Not honestly one of Stuart MacBride’s best, but even on an average day he outperforms most of the competitors. This is another Oldcastle book, this time a standalone (I think!). Entertainingly grim reading, if somewhat preposterous. Take it in that vein and the last act is an absolute riot, didn’t see it coming despite in retrospect being seeded throughout. The book equivalent of a loaded burger, not good for you, really enjoyable and leaves you feeling a bit dirty…

I struggled to get into this book, but I persevered and then found myself unable to put it down; until the twist. I really didn’t like the book from then on as it lost all credibility. However, I loved the partnership between Lucy and The Dunc, so really wished it hadn’t gone in the weird direction that it did.

DS Lucy McVeigh is involved in the seventeen month hunt for a serial killer known as the Bloodsmith and is distracted by the case of an eleven year old murderer recently released after 16 years in prison. The tale of both cases switches about throughout the tale cleverly maintaining interest. The humorous dialogue synonymous with this author’s previous works is still brilliantly there especially with her interaction with her colleague PC Dunk but then three quarters of the way the way through it all goes rather weird and difficult to follow, still I persevered and by the end it still leaves one hoping that these characters get another run when hopefully it becomes clearer!

No Less The Devil has the trademark Stuart MacBrude chaos, darkness and humour however I felt it was a little bit uneven at times with it taking a while before it got into its swing. The middle part of the book was excellent before a very weird and strange twist at the end.

Overall it was a good read

The last and only MacBride novel I read was Halfhead on a flight to Glasgow fifteen years ago, I absolutely loved it and can't explain why I'd not read another since- especially since there are five more sitting patiently in my library!
For reasons unknown to me I suddenly found the urge to try, I spotted No Less The Devil on Netgalley and thought- here's a way to make sure I finally read some more MacBride, I'll sign up to review. So here we are..

After a quick scan of Goodreads I came to realise the only other MacBride novel I had read was actually a divergence from his usual fare, one not wholly welcomed by his fan base. Whoops.

No Less The Devil is written in third from the perspective of DS Lucy Mcveigh as she chases down gory serial killer 'The Bloodsmith' and attempts to help recently released child killer Benedict.

There were many referrals to a previous major event between MC Lucy and a man not present in No Less The Devil, I could almost fill in the blanks to begin with but thought perhaps I'd picked up part of an ongoing series...I needn't have worried!
Happily the mystery of Neil Black is a subplot and all will be revealed- though be warned it is particularly brutal.

Macbride uses his characters to weave humour in amongst the gory murders that I really appreciated. The banter between them all, alongside main character Lucy's exasperated reactions to people in general, (especially sidekick 'the Dunk') endeared me to them all with a good chuckle.

The speech of characters with strong accents is written phonetically so anyone unfamiliar with a Scottish accent can hear it whilst reading, I love when authors do that.
I also enjoyed the frequent use of local slang, I've a few pals there so understood enough of it to recognise what was being said.
Add the perfect amount of location description and MacBride easily sets and maintains the atmosphere of the bleak, grey Scottish scene.

When previous trauma and a recent head injury turn Lucy into a seemingly unreliable narrator, everything you thought was true will be questioned.

A fantastic crime thriller mystery that has me determined to read more MacBride this year.

This was my first book by Stuart MacBride and I was really looking forward to reading it but unfortunately I struggled with it throughout. I liked the plot line of the story but it took me so much time to get into it and then stick with it.
It’s a big book and I never mind that but I just couldn’t seem to settle into the read at all and just when I seemed to get into the story it all became rather confusing. I have to say all this could be just me as I have had some issues recently with concentration but usually once I’m hooked that’s it but it just wasn’t happening with this book at all. I did finish the book and again I really lost my way with the ending so it turned out to be a 3 star read.
The book was well written and some good characters but overall just not the book I was expecting.
My thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press for giving me the chance to read the ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I have read many of McBride's books, but I couldn't finish this one - gruesome and gratuitous, with clunky characters. I really wanted to like it, so stuck with it longer than I should have. I suspect I'll be in a minority here.

Another great book from Stuart MacBride although it was a bit confusing towards the end,or might just be me! I think Lucy and The Dunk maybe come to rival the brilliant Logan Macrae series.DS Lucy Mcviegh is thrown into a murder investigation when bodies start to appear in Oldcastle, and Lucy is also battling her own demons after a night out with friends ended badly, With plenty of surprises along the way and laced with humour also in Stuart MacBride style it a story to keep you hooked.But I lost the thread of the book towards the end, and it maybe just me, and it was a little confusing,but in all in all
No Less The Devil was an excellent 4 star read, and I hope Logan McRae makes a welcome return soon.

I really enjoyed the beginning of this book, but there was a twist towards the end which I didn’t enjoy at all.

I always enjoy Stuart MacBride books but I'm sorry to say, not this one. The first half was typical MacBride but after that it went downhill. The second half of the book was surreal, dark and totally unbelievable. Sorry! It won't stop me reading Stuart MacBride but hopefully he will return to his tried and tested format.
Thank you Netgalley and Random House for giving me the opportunity to give my unbiased opinion.

Wow! The plot twist is divine and had me chopping and changing my mind, right up to the very last pages about which way it was going to play out. An absolute magnificent feast of a crime thriller read!

It's odd how coincidences in reading crop up, this was next on my kindle so after Craig Robertson's book I moved on to this Scottish-set standalone by Stuart MacBride. There are few other coincidences beyond location - more on this later.

