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    Birthdays for the Dead
    Birthdays for the Dead
    Birthdays for the Dead
    Audiobook14 hours

    Birthdays for the Dead

    Written by Stuart MacBride

    Narrated by Ian Hanmore

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Twelve years. Twelve dead girls. Thirteen will be unlucky for some. The Number One bestselling crime thriller from the award-winning Stuart MacBride. A bloody, brilliant and brutal story of murder, kidnap and revenge.

    Detective Constable Ash Henderson has a dark secret…

    Five years ago his daughter, Rebecca, went missing on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. A year later the first card arrived: home-made, with a Polaroid picture stuck to the front – Rebecca, strapped to a chair, gagged and terrified. Every year another card: each one worse than the last.

    The tabloids call him ‘The Birthday Boy’. He’s been snatching girls for twelve years, always just before their thirteenth birthday, killing them slowly, then torturing their families with his homemade cards.

    But Ash hasn’t told anyone what really happened to Rebecca – they all think she ran away – because if anyone finds out, he’ll be taken off the investigation. And he’s sacrificed too much to give up before his daughter’s murderer gets what he deserves…

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateJan 5, 2012
    ISBN9780007443642
    Author

    Stuart MacBride

    Stuart MacBride is the Sunday Times No. 1 bestselling author of the Logan McRae and Ash Henderson novels. His work has won several prizes and in 2015 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by Dundee University. Stuart lives in the north-east of Scotland with his wife Fiona, cats Grendel, Onion and Beetroot, and other assorted animals.

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    Reviews for Birthdays for the Dead

