Stuart MacBride Books in Order – Complete List
Stuart MacBride is a Scottish bestselling author best known for his Logan McRae series set in Aberdeen, and his shorter Ash Henderson series featuring a Detective Constable whose family and career are destroyed by a ruthless serial killer who disappeared. In addition, we also feature his short stories, collections, and his standalone novels, including his standalone book written under the alias Stuart B. MacBride.
Here are all the Stuart MacBride books in publication order. The reading order for these novels is the same.
New Stuart MacBride Books

Logan McRae Books in Publication Order
- Cold Granite, 2005
- Dying Light, 2006
- Broken Skin, 2007 (aka Bloodshot)
- Flesh House, 2008
- Blind Eye, 2009
- Dark Blood, 2010
- Shatter the Bones, 2011
- Close to the Bone, 2012
- The Missing and the Dead, 2014
- In the Cold Dark Ground, 2016
- The Blood Road, 2018
- All That’s Dead, 2019
Logan and Steel Books in Publication Order
- Partners in Crime, 2012
- The 45% Hangover, 2014
- 22 Dead Little Bodies and Other Stories, 2015
- Now We Are Dead, 2017
Ash Henderson Books in Publication Order
- Birthdays for the Dead, 2012
- A Song for the Dying, 2014
- The Coffinmaker’s Garden, 2021
Short Stories and Novellas in Publication Order
- Sawbones, 2008 (novella)
- The Tasting Menu, 2024 (short story)
Short Story Collections
- Twelve Days of Winter, 2009
Anthologies in Publication Order
Standalone Novels in Publication Order
- A Dark So Deadly, 2017
- No Less the Devil, 2022
- The Dead of Winter, 2023
- In a Place of Darkness, 2024
Writing as Stuart B. MacBride
- Halfhead, 2009
Logan McRaw vs Ash Henderson
The two main characters in the Stuart MacBride books are as different as they come. Logan McRae is a well-loved team player who never breaks the rules. He actually hates anyone who does that. He goes very much by the book, and when in dire situations, he doesn’t go all hero out on his own but calls for backup. He is a typical modern police detective, a good guy whom you simply can’t even imagine doing something illegal or even wrong. Logan is a relatively happy guy, and some of the dialogues involving him are relatively humorous.
Ash Henderson, on the other hand, is almost the opposite of Logan McRae. Ash is an old-school policeman who doesn’t like rookies the way Logan does. He doesn’t have qualms about newbies falling off the ladder a few times to learn the ropes. He is much darker than Logan, and if he believes someone’s guilty, he wouldn’t be much above helping him break his neck in the process if it could help. Ash had a very difficult life, and his outlook on life is pretty dire.
The Ash Henderson books lack the humor found in the Logan McRae stories. Also, Stuart MacBride put Ash through a lot of pain in Birthdays for the Dead, both emotionally and physically. So much, that when the author finally wrote the second book in the short series, he gave Ash a limp.
Stuart MacBride Biography
Born in Dumbarton, Scotland in 1969, Stuart MacBride was raised in Aberdeen from the age of two. Before he became a writer, he had a wide range of not-so-long-lasting jobs including graphic design and web design, computer programming, actor, undertaker and project manager.
Luckily (for us, readers) none of those jobs lasted too long because now we get to enjoy his much more interesting books about life and crime in Aberdeen.
As a child, Stuart MacBride never really thought of writing books. It was in his 20es when he started thinking about it due to peer pressure from friends who said it’s fun to write books. As such, Stuart doesn’t really have any formal training in writing books. His books are in the genre of Tartan Noir, which is Scottish crime fiction that borrows elements from other countries’ literature as well.
In addition to the Logan McRae series, the author has also written two books in the Ash Henderson series set in a fictitious town of Oldcastle, two standalone novels, and several short stories.
