Another great installment in this series. I was hooked from the opening pages. As usual with this series, it is the twisty, fast paced plot and the great characters that keep me reading. Kirk always keeps me guessing and I love that about his books. ( )

This is the fifth book in the Scottish crime series featuring Detective Chief Inspector Jack Logan.

Logan, in his mid-forties, transferred from Glasgow to Inverness in the previous year. He works with a team he has grown to know and like: Detective Inspector Ben Forde, Detective Constable Hamza Khaled, Detective Constable Tyler Neish, and local Police Constable Sinead Bell. In the previous book, the team lost a colleague, and they are still tormented by it, especially Logan who, as the head of the team, feels not only responsible for the death, but for exacting revenge for it.

Logan, as we are learning, is tough, determined, profane, and curmudgeonly, but like a father figure to his team - protective and supportive even as he makes sure he says positive things only begrudgingly.

The story begins with Logan being called to a remote island in the north of Scotland without a full-time police presence. A women has been murdered, and to Logan’s shock, he knows her. In fact, as a young kid, he “knew” Iona Wallace in the biblical sense. It shakes him up a bit. At least Logan, along with DC Neish, have a limited number of suspects: the island has fewer than fifty inhabitants and only a few visitors, and the ferries aren’t running because of bad weather.

Logan ends up making a number of arrests, including for some old crimes that get uncovered during his investigation. (Unlike in the US, there is no statute of limitations for similar crimes in the UK.)

The story ends with a cliffhanger that will be most meaningful for those following the series.

Evaluation: As with the previous books in the series, there are plenty of scary moments, twists, and tension at times so high you need to put the book down! But there are also some laugh-out loud funny moments that provide excellent relief for the tension. This series is addictive for those who appreciate thrillers. ( )

great story. DCI Logan is a hoot. And a great detective. ( )

Having read all the other books in DCI Logan series I was looking forward to reading The Last Bloody Straw, the latest and it didn't disappoint. Loved it. Logan is such a great character, so irreverent and funny. You just want to give him a hug. The story took a few surprising turns and I wanted to just keep reading to find out what happened in the end and the ending didn't disappoint either. ( )