4.5/5 StarsIt's summertime in the Granite city: the sun is shining, the sky is blue and people are dying...Apart from the awesome title, Dying Light is another testament to MacBride's enviable ability to make you feel dirty and guilty upon completion of one of his works, and wholly helpless, because you know you're not going to stop. Like its predecessor, Cold Granite, this entry keeps the dark and gritty elements up to a high standard. With a smashing story, captivating characters and Scottish slang I'm frighteningly familiar with, Dying Light is a worthy sequel. SPOILER WARNING - Not 100% positive, but be wary.Synopsis (Not a copy from the book, but I always keep my interpretations close.)DS Logan McRae is back, and there's a dead prostitute lying on a cold, metal slab waiting for him.And just when Logan doesn't think his day can get worse, six people across the city are burned to death in their own home.The front door screwed shut from the outside.And it doesn't take long before another prostitute ends up dead.Mr McRae's work has been cut out for him... Plot - 4.5/5 StarsReading crime novels always leaves me with a sense of foreboding, but MacBride's thrillers have me looking over my shoulder and hesitant to leave the house at all. They're that good, and for me, close to home. Literally. Aberdeen isn't that far from me. In all seriousness, Scotland's not that bad.Really, it's not...*Disappears to check crime statistics*Dying Light certainly keeps up his infuriatingly hooking delivery. I am a little disappointed by the blurb at the back of the book. Cold Granite was an instantly shocking punch to the gut, and while this entry definitely caught my attention, it was underwhelming; generic almost. The inside? Totally different. The first paragraph has you by the throat, and the second instalment to the series for sure matches its predecessor in terms of depressing, disgusting detail. The story is more or less perfect. There are a few short, oddly placed scenes that focus on characters outwith our main cast, and at times I felt disjointed. Overall: Awesome. Pace - 4.5/5 StarsI'm actually a little surprised by the book's length. Why? I can't put my finger on it. Too long is the best I can give you. Along with the scenes I mentioned before, that's my only problem with the pace. 99% of the time, Dying Light hits the nail on the head. Unputdownable. I picked it up whenever the opportunity to arose. A practically seamless read. Characters - 4.5/5 StarsOh, I adore MacBride's characters. They're just as real and captivating as the story. There are a few that aren't up to par and they are almost interchangeable with one another.Jacobs and Rennie - Couldn't tell you the difference.Doc Wilson and Doc Fraser - Nope.But, they are only minor characters, the main cast are superior in every way.Logan: Our MC, protagonist and completely awesome. Logan is the guy you root for, through and through; smart, competent and the hero in this dark tale. He's one of the few people to never settle on one possibility, always asking questions, questioning everything and pursuing every theory until he comes to the right one. Thankfully, he never comes across as a know-it-all. He's a damn good cop, who never receives the right amount of glory, which only makes us like him more.Steel: The dirty-mouthed Detective Inspector who takes a more prominent role in Dying Light than she did in Cold Granite. She's perfect. I like and dislike her in equal measure. She's sarcastically cruel, sometimes overly so, but there's a cunning to her that earns my respect, even if she is a bit of a glory thief. Insch: Detective Inspector from the first book. Not as prominent as I'd like him to be, but he still fits nicely. Fair and capable. I hope Logan gets to go back to him, because, as a team, they rock.Jackie: Let me down a little bit. She appears for the first half of the book as Logan's nagging girlfriend. She finally gets to live up to her moniker 'Ball Breaker' in the latter parts of the novel, where I was whopping her along. Jackie is tough, as nails. The cast is well-developed, and an utter joy to read. Writing - 4.5/5 StarsYou'd think I'd be perfect to determine how strong the Scottish is, being a fellow Scot myself. But I find it mighty difficult. I think in Dying Light the slang and accents are a lot stronger than the book's predecessor, and for those not used to it, it could be a little jarring. Mostly it's fine, confined almost predominantly to dialogue. The dark humour that had me laughing guiltily in Cold Granite is still as good in this entry. Overall - 4.5 StarsAnother cracking novel from Stuart MacBride. Any problems I had can't really be classed as problems. Definitely pick up a book from the series.Also, I'm damn shocked at how little I know of my own justice system...
4.5 starsI'm always nervous when picking up a second book in a series. Will it live up to the first book? Not only did Dying Light by Stuart MacBride, live up to the first, I thought it actually surpassed it. "How? How does writing rubbish about the fires being a sexual thing help us catch the bastard doing it? What am I supposed to do with that? Put an ad in the personal columns? 'Looking for white, male GSOH, mid twenties -- into setting fire to people's houses, with them inside, and masturbating while they burn -- for long-term commitment at Her Majesty's pleasure. Genuine psychos only: no time wasters.' Can really see that working." - DI InschI don't know how MacBride manages to make a story based on solving gruesome crimes fun, but somehow he always does. I feel almost guilty describing it that way given its content, but it is fun watching these guys work. The characters are just so well-drawn, and endearing, even the prickly, insensitive ones, and I love the dark humor. "DI Insch ran a tight ship. A stickler for punctuality, preparation and professionalism, his briefings were clear and concise. DI Steel's, on the other hand, seemed to be pretty much a shambles. There was no clear agenda and everyone talked at once, while Steel sat by an open window puffing away on an endless chain of cigarettes, scratching her armpit...[s]omething terrible had happened to her hair, but everyone was too afraid to mention it." The one character who stole the show, though, was Detective Inspector Roberta Steel. She is a vulgar, crass, chain-smoking, hot mess, and I just adored her. I hope Logan has to work every case with her from now until eternity. I just couldn't get enough of her. Watching her interaction with Logan was so much fun. Hell, watching her interaction with any of the characters was fun. Logan, of course, is great as well. The one thing that drives me nuts about him, though, is that just like the first book, he sometimes misses obvious links or clues. I found myself catching onto something and then waiting for him to catch up. That was a little frustrating, but not enough to ruin my affection for him or my love of the story. The crime solving portion of the story was as good as the first book. I like that more than one crime is featured, even though one takes center stage. It keeps things interesting. So, if like me you are always a bit hesitant when picking up a second book in a series, I wouldn't worry too much when it comes to Dying Light. It's a great addition to the Logan McRae series. Highly recommended. Final rating: 4.5 stars
What do You think about Dying Light (2007)?
