing only started two chapters above this one). I fell victim to that most dreadful of things: peer pressure. Two friends were writing novels and I thought, 'why not? I could do that'.
Took a few years though...
The life and times of a bearded write-ist.
Stuart MacBride (that's me) was born in Dumbarton -- which is Glasgow as far as I'm concerned -- moving up to Aberdeen at the tender age of two, when fashions were questionable. Nothing much happened for years and years and years: learned to play the recorder, then forgot how when they changed from little coloured dots to proper musical notes (why the hell couldn't they have taught us the notes in the first bloody place? I could have been performing my earth-shattering rendition of 'Three Blind Mice' at the Albert Hall by now!); appeared in some bizarre World War Two musical production; did my best to avoid eating haggis and generally ran about the place a lot.
Next up was an elongated spell in Westhill -- a small suburb seven miles west of Aberdeen -- where I embarked upon a mediocre academic career, hindered by a complete inability to spell and an attention span the length of a gnat's doodad.
And so to UNIVERSITY, far too young, naive and stupid to be away from the family home, sharing a subterranean flat in one of the seedier bits of Edinburgh with a mad Irishman, and four other bizarre individuals. The highlight of walking to the art school in the mornings (yes: we were students, but we still did mornings) was trying not to tread in the fresh bloodstains outside our front door, and dodging the undercover CID officers trying to buy drugs. Lovely place.
But university and I did not see eye to eye, so off I went to work offshore. Like many all-male environments, working offshore was the intellectual equivalent of Animal House, only without the clever bits. Swearing, smoking, eating, more swearing, pornography, swearing, drinking endless plastic cups of tea... and did I mention the swearing? But it was more money than I'd seen in my life! There's something about being handed a wadge of cash as you clamber off the minibus from the heliport, having spent the last two weeks offshore and the last two hours in an orange, rubber romper suit / body bag, then blowing most of it in the pubs and clubs of Aberdeen. And being young enough to get away without a hangover.
Then came a spell of working for myself as a graphic designer, which went the way of all flesh and into the heady world of studio management for a nation-wide marketing company. Then some more freelance design work, a handful of voiceovers for local radio and video production companies and a bash at being an actor (with a small 'a'), giving it up when it became clear there was no way I was ever going to be good enough to earn a decent living.
It was about this time I fell into bad company -- a blonde from Fife who conned me into marrying her -- and started producing websites for a friend's fledgling Internet company. From there it was a roller coaster ride (in that it made a lot of people feel decidedly unwell) from web designer to web manager, lead programmer, team lead and other assorted technical bollocks with three different companies, eventually ending up as a project manager for a global IT company.
But there was always the writing (well, that's not true, the writing only started two chapters above this one). I fell victim to that most dreadful of things: peer pressure. Two friends were writing novels and I thought, 'why not? I could do that'.
Took a few years though...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 352 reviews
July 31, 2021
I enjoyed the first book in the series but this one is even better. I must admit to a moment's doubt when A Song for the Dying opens in prison with Ash being soundly beaten up in a way that only Stuart MacBride can write it. However I read on and I am so very glad that I did.
My reason for this is mostly due to the character development. I enjoyed Ash and loved Alice in Birthdays for the Dead. In this book they are positively delightful even when they wander very far from the straight and narrow. Alice is really a crazy mess and Ash has serious anger management issues but together they are like a comedy duo - black comedy but no less funny for that!
The search for the Inside Man continues and the police are as usual pretty hopeless. I thought I knew who the guilty party was early on but was totally wrong thanks to a million red herrings and a little bit of trouble on my part remembering which dead person was which. That was okay though. I was not in this book to solve the case but to enjoy myself reading about other people doing so, and enjoy myself I did.
I know I am reading a good book when I want to keep quoting lines from it to anyone who will listen. Well I wanted to read practically the whole book out loud. I am really looking forward to book three.
My reason for this is mostly due to the character development. I enjoyed Ash and loved Alice in Birthdays for the Dead. In this book they are positively delightful even when they wander very far from the straight and narrow. Alice is really a crazy mess and Ash has serious anger management issues but together they are like a comedy duo - black comedy but no less funny for that!
The search for the Inside Man continues and the police are as usual pretty hopeless. I thought I knew who the guilty party was early on but was totally wrong thanks to a million red herrings and a little bit of trouble on my part remembering which dead person was which. That was okay though. I was not in this book to solve the case but to enjoy myself reading about other people doing so, and enjoy myself I did.
I know I am reading a good book when I want to keep quoting lines from it to anyone who will listen. Well I wanted to read practically the whole book out loud. I am really looking forward to book three.
April 18, 2021
I have read a couple of Stuart MacBride's books in the past, but none of the Ash Henderson series.
Ash Henderson is in jail for a murder he didn't commit. The woman who framed him is determined to make his life as difficult as possible, and he is equally determined to take his revenge on her.
When a murderer from the past becomes active again, Ash is released in the care of Dr Alice MacDonald to assist with the investigation.
Eight years ago, ‘The Inside Man’ had murdered four women and left three more in critical condition—all of them with their stomachs slit open and a plastic doll stitched inside.
And then the killer just... disappeared.
Now he is back and Ash is on the loose with a double agenda...but which of his tasks is most important to him?
I really felt that there was too much going on in this book. The story of the "Inside Man" would have been great on it's own without the dramas with Mrs Kerrigan and her gang of thugs complicating things. I found some of the violence gratuitous and unnecessary and all just a bit over the top.
Having said that, some parts of the book were excellent. I won't actively look out Stuart MacBride for any further reads, but if I stumble across one, I might be tempted.
Footnote: I wrote this in 2015. Since then I have become an avid fan of Stuart MacBride. I obviously need to revisit this. ❤📚
Ash Henderson is in jail for a murder he didn't commit. The woman who framed him is determined to make his life as difficult as possible, and he is equally determined to take his revenge on her.
When a murderer from the past becomes active again, Ash is released in the care of Dr Alice MacDonald to assist with the investigation.
Eight years ago, ‘The Inside Man’ had murdered four women and left three more in critical condition—all of them with their stomachs slit open and a plastic doll stitched inside.
And then the killer just... disappeared.
Now he is back and Ash is on the loose with a double agenda...but which of his tasks is most important to him?
I really felt that there was too much going on in this book. The story of the "Inside Man" would have been great on it's own without the dramas with Mrs Kerrigan and her gang of thugs complicating things. I found some of the violence gratuitous and unnecessary and all just a bit over the top.
Having said that, some parts of the book were excellent. I won't actively look out Stuart MacBride for any further reads, but if I stumble across one, I might be tempted.
Footnote: I wrote this in 2015. Since then I have become an avid fan of Stuart MacBride. I obviously need to revisit this. ❤📚
January 15, 2014
Said it before, should say it again. Will read anything Stuart MacBride publishes... eventually. And yes I know they are extremely violent, dark, with a warped sense of humour and slightly mad edge. What, therefore, is not to love.
A SONG FOR THE DYING isn't, however, a Logan McRae novel but don't let that make you lose hope. There's an equally good cast of misfits, mad buggers, scrappers and fighters here. Which is just as well as it's not easy for an ex-cop like Ash Henderson to survive a spell inside. Especially as even there, arch-enemy, gang boss and evil bitch Maeve Kerrigan can still seem to get to him with impunity.
This is the second Ash Henderson book and I'm shocked, somewhat amazed, and more than a bit disappointed in myself to find that I've not read BIRTHDAYS FOR THE DEAD (despite having it in my stash since release). I plead insanity. Having said that, it was only half-way through that I twigged that there was another book, so the lack of back story didn't matter a jot. Not when Henderson is in jail, not when he refers to deaths in his family in the past, nor when he's tagged and released to help out with the investigation into the return of the bizarre and sadistic killer nicknamed "The Inside Man". Out of circulation for a quite a while, the return of the Inside Man means Henderson's called upon as he's the only cop that even came close to nicking him in the past.
Needless to say the details of The Inside Man's modus operandi are revolting. After grabbing and drugging women, they are "operated on" and a cheap plastic doll inserted into their abdominal cavities, before being stitched up, dumped and then in a particularly cruel twist, their own pre-recorded message played to emergency services from the nearest payphone. Everyone is very keen to get this monster before more women have to suffer, although Henderson isn't likely to follow the rules as closely as authorities would like. Being electronically tagged to team member psychiatrist Dr Alice McDonald isn't going to stop him from going after The Inside Man in his own way, and hoovering up the problem of Maeve Kerrigan along the way.
So many of the elements of Stuart MacBride's books are there. Complicated team member relationships, put upon heroes, a bit of bizarre behaviour on both sides of the law, some whatever it takes goings on, and some mightily pissed off people with some scores to settle. The plot gallops forward and the physical damage inflicted on Henderson would make a lesser man at least take a nap sometimes. We're not, however, in Aberdeen anymore but that doesn't stop the rain and the general bleakness of the weather. There's also a certain level of violence and depravity that I've come to love in MacBride's writing. It's fiction after all, and I've always maintained I like my worst of human nature on the page rather than the streets or TV screens.