    4/5

    41 ratings14 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Usually high quality from this author. Those who know his work will know that this means it is the usual heavy going and NOT for the faint-hearted.
    • 4/5
      Stuart MacBride is another author whose name I was familiar with, but hadn't sampled yet. Well, that's all changed. I just read Birthdays for the Dead and I am hooked.MacBride grabs you by the throat in the opening prologue and only eases his grip long enough to let you take a breath and then the pressure is back on. Non-stop.The day's mail includes a birthday card for Detective Constable Ash Henderson's daughter Rebecca - she would have been eighteen. Rebecca went missing days before her thirteenth birthday and it's assumed she ran away. But, Ash knows differently. She was a victim of The Birthday Boy - a sadistic killer who sends parents horrific photos of their dead daughters in a yearly birthday card. And Ash has just received his latest. The Oldcastle police have been chasing this maniac for over eight years and they may have just caught a break - a body has been found. Ash has withheld his cards and daughter's death from everyone as he doesn't want to be taken off the case. But, it's taken a toll - he's divorced, lives in a dive, is dangerously in debt to the local mob, eats painkillers constantly and is a little too quick with his fists. He's a train wreck of a man - and you can't help but hoping he comes out on top.Whew. Where to start? It took me the first few chapters to catch on to MacBride's style - fast and furious, but also with some funny bits. I know, after what I just described, funny doesn't seem possible. But Ash is paired up with Alice, a very 'different' psychologist, who has her own set of issues. The dialogue between the two is quite witty. On the flip side, Mrs. Kerrigan scared the bejesus out of me. The action truly never stops, the tension never lets up and I was unable to predict where the plot was headed next. Or the ending.Gentle readers be warned - Birthdays for the Dead is dark, gritty and violent. But, boy oh boy crime fans - it's oh so good! This was my first MacBride, but definitely won't be my last. Read an excerpt of Birthdays for the Dead. I was glad that this was a stand alone book. (But I would like to see more of this character) as MacBride also writes a crime series featuring Logan McRae that I want to start from the beginning.
    • 3/5
      I am a long time fan of Stuart MacBride’s Logan McRae series so was interested to see what he would do outside this franchise. Birthdays For the Dead is a psychological thriller that goes way out beyond the normal and delivers the darkest story I’ve yet read from this author. Unlike the McRae series, there wasn’t as much humor to balance the violence, and unlike McRae, the main character in this book is almost a psychopath himself and very difficult to relate to.Although I do admit once this over-the-top story grabs you, it is impossible to put down. Like being unable to turn away from a car accident, this story details how a detective spirals out of control and apparently takes his more likeable but dysfunctional sidekick along with him. There is no road to redemption in this book it becomes simply a matter of holding on until the end. Stuart MacBride knows how to keep his readers glued to the pages, but this book did have a fair number of plot holes and seemed a little unpolished. I am still a fan of his horrific, dark stories but would warn everyone that this particular book involves the torture of children and I wouldn’t suggest this as a place to start with this author. I understand there is a second book about these characters but I think it will be a long time before I am ready to read about them again.
    • 3/5
      This book is told in the first person of DC Ash Henderson of the Oldcastle CID. He is not a nice person. In fact he a very bad person and totally unlikeable. He is the sort of police officer who gives other police officers a bad name. He shouldn't even be a police officer and should really be behind bars.But he is not alone. A lot of the police in the story are bad and should be behind bars or anywhere else except in uniform. They are all unlikeable.This is the tail end of murder hunt that has been going on for eight years and has claimed the lives of two of the psychologist working the case and several police. The serial killer has been active all the time but is good and has been able to elude any kind of suspicion.I do think this book is a bit drawn out and the writing style annoying. There are too many three way conversations, two people on the phone and a third person interrupting, two people talking and the radio interrupting and any number of combinations. It got so annoying as to be distracting.Otherwise, this is a gritting and slightly enjoyable read.
    • 5/5
      Birthdays for the Dead is a very dark and gritty book that keeps you on the edge-of-your-seat. It has all the ingredients you need for a thriller: murder, mystery, violence, good and bad guys, vengeance, justice and a surprise ending. Abduction of twelve year-old girls is a disturbing subject so the book does not have the humor of the Logan MacRae series. I did, however, enjoy the interaction between DC Ash Henderson and profiler, Alice McDonald. I found all the characters to be interesting and the unique plot kept me guessing all the way through. This chilling story will stay with you even after you finish the book. I now look forward to reading the second book of the series. I highly recommend this book to those who like mystery thrillers. Warning: not for the faint of heart.
    • 2/5
      I do own the second book in this series, but I am not sure that I can face reading it. This serial killer novel has a reasonable plot and interesting characters but is just too, too violent for my tastes. I had never picked up a Stuart McBride book for reasons I don't understand, now I think I know!
    • 2/5
      I enjoy Stuart MacBride as an author. He has a good writing style and has a dark sense of humour. The narrator of this book was excellent.
      This book, however, I just could not get into properly because of the constant violence and the nasty brutish behaviour of the protagonist, Ash Henderson. When he uses his brain and behaves like a detective, it becomes interesting. So often though, he just reacts in the most extreme way, without thinking, to so many situations. Actually, there's nasty, brutish behaviour by a lot of the characters in this book, not just the serial killer who's kidnapping young girls and killing them just before their 13th birthday.
      There's a lovely little sidekick, Dr Alice McDonald, who has so many quirks you just love to see her in action.
      But, other than her, this book didn't really appeal at all.
    • 4/5
