Broken Skin

Logan McRae, Book 3

By: Stuart MacBride

Narrated by: Steve Worsley

Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's Summary

The number one best-selling crime series from the award-winning Stuart MacBride. In this third DS Logan McRae thriller, the Granite City's seedy side is about to be exposed....

A serial rapist is leaving a string of tortured women behind him, but while DS Logan McRae's girlfriend, PC Jackie 'Ball Breaker' Watson, is out acting as bait, he's trying to identify a blood-drenched body dumped outside Accident and Emergency.

Logan's investigations suggest someone in the local bondage community has developed a taste for violent death, and he soon finds himself dragged into the twilight world of pornographers, sex-shops and S&M.

Meanwhile, the prime suspect in the rape case turns out to be Aberdeen Football Club's star striker. Logan thinks they've got it horribly wrong, but Jackie is convinced the footballer's guilty and she's hell-bent on a conviction at any cost....

©2007 Stuart MacBride (P)2017 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic Reviews

"Fierce, unflinching and shot through with the blackest of humour; this is crime fiction of the highest order." (Mark Billingham)

"Compelling reading...a tribute to MacBride's storytelling skill." ( Sunday Telegraph)

"Grim, gritty and great fun." ( Daily Sport)

Whine... Whine... Whine... Whine... !!!!

Everyone is put upon. Everyone's a moping victim. Everyone's on everyone else's case. What's happened to Logan McRae? His associates? This is the world's most dysfunctional squad of screw-ups - and not for any comic purpose. So much unresolved tension and contention. Will this ever end? Well for me it ends with this installment of the world's whiniest cop squat. Yeah, they resolve murders but only at the expense of their ghastly interpersonal messes. Is Scotland this depressing? Go Away!!!

Wonderful trip to Aberdeen!

Great story, fun and quirky characters. Performance by Steve Worsley is flawless as always. Well worth a listen!

Slight spoiler, info that is later in the book

Does mr. Macbride have children I wonder? I found the story of the 8 year old boy unbelievable and the way they treated that crime. I'm not sure Ivey ever even heard of that type of murder by a child that young. If so, it's handled very differently than I believe they handled it. Of course, I'm in the US... but still locking an 8 year old up until he is 30? I doubt that entire narrative. I hope in the future me. Macbride does more research on child crime. The way they manhandled him etc....sorry I didn't buy it. Not 8. I have a grandson 8 years old. I know what they are capable of. Certainly not this kind of crime.even IF he could we don't treat children like adult criminals...he was even a teen.
As anyone who has read mr macbride knows these are great books. Don't hesitate because of minor flaws. I just wanted to point that out because it bothered me. Otherwise great narration, fascinating story. Enjoy.

Worth it just for Steel

Another solid installment in the series. I love the humor relief in this book. SM does it better than anyone else. Detectives need a way to lighten the mood more than most. And Roberta Steel is the best in the biz lol. On to the next one..

Another fantastic read

Thoroughly enjoyed McRae's adventures, the descriptive writing of the author and passion of the narrator has me hooked!

Excellent Series

The only thing I don’t like about this series is knowing I will eventually finish it.

The plot and performance are excellent! Though the stories can be dark and disturbing, I laugh out loud at DI Steele’s comments.

Very enjoyable

Excellent story and superbly well performed. I plan to listen to the whole series. Bravo!

Can't handle an 8-year-old

Overall the book is good, but sometimes the main character is as stupid as the people they arrest say the cops are. Logan gets beat up by an 8-year-old. An 8-year-old! One he knew was armed and dangerous. One he was ready for. One he knew was violent. Plus Logan is just so wishy-washy sometimes. My only explanation is that he's continously sleep-deprived. Unfortunately he also seems to be the best the Aberdeen police have, which isn't saying much.

However, the characters remain interesting. This series has plenty of humor. The books are good. They could be better if Logan becomes more skilled than lucky.

Great writer,Great Narration

Stuart Mac Bride is one of the best. Yes his books are too gruesome and some parts are ridiculous. He makes up for this with true to life ,great characters and a quirky dark humor I love. A reviewer for one of his books said the dialogue was too immature. These represent real people coping.If they were serious and mature all the time they wouldn't last long.

Couldn’t finish

Story could have been good but the juvenile language was more than I could stand.

Perhaps teenagers might be able to stand it

Simply Brilliant

I believe this is my favourite book so far. Logan and Detective Steele are great characters. Would definitely recommend this book. You won't put it down

Always a great read (listen)

Another great Logan McRae story from the brilliant mind of Stuart MacBride, well recommended to anyone

loved it!

Perfectly narrated great story, made me laugh and grimace in equal amounts. D S Steel is a legend! Hooked on the series, my new favourite soap.

DCI 'Steels' the show!

Great storyline. The characters come to life brilliantly. Loving DCI Steel's one-liners and put-downs. She injects real humour into the gruesome backdrop.

Still not as good as the first book

The narration was excellent and I enjoyed listening to the book, however I had some reservations about this book. The characters have become more extreme and less believable in each book. The main characters had a sense of gloom and desperation hanging over them throughout the book and a number of police officers lacked integrity and made reckless decisions which were out of character and not credible.

For the most part I thought the author tackled the BDSM aspect of the book in a fair and open minded way, but the conclusion of that aspect of the plot was very disappointing and was not well researched.

I intend to read the next book in the series, in the hope that it will be more believable and a bit more cheerful than this one.

Exquisite!

Can't get enough of Stuart MacBride. Incredible characters, flawless stories and Steve Worsley's narrating just makes the whole thing perfect.

maybe a tad long

The action seemed to drag slightly as obvious twists and turns unravel. The final twist I did not spot as I had started to lose interest in the major characters and the violence that seemed to come their way. I had a few rests from the story as I began to wonder if the behaviour was credible. But it is detective story so I got what I paid for.

Another winner

Once again author and narrator have a winning combination, Steve Worsley brings alive all the correctors that Stuart Macbride conjures up and encloses you in the story

Another Brilliant Book

Really happy I found this series. Really enjoy Detective books and this does not disappoint.

Great characters, excellent storylines and hilarious at times.

Another great read

Great story. Wonderful characters. Not something you want to listen to on loud speaker lol.