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The usual great fun, multi layered, gritty Scottish detective story. Sergeant Logan McRae as always ever troubled and hindered by the sarcastic often witty comments from the politically incorrect DI Roberta Steel.The body of a little girl washes up on a sleepy coastal town and it is this case that forms the central story in The Missing and the Dead. As well as unravelling the mystery of the child Sgt McRae still needs to deal with a multitude of incidents and petty crime that form the day to day case load of Police Scotland.

Stuart MacBride is unique in crime fiction. He has the ability to hold his readers attention by layering his narrative with colourful incidents and shady characters that are the backbone of everyday modern police work.There is great humour and warmth in MacBride's writing and yet he manages to deal eloquently and sympathetically with the search for the killer of a precious young girl resulting in a surprising and yet equally sad conclusion. Long may Stuart MacBride reign as the king of Scottish noir.