I read this book in July, 2022.

I know I am reading too many different series at the same time, but I do like to start reading a new series - to meet new characters, a new location, and see if I like them and their stories. This is book 1 in the Glasgow based DCI Jack Logan series, but we are not told all that much about Logan's private life, other than he has a grown up daughter but apparently he is not in touch with her. He is in his late 40s, I think, hates journalists, and there are hints that he may have good reasons for this. There are also hints about some murky past - no doubt more will emerge as the series proceeds. He seems to be a big man, who walks with a slight stoop perhaps to disguise his height. He is a no nonsense, tough cop, focused, and determined to get results, even if this means bending a few rules. But his heart is in the right place, and you would want his help if you were in trouble.

The book opens on a path on remote Forestry Commission land in the Scottish Highlands near Fort William where Duncan Reid and his seven year old son Connor are taking a stroll - see the author write up above for what inspired this story. Meg their dog goes missing in some woods, Duncan tells Connor to stay there and goes after Meg, but when he returns Connor has gone. We now switch to DCI Jack Logan visiting an Owen Petrie held in Carstairs High Security psychiatric hospital - it's Sunday, he usually goes there on his days off. Dr Ramesh thinks these repeat visits are harassment, and threatens to report Logan to the Chief Constable with whom he plays golf. Fine, says Logan, but goes off to interview Petrie. Owen Petrie, Mister Whisper, abducted, abused and killed three young boys - Lewis Briggs, Matthew Henderson, and Dylan Muir - and sent a teddy bear and photos of the terrified boys. Lewis and Matthew's remains have been returned to their families, but Dylan's body has never been found (and, as we will find out, there are good reasons for this). Logan said he would do his utmost to get the boys back, and so this is unfinished businesss, even after 20 years. Logan is convinced Petrie's mental incapacity is just an act - hence his so called "harassment".

Ten minutes later, Logan gets a phone call - he is called in to see his boss in Glasgow, D Super Gordon McKenzie (the Gozer), told there is a missing boy case (Connor), and he is being sent to Fort William to help. Why me, protests Logan, we are a Major Crime unit - because local police have received a teddy bear and photos of the terrified young boy. Is it a copycat killing as Logan thinks, or did they get the wrong man ? Logan meets the local detective team in Fort William - DI Ben Forde, an old friend, DS Caitlyn McQuarrie, ex Orkney, DC Hamza Khalid, ex Aberdeen and DC Tyler Neish. Straight away Tyler asks Logan what happened on Petrie's roof top arrest. He jumped, says Logan. Logan says he will meet the parents, and visit the site where Connor disappeared. It seems a man hid in the woods, grabbed Connor, and made off with him in some vehicle parked on the other side of the wood. A local PC, Sinead Bell, sort of rescues Logan from some sheep. She is young, is local, and knows the parents, Catriona and Duncan Reid. He gets her on to the team, and takes her with him most of the time - but sends her away when he breaks a few rules. Sinead's mum and dad were killed in a road accident some 18 months ago, and she is bringing up her young brother Harris. Sadly Harris becomes becomes involved in the climax but his baton wielding sister and Logan are there to help.

And so the story unfolds - will they rescue Connor in time, is it Petrie, or a copycat ? It's well written, page turning stuff. Although I don't really care to read about crimes involving children nor torture to animals (cats in this case), it's handled well. I'll leave you to read the story, but be careful, there is a wonderful, and very clever misdirection that had me completely fooled. Well done J D, or Barry ! I will mention some highlights : -
Some DNA is found on the teddy sent to the police, and later identification is a further puzzle. Just who is next door neighbour Ed Baker who has a police record, is he Connor's grandad - no, but you will never guess who he is. The courier who handed in the teddy and photos is traced, but drugs have fuddled his brain, and he can't recall who handed him the package to deliver. A local art teacher is asked to sit with him, to try to do a sketch, as the nearest police sketch artist is too far away in Inverness. Then the poor man is asked to age the photo of a young boy by 20 years. Some task - he deserves his £40, but Logan doesn't care, and Ben Forde pays up. Logan hates the press - he would happily drown them all. In particular he hates Ken Henderson, a freelance, who has closely followed the Petrie case, and has turned up in Fort William. Threatened by Logan in a cupboard in the police station, he says he got his latest leads on the case from a young reporter, Tom Fisher, who says he heard it when interviewing a local woman, three of whose cats had gone missing. Logan pricks up his ears - tortured cats featured in the earlier Petrie cases. Logan accepts he is at fault when DC Khalid gets into danger without back up. Logan says we either all sit around blaming me, myself included, or we jump into action and find Connor and Khalid's attacker. Everyone jumps into action. As I always say, I don't want to write a spolier, so I had better leave it at that. But I did like the climax, and what a revelation at the end !

All in all, and based on book 1, it looks as if it might be a promising series, but a better test will be book two. Will J D Kirk stick to crime, or start to introduce fantasy ? Also it looks as if Logan is to be sent to various locations in Scotland, and meet new local detective teams. I would prefer to get to know one team better, and not be introduced to too many new characters in each outing. However we must allow the author to tell his story in his own way, and he is good at his craft.

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I read this book in August, 2022.

This is book two in the DCI Jack Logan series. They say you judge a series not by it's first book, but by the second - if so, this is going to be a good, readable, cleverly written series which ticks all the boxes. It has strong characters, a bit of humour, running jokes, some possible romance, and a good private lives back story. I was concerned in book one that Jack Logan was intending to roam Scotland on special assignments, and we were going to meet new police teams each time. Happily Jack Logan has swopped with DCI Grant and transferred out of Glasgow into Inverness. DCI Grant (Snecky) is thick and brainless, and Logan had to use blackmail to get his Glasgow bosses to agree. Glasgow's loss in definitely Inverness's gain, but as Jack walks down a strange Inverness street, he knows Glasgow was his city, and Inverness is not yet his, but it will be. His new boss in Inverness is Super Bob Hoon, an ex Glasgow no nonsense cop like Logan who also doesn't like the Press, but knows how to use them.

We meet again most of the great team characters from book one. The DI is Jack's old friend Ben Forde, married to Alice who is two years older, and Jack is staying with them until he finds a place of his own. Alice has never forgiven Jack for breaking her Harry Pricklepants, Hedgehog ornament - she leaves space where it used to be to remind him, and she bears a long grudge. There is a running joke that she is a terrible cook. The DS is the very able Caitlyn McQuarrie - she still has a slight Orcadian accent - and the two DCs are Tyler McNeish, always prone to say the wrong thing, and Hamza Khaled - who has an Aberdonian accent. Hamza was almost killed in book one, and has come back to work too soon. Has he lost his confidence ? PC Sinead Bell is here again too. I wondered if she might be a future love interest for Logan, but he is too old, and she and Tyler are better suited. But we do meet the Inverness pathologist Dr Shona Maguire - she is the same age as Logan, and has a wierd sense of humour. She and Jack seem to get on well. In this story he asks her to let him bend a few rules, and she says yes "if you buy me dinner". This dinner almost happens in a cafe, but both are called away. I liked the bit where Logan came to in a hospital bed and saw the pathologist bending over him. "This doesn't look good" he says. "Don't worry", Shona replies "you are not dead !"

As I suspected, we are gradually getting to know more about Jack as the series unfolds. We learn that his wife Vanessa divorced him, and he has a now 20 year old daughter Madison with whom he has lost touch, but he is trying to put this right. He is no longer drinking implying perhaps he is an ex alcoholic. I like symmetry in a story. The book opens with Logan in a cafe waiting to meet Madison again, and waiting and waiting, but she texts eventually to say she can't make it. The book closes with Logan in another cafe in another place waiting once again. His mobile rings, it's Madison, DI Ben Forde has told her that some crook almost killed Logan, and she is all concerned. "I'm fine" he lies. They both agree to meet up. She says "Bye, dad." He replies "Bye sweetheart". And very unusually Logan realises he is happy. But Logan is still in the cafe, obviously waiting for someone else.

The main plot opens with two youngsters - Lolly (14) and Nathan (16) - who are on a campsite near Loch Ness, and are meeting up for a secret midnight swim. Nathan undresses, but Lolly is shy. He kisses her, and starts to touch her, but she says a firm no. Nathan says that's fine, let's just swim, and he enters the loch, only to disappear from sight under the surface. He emerges at the edge terrified, tries to crawl out, but is apparently caught in the tangles of some monster. Lolly screams, and screams. Next Logan, en route to Inverness, is contacted by Ben Forde, and told to divert to a camp site by the loch where a woman's body has been found.

The body is that of 31 year old primary school teacher Mairi Sinclair. She has a 14 year old son Stuart, a younger sister Michelle, and parents Malcolm and Elaine Sinclair alive and in shock. Malcolm wants to see where Mairi's body was found. Logan says it's not a good idea, but agrees. Mairi was separated from Stuart's dad Robbie Steadwood, but they were never married. He was low life and worse and got her pregnant when she was 16, and he was 20. It seems he was seeing her again, they were sleeping together again, and he was supplying her with cannabis. Robbie is soon the main suspect, but he can't be found. Robbie had worked for Bosco Building, run by an evil Russian drugs baron Bosco Maximuke whom Logan had hounded out of Glasgow. Will he have to do it all again - but Borco is established in Inverness, Logan is not. There are other suspects - Christopher Boyd and possibly fellow teacher Shayne Turner.

