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  • Cold Granite

  • Logan McRae, Book 1
  • By: Stuart MacBride
  • Narrated by: John Sessions
  • Length: 6 hrs and 1 min
  • 4.4 out of 5 stars (334 ratings)
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Cold Granite cover art

Cold Granite

By: Stuart MacBride
Narrated by: John Sessions
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Summary

It's DS Logan McRae's first day back on the job after a year off on the sick, and it couldn't get much worse. Four-year-old David Reid's body is discovered in a ditch - strangled, mutilated and a long time dead. There's a killer stalking the Granite City and the local media are baying for blood. If that wasn't enough, Logan also has to contend with a new boss, DI Insch, who doesn't suffer fools gladly and thinks everyone's a fool, and his own ex-girlfriend, the beautiful but chilly Isobel MacAlister, who also happens to be the chief pathologist. The only good news is WPC "Ball Breaker" Watson, Logan's new guardian angel.

The dead are piling up in the morgue almost as fast as the snow on the streets, and Logan knows time is running out. More children are going missing. More are going to die. If Logan isn't careful, he's going to end up joining them.

Set in Aberdeen, where the rainy season lasts all year, criminal gangs vie for supremacy on the streets, and the oil industry brings an influx of wealth and vice, this is a gritty, powerful debut thriller by a writer with a wonderfully observant eye and a characteristically Scottish sense of gallows humour.

©2005 Stuart MacBride (P)2005 HarperCollins Publishers Ltd, London, UK

What listeners say about Cold Granite

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Excellent story.

If you don`t mind grapic descriptions of situations and objects then this is a must for you. Having lived and worked in and around Aberdeen for many years, I found the accuracy of this tale spot on. On occasion the language is, to say the least, a bit strong, but reflects the working class dialect accurately. Please can someone tell John Sessions, good as he is, that Marischal Street and Portlethen are not pronounced as he says them, but he does get the dialect and other pronounciation as close to the real thing as possible. Full of great characters from the word go, this volume is a must for any serious crime thriller reader. Very highly recommended.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

Not For The Aberdeen Tourist Authority

Fantastic listen, the narration is excellent, the tale forces you to think but the humour breaks up what could be a very dark and disturbing story. Highly recommended.

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5 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Gripping

At the stat I thought it would be too gruesome for me as child or animal cruelty is a subject I avoid. But Stuart Mac Brides tale expertly narrated but the smooth voice of John Sessions gently took the listener from one vile, wicked find and quickly showed us where there was a crack in the plot where DC Logan could find hope and move the story forward.
I am looking forward to listening to his other books.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    2 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Great story, poor performance

What did you like most about Cold Granite?

It was a great story, gritty, touching, down and dirty, dealing with real issues without sugar coating them.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Always Logan McRae. He's a hard done by cop with a heart of gold who has a lot to put up with without it driving him crazy.

Would you be willing to try another one of John Sessions’s performances?

No. He was rubbish. Very stilted in his narration and he got his pronunciations wrong.

Any additional comments?

Abridging a book is never a good idea. There is so much of the story missing and having read the paperback I know what those parts are and they were crucial to the story. If a narrator is being paid by the hour to read a story cutting the story to meet a budget makes for a shoddy job. If cost is an issue at the expense of the story, get a less well known name to do the reading and keep the whole book.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars

Sessions session

Just a quick note to say that I think John Sessions was masterful in his reading, pronunciation and acting and made this book, that I have already read in paperback, even more accessible and enjoyable. It's just a shame that it was an abridged version.

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4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

brilliant

Great story,characters are brilliant and wonderfully read by John Sessions. Will definitely listen read more. Highly recommended

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

the first logan macrae story

why oh why are the first few books abridged? and good though John sessions is the author has him beat just listen to the later books. this is the genisis of the macrae world and we are given glimpses of the treasure to come.

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

Great Listen

Great story and well narrated.
Shorter than normal crime books and couldn't wait top download the next book in the series

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Mum’s recommendation

I started listening to books at the start of the pandemic and now I’ve listened to 100s, most on my mum’s recommendation. I really enjoyed this, all the characters were believable and although the story line was a bit grim, it doesn’t focus on the gore for too long. I look forward to listening to the whole series. Excellent narration too

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2 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

A great book, shame its abridged

I have tried hard not to purchase the early books of Logan McCrea's adventures by Stuart Macbride due to the fact they are abridged. Why do this to a great book?!
Anyway I love the series so I gave in and bought them all. I did enjoy the performance but the story was lacking. Please buy the unabridged version. Its worth the extra!

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2 people found this helpful