A remote village in Scotland where released offenders can live with restrictions - those that cannot be released into normal society. Just deliver a convict released on licence to his new home and see if you can get him to admit to any other crimes or point the finger at those who committed them. What could be easier. Many things as PC Reekie is about to find out. MacBride weaves a.tale that heightens as the snow falls and the village is cut off. Then the first body is discovered - and everyone is a suspect. Pacy and crafted thriller with all MacBride's trademark skills, a great cast of supporting characters and a great finale. Recommended

Once again, Stuart MacBride has delivered a story filled with crime, violence and his trademark dark humour.

Cut off by heavy snow after delivering a newly-released ex-con to his new home - DC Reekie and his boss DI Montgomery-Porter have their work cut out for them. They are stuck in a remote village for those who have done the crime, served their time, but can't go back to their old lives. Despite electronic tags, curfews, CCTV, the works, murder and suspicious disappearances are happening right under their noses.

As expected, this is not a story for the faint-hearted, but if you like a good dose of gore with your guesswork, this could be the book for you!

Thanks to the author, Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

Completely addictive, And simply put, Stuart Macbride has done it again! Another brilliant novel from the gifted author who gave use the Logan McRae series, (if you don’t know, thank me later!)
This stand-alone novel introduces to the two great new characters of Edward & Bigtoria. I really liked both characters and hope that we get more books in the future.
This is a complex read with thrown in black humour, atmospheric twists and a good dose of violence.

All DC Edward Reekie had to do was pick up Marky Bishop, a dying prisoner from HMP Grampian and deliver him somewhere to live out his last few months in peace. From the outside, Glenfarach looks like a quaint, sleepy, snow-dusted village, nestled deep in the heart of Cairngorms National Park, but things aren't what they seem. The place is thick with security cameras and there's a strict nine o'clock curfew, because Glenfarach is the final sanctuary for people who've served their sentences but can't be safely released into the general population. Edward's new boss, DI Victoria Montgomery-Porter, insists they head back to Aberdeen before the approaching blizzards shut everything down, but when an ex-cop-turned-gangster is discovered tortured to death in his bungalow, someone needs to take charge.
Another well written page turner from the author. Strong characters of depth, a fast paced story made for a riveting read. I really liked both Bigtoria & Edward & hope this book becomes the first of a new series as this pair deserve more books. There are twists & turns, some violence but also interlaced is a dash of humour. The more I read the more I enjoyed it
My honest review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

I have enjoyed a number of Stuart MacBride's books before; I enjoy his writing style, his dark sense of humour, twisty plots and excellent characters - The Dead of Winter is no different and I loved it.

DI Victoria Montgomery-Porter (also known as Bigtoria but don't let her hear you call her that!) and her underling, DC Edward Reekie are tasked with transporting a dying prisoner to spend his final days in the village of Glenfarach a 'special' village where ex-prisoners live when they can't be released back into full freedom. A straight-forward job I hear you say however it turns into anything but when a resident is found tortured to death and no one can get in or out as the weather closes in.

Full of dark humour, violence, gore and unsavoury characters along with a fast paced plot full of twists and turns, this was a book I really enjoyed. There are many laugh-out-loud moments, moments that make you wince and several "no way" moments that had me swiping my screen at a great rate of knots desperate to find out how it was all going to end but also not wanting it to.

It's all a bit crackers and not particularly plausible but I loved it from start to finish and I must thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of The Dead of Winter.

Stuart MacBride is back with an enormous, scabrous, bang.

He has created, in his two principal characters, a new duo that will have you both laughing and crying all the way through. DI Victoria Montgomery-Porter, known to her colleagues as ‘Bigtoria’ – though never to her face – and D.C. Edward Reekie are charged with taking a notorious prisoner from HMP Grampian to Glenfarach. Mark Bishop is dying and he is to join other ageing and infirm prisoners who are deemed unsafe to let into the general population. Glenfarach is akin to an old people’s home for ex-cons, all equipped with ankle trackers, living out their time in an isolated, self-contained village in the heart of the Cairngorms.