The story unfolds at about just the right pace and there are misdirections, and surprises, and a good climax only part of which I saw coming. But I would like to mention some highlights. Tyler finally rebels about being treated as the tea boy, and gets a round of applause from Ben and Logan for finally showing some backbone. We don't specially like tea they say, and Tyler then goes off to get them coffee ! Maybe one rebellion a day is enough. The action takes place near abandoned Boleskine House, where Aleister Cowley, the black warlock used to live. When young, Robbie and Mairi had held Ouija Board seances there, and local kids still did this. The Inverness pathologist is Dr Shona Maguire, and she intruduced herself to Logan by telling him of some unusual aspects to the case. Mairi had been tortured, strange symbols had been carved into her flesh, she had caustic poured down her throat, she had four holes drilled into her skull, she had her eyes gouged out, and she had been stabbed through he heart. Some of this suggesed a form of wierd exorcism. Hamza gets his confidence back by disarming a knife wielding monster. And talking of monsters, some woman (Marian Whitehead) had turned up at the station with photographic evidence that Nessie had done the murder. Tyler later earns his spurs by spotting something on one of these photos that had been overlooked.

All in all, it is a good story that flows and reads well. I am sure we will hear more of the Russian Bosco Maximuke in future stories, and about Sinead and Tyler, and about Logan and Shona Maguire, and posssibly Madison will meet her dad again ? In short, we must read on.

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I read this book in October, 2022.

This is book three in the terrific DCI Jack Logan series, set in and around Inverness. Jack is ex Glasgow, and is a hulking great, hard man, no nonsense copper who would rather catch pneumonia than be seen standing under an umbrella ! A couple of months ago he moved into his own rented flat. It's not in a very good area, but attempts to rent better properties all came to nothing - probably because of Jack's arch enemy Bosco Maximuke, local property tycoon, long time villian and drug dealer. Bob's boss is D. Superintendent Bob Hoon and the team compromises Jack's old friend, DI Ben Forde, married to Alice, DS Caitlyn McQuarrie, computer expert DC Hanza Khaled ex Aberdeen, DC Tyler Neish, the but of all the jokes, and promising young DC Sinead Bell, whose little brother Harris (9) hero worships DCI Logan. Tyler is trying to chat up Sinead - and it's looking promising. The pathologist with the dark sense of humour whom Jack likes, and possibly more than likes, is Dr Shona Maguire, and he is still due her a promised dinner. There is no further mention of Jack's daughter Madison - their possible reconciliation ran through books 1 and 2.

This is a bleak tale of a very clever, mysterious, depraved serial rapist who tortures and mutilates his female victims, but it's well written, and lightened by quite a lot of humour and good banter. After pages and pages of mysery and the horrible death of John and his wife Mille I liked the author's mood switch to Harris's birthday party, with Sinead and Tyler trying to persuade reluctant 10 year olds to play musical statues and pass the parcel. They would rather be upstairs playing Fortnite, but Tyler was enjoying the games. Jack even made the party and showed a lighter side to his character - helped by generous helping of birthday cake. However darkness returns when all have gone home, and the final climax starts to unroll. Many authors have written before about the need to get the right balance between light and shade in good crime fiction.

The main plot is who is the serial rapist, but there are several sub plots. One is where Jack rescues his downstairs sobbing young neighbour Tanya and, at her request, sends her violent, abusive partner Bud packing, but at the end of book Bud is back. Logan is too tired to argue when Tanya says he has promised not to do it again. The other sub plot is a series of silent phone calls to Jack, but again at the end of the book, the silent caller whispers "you know who I am, Jack," and DCI Logan knows things are about to get a lot worse.

The book opens with nurse Esme Miller finishing an exhausting shift at Raigmore Hospital, having a goodnight chat with porter Kel Conlyn, and walking home through the hospital grounds. Her mutilated body is found later, she is rushed inside by paramedics, and is treated by Dr Colin Fletcher but she has lost too much blood, and dies. The letters FA have been carved on her body. DI Forde remembers an earlier degrading rape case where the victim Danni Gillespie had FAKE craved on her body, but Danni survived. The rapist was never found, but the chief suspect was Donald Sloane. Donald was later beaten up by Danni's brother Shaun Gillespie, the owner of Osmosis, the local night club. Interestingly Bosco Maximuke was a recent investor in the Osmosis Club. Danni is interviewed again and tells Logan that all the time her rapist was muttering "this does not matter, I am not real, you are not real" - and this is a reference to Simulation Theory, see footnote. Esme left a distraught husband Rowen and a 6 year old daughter Chloe. Suspects include Kel Conlyn, the last person to see Esme alive, Dr Colin Fletcher, recently downgraded and separated from his wife, he had tried to chat up Esme, and Donald Sloane, butcher and the suspect in the Danni Gillespie rape. When Logan goes to interview Sloane he panics and runs off, but is caught when he tries to attack young PC Penny Willow but gets more than he bargained for.

There are two more female murders characterised by sickening acts of depravity (pity the SOCCO teams, and poor pathologist Shona Maguire). The first is that of Clarissa McDude of Raigmore HR department whose body is found in a multistorey car park between two cars, one a Range Rover owned by Bosco Maximuke. The CCTV in the car park was down - it was on a LAN network that had been expertly hacked. Some of Clarissa's' email appointments had been deleted, and there is no way to retrieve them. Caitlyn McQuarrie has a bright idea - look at who is still there and so work out who is not, and possibly deleted ! The other victim is nurse Laura Elder. All at Raigmore had been warned not to travel alone, and she was about to book a taxi, when a male colleague offered to walk her home, so she should have been safe.

As I always stress, I don't write spoilers, and so I will leave you to see how the story unfolds, builds to a spectacular climax when the rapist chooses and abducts a special last victim, and how the breakthrough comes from an unlikely source - DC Tyler Neish ! It's a good read and a terrific climax ! As an aside, when Sinead is chatting to Tyler at Harris's party she asks him interesting question "do you think Jack Logan is happy ?" There is no answer to that yet.

Finally a footnote on Simulation theory : Imagine a Sims game on a computer where the characters all have artificial intelligence and live in a simulated world where all seems real to them. One of them writes a game where one of the characters writes a Sims game with artificial intelligence characters in their own worlds, within which one of the characters writes a Sims game, and so on. Thus we have a whole universe of simulated worlds, all seemingly real, but just computer simulations. And now the crucial question - how do we know we are the primary game writer, or we just one of the many simulations ? Does the rapist really believe that none of what he is doing is real ?

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I read this book in May, 2023.

This is book 4 in J. D. Kirk's DCI Jack Logan series, set mostly in Inverness and the Scottish Highlands. It's very readable with lots of good banter and dry humour. Jack is a tall, big and bulky, tough no nonsense detective - a real action man with a temper, but the series isn't afraid to sometimes poke gentle fun at this.

As usual, I'll start by recapping some of the main characters. DCI Jack Logan works for the MIT section and reports to D. Super. Bob Hoon. Jack is divorced from his wife Vanessa, but is trying to rebuild a relationship with his daughter Maddie. He has a good team of detectives working for him - DI Ben Forde (married to Alice), DS Caitlyn McQuarrie, DC Tyler Neish ( a better copper than anyone gives him credit for), DC Hamza Khaled (with his Aberdeen accent) and PC Sinead Bell. Tyler and Sinead are seeing each other, and there is a sort of slowly building (very slowly) love interest for Jack in Dr. Shona Maguire, the pathologist at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness.

We read these book series to enjoy the main crime plot(s), but also to follow everyone's personal life stories. Let's start with the personal lives . The book opens with Jack in Carluke at Carstairs Hospital, once again visiting Mr Whisper, the child molester, Owen Petrie. Everyone except Jack beleives that Petrie is in a vegetative state. As per the previous book, Jack is still getting silent phone calls and he is convinced they are from Petrie. He talks his way into a visit to Petrie's cell, and is searching for a hidden phone when he is caught and thrown out by Dr Rames, and later gets sworn at by his exasperated former boss Gordon McKenzie (the Gozer) whose patch Jack has re-entered. Jack hangs up on the Gozer, and careers off in in his new car, a fast Volvo SUV. He had arranged to finally meet daughter Maddie, but his watch stopped, and he gets to the tearoom too late. Maddie left 20 minutes ago. When he phones and pleads for forgiveness, she says she can spare him 20 minutes, but Jack let's slip that he was visiting Carluke. Maddie says it's still the same, job first, us second, and the meeting is off.

Sinead Bell is on sick leave, but is bored, and visits Tyler hoping he can take her out for a spot of lunch. He says he's flat out on a murder case, but she can come with him to interview a possible hoax caller, Robert Smith. Sinead's parents had died in a road traffic accident, and when they get to Smith's house in Corpach, Sinead realises it is adjacent to Kilmallie Cemetery where her parents are buried. Tyler reveals his gentle side and says we can spare 5 minutes, "besides, it's time I met your parents." Gathering the odd flower from here and there, he makes Sinead a little bunch to place on her parents's grave. Sinead is deeply touched. Finally in the personal lives stories, Caitlyn confides in Hamza that she has met someone. "Is he in the Force ?" asks Hamza. "It's a she" replies Caitlyn, "and no she is not in the Force."

The main plot and the book opens with Fulton Randall reading his little granddaughter Carrie a bedtime story, but he is a member of the local Glen Coe Mountain Rescue team, and is called out - a reported missing climber. They find a body, but it's not the missing climber !

Jack has just missed seeing his daughter when Ben Forde phones. "There is dead body, meet us at Glen Coe." There are two mountain rescue people waiting there - Chris O'Hare, who found the body, and Fulton Randall. Fulton gets a phone call from his daughter Hannah, saying that her fiance Brodie Welsh has gone missing. He has a dreadful thought. Fulton runs in panic to where the body lies within an incident tent. It is Brodie. The body is in a terrible state with teeth bashed in, the fingers removed, - presumably to hinder identification - and the stomach had been sliced open. The stomach wounds remind Jack and Ben of an earlier drug smuggling case. With the police closing in, the smugglers killed the mule, sliced open his stomach, and escaped with the ingested drugs.

