The Missing and the Dead (Logan McRae, Book 9)

By: Stuart MacBride

Narrated by: Steve Worsley

The ninth Logan McRae thriller from the No. 1 bestseller Stuart MacBride.

‘Dark and griping. A riveting page-turner’ Independent on Sunday

One mistake can cost you everything…

A little girl’s body washes up just outside the sleepy coastal town of Macduff, kicking off a major manhunt. Officially, the investigation is out of Sergeant Logan McRae’s hands, but DCI Steel’s Major Investigation Team, drafted in from Aberdeen, is getting nowhere fast.

Steel is running out of ideas and time. She wants Logan back on her team, and doesn’t care how she gets him there.

One thing is clear: there are dangerous predators lurking in the wilds of Aberdeenshire, and not everyone’s getting out of this alive…

Critic reviews

Exciting … a guaranteed bestseller’ Literary Review

‘New Logan McRae novels are close to the top of my unmissable list, and yet again MacBride delivers. His chaotic cop hero is at his best. Superb storytelling’ Sun

‘Another from MacBride’s fantastic series of Logan McRae novels. A real page-turner’ Sunday Mirror

‘Stuart’s meticulous research shows. At times it feels like you are sitting in the back of a police car overhearing conversations between real policemen’ Sunday Sport

‘Another riveting page-turner … emotional and affecting.’ Independent on Sunday

‘Skilful storytelling … strong characterisation … both intriguing and engrossing’ Laura Wilson, Guardian

‘The multiple plots move fast’ Independent

Praise for Stuart MacBride:

‘MacBride is the natural heir to the late and much lamented Reginald Hill’ Andrew Taylor, Spectator

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

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

‘Some of the grittiest crime-writing in the field’ Independent

‘Admirers of tough, modern crime novels will be in seventh heaven – or should that be hell?’ Express

‘Ferocious and funny’ Val McDermid

‘Hard-hitting prose with a bone-dry humour and characters you can genuinely believe in, Stuart MacBride’s novels are a real treat’ Simon Kernick

Even better the second time

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

With a dead-on ear for MacBride's humor and humanity, Worsley captures the author's characters beautifully. I read the e-book first because the audio wasn't available for some time, and found that I really missed the Scottish accent. He's the perfect voice for both Logan and Steele, no small trick.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Everything about Logan's steadfast devotion to the comatose shell that was Samantha is moving for me, more so because MacBride avoids being maudlin or overly sentimental.

Any additional comments?

I love this series. Sometimes when I've come off a bad streak of disappointing mysteries I go back and re-listen to one of the Logan Macrea novels - like a breath of fresh air, they are by turns tragic, horrifying, laugh-out-loud funny, always wonderfully written and driven by a truly heroic, flawed central character. Always leaves me wanting more.

4

I so enjoy the humor that pops up in this book. Now I'm off to choose another in the series.

So good!

Love this one. Never dull always something several something’s happening. Really looking forward to what’s next in this excellent series.

Very exciting to the end. Narration was spot on.

Very exciting. Narration was spot on. The introduction of Samantha talking to Logan and keeping on track was priceless.

Overly Long

Overly long with a not very interesting story. Lots of tedious detail about day-to-day policing. The big mystery turned out to be not so big.