Stuart MacBride Books in Order: Logan McRae, Ash Henderson & More

The Stuart MacBride books in order begin with the Logan McRae series, a darkly funny run of Scottish police procedurals set in Aberdeen. MacBride also writes crime novels set in the fictional city of Oldcastle, Roberta Steel spin-offs, standalone thrillers, novellas, short stories, and a picture book.

Logan McRae is the best place to start, and I recommend reading those novels in publication order because the characters, careers, and relationships develop across the series.

Jump to:

Logan McRae Series
Other Stuart MacBride Series
Stuart MacBride Standalone Books
Stuart MacBride Short Fiction
Stuart MacBride Picture Books
Selected Stuart MacBride Anthologies and Other Contributions
Who is Stuart MacBride?

Logan McRae Series

Cold Granite was Stuart MacBride’s published debut and introduced Detective Sergeant Logan McRae. The series follows Logan through violent investigations in Aberdeen while his career and complicated relationships with recurring colleagues continue to change.

Each novel has its own central case, but my advice is to read the Logan McRae books in publication order. That is also the simplest chronological order for the main series. The third book is titled Bloodshot in the United States and Broken Skin in the United Kingdom.

Other Logan McRae Works

MacBride has also published shorter works featuring Logan McRae and Roberta Steel. These fit alongside the main series, but they aren’t required to understand the novels.

Partners in Crime (2012) (Short Story Collection)
The 45% Hangover (2014) (Novella)
22 Dead Little Bodies (2015) (Short Novel)
22 Dead Little Bodies and Other Stories (2016) (Collection)

22 Dead Little Bodies and Other Stories collects the short novel 22 Dead Little Bodies, the two stories from Partners in Crime, and The 45% Hangover. I’d buy the collection by itself unless you specifically want the original individual releases.

Other Stuart MacBride Series

Oldcastle Books

Oldcastle is MacBride’s fictional Scottish city and the setting for six connected crime novels. The books use different lead investigators, but recurring characters, institutions, and references tie the city together. I recommend publication order for the fullest introduction to Oldcastle, even though each central investigation can stand on its own.

The Ash Henderson trilogy consists of Birthdays for the Dead, A Song for the Dying, and The Coffinmaker’s Garden. A Dark So Deadly follows DC Callum MacGregor, No Less the Devil follows DS Lucy McVeigh, and In a Place of Darkness follows DC Angus MacVicar.

Roberta Steel Books

Roberta Steel is a major recurring character in the Logan McRae series before taking the lead in her own books. I recommend reading In the Cold Dark Ground first because Now We Are Dead follows the consequences of Steel’s actions in that Logan novel. After that, read the Roberta Steel books in publication order.

Stuart MacBride Standalone Books

These novels are independent of the Logan McRae and Oldcastle continuities, so they can be read in either order. I’d choose Halfhead for a near-future thriller or The Dead of Winter for an isolated Scottish crime story.

Halfhead (2009)
The Dead of Winter (2023)

Halfhead was published under the name Stuart B. MacBride. It remains a Stuart MacBride novel, but the middle initial explains why some editions appear under a slightly different author credit.

Stuart MacBride Short Fiction

Novellas and Short Stories

These independent shorter works don’t require any knowledge of MacBride’s recurring detectives. My advice is to read them whenever you want a compact example of his violent crime, suspense, and dark humor.

Sawbones (2008) (Novella)
The Tasting Menu (2024) (Short Story)

Short Story Collections

Twelve Days of Winter (2011) (Short Story Collection)

Twelve Days of Winter contains twelve interlinked festive stories about crime and retribution. Despite the Christmas setting, this is darkly comic crime rather than a cozy mystery collection.

Stuart MacBride Picture Books

MacBride also wrote a children’s picture book containing three original stories about Skeleton Bob. It was created in support of the Million for a Morgue campaign and is much lighter than his adult crime fiction, although it keeps his offbeat sense of humor.

The Completely Wholesome Adventures of Skeleton Bob (2013)

Selected Stuart MacBride Anthologies and Other Contributions

MacBride has contributed stories and other material to a number of multi-author volumes. This selected list covers notable book-length anthologies and collections rather than every magazine appearance, alternate edition, or later reprint.

The Mammoth Book of Best British Crime 8 (2011)
The Killer Cookbook (2012)
Dark Duets (2014)
Bloody Scotland (2017)

Who is Stuart MacBride?

Stuart MacBride was born in Dumbarton, Scotland, and raised in Aberdeen. Most of his crime fiction is set in Scotland, especially Aberdeen and the fictional city of Oldcastle, although books such as Halfhead and Sawbones move beyond his usual contemporary police-procedural setting.

Before becoming a full-time novelist, MacBride worked offshore and held jobs in graphic design, marketing, and information technology. Cold Granite became his published debut in 2005 and began the Logan McRae series.

MacBride’s fiction is known for graphic crimes, morally compromised investigators, and sharp dark humor. In my view, that mix is what makes his books distinctive: the cases can be brutal, but the character dynamics keep the stories from becoming relentlessly grim.

Looking for similar books in order?

If you want more mystery authors and reading-order guides like this one, start with my Mystery Books in Order index.