The interesting thing about A SONG FOR THE DYING is that Henderson is a lot more suspect than Logan McRae will ever be. Anti-hero he might be, as wrong as it might feel to be on his side, he's a tremendous character who you can't help but cheer on. From a long way off in the sidelines mind you. As with all the characters around him, if you get too close, you're going to get a bit of heat rash.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
A SONG FOR THE DYING isn't, however, a Logan McRae novel but don't let that make you lose hope. There's an equally good cast of misfits, mad buggers, scrappers and fighters here. Which is just as well as it's not easy for an ex-cop like Ash Henderson to survive a spell inside. Especially as even there, arch-enemy, gang boss and evil bitch Maeve Kerrigan can still seem to get to him with impunity.
This is the second Ash Henderson book and I'm shocked, somewhat amazed, and more than a bit disappointed in myself to find that I've not read BIRTHDAYS FOR THE DEAD (despite having it in my stash since release). I plead insanity. Having said that, it was only half-way through that I twigged that there was another book, so the lack of back story didn't matter a jot. Not when Henderson is in jail, not when he refers to deaths in his family in the past, nor when he's tagged and released to help out with the investigation into the return of the bizarre and sadistic killer nicknamed "The Inside Man". Out of circulation for a quite a while, the return of the Inside Man means Henderson's called upon as he's the only cop that even came close to nicking him in the past.
Needless to say the details of The Inside Man's modus operandi are revolting. After grabbing and drugging women, they are "operated on" and a cheap plastic doll inserted into their abdominal cavities, before being stitched up, dumped and then in a particularly cruel twist, their own pre-recorded message played to emergency services from the nearest payphone. Everyone is very keen to get this monster before more women have to suffer, although Henderson isn't likely to follow the rules as closely as authorities would like. Being electronically tagged to team member psychiatrist Dr Alice McDonald isn't going to stop him from going after The Inside Man in his own way, and hoovering up the problem of Maeve Kerrigan along the way.
So many of the elements of Stuart MacBride's books are there. Complicated team member relationships, put upon heroes, a bit of bizarre behaviour on both sides of the law, some whatever it takes goings on, and some mightily pissed off people with some scores to settle. The plot gallops forward and the physical damage inflicted on Henderson would make a lesser man at least take a nap sometimes. We're not, however, in Aberdeen anymore but that doesn't stop the rain and the general bleakness of the weather. There's also a certain level of violence and depravity that I've come to love in MacBride's writing. It's fiction after all, and I've always maintained I like my worst of human nature on the page rather than the streets or TV screens.
The interesting thing about A SONG FOR THE DYING is that Henderson is a lot more suspect than Logan McRae will ever be. Anti-hero he might be, as wrong as it might feel to be on his side, he's a tremendous character who you can't help but cheer on. From a long way off in the sidelines mind you. As with all the characters around him, if you get too close, you're going to get a bit of heat rash.
http://www.austcrimefiction.org/revie...
November 3, 2020
There are a couple of things I have to do before I start a new book by Stuart MacBride....wait 'til I have a day off & turn on the answering machine. Once I begin reading I can't put the damn thing down. The streak continues.
In this outing, we catch up with ex-DI Ash Henderson. He's been a guest of Her Majesty's prison system for two years now due to a combination of bad decisions & being framed for his brother's murder. At least that part was cleared up. He was killed by the infamous Mrs. Kerrigan, psycho crime boss & Ash's arch nemesis.
She continues to ruin his life inside by arranging to have the crap beat out of him every time he's up for parole. Seems they frown on releasing inmates with "anger management issues". Some prisoners dream of walking on a beach or reuniting with family when they get out. Ash dreams of killing Mrs. K.
After being turned down (and assaulted) again, he gets a surprise visit. DS "Bear" Jacobson has a proposition for him. He'll get Ash out (fitted with a snappy GPS ankle bracelet) if he'll help with a case.
Six years ago, Ash was on a team tracking a serial killer known as The Inside Man (TIM). His MO was abducting a nurse, cutting them open & leaving a plastic baby inside before stitching them up. Some survived, most didn't. Ash almost caught him but he got away. Then strangely, he stopped. Now, it seems he's come out of hibernation.
Bear heads up the Lateral Investigative & Review Unit, a temporary department he wants to make permanent. It's one of three separate police groups working the case, supposedly all smiles & cooperation, but in reality it's a giant pissing contest as each wants the credit for catching this guy.
Ash takes the deal. If he can help solve the case, great. But while Bear's priority is nabbing TIM, his is planning the demise of Mrs. K. Just one tiny obstacle....he's been assigned a sponsor who also wears an ankle bracelet & he can't be more than 100 yards from them at any time or he'll face the wrath of a SWAT team. His sponsor? Dr. Alice McDonald, a forensic psychologist (profiler). She worked with Ash before he went away & volunteered for the job. Alice is young, brilliant & talks like she's mainlining Red Bull.
Before he knows it, he's out, staying in a rented hovel with Alice in Kingsmeath & joining the other members of the team at an old pub that's been set up as an incident room. His days are full of going over the old case files, briefings, visiting crime scenes & planning Mrs. K's death with Shifty, an old friend/cop.
Then another nurse goes missing. But the killer should have done his homework. She's the daughter of Fraser "Wee Free" McFee, a hard man who's part criminal, part religious zealot & part crazy. Between being assaulted by him & Mrs. K's goons, Ash starts to wonder if he should just off himself....it would hurt less.
There are several side plots & a whack of peripheral characters to flesh out the story & keep you turning the pages. It's like the literary equivalent of a movie by the Coen brothers (think Scottish version of "Fargo"). Yes, there are scenes of brutal assaults & graphic murders but McBride has such a gift for sharp, hilarious dialogue that you may find yourself laughing out loud while you cringe.
The characters are well rounded & entertaining, running the gamut from pompous police brass to sociopathic criminals with a soft side. No one is a caricature, all good or all evil. There are several that appear in previous books but one of my favourites here is Babs Crawford, a prison guard who befriended Ash inside & acts as his backup when he confronts McFee. She's a muscular, tattooed woman armed with wit & a sawed off she calls Mrs. Thatcher. She also enjoys any opportunity to give someone a good thumping.
But it's Ash himself who keeps you coming back to this series. He's a decent guy who was a great cop before tragic events twisted his focus. He's more than paid for his mistakes but can't seem to catch a break. He can be ruthless & violent to those who deserve it but gentle & sensitive to those in need (when his daughter's guinea pig died, he told her it had decided to go live on a farm). He's smart, loyal, tough & flawed...and a guy you'd want in your corner.
As usual, the plot is finely constructed & the main story line, intricate. There are several credible candidates for TIM but those pesky red herrings keep getting in the way & you may change your mind more than once before the killer is revealed.
This is a book for readers who enjoy intelligent police procedurals that are gritty, edgy &
served with a big side of black humour.
In this outing, we catch up with ex-DI Ash Henderson. He's been a guest of Her Majesty's prison system for two years now due to a combination of bad decisions & being framed for his brother's murder. At least that part was cleared up. He was killed by the infamous Mrs. Kerrigan, psycho crime boss & Ash's arch nemesis.
She continues to ruin his life inside by arranging to have the crap beat out of him every time he's up for parole. Seems they frown on releasing inmates with "anger management issues". Some prisoners dream of walking on a beach or reuniting with family when they get out. Ash dreams of killing Mrs. K.
After being turned down (and assaulted) again, he gets a surprise visit. DS "Bear" Jacobson has a proposition for him. He'll get Ash out (fitted with a snappy GPS ankle bracelet) if he'll help with a case.
Six years ago, Ash was on a team tracking a serial killer known as The Inside Man (TIM). His MO was abducting a nurse, cutting them open & leaving a plastic baby inside before stitching them up. Some survived, most didn't. Ash almost caught him but he got away. Then strangely, he stopped. Now, it seems he's come out of hibernation.
Bear heads up the Lateral Investigative & Review Unit, a temporary department he wants to make permanent. It's one of three separate police groups working the case, supposedly all smiles & cooperation, but in reality it's a giant pissing contest as each wants the credit for catching this guy.
Ash takes the deal. If he can help solve the case, great. But while Bear's priority is nabbing TIM, his is planning the demise of Mrs. K. Just one tiny obstacle....he's been assigned a sponsor who also wears an ankle bracelet & he can't be more than 100 yards from them at any time or he'll face the wrath of a SWAT team. His sponsor? Dr. Alice McDonald, a forensic psychologist (profiler). She worked with Ash before he went away & volunteered for the job. Alice is young, brilliant & talks like she's mainlining Red Bull.
Before he knows it, he's out, staying in a rented hovel with Alice in Kingsmeath & joining the other members of the team at an old pub that's been set up as an incident room. His days are full of going over the old case files, briefings, visiting crime scenes & planning Mrs. K's death with Shifty, an old friend/cop.
Then another nurse goes missing. But the killer should have done his homework. She's the daughter of Fraser "Wee Free" McFee, a hard man who's part criminal, part religious zealot & part crazy. Between being assaulted by him & Mrs. K's goons, Ash starts to wonder if he should just off himself....it would hurt less.