The main character is DS Lucy McVeigh, quite a mouthy, feisty, independent police officer but one who has an unusual backstory.  She's working in a team revisiting a flagging investigation into a serial killer 'the Bloodsmith' who has eluded them for seventeen months. It's a small team, lacking motivation and support, carrying out tedious work retracing the investigation back to its beginning. She's assisted (sometimes ably, sometimes less so) by her sidekick 'the Dunk' (DC Fraser).

At the same time she's approached by a young man who has recently been released from prison. A convicted child killer when he was only a child himself, he's looking for help - he was part of her study for her MSc and his approach piques her interest.

So the scene is set.

As they retrace the previous investigation's steps, starting with the Bloodsmith's first victim, Lucy and The Dunk stumble on to some recent activity - could they be the ones to solve the case?

The more pressure Lucy find herself under the more relevant her backstory becomes and eventually the reader finds out what happened to her and how this might affect her behaviour in the present. Gradually the pace of the action picks up and events spiral - with Lucy at the centre. And then you really need to suspend disbelief and allow the story to carry you along.

I saw someone else compare this to "Hot Fuzz" and I can see similarities, although the humour is more understated, the gore is more 'overstated'.

In terms of similarities to The Undiscovered Deaths of Grace McGill, as well as the location, there is the    main female character with the disturbing backstory and the deaths of lone people (the Bloodsmith's victims may have been the sort of people Grace would come across in her line of work). There is also something about the lead characters and their narrative that has a common thread.

Every Stuart MacBride book is eagerly welcomed onto my kindle and read with joy and pleasure. This was no different, even better than usual. I'm not giving any spoilers except to say...be prepared!

I love MacBride's Logan series and do enjoy his banter throughout his tales. In this one Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh is on the case of the Bloodsmith butcher, seventeen months, taking body parts and the police are seemingly no further forward. Lucy is also contacted by the now released killer of a homeless man, Benedict Strachan who was only a child when he committed the murder. If all that isn't enough Lucy is recovering from an attack, pushed to see a counsellor by her superiors or risk being taken off the case. Tis a busy book with a fair amount of bouncing between the case, Benedict and knowing something bad happened to the sergeant but not what.

It took me ages to settle to the book because it was jumping about. Benedict was a kid when he brutally murdered a homeless man, now released but his delusions have him in a deep grip. Why does Lucy give him any time? So we have that vein of the story. Then we have the something bad happened but we don't really know what because she doesn't want to gab about it but is going to a therapist, reluctantly and under threat. And then then main course, the investigation into the Bloodsmith, the brutality of the bodies, what is the motive, why does he gut them? As Lucy and her colleague dig into the case Lucy is being stalked, is it the butcher?

The book has so much going on and for me it didn't flow, it jumped too much. Then it got to a part where I had to go back and re read a few chapters because I was so confused to what was going on. What had I missed. I am the first to admit my concentration is a bit off just now but I don't think I am alone in feeling like this. It goes from being mysterious and suspense to just off the chart madness and I really struggled to gel with that. 2.5 rounded up to 3 because I do like his work, I did enjoy some of the laughs and the Dunk but otherwise, I can't say this was my favourite nor even close. MacBride is a witty writer, he combines macbre with humour and usually hooks you early on, this one just wasn't my fave of his offerings.

A very strange book. A little slow to start but then the story moved along at a good and interesting pace. It was the typical crime thriller from Stuart Macbride that we have read and enjoyed before. At about 75% of the way through the book everything changed. The story went off at a tangent and became surreal and then very silly. I felt disgruntled that I had invested so much time in quite a long book to have such an inconclusive ending.
Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advance copy of this book.

Really got into this book from page 1. Great characters, suspenseful plot. But I lost it about two thirds of the way in when it got a bit surreal (sorry, no spoilers here!). Maybe just my taste but the unexpected divergence and change of direction just became too surreal and made it a chore for me to finish.

This was a solid read. It was dark and intense with an interesting main character. I found it well written.

Well, I was really looking forward to this as a massive fan of the authors, I was engrossed till around 60% where I thought I had it figured out, reading on it just became strange then at 80% it just all got a bit silly really. Not one of Stuarts best books, perhaps lockdown got too much for him

It’s 17 months since The Bloodsmith killed his first victim, and the police are no nearer to catching him. Operation Maypole has run out of clues, the public have lost faith in them, the media are giving them a hammering, and The Top Brass are demanding answers.

Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh should be putting every waking moment into catching the killer, and she does her best, but demands are being made on her time in the form of Benedict Strachan. Strachan brutally murdered a homeless man when he was just 11 years old. He’s now 27 and has recently been released back into the community, but he claims that ‘They’ are after him, whoever ‘They’ may be. Is he telling the truth or is he just paranoid?

Lucy really isn’t in a great place herself right now, she’s clearly suffering from PTSD, and also has a stalker, and what with the extra pressure of Benedict Strachan, who pleads for her help, she’s definitely on a downward spiral.

I’d really become invested in this storyline, a typically gripping crime thriller from Stuart Macbride, until we got to about 80%, and then it just seemed to veer off into the realms of fantasy from whence it completely lost the plot, and so did I!

Woooahhh, this book. Jeez. It's bad guy is a serial killer who abducts and kills his victims and then takes out their hearts - so it's not for the faint hearted. Detective Seargent Lucy McVeigh is doing all she can to catch the killer, named Bloodsmith.

The characterisation is really in depth so you're able to engage with the characters and dissolve yourself in the story. There are so many twists and I never knew what was happening, so I really enjoyed the ending. I was barely able to put it down, I read it in less than a day. There was even some dark humour which was right up my street.

Five stars, no doubt.