There is no better tonic for reality TV than Shatter the Bones by Stuart MacBride. The perfect antedote to the Christmas final of X Factor, the latest DS McRae book examines the envy, resentment and frenzy elicited by the reality TV phenomenon in the UK.
Shatter the Bones is a tough, mean and twisting tale set in Scotland’s granite city. Through the story of a little girl and her mother who almost make it to the final of “Britain’s Next Big Star“, the author launches a proxy attack on the mania gripping a society enthralled with marginally talented, underpolished D-listers.
The common sense of front line police staff only just cuts through the hysteria of fans and the grip of celebrity in time to solve a sickening crime in which the two reality TV hopefuls are caught in a kidnapping nightmare.
Robbie Williams and Katie Melua sing tributes while the police battle institutional hurdles, shake down the locals and race against time to outwit the forensically neutral masterminds behind the plot.
Through the eyes of the rank-and-file, the culture and methods of modern policing are brought to life. Jokes and pastries abound while those upstairs balance politics and budgets. The protagonist of the book series, DS Logan McRae, is haunted by crimes past and present while he juggles the needs of the main investigation and the on-going, more regular crimes of Aberdeen’s roughest streets. Ultimately, he faces a choice between expediency and the law.
Shatter the Bones is an ideal start to 2011 for fans of crime novels.