There are several side plots & a whack of peripheral characters to flesh out the story & keep you turning the pages. It's like the literary equivalent of a movie by the Coen brothers (think Scottish version of "Fargo"). Yes, there are scenes of brutal assaults & graphic murders but McBride has such a gift for sharp, hilarious dialogue that you may find yourself laughing out loud while you cringe.
The characters are well rounded & entertaining, running the gamut from pompous police brass to sociopathic criminals with a soft side. No one is a caricature, all good or all evil. There are several that appear in previous books but one of my favourites here is Babs Crawford, a prison guard who befriended Ash inside & acts as his backup when he confronts McFee. She's a muscular, tattooed woman armed with wit & a sawed off she calls Mrs. Thatcher. She also enjoys any opportunity to give someone a good thumping.
But it's Ash himself who keeps you coming back to this series. He's a decent guy who was a great cop before tragic events twisted his focus. He's more than paid for his mistakes but can't seem to catch a break. He can be ruthless & violent to those who deserve it but gentle & sensitive to those in need (when his daughter's guinea pig died, he told her it had decided to go live on a farm). He's smart, loyal, tough & flawed...and a guy you'd want in your corner.
As usual, the plot is finely constructed & the main story line, intricate. There are several credible candidates for TIM but those pesky red herrings keep getting in the way & you may change your mind more than once before the killer is revealed.
This is a book for readers who enjoy intelligent police procedurals that are gritty, edgy &
served with a big side of black humour.
November 11, 2016
SWEDISH REVIEW
Om det är en bok som jag har väntat på att få läsa i några månader så är det En sång för de döda. Jag läste första boken i serien i våras och älskade den. Tja, på det sätt som jag gillar att läsa brutala, hemska berättelser med fantastiska karaktärer. Jag hoppades att denna bok skulle vara lika bra som den föregående och speciellt hoppades jag på att Alice skulle vara med i denna bok också. Jag fullständigt älskade henne i den första boken. Hon var ljusstrålen i en annars mörk och dyster berättelse. Jag är glad att kunna säga att hon har även en stor roll i denna bok och att hon är lika knepig som i första boken. Ash är givetvis också tillbaka, men han är fortfarande i fängelse även om han har blivit frikänd från mordanklagelsen. Dock har Mrs. Kerrigan fixat så han är kvar där tills hon säger något annat. Men så fixas Ash ut från fängelset tack vare höga chefer som vill att han ska hjälpa till att fånga en mördare som han misslyckades med att fånga för åtta år sedan, en mördare som nu är tillbaka. Och visst, han hjälper gärna till med det, men hans huvudsakliga mål är att döda Mrs. Kerrigan, gärna väldigt sakta...
En sång för de döda är precis lika bra som den första boken i serien. Ash Henderson och Alice McDonald är tillbaka och arbetar för att stoppa Insidern, men Ash är också väldigt sugen på att stoppa Mrs. Kerrigan för gott. Men varken Insider fallet eller Mrs. Kerrigan bortgång kommer att bli enkla utmaningar. En sång för de döda är en bok där jag inte ville att berättelsen skulle ta slut, men på samma sätt så ville jag få reda på vad som skulle hända härnäst. Det var väldigt svårt att lägga ifrån sig boken då berättelsen hade några intressanta vändningar mellan varven. Jag var lite oroad att MacBride hade valt den mest logiska kandidaten för att vara bokens mördare, men jag hade inte alls behövt oro mig då MacBride hade helt andra planer än att göra det enkelt för Ash (och läsaren). Jag älskade slutet, det var väldigt tillfredsställande och det var skönt att det inte slutade med en cliffhanger som föregående boken gjorde. Men jag hoppas verkligen att detta inte är den sista Ash och Alice boken. Jag vill ha flera!
Tack till HarperCollins Nordic för recensionexemplaret!
ENGLISH REVIEW
If there is one book that I've been waiting to read this year is it A Song for the Dying. I read the first book in the series this spring and I loved it. In the way, I love reading a brutal, horrifying story with great characters. I hoped that this book would be just as good and I really hoped that Alice would be back in this book. I loved her in the first book, she was the one thing that made a pretty dark and depressing story a bit brighter. And, I'm happy to say that she is in this book just as quirky as in the previous book. As for Ash himself, well, he is in prison, though, he has been cleared of the murder charge, but Mrs. Kerrigan is the one that has fixed it so that he will stay there until she says otherwise. However, now the powers to be has managed to get him out, to help with the investigation of a killer that he failed to catch eight years ago that is now back. And, sure he will do that, but his main plan is to kill Mrs. Kerrigan, preferably very slow...
This book was just as good as the first book in the series. Ash Henderson and Alice McDonald are back together working and yes Ash wants to get the Insider caught, but he is also quite eager to kill Mrs. Kerrigan. However, neither catching the Insider or killing Mrs. Kerrigan will turn out to be so easy. A Song for the Dying is the kind of book when one just doesn't want the story to finish at the same time you want to know what will happen next. And, it was pretty hard to put the book down when I started to read it. There were some interesting twists to the story, I was a bit worried when it looked like MacBride had picked the most logical candidate to be the killer. However, it made sure to twist the story around. I loved the ending. It's the kind of ending that felt very satisfying, not the cliffhanger kind of ending that the last book had. However, I do hope this is not the last Ash and Alice book. I want more!
Thanks to HarperCollins Nordic for the review copy!
Om det är en bok som jag har väntat på att få läsa i några månader så är det En sång för de döda. Jag läste första boken i serien i våras och älskade den. Tja, på det sätt som jag gillar att läsa brutala, hemska berättelser med fantastiska karaktärer. Jag hoppades att denna bok skulle vara lika bra som den föregående och speciellt hoppades jag på att Alice skulle vara med i denna bok också. Jag fullständigt älskade henne i den första boken. Hon var ljusstrålen i en annars mörk och dyster berättelse. Jag är glad att kunna säga att hon har även en stor roll i denna bok och att hon är lika knepig som i första boken. Ash är givetvis också tillbaka, men han är fortfarande i fängelse även om han har blivit frikänd från mordanklagelsen. Dock har Mrs. Kerrigan fixat så han är kvar där tills hon säger något annat. Men så fixas Ash ut från fängelset tack vare höga chefer som vill att han ska hjälpa till att fånga en mördare som han misslyckades med att fånga för åtta år sedan, en mördare som nu är tillbaka. Och visst, han hjälper gärna till med det, men hans huvudsakliga mål är att döda Mrs. Kerrigan, gärna väldigt sakta...
En sång för de döda är precis lika bra som den första boken i serien. Ash Henderson och Alice McDonald är tillbaka och arbetar för att stoppa Insidern, men Ash är också väldigt sugen på att stoppa Mrs. Kerrigan för gott. Men varken Insider fallet eller Mrs. Kerrigan bortgång kommer att bli enkla utmaningar. En sång för de döda är en bok där jag inte ville att berättelsen skulle ta slut, men på samma sätt så ville jag få reda på vad som skulle hända härnäst. Det var väldigt svårt att lägga ifrån sig boken då berättelsen hade några intressanta vändningar mellan varven. Jag var lite oroad att MacBride hade valt den mest logiska kandidaten för att vara bokens mördare, men jag hade inte alls behövt oro mig då MacBride hade helt andra planer än att göra det enkelt för Ash (och läsaren). Jag älskade slutet, det var väldigt tillfredsställande och det var skönt att det inte slutade med en cliffhanger som föregående boken gjorde. Men jag hoppas verkligen att detta inte är den sista Ash och Alice boken. Jag vill ha flera!
Tack till HarperCollins Nordic för recensionexemplaret!
ENGLISH REVIEW
If there is one book that I've been waiting to read this year is it A Song for the Dying. I read the first book in the series this spring and I loved it. In the way, I love reading a brutal, horrifying story with great characters. I hoped that this book would be just as good and I really hoped that Alice would be back in this book. I loved her in the first book, she was the one thing that made a pretty dark and depressing story a bit brighter. And, I'm happy to say that she is in this book just as quirky as in the previous book. As for Ash himself, well, he is in prison, though, he has been cleared of the murder charge, but Mrs. Kerrigan is the one that has fixed it so that he will stay there until she says otherwise. However, now the powers to be has managed to get him out, to help with the investigation of a killer that he failed to catch eight years ago that is now back. And, sure he will do that, but his main plan is to kill Mrs. Kerrigan, preferably very slow...
This book was just as good as the first book in the series. Ash Henderson and Alice McDonald are back together working and yes Ash wants to get the Insider caught, but he is also quite eager to kill Mrs. Kerrigan. However, neither catching the Insider or killing Mrs. Kerrigan will turn out to be so easy. A Song for the Dying is the kind of book when one just doesn't want the story to finish at the same time you want to know what will happen next. And, it was pretty hard to put the book down when I started to read it. There were some interesting twists to the story, I was a bit worried when it looked like MacBride had picked the most logical candidate to be the killer. However, it made sure to twist the story around. I loved the ending. It's the kind of ending that felt very satisfying, not the cliffhanger kind of ending that the last book had. However, I do hope this is not the last Ash and Alice book. I want more!
Thanks to HarperCollins Nordic for the review copy!
