I enjoyed Macbride's previous novels, but for me this is a disorganised mess that got perilously close to `jumping the shark' (for those unfamiliar with the term, it means an outrageous plot sequence that removes all credibility from subsequent offerings). Macbride needs to reign himself in, and get back to the basics that were so good in earlier novels.
The character of DI Steel, and her relationship with Logan, is turning into a bad comedy; it is devoid of wit, it stretches credence beyond endurance, and it is increasingly getting in the way of what should be the fundamentals of a police procedural. Logan too, in his indestructibility and his endless drinking, is becoming a cartoon character and a cipher of the `hard-drinking Scottish copper'. It's been done, and done many times. Move Logan towards a character we can believe in.
While parts of this storyline were done very well, with some genuine menace, too much of the plot became garbled, and seemed secondary in the author's thinking. The episode in Poland was too formulaic to be credible; plot changes relied on reaches of logic that seemed forced and artificial; the `bent copper' angle was well-developed but then ruined by a trite and lame finish; the overall ending of the book was messy and smacked of running out of ideas. Macbride has shown that he can write really excellent crime novels; it's a shame he hasn't done so here.
I know Macbride routinely laughs at people who post Amazon reviews of his work. Fine. But for this reader (and fan) he is moving away from what made his books so good; the sense of place, a credible central character, and a decent plot set in the real world. Graham Hurley has shown how it is possible to develop the lives of central characters without becoming cartoonish or clichéd; Macbride needs to do the same with the next book.
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