Jack's whole team assembles at Fort William police station - Jack, Ben, Caitlyn, Hamza and Tyler. Brodie was 22, a local lad, and he and Hannah lived in Kinlochleven. Jack and Tyler go there with Fulton who wants to be the one to break the news to Hannah. Stepping out of the car Jack notices a tough, coarse criminal type watching Hannah and Brodie's house. He tells Tyler to check him out. The man says he knows his rights, refuses to give his name, and walks off with his dog. Brodie had been dead and missing for a week, but Jack is surprised that his employers had never been in touch to ask where he was. Hannah thought Brodie worked offshore, for a Dutch oil company, Oswatt. Caitlyn does a search, but can find no such company - so who did Brodie work for, and where was he going each month on his foreign trips?

In a video chat with Dr Shona Maguire, Jack learns that the victim was a cannabis user, had been killed 6 days ago, and the body had been kept in a salt/ grit mixture. From experience, the mountain rescue team said the body had been at the found site for only 2 days. Why had it been moved and buried again, and why bury it beside a mountain path where it was more likely to be found ?

Tyler identifies the mystery man who walked away as Sandy Gillespie, one of a family of criminal toerags - the brother is in jail, and the sister Maureen all have criminal records. The neighbour who identified Sandy said there had been a lot of complaints about Sandy's dog fouling but Sandy never picked up the poo. Although it's a flimsy excuse, Jack says let's bring him in for questioning about persistent dog fouling. Tyler will question Gillespie, and Hamza will ask Hannah about Oswatt. Tyler and Jack's interview is interrupted by Chief Inspector Hugh Pickering (in charge at Fort William police station - nickname "Jinkies"). He tells Jack of a big drugs investigation with thousands of man hours, where the net is about to close in on the Gillespies He doesn't want Jack to ruin it. Jack returns to the interview room and tells Gillespie he can go but there is a sting in the tail. There will be fixed penalty fines for dog fouling, and with about 30 incidents it will cost a lot.

As Carrie is still at her grandparents, Hannah is alone at home when a Balaclava clad thug bursts in, knife in hand, and pins her to the bed. He screams "what did he do with the stuff ?" Someone is downstairs searching. Jack gets another mystery phone call, but someone speaks this time - "How's Vanessa, Jack ?" Vanessa is Jack's ex wife - they haven't spoken for 3 years. There are squad cars and paramedics at Hannah's house when Jack and Hamza get there. Hannah's mum Sandra is there too - the intruders had run off at her arrival. Hannah lies to Jack and Hamza, saying the men were after money. Jack asks if it had something to do with Brodie ? "No", she lies again. Jack doesn't beleive the theft story with untouched valuables all around. Hamza says Oswatt are paying £9k a month into Brodie's joint bank account. Jack, in a shop, helps a lady move goods down from the high top shelf - "so that they can be seen." This gives Jack the idea that the body was moved to be found. Jack has Hannah brought in for questioning, and sees Jinkies to insist on seeing the drugs case file they are building against the Gillespies. Jack's team read it, and find important information.

Eventually Hannah admits Brodie was drug dealing, and had twice been violent towards her. Fulton is furious - drug dealing whilst little Carrie was in the house ! Hannah admits that Gillespie visited Brodie, but she was in the bedroom and can't help. Jack tells Hannah to tell the truth, but as she is not under arrest, Fulton takes her away, saying we will have a lawyer at the next interview. Maureen Gillespie (47) has been in / out of prison. Jack says bring in Sandy and Maureen for questioning.

And now we have the start of a terrible tragedy. Two of the team go to Maureen Gillespies, but find her dead and her stomach sliced open. Two others of the team go to pick up Sandy, one knocks on his front door but there is a terrific explosion, and a terrible injury from which the one at the door dies. There are two climaxes. One is the end of the drugs case when it's a wild beast with furious hatred etched on his face that storms into Sandy Gillespies' house. The mystery of why the body was moved is also solved Read the story to find out more.

There is a hush over Fort William police station Jack is locked in his office - with an opened bottle of whisky. Will he succomb ? We also find out who in the drugs team had been leaking information. There is a lot, lot more to the story, but I have said more than enough. But when everything has been solved there is one final chapter - black ties and the funeral of a team member.

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I read this book in June, 2023.

I read this book in June, 2023.

This is book 6 in J D Kirk's DCI Jack Logan series which is set in and around Inverness. This book follows on directly from book 5. Jack arrives back from Canna to be met by Chief Super Hoon, expecting to be disciplined for setting fire to drug barron Bosco Maximuke's office - Jack blames Bosco as ultimately responsibe for DS Caitlyn McQuarrie's death. Instead he is told that Owen Petrie, the notorious child abuser and torturer, has escaped from Carstairs secure Hospital. Jack had never accepted that his Petrie's brain was in a vegetative state, but no one beleived him. Jack never says "I told you so" - as he points out, "what would be the point". I don't really care to read books about child abuse and worse, but Mr Whisper is an important character in the series, and Jack's obsession with him has governed and ruined a lot of Jack's life. Here we get the end of this part of the story, and possibly of Bosco Maximuke - and it's almost the end of Jack and all his friends and colleagues. Petrie picks them all off, one by one, and not all the characters survive.

Lets say a little about the main characters, then mention their personal lives stories, and finally get to the main plots.

Main Characters : The Inverness police are ACC Michaela Haldane (the Impaler), D. Superintendent Bob Hoon, and DCI Jack Logan and his major incident team of DI Ben Forde, DC Hamza Khaled, DC Tyler Neish and effectively PC Sinead Bell. It will be DC Sinead Bell in the next book. Jack has an ex wife Vanessa, and they have a daughter Maddie; Ben is married to Alice; Hamza is married to Almira, and they have a 3 year old daughter Kamila; and with their parents dead, Sinead has a young brother Harris to look after. The SOC leader is Geoff Palmer, and the pathologist is Dr Shona Maguire. The Glasgow police are Jack's former boss D. Superintendent Gordon McKenzie (the Gozer), and the hopeless DCI Samuel Grant (Snecky) - Jack and Snecky did a job swap. The "baddies" are paedophile Owen Petrie (Mr Whisper), Bosco Maximuke, Russian drug baron and his chief heavy Valdis.

Private Lives :The whole story is really about Jack Logan's private life - at war with Owen Petrie, but there are other aspects too. Arriving back at his flat, Jack finds his young downstairs neighbour Tanya leaving home, fleeing from her drunken partner Bud. Jack gives Tanya £10 for the taxi to her mums, and "persuades" Bud to sling his hook. Sadly Bud and Tanya later reappear as Petrie victims. Jack's romance with Dr Shona Maguire is still as glacially slow as ever. When he visits for a post mortem report, she persuades him to stay for lunch - pot noodles. She complains that he is not eating them properly, then hints of a treat for afters - hastily explaining it's chocolate eclairs. Shona tells Alexa to play some music, and she actually gets Jack to dance with her. All is going swimmingly. However, as always, Jack is called away on another emergency. The banter between Shona and Jack is terrific. Later Jack will visit Shona's house to ponder how to free her from an attached bomb, and even here the banter persists - "it's time I invited you back to my place anyway", says Shona, etc.

Main plots :Petrie escaped by stabbing his orderly / guard with the pointed end of a snapped off plastic chair, and using death threats against a hostage nurse to pass through the locked gates. Once out, he kills her anyway, and goes off in an accomplice's car. Useless local DCI Snecky thinks he is dealing with terrorism as HIJACK was left as a message. "No", explains Jack, "it says Hi Jack". Dr Manan Ramesh - he who constantly reported Jack for harrassing Petrie - helped Petrie escape as a fellow member of a paedophile ring. Petrie tortures and kills Ramesh just the same. Jack could not understand how Petrie in his whispered phone calls was always so well informed of Jack's movements. Ramesh had joined D. Super McKenzie's golf club, befriended him, and sent him a succession of emails with links he clicked on that never worked. Now learning of this, Jack shouts at McKenzie "switch off your phone and PC, and get the computer boffins in".

It's Jack who finds Ramesh's body on the roof of the same Cambridge street multi- storey where he fought with Petrie 10 years ago, and Petrie fell from the roof surviving, but sustaining terrible injuries. Gossip suggested that Jack pushed Petrie. Later we will learn that Jack really did push Petrie, goaded by a taunt and threat that we hear repeated at the book climax. However, even in Inverness, Petrie remains well informed - amazingly he has another senior police source.

Jack persuades his ex wife Vanessa and Maddie to return to Inverness with him, where he'll be able to protect them in a safe house. Big mistake, plus was Jack deliberately using them as bait ? On the roof of the multi-storey, Jack had found a message on Ramesh's body "Jump, or the rest is down to you." Back in his Inverness flat, Jack finds the hospital orderly's missing badge in Jack's bed. No broken window, no smashed lock, but Petrie had been there. Jack moves out.

Reunited with his team, Jack finds Hamza and Tyler dealing with a body found near a Premier Inn - badly beaten, face smashed, teeth removed, hands and a tattoo cut off, wearing a suit from a charity shop, and shoes far too big for the feet. Later we find out one of Bosco's vans was there, and later still we will learn that the shoes are Jack's, establishing a Bosco - Petrie link. Not yet knowing this, Jack updates his team about Petrie's escape, but orders them to concentrate on the Premier Inn body, and he will deal with Petrie. "Its me he is after," he explains.

Soon there is a report of an attempted abduction of a young boy from a local park, but foiled by an alert neighbour. The young lad draws a picture of a face with a remarkable likeness to Petrie's. Hoon is furious at Jack for not telling him Mr Whisper was in Inverness - the young boy was the son of Hoon's neice. Hamza goes to kiss his sleeping daughter goodnight, but finds the bed empty. She is standing by the window, and says she has been speaking to a man with a funny voice - a whisper. When they find a beaten up teddy in an alley - Petrie's calling card - Hamza sends his wife and daughter away to her brothers for safety. Tyler had often been urged to show some initiative, and so he goes to Bosco's office alone to interview him about the van seen near the Premier Inn. Tyler is alone with Bosco and his two heavies. Bosco tells him that he and Jack go back a long way, that he gives Jack tip offs, and then asks Tyler about his mum Ruth, whom he often sees out jogging. He lets Tyler go, implying Tyler owes him a favour in return.