The Logan McRae books are all set in actual locations, where the author is writing about real places for the background scenes. However, the two Ash Henderson books are set in a fictional town called Oldcastle. The reason is that the police officers in the Ash Henderson series are not entirely above the board. They are often corrupt and don’t shy away from doing things their way, so the author didn’t want to offend the police department of any existing city or town. What is interesting though is that for the Ash Henderson series, Stuart MacBride mapped out out the entire town and created an actual map of the place as if it were real.
The first Stuart MacBride book that was published was Cold Granite, which was, in fact, the author’s fifth written novel. The first four were not considered good enough for publication, so Cold Granite, the author’s debut novel became his first. When he plots the storyline, Stuart uses mind-maps which help him connect all the different little plots. This way he can go with the book in any direction he wants. Often, the twists in the story come to him while he is in the actual process of writing.
All the characters in his books are well fleshed-out and have a life of their own, even the villains. In an interview, Stuart MacBride mentioned that as long as each character believes he or she is the hero of their own story, they can take a life of their own and break away from the mold of 2d character that is so prevalent in crime mystery books today.
The latest Stuart MacBride book is titled In a Place of Darkness, a standalone novel published in 2024.
Currently, the author Stuart MacBride lives in north-east Scotland with his wife Fiona, and his cat.
Stuart MacBride Awards and Nominations
- Cold Granite received the Barry Award for Best First Novel in 2006
- Cold Granite was shortlisted for the 2007 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
- Dying Light was shortlisted for the 2008 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and was also nominated for the 2007 Barry Award for Best British Crime Novel
- Broken Skin was shortlisted for the 2009 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
- Dark Blood was shortlisted for the 2011 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
- Birthdays for the Dead was shortlisted for the 2013 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
- In the Cold Dark Ground was nominated for the 2016 McIlvanney Prize
- The Missing and the Dead was shortlisted for the 2016 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year
- All That’s Dead was nominated for the 2019 McIlvanney Prize
- The Coffinmaker’s Garden was nominated for the 2021 McIlvanney Prize
Will there be a sequal to halfhead?
During this close down because of Covid 19 I started using the little libraries that are place on people’s lawns. I happened upon a Logan McRae character and Stuart MacBride author. Since then I have placed a hold on my library for just about all his books. Just into the Roberta Steel book and have that on hold as we are going into another lockdown. Books have kept me sane, at least I think so.
@DOUGLAS ABBOTT he hasn’t published a new book this year, but The Coffinmaker’s Garden, the third book in the Ash Henderson series will be released next January.
HI HAS STUART MACBRIDE PUBLISHT A NEW BOOK THIS YEAR
I came across the Stuart MacBride novels by accident when I was browsing through books in a secondhand store. I wasn’t actually looking for anything to read but I was compelled to pick up ‘A Dark so Deadly’. Why? I have no idea as I have always preferred Historical books.
On reading the first few lines I realized it was set in the north of Scotland. I was born a Geordie although I have spent most of my life in Australia, it immediately gripped my imagination and so I bought it for the hefty sum of two dollars.
Since then I have read every book I could get my hands on from our local Library. Unfortunately I could not get them in any order so I treated each novel separately.
I have almost run out of your books to read and cannot wait for your next book to hit the shelves.
Boy what a job to find the list of Stuart MacBride’s books. Couldn’t find it on his own site, the BOOK icon took you to one or two books available to buy but not a list of all books written by him. Still I love his novels and hope that there will be a follow on for ‘In The Cold Dark Ground’.
That’s fabulous!!! Just love Laz and Roberta . Best crime fiction I have read for ages and I really Must visit Aberdeen when I am next in the UK – preferably in the summer. Thanks for such great books!!!
When is the next book due out?
I’m not sure yet, but I know that the author signed a 3 book contract with Harper Collins, out of which 2 will be Logan McRae and one either standalone or part of Ash Henderson, we’ll see. So I’m thinking either 2017 or 2018 we’ll have the next Logan McRae book (here’s hoping for next year).