Lots of bad language and wokeism. ( )

Now We Are Dead by Stuart MacBride follows a secondary character from his Logan McRae series of police procedural. Roberta Steele was McRae’s nightmare of a boss, but she has managed to get herself demoted down from a Detective Inspector to a Detective Sargent. She now heads up a small squad whose assignments are meant more to keep them out of the way, than to make heroes of them.

She is obsessed by Jack Wallace, a violent rapist who everyone knows is guilty of the current round of horrifying rapes but no one can prove it. Wallace, in turn, seems to delight in stirring DS Steele up and then when she reacts has her brought up on charges.
Along with trying to figure out a way to capture Wallace, Steele and her cronies deal with the day to day crime that comes their way. The author does not shy away from extreme violence but softens this with a lot of humour.

I wasn’t sure that I would like a book where DS Steele is the main character as she can be more than a little over-the-top but Now We Are Dead was a great read. The author wisely surrounds his main character with excellent supporting characters, and, of course, the previously mentioned humour brings the book up a notch or two. I also was happy to catch glimpses of the slightly softer side of Roberta Steele, one that she usually takes great pains to conceal. ( )

A novel starring DS Roberta Steel? Can that really work? I mean I like her, she is a great character in the Logan McRae series. But, can she really front her own own book? Oh yes, she can!

If you have read any of Stuart MacBride's books, then you already know he's a terrific writer, a man that can write a crime book that feels like three books crammed into one (it works, don't know how, but it does) and mix action, humor and tragedy and hilarious banter (trust me, listening to any of the books he has written can be both entertaining and hard work keeping the smile from your face and scaring the people around you who don't understand why you are giggling).

Where was I? Oh, yes the book, man I can't express enough how wonderful this book is. Although I should perhaps have written down notes. Although it had probably not have helped that much trying to explain this book story without giving away the plot.

So, I will just say this, yes this book can be read as a stand-alone without having read ANY of Stuart MacBride books before (although it's a plus if you have done that, then you know more about her "relationship" with Logan). Also, this book is way thinner than the other books I have read, at least it felt like that, still the story is marvelous, the time just flies when I started to read this book so it could be that. And, finally I just want to say, I want more. Yes, I need more books starring Roberta Steel!

So, there you have it, a very messy review, but it just reflects my messy brain as I try to summarize my feelings towards this book...

I want to thank Harper Collins for providing me with a free copy through Edelweiss for an honest review! ( )

Nella sostanza è uno "spinoff" della serie di romanzi dell' ispettore Logan MacRae (che qui appare solo in un cameo...).
Una dose maggiore di ironia e humour britannico, meno sangue e morti del solito!
Sinceramente non ho capito il titolo: forse gli editori italiani lo hanno scritto senza però aver letto il testo. ( )

Scotish language is a problem but it has humour & a good tail Dect Chief inspectorRoberta Steel is demoted for fitting up Jack Wallack on fake evidence. Demoted to sergeant she battles higher up's to finally catch her man. A bit fanciful re the loanshark turnaround but a good read ( )