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Birthdays for the Dead

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Birthdays for the Dead

By: Stuart MacBride
Narrated by: Ian Hanmore
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About this listen

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…

©2012 Stuart MacBride (P)2011 HarperCollins
Crime Thrillers Fiction Police Procedural Suspense Mystery Thriller Celebration

What listeners say about Birthdays for the Dead

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Intensely addictive!!

great!!!!!! absolutely reverting story!!!! listened to it in record time!!! love ash and Alice!!!!! Please write more!!!!

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Entertaining but a little bleak.

I really enjoyed this book but it was rather violent. The performance was first class.

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3 people found this helpful

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Heavy going

But worth it. With twists and turns galore, plenty of blood, gore and depravity, these poor characters are really put through the wringer for our entertainment. Chilling to the end.

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1 person found this helpful

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Not McCrae but definitely excellent.

Don’t expect another Logan McCrae book. This is a much darker, more serious crime novel. MacBride has successfully departed from the dark humor of his other works. This novel is everything you’d want in a serious crime novel. I nearly didn’t buy this book because of the other reviews but I’m so glad I did. The narrator does an excellent job of the story. He adds gravitas to the slow burn and multi-level subtly of the plot.
If you loved Logan McCrae (& I do) don’t expect more of the same. If you love dark crime with interesting characters and twisted plots, then this is definitely for you.

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Returned

Sounded like a great story but I could not understand the thick Scottish accent. I have enjoyed the rest of Stuart Macbrides books but could carry on with this one.

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2 people found this helpful

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Not for the squeamish

Ash Henderson is one sick 'bastardo' Stuart MacBride manages to make you feel sorry for characters who are truly disturbed, sad, damaged and very very angry. Great gory story telling. Tragic circumstances and ending. I am reading a happy uplifting story next.

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Dark, violent, brilliant

This book has no slow spots to allow you to catch your breath - it’s full speed from start to finish. Featuring the most wonderful duo in crime fighting, the disgraced cop, Ash, and Dr Mc Fruit Loops, the best thing about it is that these wonderful characters feature in more books, so we don’t have to say goodbye to them.

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very good.

I've been listening to all of stuart mcbride's and was disappointed when the logan macrae series finished, but this has been really good. looking forward to the next.

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4 people found this helpful

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Gripping Story, A1 Narration

Loved this book...made all the better by the awesome Narration. Eager to start No2

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Very different from his other books

I love Stuart MacBrides work, this one is totally different.
I think gritty is a good way to describe it. Ok the violence is very descriptive, but necessary because that’s what this book is. It’s not comedic like the Logan and Steele series, it’s a completely different style and feel. I really loved it. Ash and Alice are excellent characters and I really like Sabier, the narrator has brought them to life. It’s extremely well read.

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