This is the second Logan McRae book and while it's still a good read it was a lot slower than the first. Having read 3 of MacBride's books as well as attending an event of his I knew what to expect. More than one case going on within the book, McRae is just a normal cop doing his job surrounded by larger than life characters (sometimes literally), crap weather and plenty of violence. What threw me was the book being set in Summer. The rain was almost a character in its own right in Cold Granite so for the weather to be almost bearable was a real surprise. Having met her (albeit briefly) in McRae's first outing it was good to get to know D.I Steel a lot better this time round. Not a likeable character (but I guess that's the point so I don't hold that against the story) and I can see why some fans have asked for her to be killed off. I'm of the opinion it's nice to see characters who are on the good guys' team who aren't likeable. Not everyone is and it'd make no sense if they all were within the confines of a work of fiction. The violence wasn't toned down per-say (at least one instance was down right brutal) but the amount of it certainly felt like it was. Again, no complaints here, I love MacBride's book for being so gritty and outright brutal but it's good to see he can write a story where it isn't as prominent. This book gets 3 stars whereas Cold Granite got 5 because as I say it's slower. There's a lot more police politics going on in this one plus with fleshing out Steel's character past that of a background role it felt at times more of a debut than the actual debut itself. McRae as well, I like him, he's a nice guy, a good cop and gets worked like a dog by Steel but at times he is so thick. You read some of his actions and just think to yourself, "That's going to get you in the shit you idiot"All in all it was a decent book but it could have done to pick up the pace a little.
—Paul Wardman
The second Logan McRae novel and another re-read for me. Again I was surprised at how much detail I remembered of the book, having not read it since it first came out. Di Steel is a major character in this one, but I didn't warm to her as much as I did on first reading. Perhaps a second reading gives you more time to look in detail at the characters, whereas a first reading keeps you turning the pages in pursuit of what happened and why.While the gruesome details of the first book's crimes didn't affect me, some of the detail in Dying Light was getting to the "too much" stage, particularly some details near the end. However, despite that I was still gripped and will continue with my re-read of the early books before moving on to the later adventures of Logan McRae.
—CuteBadger
RATING: 4.0At one time the Golden Boy of the Aberdeen, Scotland, police department, Detective Sergeant Logan MacRae is suffering from the ignominy of being assigned to the so-called "Screw-up Squad" led by bristly and unpredictable Detective Inspector Roberta Steel. MacRae was the leader of a misguided raid that left a fellow police officer seriously injured. The golden days are quickly forgotten when things go wrongAberdeen is awash in crime. Someone is beating prostitutes to death. A particularly vicious killer is setting buildings on fire after screwing closed any exit doors. And of course, there are the usual petty incidents, husbands disappearing from home, mob types doing their illegal thing. Despite the fact that his reputation has been smeared, both DI Steel and his former boss, DI Insch, rely heavily on MacRae to run important investigations. Logan really has no choice but to pull double duty, despite the negative impact that it is having on his personal life and his love affair with WPC Jackie Watson. MacRae is determined to clear his name and get back to his normal assignment and leave the neurotic DI Steel to her own devices. She's a wonderful creation, prickly, self-centered and possibly a bit mad.One unique characteristic that MacRae has is an intuitive sense of how to read the evidence. He's able to see things that others overlook, and that serves him well as he doggedly pursues every possible lead in the case of the murdered prostitutes or the heartless arsonist. He never loses his humanity, despite the gruesome things that he uncovers. There are quite a few graphic scenes in the book; however, all of them are relevant and establish the true horror of what these crimes mean. In most cases, it is easy for the reader to skim over the more brutal descriptions of these acts and MacBride's macabre humor helps to leaven the darkness. Dying Light is wonderfully written. Although the plot is complex, the pacing never lags. I did tire of being told every time that DI Steel lit a cigarette—that probably happened a few dozen times throughout the book and grew irritating. And the resolution treaded very close to implausibility.In addition to developing a fine cast of characters and depicting the setting quite eloquently, MacBride shines in building a true police procedural. Even the members of the "Screw-up Squad" work together to solve the crimes before them; there's a feeling of teamwork although MacRae at times goes into Lone Wolf mode. I haven't read the first book in this series, Cold Granite, but Dying Light leads me to believe that MacBride has a long, bright writing future ahead of him.
—Maddy
