Flesh House

Logan McRae, Book 4

By: Stuart MacBride

Narrated by: Cameron Stewart

Length: 5 hrs and 6 mins

Publisher's summary

Aberdeen is panicking. It's been 18 years since Grampian Police caught the Flesher - the notorious serial killer who butchered people all over the UK - and seven years since he was released from Peterhead prison, his conviction overturned on appeal. But when a container, full of joints of human meat turns up at Aberdeen Harbour it kicks off the largest man hunt in Aberdeen's history. Ken Wiseman is on the run and looking for revenge.

As senior police officers descend on the Granite City from up and down the county, Detective Sergeant Logan McRae is lumbered with the unenviable task of babysitting Chief Constable Mark Faulds from Birmingham - one of the original investigation team - and trying to keep DI Insch from throwing his career away in his obsessive quest to see Wiseman behind bars before he kills again.

When members of the team that put Wiseman away in 1990 start going missing, Logan knows that things aren't as straightforward as everyone thinks. More and more human meat is turning up in the food chain. Twenty years of secrets and lies are being dragged into the light. And the only thing that's certain is Aberdeen will never be the same again.

©2008 Stuart MacBride (P)2008 HarperCollins Publishers

MacBride just too graphic

I had trouble finishing this book and I returned the next. in the series for a refund. Though I like many of the characters, MacBride has begun to focus on the violence more than the mystery. By the book's end I found myself not caring "who dunnit" I just wanted the violence to end.

Abridged books should come with a giant WARNING

What disappointed you about Flesh House?

I love this series up till now, but did not notice the "Abridged" on the description. I have spent days being confused, losing track of the story, and going back to see what I missed. Finally, I started reading a Kindle version, and realized that at least half the book has been savagely hacked out. (Ironic, given the subject matter.) I tried simultaneously reading and listening, and was appalled at all the great stuff that has been hacked out of EVERY page for the sake of what - brevity? At the expense of so many of this brilliant writer's words? I don't know why the author would have given permission for this travesty.

Now I have given up the audio book completely and am reading it on Kindle instead. I will NEVER buy an abridged book again and will be asking for a refund on this one.

What makes it even worse is that the narrator, Cameron Stewart, is ABSOLUTELY BRILLIANT. I love how he brings the words to life with his accents and expression. It's a tour de force. What a pity that half the words are missing ...

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

Yes, but only because so many details were deleted that I didn't know what was going on half the time. The "abridgment" makes the already very convoluted plot so ridiculously fast-moving that I felt dizzy.

What about Cameron Stewart’s performance did you like?

Everything. Man's a genius, just like the author.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment that half of it is missing.

Any additional comments?

Please print the word "Abridged" in double sized, RED letters to warn potential buyers that they are only buying half the product.

Great book for dieting or 13 year old boys

Gaggish convoluted story that's hard to get through. Might appeal to immature boys or underdeveloped men. Full of script for a gross/out contest.