September 9, 2017
Another barnstormer of a read from Stuart MacBride here - I loved Ash Henderson in the first book that featured him and I love him in this too- a true anti-hero, a proper killer character and alongside the brilliantly portrayed Alice a real dynamic literary duo.
Rough, tough, no holds barred crime thrillers are what Mr MacBride writes - filled to the brim with ironically charged humour, often violent but utterly authentic, I have not read a single novel from this author that hasn't lived within me for months afterwards and never really gone away.
Beautifully emotive, rock and roll writing, nitty gritty awesomeness on every page.
Highly Recommended. No messing. Every damn time.
Rough, tough, no holds barred crime thrillers are what Mr MacBride writes - filled to the brim with ironically charged humour, often violent but utterly authentic, I have not read a single novel from this author that hasn't lived within me for months afterwards and never really gone away.
Beautifully emotive, rock and roll writing, nitty gritty awesomeness on every page.
Highly Recommended. No messing. Every damn time.
February 27, 2015
Ash Henderson, a former DI, is in jail after having been framed by his archenemy, Mrs. Kerrigan. He comes up for parole every six months, only to be turned down because she instigates a fight between him and two thugs. Then he is rescued by a Detective Superintendent heading a special squad investigating a perpetrator, now resurfaced after several years' hiatus, whose MO is that he cuts nurses' stomachs open and inserts a plastic doll simulating a pregnancy. The reason for his release: Ash came closest to capturing the man years before, but lost him in a crowded railroad station.
So much for the plot, which teams Ash once again with forensic psychologist Dr. Alice McDonald. The rest is basic fine writing and character description as the police fumble in an effort to find The Inside Man, and Ash and Alice go their own way following one idea or another while trying to avoid any damage to themselves or the victims now held by the perpetrator.
This is the second in the Ash Henderson series and, like the initial entry, is craftily written. Henderson is quite a character, not averse to seeking justice by his own means or constructing a scenario which results in the same end. Such outcomes include revenge, so the subplot involving Mrs. Kerrigan provides some unusual goings-on. The whole mystery is tied together in a manner that leaves the reader's mind spinning as Ash brings each clue into focus.
So much for the plot, which teams Ash once again with forensic psychologist Dr. Alice McDonald. The rest is basic fine writing and character description as the police fumble in an effort to find The Inside Man, and Ash and Alice go their own way following one idea or another while trying to avoid any damage to themselves or the victims now held by the perpetrator.
This is the second in the Ash Henderson series and, like the initial entry, is craftily written. Henderson is quite a character, not averse to seeking justice by his own means or constructing a scenario which results in the same end. Such outcomes include revenge, so the subplot involving Mrs. Kerrigan provides some unusual goings-on. The whole mystery is tied together in a manner that leaves the reader's mind spinning as Ash brings each clue into focus.
March 19, 2014
A Song for the Dying by Stuart MacBride is a 2014 HarperCollins publication. I was provided a copy of this book by the publisher and Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review.
The Inside Man is back. A mutilated body is found with a doll stitched inside, which was the signature of the killer that hadn't been heard from for eight years.
Ash Henderson is in prison for a crime he was set up for. When the Inside Man shows up again, he is released in order to help with the case, under strict rules of course. If he can bring down the notorious serial killer there is a chance he can gain his freedom. So, now he is working with Alice, the psychologist he worked with previously. All the previous victims that were survivors of T.I.M. as he is now dubbed ,must be interviewed again as well as the rather oddball father of a the latest victim. This dredges up all the old fears, and memories of the crimes committed eight years ago.
This case is as dark as they come. Ash needs a chance at revenge as well as a chance for redemption. The dynamic between Ash and Alice is unusual and I can't always tell what their relationship could be defined as, but they are close and do care about each other a great deal. Ash is still reeling from the demise of his family, from being framed for murder, and now being assigned to the most intense manhunt there ever was. If you have never read Stuart MacBride's novels you should be aware that he pulls no punches. Nothing is sugarcoated, nothing is watered down for public consumption. You will have to be able to read dark crime thrillers, digest graphic crime scene details and violence, uncomfortable subject matter, and yes, the author did manage to sneak a tiny amount of the black humor he is sort of famous for, but it's nothing like the Logan McRae series. Which brings me to the next point .. this is not Logan McRae. If you have read that series and then pick this one up, do not make comparisons. Both series are very dark, but polar opposites in every other respect.
This is a very well written, absorbing crime thriller as well as a psychological thriller. I can't speak highly enough of Stuart MacBride's style. I will confess to being a big fan of Logan McRae , but Ash Henderson is still a top notch read. I don't know if the author will continue to update us on Ash, but I certainly hope so.
Overall this one is an A.
The Inside Man is back. A mutilated body is found with a doll stitched inside, which was the signature of the killer that hadn't been heard from for eight years.
Ash Henderson is in prison for a crime he was set up for. When the Inside Man shows up again, he is released in order to help with the case, under strict rules of course. If he can bring down the notorious serial killer there is a chance he can gain his freedom. So, now he is working with Alice, the psychologist he worked with previously. All the previous victims that were survivors of T.I.M. as he is now dubbed ,must be interviewed again as well as the rather oddball father of a the latest victim. This dredges up all the old fears, and memories of the crimes committed eight years ago.
This case is as dark as they come. Ash needs a chance at revenge as well as a chance for redemption. The dynamic between Ash and Alice is unusual and I can't always tell what their relationship could be defined as, but they are close and do care about each other a great deal. Ash is still reeling from the demise of his family, from being framed for murder, and now being assigned to the most intense manhunt there ever was. If you have never read Stuart MacBride's novels you should be aware that he pulls no punches. Nothing is sugarcoated, nothing is watered down for public consumption. You will have to be able to read dark crime thrillers, digest graphic crime scene details and violence, uncomfortable subject matter, and yes, the author did manage to sneak a tiny amount of the black humor he is sort of famous for, but it's nothing like the Logan McRae series. Which brings me to the next point .. this is not Logan McRae. If you have read that series and then pick this one up, do not make comparisons. Both series are very dark, but polar opposites in every other respect.
This is a very well written, absorbing crime thriller as well as a psychological thriller. I can't speak highly enough of Stuart MacBride's style. I will confess to being a big fan of Logan McRae , but Ash Henderson is still a top notch read. I don't know if the author will continue to update us on Ash, but I certainly hope so.
Overall this one is an A.
July 8, 2018
MacBride's books all have a dark and gritty side, but the two Ash Henderson are the darkest and the grittiest. Henderson is paroled from prison after a serial killer from his earlier DI career re-emerges, but he has other unresolved matters to fix as well. A very violent story with a complex multi-dimensional plot eventually comes to an unexpected end around page 500, maybe a little too slow in the first half, but a gripping read in the second half.
May 25, 2017
We zijn zo'n twee jaar verder na de hectiek uit het vorige boek. Ondanks dat we niet alle antwoorden krijgen op de open eindes die Dertien had, weten we wel dat Ash Henderson zijn leven sindsdien hard achteruit is gegaan. Hij zit in de gevangenis, schuldig bevonden aan de moord op zijn broer. Hij wordt met regelmaat in elkaar geslagen en van zijn privéleven is nauwelijks meer wat over. Dan blijkt er een moordenaar, De Poppenspeler, weer opnieuw bezig te zijn. Omdat Ash 8 jaar geleden betrokken was bij het onderzoek, wordt hij voor de duur van dit nieuwe onderzoek vrijgelaten...
Wederom klonk het plot me waanzinnig in de oren! Ik was niet heel erg te spreken over het eerste boek, maar juist door die open eindes wilde ik doorlezen.
In de eerste helft van het boek worden verleden en heden met elkaar afgewisseld, wat een mooi inzicht geeft in de mate waarin Ash 8 jaar geleden betrokken was in het onderzoek. De tweede helft van het boek is vooral een race tegen de tijd en een klopjacht.
Ook dit boek was weer rauw en goed gedetailleerd. Ook hier wordt er gescholden, maar niet in de mate zoals in het eerste boek. Dit boek had wat meer rust over zich heen, wat het leesplezier voor mij vergrootte. Niet zo gehaast. Het plot zit goed in elkaar, alleen de spanning viel me wat tegen. Vond het niet echt een thriller, maar meer een detective met de nodige spanning.
Al met al zeker geen verkeerd boek. 3*. Ben wel erg benieuwd naar zijn Logan McRae-reeks, die schijnt wel heel goed te zijn..
Wederom klonk het plot me waanzinnig in de oren! Ik was niet heel erg te spreken over het eerste boek, maar juist door die open eindes wilde ik doorlezen.
In de eerste helft van het boek worden verleden en heden met elkaar afgewisseld, wat een mooi inzicht geeft in de mate waarin Ash 8 jaar geleden betrokken was in het onderzoek. De tweede helft van het boek is vooral een race tegen de tijd en een klopjacht.
Ook dit boek was weer rauw en goed gedetailleerd. Ook hier wordt er gescholden, maar niet in de mate zoals in het eerste boek. Dit boek had wat meer rust over zich heen, wat het leesplezier voor mij vergrootte. Niet zo gehaast. Het plot zit goed in elkaar, alleen de spanning viel me wat tegen. Vond het niet echt een thriller, maar meer een detective met de nodige spanning.
