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It's common now to jump about between timelines but I have to say that I'm not a huge fan as it takes a while before the reader can find a link between the threads. We are introduced to female protagonist Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh and her sidekick Dunk in this gritty Scottish Crime thriller. Throughout most of the story, I felt it was a five-star read, then came the ending, which disappointed me—it didn’t feel right—and so I lowered my internal rating system to four stars.
No Less The Devil by Stuart MacBride REVIEW: No Less The Devil by Stuart MacBride
It’s a real shame as there is the makings of a very good plot here but it gets lost along a convoluted and meandering way. No Less The Devil is a standalone crime thriller by bestselling Scottish author Stuart MacBride, known for his brilliant Logan McRae / Roberta Steel and Ash Henderson series. While it does keep you turning the pages, the full horror of her ordeal when revealed takes the reader into the dark recesses of her memory.
Swearing, smoking, eating, more swearing, pornography, swearing, drinking endless plastic cups of tea. There were times when it was a 3, and also times when it was a 5+++ so in the end I've plumped for a 4.
No Less The Devil - Stuart Macbride - Google Books No Less The Devil - Stuart Macbride - Google Books
I hope it may be the start of a series - there were certainly story lines there which could be followed up.Then came a spell of working for myself as a graphic designer, which went the way of all flesh and into the heady world of studio management for a nation-wide marketing company. Very disappointing and if Detective Lucy McVeigh is the start of a series, unfortunately I won't be reading another. On top of this, Benedict Strachen was just 11 when he confessed to killing a homeless man, and he has just been released from prison. In loving memory of Grendel MacBride, my constant companion, muse, and very own little fuzzy serial killer. Intercut with her progress is the decades-old case of an 11-year-old boy who, with an unknown accomplice, confessed to killing a homeless man.
No Less The Devil by Stuart MacBride | Waterstones No Less The Devil by Stuart MacBride | Waterstones
Now isn't the time to get distracted with other cases, but Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh doesn't have much choice. However once things began to gel, I quite enjoyed the writing and some of the characters, Black humour and the usual banter between police partners, and the story became quite interesting and I began to enjoy reading and come up with some theories.I don't know what the author was thinking but the story went off on the most ridiculous and often confusing tangent and I really struggled to finish the book.
No Less the Devil’ by Stuart MacBride Book Review: ‘No Less the Devil’ by Stuart MacBride
Seventeen months have passed since the Bloodsmith butchered his first victim and the police are no closer to catching him. However, she is currently suffering PTSD from having recently killed a man in self-defence and is being harassed by his mother who believes she murdered him. With many themes running through the novel from homelessness, misogyny, the effectiveness of the criminal justice system in dealing with children who kill, to privilege and entitlement and more, this is thought provoking as well as hugely entertaining. Throughout the story, there are scenes showing a lack of communication—people stuck in their own worlds, unable to connect with one another.Detective Sergeant Lucy McVeigh and her colleague The Dunc end up having to sort out the mess that The Bloodsmith Killer has caused. This does open with two children killing a homeless man in the past, before taking the reader into the present. Both the media and the police seniors are demanding results but the investigation is constantly hitting brick wall. As a huge fan of the McRae series and having read some of this series I was delighted to be given an ARC of No Less The Devil.
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