Ben has got three photos with titles written on them - Driveways, Toast, and Nature. Jack also has cards with three words on them - Mentions, Idealist and Idiot. A terrible thought strikes Jack, and he tells Ben to show the photos to Sinead. Horrified, she says that they show her Auntie Val's. Val is looking after Harris. Jack rushes there, finds Val stabbed and barely alive, and Harris is missing. Later Jack gets a phone call - it's Harris, "help me, please."

Jack realises that although Bosco is no paedophile, he will work for money, and is helping Petrie. Harris is tied up somewhere being watched by an evil woman who doesn't speak. Who is she, is she a future enemy for Jack ?

Hamza tells Jack about the What3words location identifying app. With Val in an induced coma, Sinead leaves the hospital and comes in to work - to keep busy and help find Harris She and Hamza work on 3 word permutations of Driveways, Toast, Nature, Mentions, Idealist and Idiot. It takes them a long time, but eventually they find two local locations. Perie is outthinking them all, and it's a trap.

Vanessa and Maddie are tricked into opening the door of their safe house by Petrie dressed as a policeman - he killed their policeman guard. Vanessa is stabbed, but not seriously wounded, and Maddie is captured.

Jack gets a video call from Shona - she is bleeding, captured, and Petrie is standing over her. Jack rushes over, finds Shona alone, but unable to move, as she has a bomb taped to her body, and a Petrie message "don't call the bomb squad !" Instead, Jack calls Ben who has Northern Ireland army bomb disposal experience and Ben rushes over, leaving his wife Alice alone and unprotected. Once again, Petrie is in control. Later Ben is alone in a hotel bedroom, and opens his door to be greeted by three club bearing Bosco thugs - he is beaten and captured. Later Tyler too is captured, escaping from Bosco's house - he had gone there looking for Harris. Jack gives Shona a quick phone call to check she is OK, and asks her to do him a favour. Next it's Hamza and Sinead who are captured - they had gone to check out one of the What3words locations. Finally a hopelessly outnumbered Jack Logan is captured, checking out the other What3words location.

And so I will introduce the climax, and leave you to read the book, and it's interesting epilogue. Bosco and Petrie have everyone (except Harris) tied up very securely in one location. Jack comes to, and sees Ben, Tyler, Hamza, Sinead, and Maddie, all tied up, and in a line in front of him. Has Petrie won ?

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I read this book in July, 2023.

This is book seven in the DCI Jack Logan series by J D Kirk. It's set in and around Inverness. Jack overcame two old adversaries - Mr Whisper and Bosco Maximuke - in the previous book, then fled to Orkney to visit D S Caitlynn McQuarrie's grave - "we got them, rest in peace." Jack then stayed on in Orkney, leaving all his friends, his girlfriend Dr Shona Maguire, and his police job behind to mend himself, physically and mentally. That book closed with, 9 months later, DC Tyler Neish, PC Sinead Bell and her little brother Harris travelling to Orkney to successfully persuade Jack to return to Inverness and his old job - but there are lots of changes.

As before, lets say a little about the main characters, then mention their personal lives stories, and finally get to the main plots.

Main Characters :Our hero is DCI Jack Logan, in charge of the Inverness Major Incident Team - his colleagues are DI Ben Ford, now DS Hamza Khaled, now DC Sinead Bell, and DC Tyler Neish. Following the death of his wife Alice, Ben looks tired, old, and gray. D Super Bob Hoon has been dismissed, and Jack has a new boss, D Super Chuki Mitchell. She tells Jack "I'm gay, and black, but it's not positive discrimination - I'm good and here on merit". Useless DCI Grant (Snecky) is currently on sick leave, and is soon transferring to Aberdeen, vacating Jack's old position. DC David Davidson is a new member of the team, appointed by D Super Mitchell to keep a secret eye on Jack - but it's not much of a secret as David tells Jack. David was a police officer very badly injured in a high speed car pursuit 18 months ago, and is now in a wheel chair. Sex pest Geoff Palmer does forensics, and Dr Shona Maguire is the pathologist. 12 year old Olivia Maximuke, introduced to Shona by Jack, still calls round once a week uninvited to Shona's to watch DVD's together.

Private Lives :With no exercise and too many fish and chip meals, Jack is unfit, overweight, has a huge belly, and looks a sight with a big bushy beard. He is told "you look like Hagrid." Initially Jack is not sure if he wants to return or not. As an observer he is with Ben and Hamza in Fort Augustus when Dr Shona Maguire walks into the room. She was badly hurt, abandoned by Jack, and is furious at him for how he treated her. Jack has no excuses, he can't think how he came to behave so badly. "Are you back", she asks him. "I'm not sure, not sure if I'd be welcome." "Yes, I can understand that", says Shona. Geoff Palmer warns Jack off, claiming Shona is with him now. It's not true - they once had coffee together, just Geoff's wishful thinking. Ben has moved house - the old place was full of too many memories. Sadly he can't bring himself to say Alice's name. At the very end of the book, with the team all together in a pub, Jack proposes a toast "to Alice." All eyes are on Ben. He raises his glass and whispers "to Alice." Jack had been staying at Ben's, but they were living like students with Asda sandwiches and crisps for their main meals - it's a house not a home, a cold, soulless place. There is only one photo on the mantle piece - of Jesus. Ben had joined a local church, it gave him some comfort.

D Super Mitchell gives Jack an ancient Ford Fiesta as his new police car - it's small, Jack is not. She tells Jack she has arranged that he meet Professional Standards that afternoon. Jack asks " have you only brought me back to sack me?" Knowing he hates paperwork Mitchell also gives Jack a pile of re-application forms to complete within 24 hours, and she also says your return is subject to you passing a fitness test, next Monday. This is the dreaded Bleep test - when the bleep goes, a timed run between two lines, stop, and when the bleep goes again, run back. Shona says she will help Jack, and takes him jogging at 5:30 am, running up a hill. Every part of Jack's body is in agony, he can hardly walk, and has to be helped out of his jacket. Jack knows he deserves it. Shona doesn't hold grudges, and invites Jack to visit - but on the night Olivia is there. "Don't worry", she says " she leaves at 10:00 pm, you don't." There is a great punch line at the end of the book. Tyler and Sinead had said they would get him out of the fitness test by faking an emergency phone call summonsing him away. Wonderful! Jack is standing on the fitness test line, and sure enough, Tyler's phone rings. "Wrong number" grins Tyler, the Beep goes and a cursing Jack gets running. We will have to read the next book to see if he passed.

Finally let's mention Jack's old boss, ex D Super Bob Hoon, dismissed for leaking information to drug baron Bosco Maximuke. Jack visits Hoon to tell him what he thinks of him, but finds a broken, drunken man. Bob surprises Jack by saying he did it to protect the team, and never leaked anything of significance. I'm ex special forces, and could handle Bosco. If I hadn't done it, Maximuke would have gone after Ben, or Sinead, or Tyler with threats against family. Jack says he'll need to think about this. At the very end, Jack visits Hoon again, says they are alike, and gives him his card - if you need any help, just phone, any time, day or night.

Main plots :There are two sets of wicked, mother and young child murders, and a race against time to prevent a third. Ben and Hamza go to Fort Augustus to investigate the murder of Lois Mann and her 6 year old daughter Ruby. Jack Logan is not officially back in the police yet, but goes as an observer. A first suggestion is that Lois killed Ruby in her bedroom upstairs, and then came down and committed suicide by slashing her wrists. It's a set up - made to look like suicide. Someone, hiding in Ruby's bedroom, killed her in a frenzied knife attack, and then killed Lois, wierdly by drowning - by pouring water down her throat and into her lungs. The murder took place last Sunday, but was not discovered until Gwynn Dugdale, the postie called the following Wednesday to deliver a package for which he needed a signature. He couldn't get a reply, said he looked through the front window and saw a body lying there. Lois's husband is the Rev Gareth Mann, and the police are anxious to interview him. The husband is usually a main suspect until eliminated. But the Rev Mann cannot be found. He is not at his church which unusually is locked. One of his congregation is waiting there, a lonely lady by the name of Mrs Elizabeth Strand who comes every day. She had suffered a big upset - she lost her life savings in a bad investment. She knew about the double murder, but said the Rev Mann was incapable of murder. She did say that he also preaches once a month in a remote church in Tomdoun, and it is there that he is later found. Mrs Shand will not elaborate, but suggests that the police should also speak to Mrs Kerry Philips. Much later we learn that Gareth and Kerry were having an affair. Their plan was to tell their partners they were leaving, and then lay low, and then after a couple of months, move in together. Kerry told her husband Ryan, but Gareth hadn't yet told Lois. He did tell her on the Sunday, and later she was killed. Two obvious suspects are the husbands Rev Gareth Mann, and Ryan Philips. Jack asks Gareth about a family photo taken on a boat on Loch Ness. On the photo Gareth points out Will Shand in the background. He had been pestering Lois, and had to be warned off by the police. Will Shand is Elizabeth Shand's son, and now, he too is a suspect.