Here you will find the worst of the worst. Here is where the child pornographers and paedophiles get sent on release. The most violent of offenders, around 200 of them, will live out their days in this place surrounded by CCTV cameras and a big barbed wire fence.

It is, of course, the dead of winter and the weather is foul as Bigtoria and Reekie set out. Once they get to Glenfarach, and drop Bishop into the care of Glenfarach’s D.S. Erin Farrow it’s clear that they aren’t getting back to Aberdeen until the snow storm ends. Inevitably communications go down and Bigtoria and Reekie find themselves with a murder on their doorstep and a missing social worker.

Stuart MacBride’s writing is that wonderful mixture of grotesque characters mixed with violent crime and a liberal dose of both numptiness and grumpiness that regular fans have come to know and love.

MacBride has a litany of glorious phrases that sing in the midst of a lot of violence, gore and the worst excesses of human behaviour so that the reader finds themselves laughing out loud even as the horrifying events create tension, chills and very real gasps of horrified disbelief.

It’s a winning formula and MacBride keeps just the right amount of double dealing and duplicity in between the bloody violence and the laughter to keep us wondering what exactly is going on.

Verdict: Sarcastic, witty, violent, dark and laugh out loud funny, this is Stuart MacBride with a new duo that I fervently hope we will meet again.

A rip roaring tale of crime,treachery and full of Scotticisms galore with murders aplenty.
Set in a village in Scotland in a snowstorm with all that entails.
A thoroughly enjoyable read.

A stand-alone thriller and what an unusual book. It is winter in Scotland, snow is falling and DC Edward Reekie is being buried by DI Victoria ‘Bigtoria’ Elizabeth Montgomery-Porter who has just killed him. Bigtoria is very much the bossy type of person so Reekie just does what he is told! A complex plot but completely addictive reading.

Briefly, step back a few days and the two detectives are at HMP Grampian collecting Mark Bishop who is being released after a life sentence. They are to take him to Glendarach which is where released prisoners who are still considered a danger, either to themselves or to others, live out their lives. After a difficult journey in the snow they arrive, intending to return to Aberdeen immediately their prisoner is handed over. Naturally the snow storm cuts them off. Naturally there is a gruesome murder of one of the inmates and naturally things go from bad to worse as the two try to solve the murder.

A very clever read but definitely not for the squeamish. The relationship between the two detectives is brilliantly portrayed and it does come as a shock when Reekie finds himself in the most deadly of situations. A good read, dark humour, fast paced with a dramatic close.
4.5⭐️

I really enjoyed reading this book.

The new characters were engaging and I really hope it is the beginning of a beautiful new ‘friendship’.

The imagery was powerful ad I really felt that I was snowed in myself at points.

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for gifting me this arc in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

He's blooming gone and done it again! I absolutely loved it. Loved Edward, I really hope this is the start of a series because I can't wait to see what he gets upto next. Hopefully a wee cross over with Logan and Steele. I also weirdly liked Bigtoria. I think she secretly likes Edward. I can't wait for the next book.

Stuart McBride hits the spot again with this creepy, twisty thriller laced with violence and black humour. If you enjoy Tartan Noir, you will love this. Great characters and a very well imagined setting. These places don’t really exist do they?

I’m a big fan of the Logan McRae series by Stuart MacBride and was looking forward to reading a copy of his latest standalone novel, The Dead of Winter. The book is released on 16th February.

The premise seemed promising and it started off really well. The story opens with a DI burying her DC in the woods. It then goes back to the days leading up to that moment.

DC Edward Reekie is paired with the grumpy DI Victoria Montgomery-Porter. They’re tasked with transporting a notorious and dangerous prisoner from HMP Grampian to Glenfarach. Glenfarach is a community for serious offenders who can’t be integrated into society, set in the Cairngorms. The drop off goes to plan, until they’re urgently called back due to the discovery of a body. Everything goes wrong after that, and they end up stuck there due to the snow.

