Birthdays for the Dead

By: Stuart MacBride

Narrated by: Ian Hanmore

Twelve years. Twelve dead girls. Thirteen will be unlucky for some. The Number One bestselling crime thriller from the award-winning Stuart MacBride. A bloody, brilliant and brutal story of murder, kidnap and revenge.

Detective Constable Ash Henderson has a dark secret…

Five years ago his daughter, Rebecca, went missing on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. A year later the first card arrived: home-made, with a Polaroid picture stuck to the front – Rebecca, strapped to a chair, gagged and terrified. Every year another card: each one worse than the last.

The tabloids call him ‘The Birthday Boy’. He’s been snatching girls for twelve years, always just before their thirteenth birthday, killing them slowly, then torturing their families with his homemade cards.

But Ash hasn’t told anyone what really happened to Rebecca – they all think she ran away – because if anyone finds out, he’ll be taken off the investigation. And he’s sacrificed too much to give up before his daughter’s murderer gets what he deserves…

Critic reviews

Praise for Birthdays for the Dead:

‘MacBride is a damned fine writer – no one does dark and gritty like him’ Peter James

‘The master of murderous mayhem is back to his best with a belter of a book … a page-turner’ The Sun

Praise for Stuart MacBride:

‘Fierce, unflinching and shot through with the blackest of humour; this is crime fiction of the highest order’ Mark Billingham

‘Ferocious and funny, this is Tartan Noir at its best’ Val McDermid

‘Stuart MacBride’s thrillers just keep getting better’ Express

Happy to hear that Ash will be back

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, but to those who have a strong stomach. Jo Nesbo fans maybe. Terrific suspense, great storytelling with a dose of dark humor.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Yeah, it was just about impossible to put down.

Any additional comments?

Terrific reader. The lead character is the kind of flawed anti-hero I like to read about. Really wanted to hear what happened to him next, and to his profiler. Was very pleased when I checked the author's website to see that another Ash Henderson novel will be out in January. Yeah, the book was pretty violent, but no worse than Val MacDermid or Jo Nesbo or others I could name. And this was more entertaining than most.

Prefer Logan McCrae series

While I love the Logan McCrae series which has so many great characters. I couldn't get into this books as much. McCrae series has dark stories they also have quirky characters that bring humor.

Good Story. Asks too much of the reader.

I read almost everything. I really enjoy MacBride's Logan McRae books. I love the gritty local color of the Scottish police department in Aberdeen. I thought this was another Logan book and I enjoyed the character Ash- Although I can't condone his ask-questions-later style and it's not really working for him in this his first book. With all the positives of this novel, I remain unhappy but I respect the writer's skill.

Fairly predictable but enjoyable.

I love how MacBride writes!! It’s quirky, funny and the character descriptions are always over the top. I liked Ash and the violence didn’t bother me as it has other readers. If you like MacBride, you’ll enjoy this.

Riveting

Would you consider the audio edition of Birthdays for the Dead to be better than the print version?

Listening to Ian while I read, kept me aware of each of the characters and personalities

Who was your favorite character and why?

Alice was my favorite character. She started out quirky but ended up fierce.

What does Ian Hanmore bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Ian brought each of the characters to life and I totally enjoyed listening to him.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Ash....you bastardo