There is another, but very similar double murder, Sandra Attwood (death by drowning) and her 3 year old son Simon, strangled. It's obviously the same killer. The police search for some connection linking Lois and Sandra, but none is obvious. They did both post on Mumsnet - but so do lots of women. Eventually a closer connection is discovered. The boat on Loch Ness in the photo was a cruise run by Nessie Showboats but pathetic, not value for money - Lois had asked for and got her money back. The company later folded. Both Lois and Sandra had written scathing reviews. There had been a break through in the police investigation. Although there was no CCTV outside the Mann's house, the dashcam on a car parked opposite was activated several times on Sunday night, buffeted by gale force winds. One of 12 dashcam videos showed Gareth Mann arriving and leaving, and another showed Gareth and Lois arguing downstairs, but showed a "big man upstairs" in Ruby's bedroom - hence perhaps the book title, although Ben also talks of "The Big Man Upstairs" meaning God. Jack knows he is missing something, but can't think what. When Sinead says with bad reviews, that was curtains for Nessie Showboats - suddenly Jack realises what he had missed.

I won't talk of the third attempted double murder, nor name the intended victim - I don't like spoilers. Do read the story to find out. There's a great climax, and the murderer had a surprise accomplice with a very different motive. However I will say that Jack chases and catches the murderer. "Who knows", he says "I can run after all !" Perhaps there is hope for Jack Logan for his fitness test.

It's a good series, and very readable, but I don't like how modern crime fiction is so segmented - we get a bit of one story, and then jump to what is happening elsewhere, and then return to the original story. It all adds drama, and builds tension, but I would prefer a continuous narrative. The banter and leg pulling is spot on, the Logan / Maguire romance is well handled, and we have two good new team members, wheelchair bound PC David Davidson, and very much in charge D. Super Mitchell, Jack's new boss.

Of course I must read on - did Logan pass his fitness test ?

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I read this book in August, 2023.

This is book 8 in J D Kirk's very enjoyable and readable DCI Jack Logan series, set in and around Inverness. J D Kirk comes up with some terrific stories, the great climaxes always contain lots of surprises, the private lives stories are first rate, and the banter and mickey taking excellent. All in all, a thoroughly recommended series.

Lets start with a little about the main characters, then mention their personal lives stories, and finally get to the main plots.

Main Characters :DCI Jack Logan heads a Police Scotland Major Incident Team (MIT) at Inverness. His boss is D. Super Chuki Mitchell (black, gay, but there on merit), and his former boss was Bob Hoon - dismissed for leaking information to a drug dealer. Jack's team comprise Jack's best friend DI Ben Forde (now able to talk about wife Alice who was murdered in the previous book), DS Hamza Khaled, PC David Davidson on exhibits, DC Tyler Neish, and DC Sinead Bell. Tyler and Sinead are romantically involved. Following the death of her parents, Sinead looks after her young brother Harris with help from Auntie Val, when Sinead is away. Dr. Shona Maguire is the Inverness pathologist, and Dr Albert Ricket (Rickets), the semi-retired assistant pathologist. Geoff Palmer is the sexually frustrated scene of crime investigator - sadly, he has now invented an Aberdeen based girlfriend, a nurse.

Private Lives :There are several strands running here. Jack somehow passed the "beep" fitness test of the previous book, and is trying to lose weight and the layers of fat he put on when in Orkeny, when there was nothing to do but eat fish and chips, and unlimited access to sugary drinks. Jack now goes jogging three times a week with Shona Maguire. He is also on a diet. It's all working, but slowly. Jack and Shona are in a very slow burning romance, but their attempt to have a date, a meal for two, is once again aborted when the latest murder case demands their full attention. Dr Rickets takes Jack aside. As old as he is, he will give Jack a thrashing if he does not treat Shona well. Geoff Palmer also says the same.

Tyler and Sinead are also seeing each other. Poor Tyler is almost killed by an oncoming train and is in an emotional state when he hugs Sinead, and blurts out a marriage proposal. She says no as he was in no fit state to propose. Tyler sulks, but later apologises. When the murder case is over, he apologises again in advance, and proposes properly in front of an assembled crowd of colleagues, including D. Super Mitchell. When Sinead says "yes, why not," Mitchell asks to see the ring. Tyler had forgotten about that. There is silence when Ben takes the chain from around his neck and removes Alice's engagement ring, insisting they take that.

Finally there is a running Bob Hoon story. Bob had told Jack that he leaked nothing of importance, and became the informant to save one of Jack's team being targeted. Jack had told Bob if he ever needed help, to give him a call. D. Super Mitchell takes Jack aside. Hoon had jumped of a bridge, but survived, and she wants Jack to look after him. He was one of us, and he needs help. Jack is in Fort William when he gets the "I've done something stupid" phone call at 2:30 in the morning. He asks Tyler, still in Inverness, to visit Hoon. He didn't tell him that he has to fetch Hoon, who soon causes havoc in the less than ideal cottage the police team have rented. With his dismissal Hoon has lost his purpose in life, and took to drink. Remembering how it used to be, he later insists on helping Tyler question a suspect. This help consists of smashing in two doors to gain access (illegal of course) - but it does surprise Dean Stevens, catching him in his kitchen packing a stash of drugs. Hoon goes back to Inverness. Jack later visits him at home, finds him working out on a punchbag in the garden - and departs quietly.

Main plots :The story opens near the Glen Finnan Monument on Loch Shiel, beside the viaduct made famous in the Harry Potter films. An early morning bird spotter hears a creaking, looks up, sees the dead body of a young woman hanging from the tower, and calls the police. Access to the tower is incredibly narrow, too narrow for Jack, and too difficult for Rickets, the assistant pathologist. The girl was in her twenties, and her body had been covered in oil, and "planet rapist" scrawled there. Is it eco-terrorism ? Someone had safe lock picking skills to get at the tower key. They also find a broken Greenpeace badge. Deidre Mair, a friend, identifies the murdered girl as Hermione Grey, an American. Deidre is in a terrible state - she and Hermione had been lesbian lovers and said they planned a life together. They were part of a loose group touring the world, but one of their number, Moof (Corey) Sanderson, has gone missing. Hayden Howard, another of the group, says Moof had been pestering Hermione, but she was not interested. Later pathologist Shona Maguire advisess that Hermione was 6 weeks pregnant. Hermione obviously had not felt tied to Deidre. Who was the father ?

The police had not been able to find local accommodation, but are using a pair of cottages being renovated, and knocked together. There is only one kitchen and one toilet between them but each in separate cottages. There are enough beds, even when Tyler fetches ex D. Super Hoon to join them. It's, all male until Sinead arrives later in the week, and necessitates a bed reshuffle. She had delayed in Inverness as Harris was off school. Corey Sanderson is traced through his mobile phone use, but he escapes the local police, abandoning his rucksack. This contains "Hermione's" bag, and a passport showing that Hermione's real name is Alexis Riksen, daughter of Texan oil billionaire Bartholomew Riksen - reputably the 16th richest man in the world. Hence the oil and the "planet rapist" note. With great difficulty Ben eventually gets to speak to Riksen in person, and breaks the news of his daughters death. Riksen says he'll be there in 12 hours. Shortly after, another American phones Ben. He is Dirk Sommercamp, head of Riksen's Security Division. He wants a complete update of police progress to date. Ben says it's not possible, as he is not police. Dirk protests, listing his impressive FBI experience, serial killer successes, other abilities and achievements. Ben is unmoved. The Press arrive in great numbers, as Bartholomew Riksen is big news. It's not a police leak, Deidre had posted a tweet about the case, but the tweet was also a suicide note.

Tyler had been sent to interview Deidre. Clayton tells him she wandered off along the railway tracks, heading towards the viaduct. Clayton is sent to phone the police and tell them to get the trains stopped. Tyler then sets off along the tracks, and finds Deidre leaning over a wall in the middle of the viaduct. He phones in, says he will try to save her, and leaves his phone connected so that they can hear what is happening. Actually, Tyler is doing a good job of talking Deidre down, explaining that we are the good guys, Dumbledore's Army, and as there are so many bad guys about, we can't afford to lose another good guy. It's all overtaken by events. A train emerges from the tunnel ahead, and is hurling towards them. They run for their lives. Deidre is way ahead, she will make it off the viaduct. Tyler is lagging and won't make it. Happily, the ground is no longer 500 feet below, but now only 20 feet. Tyler jumps just in the nick of time. As he falls he is lashed by bushes and his clothes shredded. He falls into more bushes, is covered in blood and cuts, but is still alive. Later he tells everyone that he was nearly killed by a train, but gets little sympathy. Instead he is ribbed about his knowledge of the Harry Potter books - about which he had said he had no interest.

Corey is eventually caught, and brought in for questioning. Back in Inverness, Sinead had been told to meet Bartholomew Riksen, and take him to the mortuary for formal identification of Alexis. D. Super joins Sinead in the welcome party. Riksen had paid to have the airport kept open for his private jet. He is tall, wearing a white linen suit, a stetson, cowboy boots and chomping a cigar. He is accompanied by Dirk Sommercamp. Riksen says an underling has already identified Alexis. They are going straight to Fort William and demand full access. Mitchell protests, but is told to look at her emails. Such is Riksen's influence, the Chief Constable has given full access, and attendance at interviews. Mitchell reads closely - this is only for Dirk Sommercamp. She updates Jack Logan, telling him they have no choice. Jack and Dirk do not hit it off. Dirk tells the team of his experience and expertise in six martial arts. "Co-operate, and we will solve the case quickly, refuse, and it's the last case any of you will work on". He says this is not his threat, just advice as to how Riksen operatres.

The story now really takes off. Alexis had left a pub with a local lad, Dean Stevens. The pub CCTV had revealed a little of the road outside, and about the right time, a luridly cartoon character painted campervan had gone past. This is later traced. There is also CCTV from the local petrol station. But now, I have said more than enough to introduce the story. Of course, there is a terrific climax, with surprise upon surprise. It all ends with a bang.

All in all, another worthy member of a really good series.

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I read this book in September, 2023.

