The Dead of Winter by Stuart Macbride..... All I can say is I hope you put aside a whole day to read this book as you wont be able to put it down!!!!

DC Edward Reekie must transport a prisoner from HMP Grampian to Glenfarach in the Cairngorms. What could go wrong!!!! Everything it seems from severe weather to bent coppers and a couple of murders just to mix it up a bit.

I really enjoyed this book. From the first paragraph it had me hooked. It was fast paced and gripping. It had me guessing all the way through and just when you thought you knew what was happening there was another plot twist!!!

Thanks to Netgalley and Random House Uk for the ARC Copy of the Book. This review is my own opinion.

Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I struggled to get into this book, though I did enjoy it. Great characters, decent plot.

Summary: Full of laugh out loud moments, gruesome crimes and plenty of twists to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, this is one of MacBride's best. Definitely a 'must-read' for 2023.
The publication of a new novel by Stuart MacBride is always a source of excitement as I love his brand of quick wit, dark twisted humour, and crime stories. By now, I've read (and re-read on several occasions, his Logan McRae series and novellas, Ash Henderson series and standalone novels), and like to consider that I can guess where a story is headed. That's rarely the case with MacBride as he always manages to surprise me - and no more so, than in 'The Dead of Winter' where our protagonist is the deeply unfortunate Detective Constable Edward Reekie. As with Logan, Ash and Callum before him, Edward is headed for several very, very bad days. A fact we discover within the opening pages.
You see, Edward has been tasked with accompanying Detective Inspector Victoria Montgomery-Porter (aka 'Bigtoria' - just don't let her hear you using that name) in driving a dying criminal to a remote village where he can serve the remainder of his sentence. Unfortunately there is a terrible snowstorm and they are unable to leave and then a murder occurs. Just as Edward thinks the situation cannot get any worse, it does, dramatically.
Full of laugh out loud moments, gruesome crimes and plenty of twists to keep the reader on the edge of their seat, this is one of MacBride's best. Definitely a 'must-read' for 2023.

I am always happy to read a new Stuart MacBride, and this was full of his usual blend of action and dark humour. Put upon Detective Constable Edward Reekie is driving from Aberdeen to HMP Grampian to collect an elderly, just released prisoner, called Mark Bishop and deliver him to the village of Glenfarach. Also in the car is Detective Inspector Victoria Elizabeth Montgomery-Porter, one of MacBride’s typically aggressive ‘guvnor’ types. Montgomery Price (known as ‘Bigtoria’) enjoys amateur dramatics, is sarcastic and lacks any type of tact or people skills.

Bishop looks defenceless and elderly, clutching an oxygen mask and unlikely to be anything but harmless, but Glenfarach does not seem like a typical village. For a start, it has an abundance of CCTV cameras and a curfew. In fact, it is home to ex-prisoners who are unable to return to the community. There are two hundred residents and over one hundred of those were sex offenders. No sooner does Edward begin driving eagerly back to civilisation when they are called back. There has been a murder – and it will not be the only one before you get to the end of this action-packed book. There’s a blizzard, landlines are down, there are no mobile signals, and the body count is rising. Is the fact that Mark Bishop has just been delivered a coincidence or has his arrival unleashed mayhem in a very dangerous town?

If you have read MacBride before, you will know what to expect and this is a fun, if often violent, read with good characters and an excellent premise. I received a copy of this book from the publisher, via NetGalley, for review.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.
A Stuart MacBride book never disappoints and this one doesn't either. The synopsis has been explained in many other reviews so I will give that a miss.
Suffice to say - give this book a chance, you will be glad you did.

Another captivating book from Stuart MacBride. Unconnected to any of his other books it takes you a wee bit to get used to the new characters. The setting is very different too and is mostly set in the one place rather than all over NE Scotland.

The storyline is done very well leaving you from going huh to wow as you read through the book with twists and turns you don’t see coming. One to highly recommend to friends who also love this authors books!

DI Victoria Elizabeth Montgomery-Porter and DC Edward Reekie are responsible for transporting a terminally ill criminal from prison to Glenfarach, a village which acts as an open prison for those criminals who have served their sentence but are unsuitable to rejoin normal society. Glenfarach is a completely self-contained village in the middle of nowhere. When one of the residents is brutally murdered Reekie and his boss have to investigate as the approaching storm has cut the village off from the rest of civilisation.

I loved this. The opening chapter grabs you and just doesn't let go until the end. The first chapter is gritty and violent, setting the scene and immediately making you wonder what is happening. The end of the first chapter really does pull you up short, leaving you open mouthed and questioning what has happened.

The description of Glenfarach that I thought really summed the place up well was Stepford Wives crossed with Village of the Damned. Everything looks great on the surface but there is an undertone of menace. The village is populated by organised criminals, sex offenders and pedophiles. All criminals who have completed their sentences but cannot be returned to society as their lives would be at risk. On the surface everything works well; there is a constant police presence, on site social workers, a curfew and everyone is tagged. When the murder takes place everything is thrown into question.

