Stuart MacBride Bio

Born in 1969 in Dumbarton, near Glasgow, Scotland, and growing up in Aberdeen, Stuart MacBride is a Scottish author of crime novels which has been described as Tartan Noir, placing him alongside other Scottish crime writers including Ian Rankin and Val McDermid. 

He is a Sunday Times No 1 bestselling author of both the Logan McRae and Ash Henderson novels; he has also published several standalone novels, novellas and short stories, including a slightly twisted children’s book. 

Upon finishing school, MacBride studied architecture at Heriot-Watt University. In a previous life, he has held jobs such as scrubbing toilets offshore, graphic designer, web designer and IT/computer programmer. 

MacBride was one of an initial group of ten people inducted into the Aberdeen Hall of Heroes. He has also been awarded the World Stovies Champion in 2014 and won Celebrity Mastermind in 2007 with his specialist subject being the life and works of A.A. Milne. 

Today, Stuart MacBride lives in Aberdeenshire with his wife, three cats, hens and horses. 

Returning to Logan McRae

MacBride’s latest installment in the Logan MacRae series was published in 2025, six years after the previous book, and 20 years after the first. MacBride returned to the series for the 20th anniversary with This House of Burning Bones, wanting to give the reader something they may not have expected. However for avid readers of the Logan McRae series, there are some easter eggs to keep an eye out for. 

In This House of Burning Bones, Logan is a lot less naive, but a lot more weary. There is still a touch of optimism and while he may be in a long term relationship this time around, he is still ready for another adventure. 

This House of Burning Bones discusses themes including immigration and climate change – for Stuart MacBride, a good fiction novel deals with what we see around us, no matter the genre. He believes that the distance from an issue a fiction book gives, allows people to examine and understand what is happening around them. 

Setting novels in Aberdeen

With Edinburgh and Glasgow dominating the Scottish locations in novels, Aberdeen offers a location of old granite architecture and an oil industry providing a dark and moody feel. 

MacBride grew up in Aberdeen so it is his home territory, and gives him an advantage of knowing the location, and requires a lot less research! 

Awards and nominations

2006 – Barry Award – Best First Novel – Winner (Cold Granite)

2006 – International Thriller Writers Awards – Best Debut Novel – Nominated (Cold Granite)

2006 – Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award – Nominated (Cold Granite)

2007 – CWA Dagger in the Library Award – Winner

2007 – Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award – Nominated (Dying Light)

2007 – Barry Award – Best British Crime Novel – Nominated (Dying Light)

2008 – ITV3 Crime Thriller Award – Breakthrough Author of the Year – Winner (Broken Skin)

2009 – Theakston’s Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award – Nominated (Broken Skin)

Stuart MacBride books in order 

Although Stuart MacBride got his first contract on Halfhead, publishers were more interested in his Logan McRae novels, securing a three book deal which was then extended to a six book deal. In 2009, he signed another deal for two further Logan McRae novels and two standalone novels. 

Logan McRae novels

Cold Granite (2005)

Dying Light (2006)

Broken Skin (published in America as Bloodshot) (2007)

Flesh House (2008)

Blind Eye (2009)

Dark Blood (2010)

Shatter the Bones (2011)

Close to the Bone (2013)

22 Dead Little Bodies (2015)

The Missing and the Dead (2015)

In the Cold Dark Ground (2016)

The Blood Road (2018)

All That’s Dead (2019)

This House of Burning Bones (2025)

Roberta Steel novels

Now We Are Dead (2017)

And the Corpse Wore Tartan (2026)

Blood, Rust and Steel (2026)

Oldcastle novels

Birthdays for the Dead (2012)

A Song for the Dying (2014)

A Dark So Deadly (2017)

The Coffinmaker’s Garden (2021)

No Less the Devil (2022)

In a Place of Darkness (2024)

Standalone

Halfhead (Writing as Stuart B. Macbride) (2009)

The Dead of Winter (2023)

Other works

Sawbones (A novella) (2008)

Twelve Days of Winter (A short story collection) (2011)

Partners in Crime (Two Logan and Steel short stories: Bad Heir Day and Stramash) (2012)

The Completely Wholesome Adventures of Skeleton Bob (2013)

The 45% Hangover (A Logan and Steel novella) (2014)

The Tasting Menu (A short story) (2024)