This is book 9 in the DCI Jack Logan series by J D Kirk. It's a good series that I like, but some of the situations they get out of defy belief. I recall the children's Saturday morning film matinees I used to love, where invariably there was some serial which ended on a cliff hanger. Would the hero escape ? Come back next week ! And of course, with one bound the hero was free. Here we have three of the main characters each facing a loaded gun trained on them by a mad murderer, and each time they escape - or do they all ? I am thinking here especially of DI Ben Forde trapped in a freezer, and lying on the floor, felled by a heart attack. Does he escape this - read the book.

I have started adding a little structure to these write ups, in the order main characters, then their personal lives stories, and finally the main plots.

Main Characters : DCI Jack Logan heads a Police Scotland Major Incident Team (MIT) based in Inverness. His team members are Jack's oldest friend DI Ben Forde (wife Alice now dead), DS Hamza Hussein (married to Amira, with 5 year old daughter Kamila), DC Tyler Neish, and DC Sinead Bell (young brother Harris), and usually DC David Davidson. Tyler and Sinead are soon to get married, and Jack has agreed to give Sinead away. Dr Shona Maguire is the local pathologist - Jack and Shona are slowly, ever so slowly, romantically involved. Dr Abert Rickets is the assistant pathologist - he makes a bad mistake here and resigns. Jack's immediate boss is D. Super Mitchell, and Bob Hoon his former one, now disgraced, retired, and an alcoholic. Geoff Palmer heads the SOC team. Jack hasn't touched a drink for 2 years, four months, 8 days, and counting. Young Olivia Maximuke is now 13 and a teenager - her dad, evil drug peddling Bosco Maximuke is now in prison.

Private Lives : The main private life story is the ongoing Shona and Jack romance, although something always gets in the way of them ever having a date, or a meal together. The book opens with Sinead helping Jack to get a suitable Christmas present for Shona. They have been searching for hours, but are no nearer success, when they bump into Dr. Maguire herself. She tells Sinead she will help Jack with his shopping, and an exhausted Sinead scarpers. Jack is still staying at Ben's and eating muesli for breakfast, trying to get fit. Jack still drives a tiny Fiesta - D Super Mitchell showing him who is in charge - but Jack hates the Fiesta with a passion. It won't climb hills in the snow, he is a giant, it is tiny, and he never locks it, hoping someone will steal it. Bob Hoon has told Jack to phone Noddy, and tell him to take his car back. However some one crashes into it in this story - maybe Jack's luck may change. He does get to have his Christmas meal with Shona - and it's a special one in hospital for the MIT team. Shona had got Jack an awful jumper for Christmas - a joke present. He hadn't managed to get anything for her, but she doesn't mind. Sinead and Tyler are definitely romantically involved - and about to be married.

The other main personal lives story concerns DI Ben Forde, starting to show his age. At work he takes the stairs instead of the lift, and does he suffer a mini stroke ? He looks terrible, has a pain in his chest, and is very pale. D Super Mitchell notices and is worried. She asks Jack to keep an eye on Ben. Sadly Ben is put under extreme stress in this story when he is locked in a freezer and does have a heart attack. I won't spoil things by saying more.

Main plots : The main plots are the Iceman story, and the Olivia Maximuke story. Let's start with the latter. We met Olivia in previous books, where there were hints that she may have inherited too much from her evil, father Bosco. Indeed, she had told Jack where to find Bosco, rather relishing the thought of a violent encounter. Here J D Kirk manages first to present Olivia as a poor victim, leading a terrible lonely life with no friends, and we are very sympathetic. But she turns into a monster before the end of the book. Olivia is living with her mum in a plain two bedroom house. One morning she finds a stranger in the kitchen, her dad's Russian cousin Oleg Ivanov. He is sleeping with Olivia's mum, plying her with drink and drugs, and plans to take over Bosco's drug empire. Olivia commonly finds her mum comatose, covers her with a blanket, and puts her in the recovery position. Her mum should be caring for Olivia, not the other way around. Oleg asks how old Olivia is - 13 - and says they will have fun. Not much fun for Olivia ! Oleg forces Olivia to deliver drug packages to dangerous derelict locations, and not to return without payment. Even worse Jonathan the school bully snatches Olivia's bag. In dangerous situations Olivia remembers her dads "first rule " advice - "never show weakness". Oliva smashes Jonathan in the face with a brick, and recovers the drug package. She does deliver it to a sinister Latvian, but he refuses to pay, takes her outside to send her on her way, but is attacked by a balaclava clad stranger, hooded, and taken away in a car. The stranger had recognised Olivia - later we will learn his name, and the connection to the main Iceman story. Meanwhile Olivia gets the money, and departs with two packages, drugs and payment. There is a lot more to this story, but could Olivia be planning to take over her dad's drug business?

The main Iceman story opens the book. A man is trapped in a box, being frozen to death by someone who thinks Cold is a beautiful creature, raw and pure. Next, a schoolboy on his paper round in the snow in Alness, jumps on an inviting pile of snow, but finds it solid - it covers a dead frozen man. The team are called, Dr Rickets, assistant pathologist attends, and he inexcusably jumps to conclusions. It's obviously a drunk, frozen to death, nothing more. Later Dr Maguire does the post mortem, and notices exteme frostbite. He had been at minus 30 degrees (probably in a freezer) and tortured. Much later DI Forde will tell the team about the man the papers called the Iceman, a sort of vigilante who killed those who did wrong, rapists, hit and runs, etc, but walked free. Apparently the Iceman had been caught by D Super Hoon and Hamza and Ben when a local butcher (access to a freezer) George Morales confessed, and committed suicide. The Iceman murders stopped.

The frozen man is Freddie Shaw, reported missing by his mum. He had been out celebrating his friend Damian Bailey's birthday. Hamza recognises these names - they had been accused of the rape and worse of Joanna Ward, but poor Joanna's reputation was torn to shreds by the "clever defence lawyer" Robert Foster, and not proven verdicts returned. Jack and team swing into action, and interview Joanna and Damian, separately of course, but unfortunatly at the same police station, and they meet again, with Damian trying to get at Joanna but being restrained by his lawyer - the same Robert Foster. Ben gets a package through the post - it contains body parts, one of which is the finger of an old Iceman victim. So George Morales was not the Iceman, and the Iceman has returned. Soon it's all action packed thrills. An Iceman "naughty list" included Hamza, Ben and Hoon. Ben warns Hamza, and Jack warns Bob Hoon. Hoon not only is well able to take care of himself but decides to keep a protective eye on Ben. Sinead interviews Joanna who says she never wanted her attackers killed, but many wanted revenge, especially her brother Gary Ward. I will leave you to read the story, but just add a couple of teasers. Jack follows a suspected Iceman into the woods in the snow but falls into a deep grave, and a shovel bearing Iceman towers over him. And Tyler and Ben are trapped in a freezer.

As always, these stories are full of great banter and dark humour. I have missed out so much, but I should have mentioned Olivia's "kindly" headmaster Mr Monroe who has a surprising connection to both Olivia's story and the Iceman one. There are also a spate of suicides, each leaving remarkably similiar suicide notes. All in all, yes, it's a good read.

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I read this book in December, 2023.

This is book 10 in J.D.Kirk's very readable series featuring DCI Jack Logan. It is based in and around Inverness. The main plots are all a bit far fetched, but well written, build to a climax, and always contain a surprise or two. The characters and banter are great. I love a well structured story, and here we open and close on the same theme - that of father daughter / father son estrangement, the dreadful pain that can cause, and the consequences.

I'll stick to writing these mini reviews in the order main characters, then personal lives stories, and finally the main plots.

Main Characters : DCI Jack Logan, head of the local Major Incident Team, is based at Barnet Street police station in Inverness. His ex wife is Vanessa, and sadly he is estranged from his daughter Maddie, now married to Anderson, a banker, and living in London. Jack's team are DI Ben Forde, DS Hamza Khaled (of the Aberdeen accent), DC Tyler Neish, DC Sinead Bell (Harris, her little brother), and wheelchair bound David Davidson. PC Jason Hall resents Sinead's promotion - probably trouble brewing in a future story. D. Super Mitchell is Jack's boss, and foul mouthed Bob Hoon his former boss. Geoff Palmer still handles forensics. The pathologist is Dr Shona Maguire - her assistant "Rickets" no longer attends the scenes of crime.

Clyde Lennon is a drunken, abusive bully. His wife is Lana, an English teacher at Fort William's Lochaber High School, where Bennet, their 17 year old son, is also a pupil. Lachlan Byers is Bennet's friend - they have weekend jobs at the local posh Castle Hotel. Fergus Forsyth is a colleague of Lana's, a very popular PE teacher - Bennet is always singing his praises. Fergus shares a house with Ross Lyndsay, his landlord.

Private Lives : . There are lots of stories here. The book opens with Vanessa contacting Jack to tell him that their daugher Maddie got married to Anderson a couple of weeks ago. She didn't want Jack there, nor even to know of the wedding. Jack is very deeply hurt by this - he simply let her down too many times, caught up by constant police pressure. At the end of the book Jack realises life is too short, and he will try again with Maddie, telling her how pleased he is for her.

Logan now drives a big BMW X5, a lot more sensible that his previous Fiesta. It's police livery is not ideal for a detective, but no matter. Jack has moved out from sharing with Ben and into a new build 2 bed house. Everything is bright, and shiny, and uncluttered, but it doesn't feel like home yet. His slow romance with Shona Maguire is difficult to understand. Yes, they now visit each other's houses, but with Tyler and Sinead getting married in two weeks, he has still not plucked up courage to invite Shona to be his guest at the wedding. Sinead tells Shona, and she has to prompt Jack - wierd.

