One year ago, I discovered and subsequently devoured MacBride’s Logan McRae series of novels. He had written them over a period of several years; I read them in one. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review. It is set to be published in January 2021. The writing style itself feels inappropriate for a novel, with blatant abuse of italics, words in all caps and lots and lots of exclamation points (sometimes all three of them at the same time). As if that isn’t enough, there is also a child killer on the loose who has already killed three young boys and who has just snatched a fourth. But Ash has Gordon Smith in his sights. A neighbour of Smith’s turns out to be Helen MacNeil whom Ash has a history with, not romantic, Helen is a criminal and a pretty scary woman - stronger than many men and totally ruthless. She bails Ash up about her missing granddaughter, Leah, who was literally brought up by the Smiths as Helen was in prison and her mother, Sophie, committed suicide. Or did she? Caroline Smith, Gordon’s wife, has since died. No one knows if she was complicit in his crimes but how could she not know? Der Hauptprotagonist Ash Henderson ist ein verbitterter und zynischer Expolizist, der sich selbst und seine kurze Zündschnur nicht im Griff hat und der deshalb ständig mit anderen Menschen aneinander gerät. Sowas muss man mögen - ich auf jeden Fall nicht 😅

Stuart MacBride’s books are always so good and this is one is no different. This book is clever, gritty and funny. Logan McRae is the everyman, a decent guy trying to do good in a world that is both cruel and absurd. When he does break the rules, it’s for the greater good. Ash Henderson is a very different character, a vigilante fuelled by a need for revenge, constrained only by what he can get away with. While the humour is there, the overall feel is bleaker. Home> Fiction from Scotland> The Coffinmaker’s Garden The Coffinmaker’s Garden By (author) Stuart MacBride; Read by TBA There’s still an element of ‘crime fiction as a mirror’ about it, but a lot of ‘crime fiction as an escape’ too. Maybe not quite as much of an escape as Tufty the Vampire Slayer, or The Horrible Haunting of Tartan Haggis MacFunland, but an escape nonetheless.With the storm still raging, it’s too dangerous to retrieve the bodies and waves are devouring the evidence. Which means no one knows how many people Smith’s already killed and how many more he’ll kill if he can’t be found and stopped. We have duel investigations going on with these two, a serial killer who has been undetected for decades and also a child murderer who is escalating his crimes with every kill. Once again a great plot. 2 cases ongoing dfor the sort-of dynamic duo Ash and Alice. Both with their own demons to bring along and both of which are constantly reminded of.

I’ve been reading this author’s work for ages & while I enjoy the Logan McRae books, have to admit I prefer this series. It’s been 7 years since A Song for the Dying. So I’m thrilled to see the return of Oldcastle’s crankiest, perpetually injured ex-DI. That was magnificent! I am a huge fan of Stuart MacBride and have read pretty much all of his books. (Former Detective Inspector) Ash Henderson is now working as a civilian consultant for the Lateral Investigative and Review Unit (LIRU) along with forensic psychologist Dr Alice McDonald. They both have plenty of demons. In addition Alice is drinking far too much and Ash is recovering from a bullet wound in his foot. The novel is mostly told from Ash’s point of view in the first person and as he has a rather dark, cynical take on life it makes the read fun and even laugh out loud funny at times. I am Scottish so it all seems very natural and makes perfect sense to me but I can’t judge if it would be the same for non natives. I wouldn’t say that his judgement is always sound as his decision making seems to involve violence on a regular basis, both given and received, but he can always justify it, perhaps. Old school is probably the best description. So – did it work? Well, by and large yes. There are two threads to this story. The first is the investigation into the abduction and murder of young boys from around Oldcastle. This is the case that Ash and Dr Alice McDonald are working on when they get a call to attend a scene of a tragic maritime accident in a small coastal village, where an unexpected discovery has been made. Bones. Lots of them. In a garden which is rapidly disappearing into the North Sea due to coastal erosion. But it is not this alone that forces Ash to work alongside DI Malcolmson, a.k.a. ‘Mother’, and her Misfit Mob, but the altogether more grim findings in the basement of the home that the garden and said bones seem to belong to. 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.

