And the Corpse wore Tartan by Stuart MCBride

The character Detective Sergeant Roberta Steel is usually a fun diversion in Stuart McBride’s Logan McRae books; in this one, though, cut off by bad weather from the outside world Roberta goes it alone.

 Stuart McBride says in his foreword And the Corpse wore Tartan began as a short story and turned into a shortish book; and it would have been a terrific short story. The opening chapters were so funny I was laughing out loud, but I have to say I would have loved it if Logan McRae had made an appearance at that stage and taken over the reins. 

A wedding in a Scottish castle decorated with an over abundance of tartan and stuffed animals becomes the scene of a bizarrely staged murder. Roberta, who has arrived hoping to turn Susan’s working weekend into a romantic interlude, assumes control of the investigation by flashing her out of date detective sergeant’s ID. Lots of dark, gloomy, scary woods, constant rain and, to Roberta’s horror, overbearing, hyphenated Tories fill the pages.

Please hurry back, Logan McRae, you know how to deal with Roberta.

Published by Pan Macmillan