Al met al zeker geen verkeerd boek. 3*. Ben wel erg benieuwd naar zijn Logan McRae-reeks, die schijnt wel heel goed te zijn..
May 14, 2025
It’s a reunion!…At least for me. Alice and Bernard Huntly are back from A Dark so Deadly. In this installment which is less dark than the previous one, we are being introduced to a series of characters a la McBride, full of quirkiness, fun and empathy. I think these characters humanize Henderson and makes him a better person. In Alice, finally Ash finds the family that he tragically lost.
Reading Ash Henderson is an adventure full of grotesque deaths, lots of fight scenes, a cut of an ear here and there and taking an eye out then you pair it with a rogue detective and an offbeat psychologist and you have magic.
Ahhh, this series is so very good, it is fast paced and full of twist and turns. The ending is to die for.
Reading Ash Henderson is an adventure full of grotesque deaths, lots of fight scenes, a cut of an ear here and there and taking an eye out then you pair it with a rogue detective and an offbeat psychologist and you have magic.
Ahhh, this series is so very good, it is fast paced and full of twist and turns. The ending is to die for.
July 31, 2014
This is the second book in the Ash Henderson series, which began with BIRTHDAYS FOR THE DEAD.
Fast, nasty and blacker than twice brewed coffee, laced with a healthy shot of equally black humor, this thriller delivers some truly jaw dropping moments. The good guys are damaged, doing whatever has to be done, for better or worse. The bad guys are completely farking insane, the ugliest pack of lunatics ever to wander outside the walls of an asylum, but never losing that anchor of reality, of possibility.
All that and Double Bastard Bacon Murder burgers. Who could ask for anything more?
Highest recommendation.
Fast, nasty and blacker than twice brewed coffee, laced with a healthy shot of equally black humor, this thriller delivers some truly jaw dropping moments. The good guys are damaged, doing whatever has to be done, for better or worse. The bad guys are completely farking insane, the ugliest pack of lunatics ever to wander outside the walls of an asylum, but never losing that anchor of reality, of possibility.
All that and Double Bastard Bacon Murder burgers. Who could ask for anything more?
Highest recommendation.
August 26, 2018
After ploughing through a second mediocre Stuart McBride book, i really fail to see his appeal. Definitely won't bother with any more.
June 7, 2021
I am glad I read “The Coffinmaker’s Garden” before I read “A Song For The Dying” because otherwise I wouldn’t have been in a hurry to read TCG. I probably would have eventually have gotten around to TCG because I love Stuart MacBride’s books, but I’d have waited until it was on sale or available in my library. Just like I’m now in no hurry to read “Birthdays For The Dead”, the first book in the Ash Henderson series. I have given “A Song For The Dying” four stars, but it is a low four stars. Truly, it is a 3.75 star book.
The first half of the book was slow, the second half picked up. But MacBride took too long to tell the major stories. If it hadn’t been a library book, due back soon, I would have taken a few breaks from reading it.
It is bleak. Like Logan McRae, Ash Henderson gets beat up a lot. Like Logan McRae, Ash Henderson works with a lot of idiots. Like Logan McRae, Ash Henderson runs into many seriously mixed up individuals, most of them maniacs — crazed and/or insane. Like Logan McRae, Ash Henderson makes seriously stupid mistakes. But I don’t like Ash Henderson nearly as much as I like Logan McRae.
Ash is meaner than Logan, more bent on retribution, more likely to break moral codes. But after contemplating the difference between the two series, I realized that the primary reason I don’t love the Ash Henderson books (like I love the Logan McRae books) is that they are written in the first person. Generally, I find first-person detective stories more difficult to read. I can think of a few I have followed for awhile but inevitably I get tired of that monotonous inner voice. And when the inner voice is less than saintly, such as with Ash Henderson, it begins to grate.
But it is a Stuart MacBride book, and thus worth reading as long as you can stand the bleakness. (I think “The Coffinmaker’s Garden” had a bit more humour inserted into it so as the break up some of that bleakness.)
The first half of the book was slow, the second half picked up. But MacBride took too long to tell the major stories. If it hadn’t been a library book, due back soon, I would have taken a few breaks from reading it.
It is bleak. Like Logan McRae, Ash Henderson gets beat up a lot. Like Logan McRae, Ash Henderson works with a lot of idiots. Like Logan McRae, Ash Henderson runs into many seriously mixed up individuals, most of them maniacs — crazed and/or insane. Like Logan McRae, Ash Henderson makes seriously stupid mistakes. But I don’t like Ash Henderson nearly as much as I like Logan McRae.
Ash is meaner than Logan, more bent on retribution, more likely to break moral codes. But after contemplating the difference between the two series, I realized that the primary reason I don’t love the Ash Henderson books (like I love the Logan McRae books) is that they are written in the first person. Generally, I find first-person detective stories more difficult to read. I can think of a few I have followed for awhile but inevitably I get tired of that monotonous inner voice. And when the inner voice is less than saintly, such as with Ash Henderson, it begins to grate.
But it is a Stuart MacBride book, and thus worth reading as long as you can stand the bleakness. (I think “The Coffinmaker’s Garden” had a bit more humour inserted into it so as the break up some of that bleakness.)
May 31, 2019
De poppenspeler - Stuart MacBride
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Beter dan deel 1! Wat een verhaal. Verschillende zaken lopen door elkaar & het is soms echt opletten geblazen. Er komt redelijk wat agressie in voor. Maar topthriller voor mij!
#meervandat!
⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️
Beter dan deel 1! Wat een verhaal. Verschillende zaken lopen door elkaar & het is soms echt opletten geblazen. Er komt redelijk wat agressie in voor. Maar topthriller voor mij!
#meervandat!
September 8, 2016
Stuart MacBride has been a favourite author since I picked up Cold Granite, the first of his Logan McRae books. At present, I’m still playing catch up. Despite not being up to date, I adore the series. It has earned a place in my favourite police procedural series. Due to this, I was eager to see what else MacBride has to offer. Thus, I picked up the two Ash Henderson books that are currently on the market. I enjoyed the first one, but it was no Logan McRae novel. Nevertheless, I was excited to see where things would go. After all, that ending left me curious as to what would come next.
Personally, I enjoyed this book more than I enjoyed the first. Both books were a lot of fun, yet I was pulled into this one much quicker. I think a part of it was because I’d already come to love the characters. As fun as they are, they take a bit of getting used to. The characters in the Logan McRae series pull you in from the first moment, yet the characters in the Ash Henderson novels are not so easy to love. You come to enjoy them the more you read of them, and having already finished the first book I knew what to expect with this one.
Plus, as I said, that ending.
The first book left you with a big question of what would come next. Considering all that had happened, I wasn’t sure where things would be going in this book. As always, though, MacBride delivers. He gives us a story that ticks all the boxes: wonderful criminal aspect, fun characters, and a story that moves everything forward in a great way. I promise not to say too much about how the story moves forward, just know it was great progress for all the characters.
As always, the criminal aspect was a lot of fun. It has everything you need in a gritty crime novel. There are multiple layers to the story, with everything being interconnected in a great way. Every piece of information that is given to you plays an important part. You’re constantly left with questions, curious about motives and alibis. You think you know what is happening, who is to blame, yet something new will be thrown your way to leave you unsure as to whether or not you have worked everything out. Whilst the first Ash Henderson book wasn’t as pulled together as it could have been, this second book is back to what MacBride usually delivers. It gives us all we can ask for.
I still missed the dark humour, though.
As I said with the first book, that’s just me. I enjoy the laughter of the Logan McRae books a lot more than is probably expected of people. As the Ash Henderson books merely offer up occasional smiles, I feel as though we’re missing the usual MacBride trademark. Admittedly, there were more smiles in this book than the first, but it still missed out on all the laughter of the Logan McRae books. I said it when reviewing the first book, though: this isn’t a bad thing. It’s just different, and you grow to accept it. I know that for the real laughter I go for his Logan McRae books, whereas for the questionable main character I go for his Ash Henderson books.
As a whole, I enjoyed this one more than the first. The Logan McRae books still hold the favourite MacBride series spot, but this series is more than worth a read if you love the darker main characters.
Personally, I enjoyed this book more than I enjoyed the first. Both books were a lot of fun, yet I was pulled into this one much quicker. I think a part of it was because I’d already come to love the characters. As fun as they are, they take a bit of getting used to. The characters in the Logan McRae series pull you in from the first moment, yet the characters in the Ash Henderson novels are not so easy to love. You come to enjoy them the more you read of them, and having already finished the first book I knew what to expect with this one.
Plus, as I said, that ending.
The first book left you with a big question of what would come next. Considering all that had happened, I wasn’t sure where things would be going in this book. As always, though, MacBride delivers. He gives us a story that ticks all the boxes: wonderful criminal aspect, fun characters, and a story that moves everything forward in a great way. I promise not to say too much about how the story moves forward, just know it was great progress for all the characters.
As always, the criminal aspect was a lot of fun. It has everything you need in a gritty crime novel. There are multiple layers to the story, with everything being interconnected in a great way. Every piece of information that is given to you plays an important part. You’re constantly left with questions, curious about motives and alibis. You think you know what is happening, who is to blame, yet something new will be thrown your way to leave you unsure as to whether or not you have worked everything out. Whilst the first Ash Henderson book wasn’t as pulled together as it could have been, this second book is back to what MacBride usually delivers. It gives us all we can ask for.