DI Ben Forde is back at work, having recovered from his heart attack. D Super Mitchell wants him desk bound initially, but agrees that he can be desk bound within MIT. However, when a murder enquiry breaks and Jack relocates to Fort William, Mitchell makes it absolutely clear Ben must stay. He is desperate to join the team in Fort William, and Jack does not have the heart to say no. He won't tell her, and he even refuses to phone her back (with case updates, etc). But Mitchell had phoned Fort William, and Ben had answered the phone. She appears in Fort William, and confronts Logan. When he tells her Ben has been a godsend, and even dispersed a riot single handed, this makes it even worse. "You have disobeyed my specific instructions, there will have to be consequences". We will find out what these are in the next book. Ben struggles with technology at the best of times, and has forgotten his police password. The team have a victim's locked IPhone, and don't know how to access it's data - you only get so many attempts. Ben decides to have a go at guessing the password. The team returns, and learn that Ben has indeed had a go - he says it's not asking for a password any more. They think it is now locked permanently and look shocked. But Ben is just joking, as he correctly guessed the password at the second attempt as the victim's year of birth. The first guess was "1234"

Young Olivia Maximuke has hardened and toughened up, and now runs a drug supply business. "Never show weakness" was her dad Bosco's motto. She still visits Shona Maguire once a week - they watch classic film DVDs together - but Shona has noticed the change in Olivia. Shona tells Olivia that there was only one body found in the recent "Iceman case" butchers shop freezer. Olivia was complicit in an attempted second murder when she tried to eliminate her creepy, threatening former mum's boyfriend. Now he will come after Olivia. The book ends with Olivia wakening one morning to find someone has been in her bedroom, and left a one word message addressed to "Malyshka", and threatening "Soon."

The main private lives story is Sinead and Tyler's wedding. In the lead up, Tyler had chased after a fleeing suspect, but never a fast driver, unusually speeds up, and crashes badly. He walks away but seems confused, and Jack calls an ambulance. At A&E, fearing spinal injury, they do a full CT scan. With Sinead at his side, Tyler is strapped down to a spinal board. Eventually a consultant approaches. He says no spinal damage, you can get up, but we have found something. In brief, Tyler has early stage testicular cancer. Treatment may mean they might not be able to have the kids they eventually hoped for. They decide to proceed with the wedding. On the great day, Jack looks magnificient in his kilt as he arrives in a Bentley to collect a radiant, beautiful Sinead. He is to walk her up the aisle. Everyone is in the church, when Ben phones Jack. Tyler has gone missing, they have everyone out searching for him, don't tell Sinead yet. It is Bob Hoon, a surprise invited guest, who finds Tyler, and goes to drag him to church. "I can't says Tyler, it's complicated, I have cancer". Amazingly Bob's non pep talk works. He ends it with "You are punching way above your league, she knows, she has got dressed up, go get her before she escapes".

Main plots :The main story starts slowly, with a minibus company's guided tour that has now reached the famous Well of Seven Heads, on Loch Oich. There is a body lying there - a headless body. Next we meet the Lennon family, Clyde, the abusive father, Lana his wife, and Bennet, their son. Lana is an English teacher at Lochaber High School. When she gets to school she finds out that a colleague and good "friend", Fergus Forsyth, the popular PE teacher, has not turned up. She phones him, but gets no reply. Later we will learn that she and Fergus were having an affair which started out as just for fun sex, but they had fallen in love. Why have we been told this - of course, the headless body is Fergus. Who killed him ? If husband Clyde found out about the affair (as apparently he did), he would be the prime suspect. The body had a mobile phone in a pocket - the one surprisingly opened by Ben. Shona Maguire's post mortem finds a small silver key in the victim's stomach. Obviously very important to Fergus, but what did it open ? Sinead searches Fergus's bedroom - he shared a house with Ross Lyndsay - and finds a notebook with lots of numbers in it. Ross suffers from anxiety attacks, panics, jumps out a window, and runs off, making himself another suspect. Fergus had been in debt to Ross, and had borrowed £2000 (possibly to run off with Lana and Bennet) from a strange loan shark with a stranger name - "Dinky." Did Dinky kill Fergus to get his money back ? He is another suspect for the MIT team. And so the story unfolds, and I will mostly leave you to read it for yourselves. Fergus was sleeping with more than just Lana.

However there was one Tyler comment I especially liked. When Sinead and Tyler went to re-interview Lana, they found Clyde driving off quickly in his van. Sinead jumped out to see if Lana was OK, and Tyler chased after Clyde (to crash, and end up in A&E, as mentioned above). Sinead found Lana bloody and horribly beaten with a hammer, and got herself covered in blood trying to help. Bending over Lana, Sinead is grabbed from behind. It is Bennet, he says he thought Sinead was attacking his mum, but where had he come from ? Clyde had a workshop where he did his woodwork. Bennet says the hammer is Clyde's. And then the missing head is found. But readers of crime fiction will recognise that it is all looking too obvious - and indeed there is a lot, lot more to the story, including Bennet confessing something to his pal Lachlan, and Lachlan also figuring in the plot. But humour is never far away. Logan sees Sinead at A&E with Tyler , Sinead covered in Lana's blood. He says he will cross the High Street to get her a change of clothes. "Are you sure," she says, " I will need full a full change of clothes." Jack realises what he has offered to do, but recovers quickly. "No problem, it won't be the first time I have bought womens' clothes" says Jack. As quick as you like, Tyler assures Jack "don't worry, boss, your secret is safe with us."

I enjoyed the story and will read on to see what Mitchell will do to punish Jack, how Jack's romance with Shona progresses, and even see what befalls Olivia.

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I read this book in January, 2024.

This is book 11 in the Inverness / Fort William set series by J D kirk. It's a good series, and this is a fine example, but the background to the main plot is just plain stupid, which spoiled it for me. I'm referring to the story of two famous Scottish comedians of the 80s, called "Neeps and Tatties" who appeared on stage to be greeted by calls of "where's the haggis" - the weak joke being you can't have haggis without neeps and tatties.
I'll continue under three headings main characters, then personal lives stories, and finally the main plots.

Main Characters : DCI Jack Logan still drives his BMW, and is based at Burnett Road police station in Inverness. Jack's boss is D.Superintendent Mitchell, but his former boss Bob Hoon, ex special forces, keeps turning up. Jack's team are
DI Ben Forde, supposedly on light duties after a recent stroke
DS Hamza Khaled, Aberdeen accent, wife Amira, young daughter Kamila
DC Tyler Neish, married 48 hours ago to DC Sinead Bell who looks after her young brother Harris
PC Dave Davidson, wheelchair bound, exhibits and office support

Geoff Palmer heads forensics, D Superintendent Gordon McKenzie (the Gozer) is in charge at Glasgow, and Chief Inspector Alistair Lyle is in charge at Fort William, where Moira Corson officiously guarded their reception desk before her stroke. Dr Shona Maguire is the pathologist (and Jack's girlfriend) and Dr Albert Ricket her semi retired assistant pathologist.
New characters are the "Neeps and Tatties" duo Archie Sutherland (Tatties), and Billy Pinnack (Neeps). Archie is married to Donna who has two girls from a previous marriage. Magdelene Novak is the cleaner who discovers a dead body.

Private Lives :. There are lots of stories running here. The ongoing Shona/Jack relationship seems stuck in a time loop where all the progress made in one book is gone by the next, and they seem back to square one. A complication here is when Jack has to return to Glasgow, his old stomping ground, and an ex girlfriend Heather answers his phone, fails to pass on the message, stirs up mischief, and deliberately gives Shona the wrong impression. When Jack returns to Inverness and meets Shona, the atmosphere in the path lab is colder than usual. Jack never got the message he was supposed to reply to. Happily, after a full explanation all is well, Jack kisses Shona - which he should have done long ago - and the romance is on again. If they are back to square one in the next book, I'll be really annoyed !

Bob Hoon is still on the scene - he asks Jack for a reference, Jack forgets, but the poor junior manager at Tesco is easy meat for Hoon who resorts to blackmail, and gets the job. "I simply can't put you on customer services" wails the manager, "it will have to be security."

Bob Hoon knows something Jack doesn't. Tyler Neish has cancer - the reason for his almost not getting married - and is having an operation to remove one of his testicles in two days time. Thus, Tyler and Sinead are back at work, 48 hours after their marriage, but Tyler hasn't yet asked for time off for his operation. He's frightened, and simply can't tell Logan, and thinks he'd better delay the operation. Hoon asks Logan if he has spoken to Tyler. Logan gives Tyler every opportunity but Tyler can't speak up. Eventually Logan works it out for himself. Jack Logan's older brother Andy died of a similar cancer - they didn't catch it in time. There is a lovely ending where Tyler proves he isn't useless, and then goes off for his operation.

Jack thinks he is now the correct weight, but he is still flabby, and has to call in Bob Hoon for some hard man action. When Jack's crew arrive at Fort William, there is a pleasant change. Moira Corson, the dragon, jobsworth guardian of the reception desk is off ill. However Ben Forde discovers that Moira has had a heart attack, and he is her only visitor in hospital. Ben too had a recent heart attack and wants to help. Moira is hard going, which is why she has no friends, but Ben perseveres, and won't take no for an answer. They are to keep in touch, but not through the tablet Ben bought her - it's too complicated, even to log in.

Poor Hamza has to visit Skye to break some sad news of their daughter's death to a retired couple. He doesn't tell them she had resorted to prostitution, nor that she had a baby. Hamza phones his wife Amira afterwards, and speaks to his young daughter Kamila for comfort. Wierdly, the retired couple had met their granddaughter and admired the lovely little baby without knowing the significance of the occasion.

Main plots :The main plot introduces us to two Scottish commedians, "Neeps and Tatties", Archie Sutherland and Billy Pinnack, famous in the 1980s. The classic Scottish dish is Haggis, Neeps and Tatties, so when Neeps and Tatties appeared on stage, the audience shout out "Where's the Haggis?, and get pelted with Haggis - harmless fare of a time long gone. In this case not lamented - I wouldn't want to get pelted with Haggis !

