I've been mulling this book over for a while before writing this review, I wasn't a hundred percent sure how I felt about it. I knew I loved it, but not all the way. I'm new to Stuart McBride so had no idea what to expect when I received this book from Netgalley in return for an honest review, but it's fair to say I didn't expect this.

Callum McGregor is having a rough day /week/ year/ life, he was abandoned at a rest stop as a wee tot, grew up in care and is now a police officer who has been moved into the 'Misfit Mob' after taking the blame for a crime scene debacle. Believed to have taken a bribe to ensure the release of Big Johnny Simpson no one wants to work with him, not even the other 'Misfits'. But as the body count rises there is little choice but to put their differences aside to try and catch the killer.

I loved the sharpness of the prose, the directness of the language, the black humour that offset the nastiness of the subject matter - I loved the very Scottishness of it. I wasn't that keen on the ending though (hence 4 stars, not 5), I felt it was a cop out (see what I did there) and unnecessary, but that doesn't negate all the things I did love about it and certainly won't stop me from immersing myself in other Stuart McBride offerings.

Stuart MacBride is a very creative writer who knows how to keep the reader on the edge of the seat, not wanting to put the book down and keeping the reader in total suspense. Although he has a long list of thrillers this one is very much a stand-alone book, although maybe we will now hear more about DC Callum in later books as he has developed such a loveable character here. All the characters and scenery have been extremely well described and the whole story is full of so much intrigue that kept on providing new information to keep the plot thickening throughout. I loved the main character Callum as everything that he did ended up badly, despite always trying to do the right thing, he never gave up and he incurred so many injuries. He was bullied by some of his colleagues which only added to my feeling sorry for him and his situation. The book is not for the faint hearted as it has some very gruesome parts in it. I did sort of guess who was responsible but at no time was I really sure. The title of the book certainly described the book well it is dark and the murders are very deadly. I loved the book and thank NetGalley and Harper Collins UK for the opportunity to read this novel.

I've read a few of McBride's previous novels, so I wasn't completely surprised by the unrelenting misery and bad luck meted out to the hero in this one. The writing is good, the characters (sometimes too) well drawn and the plot is twisty enough to keep you interested.

This is not your average police procedural.

As an avid fan of Stuart MacBride I was really looking forward to this one, great read even though it was a standalone, looking forward to a Logan Macrae story next.

great read and easy to follow story line. look forward to reading more from this author.

Review by Tom Silberberg for the Oxford Times

Best-selling author Stuart MacBride’s gripping stories are set in Scotland and are known for both their grittiness and humour.
They feature a diverse mix of coppers who deal with a variety of murders and use dark humour to cope with the harrowing scenes they encounter.
“It’s remarkable just how magnificent the sense of humour is of police officers, hearing some of the things they have to deal with on a daily basis, which are genuinely shocking,” MacBride said in a recent interview.
The blend has proved a hit with readers with his last six novels going straight to number one in the book charts.
MacBride is best known for his series featuring laconic detective Logan McRae but his latest novel A Dark So Deadly is a stand-alone book – at least at the moment, there’s definite potential for a series.
A Dark So Deadly centres on Police Scotland’s “Misfit Mob”, a unit where they dump officers they can’t get rid of – the outcasts, the troublemakers, the compromised – and give them impossible cases.
Into their ranks comes, DC Callum MacGregor, whose career was going pretty well until he was involved in a cover-up for a mistake by his pregnant crime-tech girlfriend.
When a mummified body is found in the local rubbish dump, it’s assumed pranksters have stolen it from a museum.
But when recent dental work is discovered during the post-mortem, MacGregor and his colleagues realise they have accidentally been handed a massive case and find themselves on the hunt of a serial killer who likes “smoking” his victims.
A Dark So Deadly by Stuart MacBride is published by HarperCollins, priced £16.99.

I found this totally different in style to the previous books, and as such, initially struggled to get into it. However within a couple of chapters, I was totally hooked. A succession of mummies turning up in random places, and a band of misfits the only ones out to catch them, whilst dealing with their own traumas and tribulations! Fantastic book !

Failed to hold my interest, and I found it all a bit unbelievable.

I'm a fan of Stuart MacBride and have read all of his other books. When reading the description I wasn't sure whether or not it would be different enough from the Logan McRae series but I was wrong. I read this in two days and it was fabulous!
I loved the flawed character of Callum MacGregor he wasnt a cliche and the misfit mob. The story was both gripping and humorous.
I will definately be reading this again in the future and another book for the Misfit mob would be great.

Stuart MacBride's latest, A Dark So Deadly, is a standalone thriller and it's a belter. I've read and enjoyed a few of the Logan McRae novels and this has many of the same elements.

Callum MacGregor is a disaffected DC, dumped with a other Police Scotland colleagues into a unit known as the Misfit Mob. They're all the reject officers; they can't be dismissed but they're all damaged and damned. They're resentful, each with an axe to grind and the going nowhere cases that are dumped on them make for a very unhappy bunch.

This is where MacBride excels; his characters are strong, plausible people. The reader knows who they are and can sympathise (or not) with their plight. The police procedural side is well depicted and the dialogue is often darkly witty. MacBride also understands the elements that go into a great story. This one is complex, with careful and intricate plotting and a narrative which allows the reader to peek at the killer whilst the police are desperate to work out what's going to happen next.

