A Song for the Dying

By: Stuart MacBride

Narrated by: Ian Hanmore

A heart-stopping crime thriller and the fourth consecutive No. 1 Bestseller from the author of the Logan McRae series and Birthdays for the Dead.

He’s back…

Eight years ago, ‘The Inside Man’ murdered four women and left three more in critical condition – all of them with their stomachs slit open and a plastic doll stitched inside.

And then the killer just … disappeared.

Ash Henderson was a Detective Inspector on the initial investigation, but a lot can change in eight years. His family has been destroyed, his career is in tatters, and one of Oldcastle’s most vicious criminals is making sure he spends the rest of his life in prison.

Now a nurse has turned up dead, a plastic doll buried beneath her skin, and it looks as if Ash might finally get a shot at redemption. At earning his freedom.

At revenge.

©2014 Stuart MacBride (P)2014 HarperCollins Publishers Limited

Critic reviews

"MacBride is the natural heir to the late and much lamented Reginald Hill." (Andrew Taylor, Spectator)
"MacBride is a damned fine writer - no one does dark and gritty like him." (Peter James)
"Fierce, unflinching and shot through with the blackest of humour; this is crime fiction of the highest order." (Mark Billingham)
"Some of the grittiest crime-writing in the field." ( Independent)
"Admirers of tough, modern crime novels will be in seventh heaven - or should that be hell?" ( Express)
"Ferocious and funny." (Val McDermid)
"Hard-hitting prose with a bone-dry humour and characters you can genuinely believe in, Stuart MacBride's novels are a real treat." (Simon Kernick)

Too Long by a Third

Superb author but this Not his best by far. Convoluted. Choose one of his other works. Any Logan McCrae novel.

Brilliant

Okay so this is my favorite MacBride. Intense thriller.
Morbid with humor and mystery. Excellent.

Brilliant!

Would you consider the audio edition of A Song for the Dying to be better than the print version?

I haven't read the printed version. Why bother? The audio version is so great!!

What was one of the most memorable moments of A Song for the Dying?

So many memorable moments, it's hard to choose. Probably during the torture scene. Very gritty and difficult to read because it was so realistic.

Which character – as performed by Ian Hanmore – was your favorite?

I really liked Ash Henderson. A great cross between funny and gritty!

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Absolutely. It is one of the best murder mystery thrillers that I've read.

Any additional comments?

Ian Hanmore did a fantastic job. He managed to pull off so many Scottish accents, both male and female. I really liked the understated narrative interspersed with the character voices. I'm a professional narrator myself, so I admire great work! :) I also liked the short sentence style used by Stuart MacBride. It made for easy listening in audible format. Well done on both the story and the narration. I would highly recommend this book!

For fans of Stuart MacBride

Fortunately, I've read a lot of Stuart MacBride's unique writing style . so, I got exactly what I expected and was again amused and entertained. I must give a lot of credit to this Audible which is extremely well done. I took off one star because, while I knew I was in for a lot of violence, this violence seemed over the top even for Stuart MacBride's, so, be forewarned. All in all , I did find this novel to be a stellar listening experience.

Fast paced and thrilling

Where does A Song for the Dying rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

A terrific thriller, there was even humour hidden among the blood, gore and twisted minds. Far fetched, certainly and very gritty but highly entertaining and beautifully narrated by Ian Hanmore. I am really looking forward to the next book by Stuart MacBride, hoping to meet up with the same characters again.

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

I was engrossed in this book from the start although I found some of the characters very harsh and some of the scenes were brutal. I loved the problem solving skills used to untangle the crimes and the way the team each pitched their unique skills to arrive at the truth. The plot reminded me of Ian Rankin with the gloves off, clever, intuitive, gritty and at times funny.

Have you listened to any of Ian Hanmore’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I haven't heard Ian Hanmore before but love his Scottish accent and would like to hear more of him narrating .

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

At times the book made me laugh but the humour was secondary and almost covert.

Any additional comments?

I loved this book, it captured my imagination and managed to be both far fetched and totally believable at the same time. The considerable talents of the writer and the narrator
combined to make this a wonderful audio experience.

MacBride knocks it out of the park.

What did you like best about this story?

Hooked me from the first chapter and never let up. Amazingly, I almost read this in one sitting.

What about Ian Hanmore’s performance did you like?

Excellent reader, moves seamlessly through various dialogues, male/female voices without overacting. Wonderful with the author's sprinkling of dark humor.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Dunno, but I'd cast Sean Bean as our hero.

Any additional comments?

This author has almost ruined me for other mystery writers (with a few exceptions). MacBride never settles for stock characters,TV movie dialogue or tiresome plot conventions. On the contrary: his characters are eccentric, the dialogue gritty and true to each character and the plot twists each and every familiar mystery formula into a neat pretzel. Every time I thought I had something figured out, the plot took a turn that gave me whiplash. Ash is King of the Anti-Heroes, very damaged, full of dark impulses but still somehow moral, someone you like and root for. His continuing bond with the fragile, empathy-driven profiler Alice is unique in mystery novels. Again, MacBride's books are not for the squeamish, but so rich and well-written that they leave me wanting more.

This almost didn't get 4 stars...

...because it would have been REALLY nice if the book summary had mentioned that this was actually part 2. Now am I supposed endure the torture I know Ash Henderson is going to go through in part 1, when I know how it will come out??? I've already bought it, and am contemplating returning it, but I admit, battered as I am by A Song For the Dying, I really like MacBride's writing.

Glutton for punishment that I am, I'll probably read it. But I'll have to take a break and listen to something easier to take for a book or two!

Ian Hanmore's accent may be hard for an American's ears to understand at first, but using headphones helped and now I'm used to it. He doesn't distinguish enough between characters, but overall his narration is a positive for the book.

So be warned. Read Birthday's for the Dead first.

MacBride at his brutal best.

Beautifully read, very clever. Read Birthdays for the Dead first. Not for the faint hearted. Ash Henderson is one of a kind

Wonderful!!

I'm thoroughly enjoying this series and can't seem to get enough.
This is one of the best series I've read.

As always, a perfect read from Stuart MacBride.

Ash Henderson is up to his eyeballs in trouble. There's no shortage of villains and mishaps. Beautifully written and enjoyably narrated by Ian Hanmore. Nobody does murder and wry humor like MacBride.