This novella features the Odd Couple of Scottish crime fiction, the eminently likeable Aberdeen cop Logan McRae and his foul-mouthed, chain-smoking lesbian boss, DCI Roberta Steele. You can catch up with them at length in Close To The Bone, but here we have a very punchy and fast moving week-in-the-life-of McRae. There’s John Skinner, who is determined to commit suicide; there’s a dead tramp; there’s a pair of feuding neighbours whose mutual dislike turns suddenly serious; then there’s McRae’s girlfriend, still in a coma after a disastrous fire. Expect plenty of action and a serious dose of very black humour. Here’s the full review of this shorter than usual outing for Stuart MacBride.