It’s perhaps unfair to compare this to the McRae series but unfortunately I became very bored with the story. The characters weren’t strong enough to drive the story and in some ways they felt like really diluted, much less funny, versions of McRae and Steel.
Victoria is referred to as ‘Bigtoria’ throughout as this is the other officers nickname for her. For some reason I found this really irritating. I know she’s meant to be an unlikeable character but I thought she was so flat and just there as the token grump. Edward’s character was OK but he lacked depth as well. There are some other characters which bring some humour to the story and I did like a couple of them.
The characters constantly say “fudging” which was another thing that I found irritating. I would have expected police officers to have a more varied vocabulary.

The scenery and settings of the various locations are well described as always. The cover also fits well with the story.

I had such high hopes for this book but I’m sad to say I skimmed through a lot of it as I found it so boring. The opening was great, and it picks up a bit towards the end, but the majority of the book didn’t grab me at all.
I liked the idea for the community of ex-prisoners nestled in the Cairngorms but the plot became a bit far fetched for me and didn’t hold my interest.

Despite this, I’m not put off the author’s books and I’m hopeful he’ll return to his usual form soon.

Thanks to Penguin Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for my copy to review.

2.5 stars rounded to 3.

Marky Bishop is dying. That's why they've given him a compassionate early release, only where a career criminal like him go to spend his final months. From the outside, Glenfarach looks like a quaint sleepy, snow-dusted village, nestled in the heart of the Cairngorms National Park, but things aren't what they seem. The place is thick with security cameras, and there's a strict nine o'clock curfew, because Glenfarach is the last safe haven for people who've served their sentences but can't be safely released into the general population. For DC Edward Reekie, this was supposed to be a simple delivery job - drive his new boss up to HMP Grampian and collect Marky Bishop, take him to Glenfarach, then head back home again. Nothing dangerous or complicated. So how could it go so horribly wrong?

This is the first Stuart MacBride book that I've read in a long while. I don't actually know why I stopped reading them as I love his quick wit and dark twisted sense of humour. There is quite a lot of gore throughout this story. It's also quite violent and has a few tense situations. The characters are mostly dangerous, living in their own village in the Cairngorms. The story pulled me in from the first page. DC Edward Reekie and his boss DI Victoria Montgomery-Porter (aka Bigtoria) have an easy job to do - pick up a dying prisoner and take him to spend what time he has left at Glenfarach. But things don't go to plan. Reekie and Bigtoria got more than they bargained for. They find themselves snowed in and they have a crime to solve while they are there. I loved everything about this book. It's tense, atmospheric, a well written twisted read.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #RandomHouseUk #TransworldPublishers and the author #StuartMacBride for my ARC of #TheDeadOfWinter in exchange for an honest review.

DC Reekie is delivering a terminally ill convicted criminal to Glenfarach, a community where prisoners live under strict monitoring - or so we believe. After a snow blizzard means DC Reekie is stuck in Glenfarach, carnage soon ensues.

I liked the characters in this and enjoyed Reekie’s humour. The plot was a great idea and I kept wanting to read to see how it ended. It was a worthwhile read but for me, it’s a lengthy read with lots of unnecessary scenes.

This is the second MacBride book I have read and I enjoyed the last one but had the same issue with the lack of editing.

Overall a good (gory) story, well written with plenty twists. I would recommend this one in particular to my Justice colleagues - a future community just for criminals 😂

I’d like to thank Random House UK, Transworld Publishers and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘The Dead Of Winter’ by Stuart MacBride in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

It’s snowing heavily when DC Edward Reekie and DI“Bigtoria” Montgomery-Porter drive elderly Mr Mark Bishop from HMP Grampian to Glenfarach where ex-prisoners are homed when they aren’t deemed safe to be released back into society. After dropping him off with Sergeant Farrow, they’ve just started on their homeward journey when they’re asked to return to Glenfarach as the dead body of an ex-prisoner, Geoff Newman, has been found.