The relationship between Reekie and his boss "Bigtoria" is at the heart of this story. Thrown together at the last moment they are an unlikely pair. Reekie is young, naive and deferential, whereas his boss is aggressive, demanding and bullish. They rub each other up the wrong way and come across as the classic "good cop, bad cop". The vast majority of the dark humour of the novel comes from the interactions of the pair.

The complication of a blizzard cutting off the village adds another layer to the story. This isn't one of those storms that simply makes the roads impassible and stops communication. It's a constant, in your face blizzard that makes driving impractical; even walking is impossible as the snow drifts are thigh high. The unrelenting snow also means that tracks are hidden.

With a village populated by criminals the main question is who, everyone of them is a suspect. Since they're all tagged the next question is how? As the storm rages more and more questions are raised. Each turn of the page constantly leaving you wondering how it's all connected to the opening chapter.

I think this might just be my favourite book of the year. Stuart MacBride is back with a bang, this is one of his best yet. Strong characters which you’ll either love or hate, a great storyline which doesn’t shy away from hard to swallow topics. There is gore, a whole lot of gore. Also a lot of dark dark humour. Everything you need for the perfect book from Stuart MacBride

A riveting and immensely readable police procedural, but occasionally the whole horrible boss/hard pressed lower ranking officer theme does became a bit stilted and predictable. Nonetheless, this is a cracking story! A dying prisoner is released to the relative freedom of the small village of Glenfarach, which looks pretty much like anywhere else from the outside, except for the high fences surrounding it, because it is a different sort of prison for those deemed to be too dangerous to be freed into society. Out police duo are tasked with delivering one such prisoner to Glenfarach in the dead of the Scottish winter. As the weather closes in so too do the deaths and destruction of the inhabitants of Glenfarach, some of them described in full technicolour gory detail, which is MacMride’s style, but may be a bit much for some readers. The story stretches credibility at times, but kept this reviewer reading right to the end, wanting to know the outcome of this cracking good story. Perhaps not great literature, but a damn fine example of its species nonetheless!

Yes! Stuart MacBride is back, having been sorely disappointed in his last book this has certainly made up for its. This is MacBride as I know it, great banter, great storyline, great characters. Atmospheric and entertaining. I really hope to see more of Bigtoria and Teddy. Fantastic.

Welcome to Glenfarach where all is not what it seems Stuart MacBride returns with a new set of Characters who equally match his previous ones . The book abounds with dark humour and tense situations not forgetting various twists and turns along the way . A village populated by criminals not fit to be freed into the community is not the place to be snowed in . A red hot story in a freezing situation

I'm a big fan of Stuart MacBride and was delighted to read this ARC of The Dead of Night. And I was not disappointed. It's beautifully paced, with the ongoing feeling of "Surely this can't get any worse...oh wait" and it's very blackly funny which I loved! It has however totally put me off being anywhere near snow in the near future!

“A claw-foot bath dominated one wall, topped by a mildewed shower-curtain. Crusts of dark-orange and brown limescale around the drain. Lid and seat up on the toilet, showing off a whole Formula-One- season of skid marks.” There you have it, the writing style of Stuart MacBride enriched with toilet humour, rude rather than crude remarks, a list of very colourful and dur Scottish characters hidden loosely under crime/noir. Now let me say from the start I have been reading this authors books from the early days of Cold Granite, the first Logan McCrea novel and have always found his style refreshing and indeed at times highly amusing (who could forget DCI Roberta Steel and her testing sense of humour most of it at the expense of Logan who she rather fondly called Laz :)

In “The dead of Winter '' two officers DC Reekie and his boss DI Victoria (Bigtoria) Montgomery-Porter are delivering a dying prisoner Mark Bishop to the remote Scottish village of Glenfarach to live his remaining short years in a more open environment. There are 200 other offenders incarcerated here, having committed many crimes of a sexual nature, murder, and embezzlement. The weather is closing in and the officers wish to return asap to Aberdeen before threatened blizzards make an appearance. Unfortunately this will not happen as a murder in the style of an execution has occurred and with 200 (now 199!) suspects Reekie and Porter will need to be resolute and strong before the perpetrator strikes again. There is very little hope of any outside help arriving as Glenfarach quickly becomes snowbound. I am afraid what I once found exciting and new in the author’s writing I now find laborious and tedious. What once was crisp and humorous has now become lewd and tired. The crime and noir has been replaced by a slapdash style as our 2 headless chickens investigate in a way reminiscent of the Marx Bros. Thank you to the good people at netgalley for a gratis copy in return for an honest review and that is what I have written.

Brilliant! A riot of gallows humour, larger than life characters and a good splattering (pun intended) of gore.
As usual Stuart’s books do not fail to entertain and enthral with a great plot and compelling writing. His writing style is short and punchy sentences and most definitely tongue in cheek. I loved the backdrop for this one, in a remote and unforgiving snow filled back of beyond and the premise behind the cut off from society residents.
Loved this and raced to the finish line quickly, more please!