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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.

All those small, square photographs in their rectangular white 'frames', the greying plastic stained with the dark swirls of bloody fingerprints. As a massive storm batters the Scottish coast, Gordon Smith’s home is falling into the sea. The trouble is: that’s where he’s been hiding the bodies. It’s too dangerous to go near the place, so there’s no way of knowing how many people he’s murdered. Or how many more he’ll kill before he’s caught. I’m always intrigued with UK settings and the Scottish locale here was no exception. Before the finale, I learned about butty sausages, chippies, mince and tatties, brollys, brookit, and lorries. Colloquialism abounds-and I was enthralled! Ash Henderson and his gang of misfits are called in to investigate a case no one wants. It's deemed impossible and too high profile for anyone else to consider destroying their career over.I know I'm the odd one out here, but I really didn't enjoy this book. Too violent. Too dark. Too much rule breaking. Too much torture. Too much sexism. Too much racism. Too incredulous. As more horrors are discovered, ex-detective Ash Henderson is done playing nice. He’s got a killer to catch, and God help anyone who gets in his way.

DISCLOSURE: I listened to the audiobook of The Coffin Maker's Garden written by Stuart MacBride and narrated by Ian Hanmore. It was a dark and stormy night in Clachmara and police are called because of human bones reported in Gordon Smith’s garden - now visible as part of the cliff face has fallen into the sea. Because of his own bleak history, Ash tends to throw caution to the winds and he wants to search the house which is in danger of following the bits of garden into the North Sea. He finds a trapdoor to the basement and, ignoring pleas from Alice and others descends into the gloom where he finds....a kill room. Unfortunately there is no safe way to search it to identify, or even count, the number of victims but Ash does manage to snag a bunch of Polaroids showing before and after - you can guess. The story is about the murder of young boys and as we're introduced to this horrific news item, Ash finds himself at a row of houses by the sea, all being speedily taken by the storm that's eroding the coast and one house in particular hides a gruesome secret. I would like to thank Netgalley and HarperCollins UK, HarperFiction for an advance copy of The Coffinmaker’s Garden, the third novel to feature former DI Ash Henderson, now a consultant to Police Scotland in the fictional town of Oldcastle. The specialised team are established characters from previous books, but this was my first encounter with them. I felt very comfortable with them as they felt natural, with no stiffness about their characters like, at times, when they are new. Alongside, the case of the serial killer is also the disappearance of a neighbour’s daughter.

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I loved this book! The author’s stylized technique, dialog, and biting wit between characters carried it into exceptional territory causing me to laugh in several instances despite content: As much as I love the Logan Macrae series, I have really struggled to like Ash Henderson. The previous stories were good but the character never sat well. It's all changed in this book. Maybe it's because the murdered daughter storyline is resolved (as much as losing a child can be resolved, it is still prevalent in this book) and we've moved on a few years and it's a wholly new serial killer (two actually, we are spoilt here) with no personal attachments but this book feels like a breath of fresh air after the first two. Ash is likeable and I wanted to know more. Granted he's still a thug and very dodgy and has very little morals but this time his character worked for me. For years I’ve been saying that crime writers reflect the fears of society. That’s why 1970s crime fiction is so different to 2000s, or 2010. It holds up a mirror to our collective psyche and asks, ‘What are you afraid of?’ I was keen to discover whether the author’s new Ash Henderson novel, THE COFFINMAKER’S GARDEN would match the standard set by his earlier series. I was aware that there were two other Ash Henderson books, written several years ago, that did not match the popularity of the Logan McRae series, so I didn’t bother to read them. “The Coffinmaker’s Garden” seemed to be a new start after the McRae series ended.