It's a big book in every way; packed with action and with plot twists to maintain the pace. If I'm honest, I enjoyed this more than a couple of the Logan series. It's a great standalone. Or starter for a new series?

My thanks to the publisher for an review copy via Netgalley.

A story based round a group of misfit police officers carrying out an investigation. The main character , Callum is a disaster in himself with many personal problems starting from being abandoned as a child. His story interweaves with a gruesome case being investigated by the team. The story has elements of dark humour that can be seen in his other series too. At times it had me laugh out loud. The story twists and turns and towards the last third kept me hooked following the red herrings, twists and turns. It was however a lengthy read .

It was an unexpected pleasure for me to discover this book in the ‘read now’ section of NetGalley. I immediately put aside the book I was reading and started on this one. I’m a huge fan of MacBride; he is one of the rare authors I want to have copies of all his books in paper, not just somewhere sitting in my tablet or pc. This is the kind of book you want to read more than once, preferably starting the second you finished it for the first time.
Plots, plots, plots within plots. There is so much going on here, and by the end of the book, it all happens to be a (small or bigger) part of one very intricate plot. I don’t know how he does it, but MacBride is able to combine the background story of Callum with the story of a serial killer without it becoming very obvious and most of all, not over the top. There was a point I thought I knew for sure what was happening and who was who in the story… until something else pops up and I noticed I was thinking along the wrong track.
I enjoyed the book from the first tot he last page. I let me laugh out loud sometimes and other times… secretly feeling so very sorry for the characters. It is brilliant!

This is indeed a deadly book. I gave up once, tried again, and soon gave up again. I can't believe that any police officers would seek to each other in such derogatory terms. Totally annoying and unrealistic. I know that this is a very popular author, just not for me.

Gripping story, convincing settings, somewhat hard to read though. Irritating dialogue where attempts to convey the local dialect and the sort of meaningless noises we make in speech impinge on the flow. I appreciate that this is a personal view that other readers may not share.

As a fan of the author's Logan McRae books I was looking forward to reading a standalone from him.

The idea of the Misfit Mob is brilliant. A place where all the police officers who have failed in some aspect of their job have to go as payback. Whatever misdemeanour brought them to this place they will continue to suffer for as long as those higher up the command chain decide.

DC Callum MacGregor is one of the misfits. He constantly finds himself with the rubbish jobs and has to deal with almost constant snide remarks from more than one of his so called teammates. If something is going to go wrong it goes wrong around him. What he puts up with all the way through this story is shocking, the author really puts him through the ringer.

The mystery part of the story is very well done, although I did pick up one hint from the author and figured out part of it before he actually did the reveal. But that didn't stop me from being surprised when all was revealed at last.

A good read and a definite for fans of the author. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.

Another superb novel by Stuart MacBride - fast paced, full of twists and turns, and a compelling read - I couldn't put it down!

Miserable weather - check, miserable policeman - check, obnoxious boss - check, twisty, compelling, dark as pitch plot - check, check, check and yes it's a new Stuart MacBride novel. There's no Logan and Steele however this is a stand alone (please make it a series Mr MacBride, pleaseeeee) set in the 'misfit mob'. A group of police officers who, for one reason or another, the powers that be don't want around. Callum finds himself part of the team after taking the blame for his pregnant girlfriend. Now everyone thinks he's in the pocket of a local criminal and he's just had his private parts ground into the dust and, by the way did I mention it's raining.
Every new novel from Mr MacBride is a treat but this was a particular joy. The plot is so intricate, there are subplots upon subplots and everything interconnects. All roads lead to the question of what happened to Callum's family over twenty years before but it is most definitely not a straight road to the answer. I will stop there before I spoil the surprise, suffice to say I loved this book.

I don't really feel it was fair of me to rate this book as I gave up when I had read just under quarter. It was too slow to get going

DC Callum MacGregor is stuck in the misfit mob - the group of police offers where those who are troublemakers, whistleblowers or refuse to retire are put - because he's been accused of messing up a crime scene to ensure a criminal gets off. He is called to the local tip where a body has been found - he is quite excited as the misfit mob are not usually allowed to investigate murders - but the body turns out to be a mummy and appears to be very old so theft is more likely than murder. Then another mummified corpse is found and following x-rays at the mortuary it becomes clear that these are not ancient mummies but the bodies of young men who have been starved and smoked like fish. While the investigation continues Callum has to deal with the break up of his relationship, conflict with a superior and a discovery relating to the abduction of his family when he was five years old. A fantastic read from start to finish - couldn't put it down. Certainly didn't work out who the murderer was. Loved the characters in the misfit mob and look forward to reading more about them.

Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher and Stuart MacBride for the opportunity to read and review this title.

“A Dark so Deadly” is a standalone thriller written by Stuart MacBride. The first thing I come to think of after reading the book is, that it would make a great movie. The characters not all likable, mummies and a lot of police investigation make this book a really good crime thriller. If you’re not shying away from the 600+ pages this story will make for some good hours of reading. Highly recommended!
I chose to read this book and all opinions in this review are my own and completely unbiased. Thanks to NetGalley and HarperCollins UK!