It's a long complicated story, over complicated by Jack Logan, and ultimately solved at the end when Jack realises some things are quite simple. The book opens with a man, his wife, and two children, in an isolated cottage in Glenshee. It's night, but someone knocks at the door. Poker in hand, the man goes to answer the door.

Of course, they all get murdered and Jack and gang are assigned to the case. The man is Archie Tatties, his wife Donna, and her two girls from a previous marriage, Alexis (13) and Elizabeth (10). All were killed expertly through the middle of the heart. Photos taken, the scene of crime team had covered Donna's exposed breast, and Jack noddded his head in approval. The crime had been discovered by a cleaner who had reported a locked cottage to the owner Rufus Boyle. He told her to enter, listened to her screams over the phone, and called 999. He claims not to have met the family in person, but others say he always meets his visitors. Why Lie? Dr Shona Maguire later does the PM - aways difficult when children are involved, but when she is about to begin she is joined by "Rickets." "I thought you might like a hand. "

The party is thought to be four in number, but the taxi driver who took them to the isolated cottage says there was a baby too. This taxi driver is Mr Pete Hill - we will return to him much later. The team split up, and do multiple interviews. Archie ran a very successful video production company, apparently doing weddings and PR material, but this was a front for the real money spinner - pornography. In this he had a partner who put up the money, and handled distribution. Much, much later we will find that this partner is the notorious Glasgow crime baron Shuggie Cowan, an ex heavyweight boxer feared inside and outside the ring. Back to Archie - he had been a "good, kindly" employer of victim actresses in his porn films. When one poor girl, Jazmin, was raped, and had a baby, Archie said he would find the baby a good home. He owed his former partner Billy Neeps for ruining their careers. Billy and his wife couldn't have the baby she always longed for - hence it seems to be a classic win/win situation. Sadly, this was not to be the case as Jazmin is found hanged, a definite suicide.

I'll now switch to mentioning only a few highlights, and leave you to read the story . Jack meets Shuggie in his Glasgow bar. Shuggie has the place cleared, and Tyler, there with Jack, is taken upstairs to play some sort of game. Shuggie explains that he has retired, but his nephew Frankie now runs the business. Jack and Tyler meet this evil and cruel Frankie and his huge bodyguard in a park, and are lucky to escape unscathed. Jack had to back down, and wants a rematch. This time he has a proper hard man of the old school with him - yes, Bob Hoon, no less. Throughout all this we have the complication of Tyler's cancer. When Jack sends Tyler away to get his operation, Tyler feels useless, that he is letting the team down. Tyler manages to keep Jack talking so that he misses his train, and remains on the case for another day. At the very end, Tyler does have an importand heroic contribution to make.

After all sorts of diversions, the mystery of the baby is solved, Billy Neeps role in all this is explained, and the search is on for missing stolen money. However one major question still remains - who killed Archie Tatties and his family? Sometimes the answer is not as complicated as Jack made it.

All in all, a good story apart from the nonsense of the Neeps and Tatties aspect. Maybe I should have made more of Bob Hoon's cameo appearance - but I write too much as it is.

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I read this book in February, 2024.

This is book 12 in a real page turner of a series. It features DCI Jack Logan and his crew, it's written by J D Kirk, and is based in and around Inverness where Jack heads the Major Incident Team. The humour and the banter are just terrific, and the action non stop.
I'll continue under three headings Main characters, then Personal lives stories, and finally the Main plots, but I've prefaced the last section with a catch up which explains the main plot.

Main Characters : Mostly these are as per my write ups of previous books. Once again we have DCI Jack Logan, DI Ben Forde, DS Hanza Khalid (married to Amira, daughter Kamila), married couple DCs Tyler Neish and Sinead Bell (Sinead looks after her little brother Harris) and PC Dave Davidson, in charge of exhibits. Jack's current boss is D. Super Mitchell, but his former boss Bob Hoon is still on the scene. PC Jason Hall is here again too, threatening and worse Sinead whose promotion to detective he resents.

Dr Shona Maguire the pathologist is Jack's girl friend. Dr Albert Ricket, mostly retired, is the temporary assistant pathologist. Geoff Palmer handles forensics.

Olivia Maximuke (13) is the daughter of jailed drug and crime baron Bosco, and his wife Alexis. Oleg Ivanov is Bosco's psychopathic cousin who took over Bosco's drug business and bedded his wife, and now threatens revenge on Olivia, hardly innocent, but still a child. There is more about this in the later catch up section.

Private Lives :. At last there has been progress in the ongoing Jack Logan / Shona Maguire romance, but first let's mention the other private lives stories. DI Ben Forde seems to be heading towards some sort of romantic relationship with the feared guardian of the Fort William police reception desk, Moira Copson. Moira had suffered a stroke, but had received no visitors to her hospital ward. Ben too had suffered a stroke, and so he visited Moira and ignored her caustic tongue and constant complaining. Moira is her own worst enemy. Ben is a bit lonely after the death of his beloved wife Alice. Is it just sympathy, or something more - I don't think even Ben knows ?

DC Tyler Neish is on sick leave after his recent operation to remove a cancerous testicle. Although a prosthetic replacement was fitted, Tyler is convinced he is lop sided and leans to the right. He shuffles along, bandy legged like a cowboy. However he gets called in to help out, but only for light admin duties - some hope for that when Sinead goes missing. Former D. Super Bob Hoon is still around. Current boss Mitchell quizes Jack as to why he let Hoon off from a serious assault charge (against an unlucky Tesco branch manager). Jack claims it was to preserve the good name of the Force. Bob is currently down in London, but in this story Jack phones him for advice. The unpopular scene of crime forensic's expert Geoff Palmer announces that he is to do a stand up comedy routine at a local club - completely unexpected ! Jack seems to have acquired a puppy now named Taggart. It's mistress was murdered and the puppy has a bad wound where it's identity chip was cut out. There is an ongoing joke as to who will take the puppy. It wees all over Jack's BMW, but seems to have bonded with Jack. I wonder, will Taggart still be following Jack in the next book ?

And finally, the major private lives story. At long last the book opens with Jack and Shona waking up in bed together, in a relationship. They want to keep it secret for a while, but are surrounded by detectives. Sinead clocks their matching coffee cups, and gets the "we're keeping it quiet" response. Why, asks Sinead? Shona jokes "I'm still deciding if I'm keeping him." Some secret when they are both exuding happiness. Shona is singing at work - not altogether appropriate in a mortuary - and Jack even smiles. But, when Mitchell hears of the relationship, she removes Jack from their latest case - Shona has gone missing and Jack is personally involved. Mitchell follows the rules. There is a little bit more to it than that though. Mitchell is really setting Jack free to do what it takes to recover three hostages.

Main plots :
Catch up : Russian mafia drug dealer Bosco Maximuke is in prison, but his crazy cousin, Oleg Ivanov, moved in with Bosco's wife Alexis, and forced Bosco's 13 year old daughter Olivia to ferry drugs for him. She is terrified of Oleg, especially after his visits to her bedroom and his promise of the future fun they will have together. Thus, as a threat, when Oleg showed Olivia one of the Iceman's victims in a freezer, Olivia had reacted quickly, pushed Oleg into the freezer, and shut the door. End of Oleg, thought Olivia, and she now starts dealing drugs at her own school with Polish helper Borys Wozniak. But the real Iceman was never really caught - just his disciples - and the Iceman rescued Oleg, or rather a severely frost bitten horror version. Oleg is back, threatening Olivia, leaving messages in her kitchen, and the gift of a severed hand. This story follows Oleg's attempts to get vengeance on Olivia, and the return and final capture of the true Iceman.

The story starts with the janitor at Olivia's school, Millburn Academy, turning up to work early, finding a parked car in the staff car park, and then discovering a dead body inside, handcuffed to the steering wheel, and the other hand missing. Jack and crew are called in. Doing the PM, Dr Shona Maguire finds a lump in the victim's foot. The victim is Borys, Olivia's helper, and this lump is the chip removed from some dog. The chip has a registered address where Jack and Sinead find two more victims and a puppy that needs a new home. The puppy also needs a name i.e. Taggart. Conrad Howden(39) is barely alive, but his 81 year old mother is dead upstairs, smothered. Conrad has a criminal record for impersonating policemen to get sexual favours. Seaching his property, Jack finds a dog collar. Amazingly, Conrad is the Father Conrad who had consoled Bosco's wife Alexis when Oleg disappeared. Alexis is now a born again Christian, but Conrad had rigged up computer controlled HD camcorders to record their sexual acts - Alexis and Father Conrad - in his bedroom. First Sinead gets captured by Oleg and his gang, and then Shona Maguire is also captured. This was when Olivia went to Shona for help, but was followed. It also seems that now Alexis is missing !

And so the story is threefold - three missing people - Sinead, Shona, and Alexis - Oleg pursuing Olivia wanting vengeance for the terrible physical harm she has inflicted on him, and the return of the Iceman, but the real, original Iceman this time.

With Dr Shona Maguire captured, her deputy, the retired Rickets -Dr Albert Ricket - is kept busy in the mortuary.

I'll leave you to read the story to see how it develops, with Tyler frantic at Sinead's capture and Jack trying to find and rescue Shona. Sadly Sinead is almost rescued when she is found, conscious, but helpless and paralysed by a police patrol man - but the policeman is PC Jason Hall, Sinead's stalker. We know quite a bit about the Iceman - he seems to have medical experience, and is surprisingly well informed about what the police are doing. I sort of guessed who he was.

Of course, we will need to read on to see what happens next. Will D. Super Mitchell bend some more rules, how will Bob Hoon reappear, will Sinead recover fully, will Taggart still be around, and what will happen with Ben and Moira, etc, etc? It's a series that could run and run.

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