I still missed the dark humour, though.
As I said with the first book, that’s just me. I enjoy the laughter of the Logan McRae books a lot more than is probably expected of people. As the Ash Henderson books merely offer up occasional smiles, I feel as though we’re missing the usual MacBride trademark. Admittedly, there were more smiles in this book than the first, but it still missed out on all the laughter of the Logan McRae books. I said it when reviewing the first book, though: this isn’t a bad thing. It’s just different, and you grow to accept it. I know that for the real laughter I go for his Logan McRae books, whereas for the questionable main character I go for his Ash Henderson books.
As a whole, I enjoyed this one more than the first. The Logan McRae books still hold the favourite MacBride series spot, but this series is more than worth a read if you love the darker main characters.
October 17, 2017
Macbride now has a slightly predictable formula and tone. This didnt amaze me but i was decent enough. I found it better than the 1st Ash novel.
July 21, 2014
I've been a fan of Stuart Macbride's for a long time although somehow I missed the firs book in this series. This is a follow up to a previous novel featuring Ash Henderson who was investigating a serial murder, lost his own daughter to that murderer and was framed for a crime he didn't commit by Mrs. Kerrigan, a local gangster, has her thugs beat him up so often that he can't get out of prison because he is considered a risk. However, suddenly he is sprung by an up and coming police officer who is putting together a special squad. They still haven't found Inside Man who killed several women in a particularly horrific manner. He gets out, but plans revenge. I have to say that I found this to be particularly bloody and long winded. I found myself skipping large parts at the end which seemed unnecessary. Is Mr. Macbride being paid by the word? I hope he returns to his familiar characters soon, and that he tames his blood thirsty instincts. There's a saying that "less is more." He should heed it.
February 20, 2015
This was the 2nd book featuring Ash Henderson, and although an improvement on the 1st one it still doesn't have the same effect as the Logan McRae series. Whether it is due to the lack of development in the characters, the sheer number of characters or the missing wry dark humour it is difficult to say. Perhaps it is a combination of these factors which detracted from my enjoyment.
The book begins with Ash Henderson in prison after he has been framed for killing his own brother. Every time he comes due for a parole hearing Mrs Kerrigan gets some of the other inmates to provoke him into fighting back and so ruin any chance of early release. His salvation arises with the re-emergence of a serial killer, a case that he was originally part of the investigating team, and him being utilised as part of an independent expert team away from the ongoing investigation.
He still has the problem of Mrs Kerrigan hanging over him. Once again he gets teamed up with Dr Alice McDonald, but can they crack the case before the body count escalates?
The book begins with Ash Henderson in prison after he has been framed for killing his own brother. Every time he comes due for a parole hearing Mrs Kerrigan gets some of the other inmates to provoke him into fighting back and so ruin any chance of early release. His salvation arises with the re-emergence of a serial killer, a case that he was originally part of the investigating team, and him being utilised as part of an independent expert team away from the ongoing investigation.
He still has the problem of Mrs Kerrigan hanging over him. Once again he gets teamed up with Dr Alice McDonald, but can they crack the case before the body count escalates?
June 20, 2016
This took me a week and a half to read, which was mainly because of being busy doing other things and not having as much time/inclination to read, but it also was slightly as a consequence of the reading experience - it took a while to get going, and was quite a weighty heavy dense sort of novel too - not a pacy read in all honesty.
The story picks up on the dark and violent ex-cop Ash Henderson, serving time in prison after the events of the preceding book 'Birthdays For The Dead', but he is soon released from prison and reunited with the wonderfully scatty Dr Alice to assist in solving a series of serial murders. It's a nasty and dark book - a lot of violence and unpleasant characters doing unpleasant things. At times I felt it went a little too far (hence the 4 star rating) and it certainly didn't grab me as much as its predecessor, but it was a meaty, bloody, fulfilling crime thriller with all the humour and drama I've come to expect of one of my favourite authors.
The story picks up on the dark and violent ex-cop Ash Henderson, serving time in prison after the events of the preceding book 'Birthdays For The Dead', but he is soon released from prison and reunited with the wonderfully scatty Dr Alice to assist in solving a series of serial murders. It's a nasty and dark book - a lot of violence and unpleasant characters doing unpleasant things. At times I felt it went a little too far (hence the 4 star rating) and it certainly didn't grab me as much as its predecessor, but it was a meaty, bloody, fulfilling crime thriller with all the humour and drama I've come to expect of one of my favourite authors.
January 16, 2015
Stuart MacBride writes big bad-ass crime novels so rich in detail and characters that if wandered in a pub some rainy night filled with these dark souls, you would walk yourself right back out.
A Song for the Dying is the second novel in the Ash Henderson series by Stuart MacBride.
"...Kevin doesn't look at him, keeps his eyes on the grass. It's thicker here, the broken-glass stems dotted with rusty spears of docken and dead thistles. Something out there smells musty, fusty, smoldering. 'What if it's real? Might still be alive.'
'Aye, you keep telling yourself that. Fiver says she doesn't even exist.' His fingertips scrabble through the beard again as he kicks a pile of crackling leaves. 'So Spider-man: action is his reward, right? Total Jessie.'
Two more hours till the shift is over. Two more hours of inane drivel and bollocks...
Is something sticking out from underneath that whin bush?
The long dark seedpods clatter like a rattlesnake as Kevin pokes at the branches.
Just a plastic bag, the blue and red logo glittering with frost.
'See me? See if I saved some hurt bird from a burning building? I'm expecting cash, or a blowjob at the very least. When did you last see someone going down on Spider-man? Never, that's when.'
'Nick, I swear to God...'
'Come on, if it was you or me running about in our jammies, squirting random strangers with our sticky emissions, we'd end up on the sex offenders' register, wouldn't we?'
'Can you not shut up for, like, five seconds..."
Seriously, Spider-man getting a blow job. Who thinks of these things?
"...Jacobson dug his hands into his armpits, rocked on his heels. 'Ever wonder what the bastard's been up to? Eight years and no one's heard a peep. Where's he been?'
'Abroad, prison, or dead.' I uncurled my fists, held them loose in my lap. The joints burned. 'Look, are we finished? Only I've got things to do.'
'Oh you have no idea.' Jacobson turned to Officer Babs. 'I'll take him. Get him tagged and his stuff packed up. We've got a car waiting outside.'
'What?'
'We've not made it official yet, but a paediatric nurse found dead yesterday had a My First Baby doll stitched into her innards. He's back..."
Ash Henderson, the disgraced police Inspector framed for his brother's murder, languishes in prison. Ritually beaten by convicts hired by the sadistic Oldcastle mob boss who framed Ash and destroyed his family and his career. It was eight years ago that the serial killer known as the Inside Man murdered four women and left three others in critical condition. All of them cut open and plastic dolls placed into their abdomen. The Inspector on the case at the time, the one credited with almost capturing the Inside Man, was Ash Henderson. But now, eight years after those killings, Ash is in prison and the Inside Man is back.
Detective Superintendent Jacobson is putting together a team to hunt down the Inside Man and to do so, he needs Ash. Released from prison with an ankle bracelet monitor, Ash is back on the case, only this time he isn't a policeman. Not in any real official capacity so with that come the freedom to hunt the way he really wants to.
But Ash has other hunting in mind, as well. Mrs. Kerrigan. The sadistic mob boss who destroyed his life. Ash is going to kill her, but first he needs to finish the hunt for the Inside Man as well. Only Kerrigan knows Ash is out and is waiting for him.
"...'Alec can give you what you ask for, but he needs you to understand that right now you've got the option to just walk away from the darkness surrounding you. Take a plus in the Karma column. Be a better man.'
'Yeah. Well I'm more of an Old Testament kind of guy. Eye for an eye. Bullet for a bullet.'
'Ah revenge...' Alec stopped, head bowed. Then nodded. 'Wait here.' He headed back inside, and when he emerged again he held out a plush Bob the Builder doll - about the same size as a rugby ball, a grin stitched across its face, oversized yellow spanner in one hand. 'Here.'
'Are you seriously looking for a kick up the...' There was something hard inside Bob. Something L-shaped. More somethings in his legs, as if they'd been stuffed with finger bones.
'Mr. Smith, are you certain Alec can't convince you to turn from this?'
At least a dozen bullets in there, possibly more. Wouldn't know until I slit him open.
Now all I had to do was keep my head down until I could introduce Bob to Mrs. Kerrigan tonight. Twice. In the face.
'Mr. Smith?'
I looked up, just as the clouds gave up their first drops. They struck the Buddha, darkening the concrete around his eyes, more and more joining them as the wind picked up. Rolling down his fat cheeks.
'How sad.' Alec shook his head. Sighed. Let his shoulders fall. 'You've made your mind up, and the world weeps for you.'
Nothing like being pitied by an arms dealer who talked about himself in the third person to really put a shine on the day..."
MacBride infuses his story with the banter and self reflection that is at once original and familiar. An old friend you had once know but rarely see anymore.
