It’s been a year since the events of the last Inspector Logan McRae novel, and the detective is back at work hoping for a simple case. Assigned to Professional Standards should be an easy assignment, but nothing is ever easy for Logan.

He’s sent to follow-up and then to monitor DI King, after a reporter has sent copy he intends to publish, indicating King was once in a Scottish National terror group.

The bad press alone would be bad enough, but King has just been assigned to the disappearance of a professor known for his Scottish anti-independence stance. Nicholas Wilson isn’t at home, but the amount of blood left behind in his kitchen indicates a severe injury if not murder.

Logan will find himself seconded to the inquiry and the usual suspects become involved, from the eccentric DI Steel to his old friend Tufty. Infighting within the police appears rampant, too, with officers on both sides of the equation.

Using the political heat of the times, MacBride offers a complex and dark plot relieved by the lightness of some of his characters. Logan is the voice of reason, the sane one in the pack.

Readers familiar with the series and those new to it will find themselves swiftly submerged in the story and all of its tendrils. MacBride just keeps getting stronger with each novel. Highly recommended.