      [Birthdays For the Dead] by Stuart MacBrideAsh Henderson series Book #13.5 starsFrom The Book:A bloody, brilliant and brutal story of murder, kidnap and revenge.Detective Constable Ash Henderson has a dark secret. Five years ago his daughter, Rebecca, went missing on the eve of her thirteenth birthday. A year later the first card arrived: home-made, with a Polaroid picture stuck to the front – Rebecca, strapped to a chair, gagged and terrified. Every year another card: each one worse than the last. The tabloids call him ‘The Birthday Boy’. He’s been snatching girls for twelve years, always just before their thirteenth birthday, killing them slowly, then torturing their families with his homemade cards.Ash hasn’t told anyone what really happened to Rebecca – they all think she ran away – because if anyone finds out, he’ll be taken off the investigation. And he’s sacrificed too much to give up before his daughter’s murderer gets what he deserves.My Thoughts:The jury is still out on Ash Henderson but it is totally back in the box on Dr. McDonald, the forensic profiler and psychologist. My opinion is that she needs a psychiatrist...and he might want to take a look at the rest of the team. What a nut job! Even Ash calls her "DrFruitLoop". And then there is Ash... "a horse of an entirely different color" doesn't even begin to describe him. I entirely understood his need to find these girls but what have the police been doing for the past ten or twelve years since the "Birthday Boy" took the first one? He is a total loose cannon with an explosive temper...owes money to a group of loan sharks...has an on the border drug problem because of chronic pain with his back...and the problems with his ex wife and 12 year old remaining daughter are just too numerous to mention. All of the characters are totally unlikable and nonredeemable for the most part. One reviewer described the story as "cringe - worthy". That does pretty much round it off. This book is not for those that don't want loads of blood and violence in their reads...but the characters are so off the wall you just have to see how they plan to solve this.
    • 3/5
      Very good, but not as good as the Logan McRae series. In this book SB starts a lot of scenes mid-way through and it can take a while to find out what is going on and what the background is. While it's not necessary to spell everything out, too much of this in a book becomes wearying. Several good twists near the end of the book. It would have had 4 stars apart from the mental fatigue.
    • 5/5
      Have to FFW over some of the violent bits but brilliant all the same.
    • 5/5
      The writing style of Stuart Macbride is such that you will either love or hate him. Birthdays for the Dead is the first in what I presume will be a series of novels featuring unorthodox and nonconformist detective constable Ash Henderson. The Birthday Boy has been kidnapping and murdering young girls for years and tormenting their families further by sending them pictures of the gruesome torture. Ash is assigned to resolve, but fails to mention to his superiors that his own daughter Rebecca vanished five years ago presumably a further victim of The Birthday Boy.I don’t believe you read a novel by Stuart Macbride primarily for the plot and Birthdays for the Dead is no exception to this rule as the storyline although enjoyable is secondary to the characterization, style and sheer “in your face fun” of this wonderful read. The novel is interspaced with moments of great “Scottish” dry humour and interludes of extreme violence. The action, pace and rhythm is astounding and I found myself so caught up in the unique Stuart Macbride storytelling machine that I finished the 500 odd pages in two days! The ability to combine both humour and violence is almost a Macbride trade mark and Birthday for the Dead consumes the reader with this relentless style...”The photographer looked up from his viewfinder. Too slow. I smacked the flat of my hand against the lens, driving the whole camera into the hairy little sh**’s face. Crack- his head jerked back, a bead of scarlet glistening in one nostril. Weak chin, pointy nose, hairy hands, hairy head. Like someone had cross-bred a rat with a chimp and given it a top-of-the-range Canon digital camera.”.....The reader is entertained with a never-ending cast of characters: the almost childlike exuberance of criminal psychologist Dr. Alice McDonald and her inability to appreciate the finer characteristics of a superior malt whiskey, the supercilious ramblings of Sensational Steve....”The conservatory glowed like a bonfire as the sun set. It was big enough for a baby grand piano, a leather sofa with matching armchairs, coffee table, a couple of large pot plants, and Sensational Steve’s ego”..., the evil intent and foulness of Mrs Kerrigan ...” A light clicked on above a featureless doorway and there she was: black suit with a red silk-shirt, golden crucifix resting in the wrinkled crease of her freckled cleavage. Her greying hair was piled up in a loose bun, curls escaping its grasp, waving in the breeze. Mrs Kerrigan smiled baring sharp little teeth”...In the last quarter of the book a shocking revelation befalls Ash that sees him spiralling out of control as conventional policing fails and brutally and violence prevail. I was dragged alone in this rollercoaster game of cat and mouse and hoped against all the odds that constable Ash Henderson would attain some kind of peace and contentment.This is edge of the seat writing of the finest, a blend of Scottish noir mixed with a type of western and gangster undertones. It is raw, in your face, brutal and yet retains a humour that only Stuart Macbride brings successfully to all his novels. It is truly a story that once started is impossible to put down and comes from me to you with a 5 star recommendation.
    • 4/5
      Quite a hard book to read in many ways, particularly the initial torture scenes. If you can get past that first chapter though (or skip it, the rest will still make sense!) then it did hold my attention and pull me into their world. And I loved the quirky psychologist!SPOILER ALERTThe strangest thing was that what appeared to be a "red herring", - a blatantly crazy character - turned out to be the bad guy after all. Very unusual really.I also found it hard that so many problems within the police service were highlighted. It probably is realistic but in many ways, I do hope it's not a true reflection of Scotland's police service! There was an awful lot of beating up suspects and lying to professional standards.Also, a possible continuity gripe. Part of the storyline revolves around Ash keeping the fact that his daughter's disappearance was part of the Birthday Boy's attacks a secret so that he can stay on the team. Yet we discover that it is the ACC who is giving away the addresses of the families of the victims to the murder, including, presumably, the address of Ash Henderson. So why doesn't he notice that one address relates to his own team?!
    • 3/5
      Very good, but not as good as the Logan McRae series. In this book SB starts a lot of scenes mid-way through and it can take a while to find out what is going on and what the background is. While it's not necessary to spell everything out, too much of this in a book becomes wearying. Several good twists near the end of the book. It would have had 4 stars apart from the mental fatigue.
    • 1/5
      What a falling off was there ...An utterly dreadful novel. I found it difficult to believe that the author of the Logan MacRae novels could lose his way so badly as to produce this rubbish.