Dialogue.
Clever, witty, sad and soul wrenching dialogue. Whether between Henderson and other characters or when he is thinking to himself. All with that delicious brogue to add a flavor of authenticity. Consider if Quentin Tarantino had written Braveheart and you have an inkling of the terrific dialogue that fills this novel.
But A Song for the Dying is far more than one liners and Zen like moments, it is a mystery that builds in the background with red herrings galore. The tale of the Inside Man will have you spinning back and forth until the finale where the Inside Man is revealed and you are left with the twist and turn that hasn't been delivered since the Usual Suspects.
I mentioned that A Song for the Dying is book two in the Ash Henderson series and I already feel at a loss for having not read book one. I will pick it up. I will read it. And I will feckin' enjoy it.
A Song for the Dying is a very good read.
A Song for the Dying is the second novel in the Ash Henderson series by Stuart MacBride.
"...Kevin doesn't look at him, keeps his eyes on the grass. It's thicker here, the broken-glass stems dotted with rusty spears of docken and dead thistles. Something out there smells musty, fusty, smoldering. 'What if it's real? Might still be alive.'
'Aye, you keep telling yourself that. Fiver says she doesn't even exist.' His fingertips scrabble through the beard again as he kicks a pile of crackling leaves. 'So Spider-man: action is his reward, right? Total Jessie.'
Two more hours till the shift is over. Two more hours of inane drivel and bollocks...
Is something sticking out from underneath that whin bush?
The long dark seedpods clatter like a rattlesnake as Kevin pokes at the branches.
Just a plastic bag, the blue and red logo glittering with frost.
'See me? See if I saved some hurt bird from a burning building? I'm expecting cash, or a blowjob at the very least. When did you last see someone going down on Spider-man? Never, that's when.'
'Nick, I swear to God...'
'Come on, if it was you or me running about in our jammies, squirting random strangers with our sticky emissions, we'd end up on the sex offenders' register, wouldn't we?'
'Can you not shut up for, like, five seconds..."
Seriously, Spider-man getting a blow job. Who thinks of these things?
"...Jacobson dug his hands into his armpits, rocked on his heels. 'Ever wonder what the bastard's been up to? Eight years and no one's heard a peep. Where's he been?'
'Abroad, prison, or dead.' I uncurled my fists, held them loose in my lap. The joints burned. 'Look, are we finished? Only I've got things to do.'
'Oh you have no idea.' Jacobson turned to Officer Babs. 'I'll take him. Get him tagged and his stuff packed up. We've got a car waiting outside.'
'What?'
'We've not made it official yet, but a paediatric nurse found dead yesterday had a My First Baby doll stitched into her innards. He's back..."
Ash Henderson, the disgraced police Inspector framed for his brother's murder, languishes in prison. Ritually beaten by convicts hired by the sadistic Oldcastle mob boss who framed Ash and destroyed his family and his career. It was eight years ago that the serial killer known as the Inside Man murdered four women and left three others in critical condition. All of them cut open and plastic dolls placed into their abdomen. The Inspector on the case at the time, the one credited with almost capturing the Inside Man, was Ash Henderson. But now, eight years after those killings, Ash is in prison and the Inside Man is back.
Detective Superintendent Jacobson is putting together a team to hunt down the Inside Man and to do so, he needs Ash. Released from prison with an ankle bracelet monitor, Ash is back on the case, only this time he isn't a policeman. Not in any real official capacity so with that come the freedom to hunt the way he really wants to.
But Ash has other hunting in mind, as well. Mrs. Kerrigan. The sadistic mob boss who destroyed his life. Ash is going to kill her, but first he needs to finish the hunt for the Inside Man as well. Only Kerrigan knows Ash is out and is waiting for him.
"...'Alec can give you what you ask for, but he needs you to understand that right now you've got the option to just walk away from the darkness surrounding you. Take a plus in the Karma column. Be a better man.'
'Yeah. Well I'm more of an Old Testament kind of guy. Eye for an eye. Bullet for a bullet.'
'Ah revenge...' Alec stopped, head bowed. Then nodded. 'Wait here.' He headed back inside, and when he emerged again he held out a plush Bob the Builder doll - about the same size as a rugby ball, a grin stitched across its face, oversized yellow spanner in one hand. 'Here.'
'Are you seriously looking for a kick up the...' There was something hard inside Bob. Something L-shaped. More somethings in his legs, as if they'd been stuffed with finger bones.
'Mr. Smith, are you certain Alec can't convince you to turn from this?'
At least a dozen bullets in there, possibly more. Wouldn't know until I slit him open.
Now all I had to do was keep my head down until I could introduce Bob to Mrs. Kerrigan tonight. Twice. In the face.
'Mr. Smith?'
I looked up, just as the clouds gave up their first drops. They struck the Buddha, darkening the concrete around his eyes, more and more joining them as the wind picked up. Rolling down his fat cheeks.
'How sad.' Alec shook his head. Sighed. Let his shoulders fall. 'You've made your mind up, and the world weeps for you.'
Nothing like being pitied by an arms dealer who talked about himself in the third person to really put a shine on the day..."
MacBride infuses his story with the banter and self reflection that is at once original and familiar. An old friend you had once know but rarely see anymore.
Dialogue.
Clever, witty, sad and soul wrenching dialogue. Whether between Henderson and other characters or when he is thinking to himself. All with that delicious brogue to add a flavor of authenticity. Consider if Quentin Tarantino had written Braveheart and you have an inkling of the terrific dialogue that fills this novel.
But A Song for the Dying is far more than one liners and Zen like moments, it is a mystery that builds in the background with red herrings galore. The tale of the Inside Man will have you spinning back and forth until the finale where the Inside Man is revealed and you are left with the twist and turn that hasn't been delivered since the Usual Suspects.
I mentioned that A Song for the Dying is book two in the Ash Henderson series and I already feel at a loss for having not read book one. I will pick it up. I will read it. And I will feckin' enjoy it.
A Song for the Dying is a very good read.
September 18, 2025
A Song for the Dying is the second in the Ash Henderson series, and I actually enjoyed it even more than the first. Having already been introduced to Ash and Alice, I found myself pulled into this one much quicker. The characters aren’t instantly loveable in the way MacBride’s Logan McRae cast is, but once you get to know them, they really grow on you — and by this point I was fully invested.
The plot is dark, layered, and as gruesome as you’d expect from MacBride, with the return of a chilling killer and plenty of interwoven subplots, including Ash’s ongoing feud with Mrs. Kerrigan. Everything ties together in a clever way, with the usual mix of grit, black humour, and twists that keep you on your toes.
And that ending — exactly the kind of payoff I hope for in a crime novel. It pushed the story and the characters forward in a satisfying way while still leaving me hungry for more. A gritty, entertaining, and very MacBride read.
The plot is dark, layered, and as gruesome as you’d expect from MacBride, with the return of a chilling killer and plenty of interwoven subplots, including Ash’s ongoing feud with Mrs. Kerrigan. Everything ties together in a clever way, with the usual mix of grit, black humour, and twists that keep you on your toes.
And that ending — exactly the kind of payoff I hope for in a crime novel. It pushed the story and the characters forward in a satisfying way while still leaving me hungry for more. A gritty, entertaining, and very MacBride read.
August 15, 2021
3.5 stars
A very readable and rather gruesome crime drama.
MacBrides describes the assaults and deaths in graphic detail although sometimes it is not clear who is talking and I had to reread passages several times for it to become clear.
The ending was a little flat and left me disappointed but still a page Turner.
There were quite a few characters which sometimes made me have to think who they were and which group/gang/police department they belonged to.
As I said, enjoyable not brilliant.
A very readable and rather gruesome crime drama.
MacBrides describes the assaults and deaths in graphic detail although sometimes it is not clear who is talking and I had to reread passages several times for it to become clear.
The ending was a little flat and left me disappointed but still a page Turner.
There were quite a few characters which sometimes made me have to think who they were and which group/gang/police department they belonged to.
As I said, enjoyable not brilliant.
July 6, 2021
Скандинавские детективщики с ужасом смотрят на шотландцев и говорят «А что, так тоже можно?!» Поверить не могу, что лет пять назад я прочитала подряд несколько книг Стюарта Макбрайда и не вскрылась.
May 28, 2024
In the thriller genre, Ash Anderson series, together with the Logan McRae’s, is one of my favorites.
In this second book of the series, Ash is released from prison to help in the investigation of the killer called "Inside Man", who he had unsuccessfully hunted eight years earlier. In addition to a rather varied team, Dr. Alice McDonald, who had helped him in the investigation of the case described in Birthdays for the Dead, also collaborates with him. To complicate all, there is the ever present threat of Mrs. Kerrigan, especially now that Ash has had a chance to get out of prison and escape her torture.
As I expected from MacBride, the story is very compelling, the investigations lead the protagonists to formulate hypotheses that last more or less 10 pages, meeting dubious characters and almost always with something to hide, in a succession of episodes that often leave the reader believing to have understood, only to thwart every attempt in the following pages. Ash Anderson finds himself here balancing between facing an investigation that he doesn't want and defending himself from assassins who would like to kill him.
