Dark blood
Dark Blood is a 2010 crime novel by Stuart MacBride published by HarperCollins UK ; the English original title is Dark Blood . The novel was translated by Andreas Jäger and published in 2011 as a German first edition by Goldmann Verlag . It is the sixth novel in the Logan MacRae series .
content
Richard Knox, who was sentenced to six years in Newcastle for raping an elderly man, comes to Aberdeen after his release to live in his grandmother's house. But it's not the only case Logan MacRae has to deal with. Steve Polmont, an informant for his superiors, DI Steel, is missing, in Aberdeen rows and rows of counterfeit 20-, 10- and 5-pound notes appear, a man with a toddler in a pram raids jewelry stores with a sawed-off sledgehammer , an exhibitionist drifts in the cemeteries from Aberdeen and there are rows of counterfeit brands appearing . On top of that, Logan gets to grapple with DSI Graeme Danby, who brought Knox to jail and "supported" the Aberdeen police after his release.
Steve Polmont is found by a body-tracking dog in the foundation of a house in a new housing estate belonging to Edinburgh gang boss Malcolm MacLennan. However, Andy Conelly, who is an urgent suspect, cannot be found. A significant amount of stolen property from the construction site and countless counterfeit branded items can be found in Polmont's apartment. An art student could be arrested in connection with the counterfeit banknotes, but he was released on bail a few days later. Meanwhile, the population of Aberdeen learns of Richard Knox, an angry crowd demonstrates in front of his house and later sets it on fire.
Logan meets “Wee” Hamish Mowat again, who slips him £ 3,760 in an envelope and gives him the good advice not to underestimate people like MacLennon and therefore not to use their nicknames like “Malk the knife”. Logan first believes in a bribe, even after Mowat's right hand Reuben gives him a second envelope with 2,460 pounds - with the note that James Clay has more of it. Only at the end of the book does Logan recognize the hidden reference to James Clay's counterfeit printer.
Logan can also clear up the raids on the jewelry stores and arrest three suspects. The exhibitionist could also be caught after he exposed himself in front of a former professional kickboxer who then "beat him green and blue".
The case of Richard Knox turns out to be much more difficult, especially when Julie, Tony and Neil from Newcastle also show up. Julie later identifies herself as Sergeant Julie Bultitute of SOCA, the Serious Organized Crime Agency . They kidnap Knox and Danby in order to elicit the whereabouts of Michael "Mad Mikey" Maitland, whose accountant Knox was, from them by force. They suspect that he knows where Maitland's fortune can be found. Logan thwarted this plan and had to let an officer from the SOCA, who also threatened him with a gun, go without having achieved anything. At the end of the book it turns out that Knox has access to about ten million pounds of Maitland's fortune and that Danby bribed 4.6 million to help him escape after his release. Knox looks forward to a bright future in which he will continue to molest older men while Danby wants to leave Newcastle Airport for Australia. From that, however, he is stopped by a certain "Alfie" at gunpoint and taken to a Mr. Cunningham who wants to talk to Danby about failed drug deliveries.
General
Unlike in his previous books, Stuart MacBride did not devote any part of Dark Blood to a person who raised or donated money to a charitable organization. However, the epilogue shows that names of the people Graeme Danby, Julie Bultitude, Dave Goulding, Fiona Martin, Susanna Frayn, and Allan Guthrie originated from living persons.
After MacBride announced in the previous novel that this book wouldn't be set in the summer, the action takes place in January. Snow, cold and above all the weather-related traffic conditions are discussed extensively in the book.
“ Even at the best of times, Balmedie Beach didn't quite reach the Costa del Sol , but at 10:30 on a cold January morning even a polar bear would have frozen its ass off here. Aberdeen - two degrees north of Moscow . If the city had had a zoo, the penguins would have had to put bobble hats on in winter. "
literature
- Stuart MacBride: Dark Blood , ISBN 978-3-442-47867-5
Web links
- Dark blood on the publisher's website: www.randomhouse.de
- Dark Blood , review on independent.co.uk
- Dark Blood , review on publishersweekly.com