As a long-time fan of Logan McRae I fully expected to enjoy ‘The Dead Of Winter’ but despite liking the first few chapters I found it very difficult to get involved in the plot. It started well with the unfortunate DC Reekie having to drive a dilapidated pool car with the annoying “Bigtoria” and the very smelly Mr Mark Bishop, but I struggled with the middle section which I found tedious and then I couldn’t work up enough enthusiasm to read to the end without jumping a chapter here and there. Although I like Mr MacBride’s style of writing and dark humour, I thought it bore too many similarities to the previous book ‘No Less The Devil’ which I couldn’t get into. I’m sorry I can’t be more positive in my comments but this is purely my own opinion and I’m sure a lot of readers will enjoy it.

The author sucks you in right from the start with his new read. Set in the middle of winter, in a small Scottish town, the plotting is creative and fast paced. Filled with flashes of sardonic humour, it's gritty, fast paced and completely unbelievable! I laughed out loud and I totally loved the characters of Bigtoria and her DC, Edward. It's a crazy rollercoaster of a fun read, not to be taken too seriously, which I highly recommend to fans of MacBride. Thanks to Net Galley for my ARC.

The Dead of Winter is a gritty novel set over a few days during a never-ending snowstorm in the middle of Scotland. With his usual aplomb Stuart McBride has written a tale full of intrigue, gore, suspects galore and loads of very dark humour. Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the chance to review this entertaining book.

would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this book

have to admit i struggled with this one for most of the book until near the end then i was gripped....the only character i liked was reekie... and at times i did wonder if maybe some of the book should have been edited out...but hey ho i am not the author and maybe everyone else will like the middle bit that i struggled with

reekie was delivering a dying patient to glenfarach, a place where prisoners go that cant be released back into society, but instead of leaving once delivery has taken place a blizzard hits and things dont go as planned

then a body turns up one that has been tortured and with only a handful of police to investigate things are about to get interesting...

i liked the beginning and the end but there was a whole lot of middle that i could have done without

Disappointing read for me. I enjoyed his Logan books but this one fell short. Unrealistic in parts.. Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the chance to review it.

Dead Of Winter opens with the surprising scene of one police officer burying the body of their partner, a promise of intrigue to come but one that drags on until the last quarter of the story. I'm not adverse to a good prologue but I'd have preferred to discover this unfolding across the natural timeline, prior knowledge of this event made it a bit too easy to predict later developments which slowed the pacing for me considerably.

The concept of an entire village of violent ex convicts run on barebones policing in the middle of nowhere is brilliant, but ultimately inconceivable.
I had no trouble believing a government would underfund such a place, more so that two hundred criminals could be managed simply by three officers and a handful of social workers. Especially when a bit of snow wreaks havoc, its Scotland! Of course its snowing!

Speaking of which, Macbride goes in hard and endlessly about the cold, the snow, the lack of communication with the outside world. It becomes repetitive and requires total suspension of belief to accept that not a single character is seriously affected by exposure throughout the events that unfold.

Unfortunately despite using different characters from his previous release No Less The Devil, Macbride appears to have written almost identical characters for his new police procedural.

DC Edward Reekie in particular is near enough a cardboard cut out. Whilst I did very much enjoy his character and the well timed humour he contributes to an otherwise bleak story, we might as well have been reading about DC Duncan Fraser again, I couldn't evidence a single difference between them.
Bigtoria also exhibits many of the same traits and behaviours as Lucy in the previous entirely separate novel.
This being only my third read of Macbride's extensive canon, I'm unsure if this author always repeats identical characters with new names or I've just been unlucky with the latest two books.

As I write I'm realising this review is quite negative, this isn't to say I didn't enjoy the story or characters. I preferred Macbride's previous No Less The Devil but I think it majorly impacted my opinion of The Dead Of Winter. I would recommend you choose one or the other but don't bother to read both.

You will need a strong stomach for this, the physical, mental and sexual abuse is prevalent throughout the entire book and in some cases quite graphic.
I cannot fault the writing itself and I will likely pick up more of Macbride's previous work since its been on my TBR so long, but if I find that the formulas and characters are the same a third time I doubt I'll be trying again.

Halfhead remains my favourite by this author, perhaps I started with the best.