Chilling mystery with DC Reekie and his crazy DI escorting a released prisoner to a closed village used by the authorities to keep violent criminals away from the general populace.. A gruesome murder, a major snowstorm trapping them in the village as they attempt to investigate. More deaths, a missing social worker plus the first victims body burnt to a crisp in a case of arson all contribute to the tale told firmly tongue in cheek with lashings of dark humour. Brilliant funny book best read wearing your warmest overcoat.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers for an advance copy of The Dead of Winter, a stand-alone thriller set in the fictional town of Glenfarach in the Cairngorms National Park.

DC Edward Reekie and DI Victoria Montgomery-Porter are escorting a terminally ill prisoner from HMP Grampian to the village of Glenfarach where he will spend his remaining time. Glenfarach is more than it seems, overloaded with security cameras, ankle monitors and a curfew, because it houses prisoners who have completed their sentences but can’t be returned to society. It’s all going well until one of the inhabitants is murdered and Montgomery-Porter is called back to investigate, because the snow won’t let anyone else through.

I thoroughly enjoyed The Dead of Winter, which not only has an engrossing plot, but also made me laugh out loud on many occasions. It starts with a scene stealing scenario and then back tracks to explain it. It’s audacious and makes the novel compulsive reading from page one. It also implies that things may not be as they seem.

The village of Glenfarach is very much a character in the novel and its unique set of circumstances drive much of the decision making. It sounds dystopian with constant CCTV coverage, ankle bracelet monitoring, curfews, no communication with the outside world and a draconian set of conditions about fraternisation and behaviour that is justified by the need to police the inhabitants’ behaviour. And yet, it’s straight out of the authoritarian handbook and with the constant erosion of civil rights not as far fetched as a first look suggests. So with Mr MacBride at the helm expect mayhem to ensue.

I’ll be honest. I had no idea what was at the back of the murder or the subsequent ones, especially with all the twists and turns destroying my assumptions on a regular basis. So I simply followed the action and laughed a lot. The humour is both situational and verbal and quite often both. The novel is mostly told from DC Reekie’s point of view and he’s not a happy camper. DI Montgomery-Porter or Bigtoria as she is known, but never to her face, is a hard taskmaster and gives him all the grunt work, especially if it involves wading through the snow and he never whinges, simply complains (apparently there is a difference).

The Dead of Winter is an imaginative and funny read that I have no hesitation in recommending.

DI Victoria Montgomery-Porter and DC Edward Reekie are transporting a dying man from HMP Grampian to the unusual Scottish village in Cairngorms National Park. This unusual village is home to the dregs of society, prisoners who have served their sentences but cannot be released back into the normal world due to the sexually deviant nature of their crimes. They are kept under strict constraints with monitoring and rules. After drop off the police pair are forced to go back to the village after a murder is reported. They are then stuck there by relentlessly snowy, miserable weather. The setting and gruesome goriness are relieved occasionally by welcome doses of dark humor. A gripping story.

Absolutely loved this book, so many twists and turns right until the very end and wow what a finish. All I can say is read it 📚
As always my thanks to NetGalley and Random House UK, Transworld Publishers, Bantam Press for the amazing early read

Chilling, entertaining and surprisingly funny!

I’ve not read a book by this author before but was really taken in by reading the synopsis.

Stuart’s style is a slightly unconventional. Mixing inner and outer dialogue without pause. It took me awhile to get used to his style but I loved the dry wit and dark humour. It meant that I instantly built a connection and empathy for DC Reekie and his plight.

The plot itself is relatively straight forward although it is absolutely littered with twists and revelations that I honestly did not see coming.

His description of the relentless snow, the bitterness of the wind and the hardship of just trying to get from A to B are utterly captivating and so real. I felt cold throughout the reading of this whole book!

Excellent character creation and brilliant dialogue kept me entertained and hooked from start to finish. I did, however, feel that this book was exceptionally long! Not that I minded but when you’re reading via a e-reader it came across as a bit of a beast!

Definitely checking this author out again! Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.

Barely a chapter into this book and I was hooked with a brilliantly concived twist that I wasn't expecting and, the writing just got better from there on in.
The Dead of Winter is a beautifully crafted contemporary and very dark take on the 'locked room' mystery - I mean who would want to be snowed in with a bunch of convicted sexual deviants? - In this case, the room is the isolated facilty that houses pervertts and deviants in the Scottish highlands - those that are too hated to be returned to civilised society. After delivering the facilty's latest recruit, DC Reekie and his boss, the objectionable BigToria get thrown into a full blown murder enquiry and with the blizzard from hell clsing in (and closing off all access) they are on their own with the inmates and a very skeeleton police crew.
I always find MacBride's prose to be almost poetic in parts and his weather descriptions imbued the weather with its own unique character.
DC Reekie is an inspired characterand with most of the narrative being form his viewpoint, I was totally gripped - his humerous antipathy towards his boss, his caustic observations combined with his vulnerability makes him a fascinating character.
This is dark and humerous and all consuming. 5***** from me.