As I have often noticed in this author's books, things aren't always black or white and the good guys are not always upright, not to mention the protagonist's behavior at the limits of the law and beyond. Here too, the members of the teams involved do not always work in common agreement, often driven by their own interests. There is always a certain level of violence and well-measured depravity that I have learned to appreciate in MacBride's style, in the actions of the killer, but also in Ash Anderson, certainly an antihero, perhaps the opposite of Logan McRae, but whatever it is, it's what the reader finds himself rooting for.
Dr. McDonald is an excellent partner for Ash Anderson, different from him, more thoughtful, brilliant, but also more closed in on herself and tormented. The character is developed much more completely than in the previous book and helps maintain a certain balance in the couple. The change that occurs in her in certain situations is interesting: from shy and introverted to cheeky and ready to take center stage.
Another excellent novel by Stuart MacBride. I advise those who are approaching this series for the first time to start with Birthdays for the Dead, the events of which are often mentioned in this book.
In this second book of the series, Ash is released from prison to help in the investigation of the killer called "Inside Man", who he had unsuccessfully hunted eight years earlier. In addition to a rather varied team, Dr. Alice McDonald, who had helped him in the investigation of the case described in Birthdays for the Dead, also collaborates with him. To complicate all, there is the ever present threat of Mrs. Kerrigan, especially now that Ash has had a chance to get out of prison and escape her torture.
As I expected from MacBride, the story is very compelling, the investigations lead the protagonists to formulate hypotheses that last more or less 10 pages, meeting dubious characters and almost always with something to hide, in a succession of episodes that often leave the reader believing to have understood, only to thwart every attempt in the following pages. Ash Anderson finds himself here balancing between facing an investigation that he doesn't want and defending himself from assassins who would like to kill him.
As I have often noticed in this author's books, things aren't always black or white and the good guys are not always upright, not to mention the protagonist's behavior at the limits of the law and beyond. Here too, the members of the teams involved do not always work in common agreement, often driven by their own interests. There is always a certain level of violence and well-measured depravity that I have learned to appreciate in MacBride's style, in the actions of the killer, but also in Ash Anderson, certainly an antihero, perhaps the opposite of Logan McRae, but whatever it is, it's what the reader finds himself rooting for.
Dr. McDonald is an excellent partner for Ash Anderson, different from him, more thoughtful, brilliant, but also more closed in on herself and tormented. The character is developed much more completely than in the previous book and helps maintain a certain balance in the couple. The change that occurs in her in certain situations is interesting: from shy and introverted to cheeky and ready to take center stage.
Another excellent novel by Stuart MacBride. I advise those who are approaching this series for the first time to start with Birthdays for the Dead, the events of which are often mentioned in this book.
January 27, 2021
This is the second and last book for me in this series. It seemed to take a lifetime for me to get through and I nearly DNF'd twice.
I wasn't overly high on the first one but decided to stick with it due to Alice who i thought was a brilliant character.
Unfortunately, this book she has been reduced to someone who cant work things out without drinking a copious amount of whiskey and clinging onto Ash's arm at every moment like a lovesick teenager/ "wrapping one arm around herself". All the delightful quirkiness of her character has changed to just being annoying and fawning over Ash. I couldn't decide whether she was in love with him, starstruck or just annoying.
As for the twist (ie. who the killer was), i found it just far fetched and unbelievable.
Shame as I absolutely loved his Logan McRae series and had high hopes for this one, however I am finding it really hard to come up with any positives this time...
I wasn't overly high on the first one but decided to stick with it due to Alice who i thought was a brilliant character.
Unfortunately, this book she has been reduced to someone who cant work things out without drinking a copious amount of whiskey and clinging onto Ash's arm at every moment like a lovesick teenager/ "wrapping one arm around herself". All the delightful quirkiness of her character has changed to just being annoying and fawning over Ash. I couldn't decide whether she was in love with him, starstruck or just annoying.
As for the twist (ie. who the killer was), i found it just far fetched and unbelievable.
Shame as I absolutely loved his Logan McRae series and had high hopes for this one, however I am finding it really hard to come up with any positives this time...
May 11, 2021
I have read a number of Stuart MacBride's books including the Logan McRae series and the first in this Ash Henderson series and have generally enjoyed his crime fiction. I don't know if it was the mood I was in but I found this one very long and drawn out - it does weigh in at over 500 pages! I also really struggled with the level of hate - every page seemed to have people physically, mentally or verbally abusing others. It felt like the police, the psychologists, even the victims family were on a par with the serial killer in the abusive and violent stakes! It was just too much for me. And as for the character of Alice - arrghh - why has she turned into a sniveling hopeless female who has to cling on to Henderson?
April 27, 2015
A pretty decent mystery/thriller, although I very cleverly deduced the identity of the killer quite early on. The clues were rather obvious, but I still went along for the ride and enjoyed it. I do wish I had read the previous book, Birthdays for the Dead as there was a lot of backstory, but you can pick it up pretty quickly. All in all, a grisly fun read.
March 27, 2017
Book Description
A heart-stopping crime thriller and the fourth consecutive No. 1 Bestseller from the author of the Logan McRae series and Birthdays for the Dead.
He’s back…
Eight years ago, ‘The Inside Man’ murdered four women and left three more in critical condition – all of them with their stomachs slit open and a plastic doll stitched inside.
And then the killer just … disappeared.
Ash Henderson was a Detective Inspector on the initial investigation, but a lot can change in eight years. His family has been destroyed, his career is in tatters, and one of OldCastle’s most vicious criminals is making sure he spends the rest of his life in prison.
Now a nurse has turned up dead on a patch of waste ground, a plastic doll buried beneath her skin, and it looks as if Ash might finally get a shot at redemption. At earning his freedom.
At revenge.
My Review
I think when you read Stuart MacBride's Ash Henderson books, you have to read fast over the violence and gore and just enjoy the humor, interesting characters and the layered plots. I can't believe that I actually like these books enough to give them 5 stars but I really do enjoy them that much. They are definitely not for the faint of heart as they are dark, violent and sometimes unbelievable as to what is actually happening. It's almost like reading a comic book as you have to overlook a lot but I would read another one in a moment. In this book, Ash is back for revenge on the woman who set him up in the first book. He is also on the search for The Inside Man and he will not rest until the murderer is caught. The book is action-packed, fast-paced and kept me guessing until the very end. I especially enjoy the characters of Ash, Alice and Shifty in this one and hope they will be back in future installments. I would highly recommend reading this series in order and if you don't like violence and brutality mixed with your thrillers then "STAY AWAY' from this series.
A heart-stopping crime thriller and the fourth consecutive No. 1 Bestseller from the author of the Logan McRae series and Birthdays for the Dead.
He’s back…
Eight years ago, ‘The Inside Man’ murdered four women and left three more in critical condition – all of them with their stomachs slit open and a plastic doll stitched inside.
And then the killer just … disappeared.
Ash Henderson was a Detective Inspector on the initial investigation, but a lot can change in eight years. His family has been destroyed, his career is in tatters, and one of OldCastle’s most vicious criminals is making sure he spends the rest of his life in prison.
Now a nurse has turned up dead on a patch of waste ground, a plastic doll buried beneath her skin, and it looks as if Ash might finally get a shot at redemption. At earning his freedom.
At revenge.
My Review
I think when you read Stuart MacBride's Ash Henderson books, you have to read fast over the violence and gore and just enjoy the humor, interesting characters and the layered plots. I can't believe that I actually like these books enough to give them 5 stars but I really do enjoy them that much. They are definitely not for the faint of heart as they are dark, violent and sometimes unbelievable as to what is actually happening. It's almost like reading a comic book as you have to overlook a lot but I would read another one in a moment. In this book, Ash is back for revenge on the woman who set him up in the first book. He is also on the search for The Inside Man and he will not rest until the murderer is caught. The book is action-packed, fast-paced and kept me guessing until the very end. I especially enjoy the characters of Ash, Alice and Shifty in this one and hope they will be back in future installments. I would highly recommend reading this series in order and if you don't like violence and brutality mixed with your thrillers then "STAY AWAY' from this series.
August 10, 2022
In het begin had ik een beetje het gevoel alsof ik midden in een verhaal gedropt werd.. mijn fout, dat was ook een beetje zo want dit is het tweede boek in een serie. Desondanks stoorde dit niet en na even lezen ben je helemaal mee met het verhaal van Henderson, dus opzich kan je het als een alleenstaand boek beschouwen, volgens mij.
Ik vond dit oprecht een hele goede thriller. Macbride's schrijfstijl leest zeer vlot en het verhaal werd enorm goed opgebouwd en uitgebouwd waardoor je heerlijk kan lezen.
Het einde had ook een plot twist die ik, heel eerlijk toegeven, helemaal niet zag aankomen.
Ik ga deze auteur zeker nog vaker lezen.
Ik vond dit oprecht een hele goede thriller. Macbride's schrijfstijl leest zeer vlot en het verhaal werd enorm goed opgebouwd en uitgebouwd waardoor je heerlijk kan lezen.
Het einde had ook een plot twist die ik, heel eerlijk toegeven, helemaal niet zag aankomen.
Ik ga deze auteur zeker nog vaker lezen.
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