Reviews

Flesh House by Stuart MacBride

gayatriii's review against another edition

3.0

I'm a big fan of Mr. McBride, and his brand of crime writing. It's violent and humorous, the police are flawed and emotional, and the prose brooding and atmospheric. BUT, Flesh House was a chore to finish. I picked it up thinking, super, a book about a guy who mixes human flesh into the meat supply of a town. Throw in Mr. McBride's promises of a fuckton of gore, and I thought this would be a home run. Alas, I didn't really find Steel funny this time, nor did I feel for McRae's childish heartaches, and I didn't think there was the same amount of seriousness to this book. It felt like McBride wrote 3 great books, and this one, the 4th was his way of taking a break. Even so, it's not terrible. I'm aware that my opinions of this book may also have something to do with just the general moodiness of the reader, I.e moi. I also took little over a month to finish this - my bad. That's no way to read a crime novel.

awhaley's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

4.0

holly_young's review

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

lisreed's review against another edition

3.0

I like hard boiled mysteries but this one went a tad to far with the violence. The cannibalism scenes were a bit much. Overall I like this writer and will read his next book because I didn't have any problems with his prior books.

pannapark's review against another edition

4.0

Flesh House sees our hapless hero, DS Logan McRae, wading through the relentless and monstrous after effects of the murderous Flesher - of Margaret Thatcher face mask and striped butcher apron fame!
Logan reminds me of Eeyore (A. A. Milne.) He’s basically depressed after his break up with DC Jackie Watcher and burnt out by a massive workload pressed upon him by the oblivious DI Insch and DI Steele. A morass of blood, gore and guts seeps through every page making it impossible not to be impacted by the overarching gruesomeness. We are spared nothing, right up to the last supper, er, page.
Stuart MacBride’s dialogue ensnares and his descriptions have you trudging the grim streets of Aberdeen with Logan sensing the increasing desperation and longing for the nightmare to end.

readdrinkandbehappy's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

dwintaylor's review against another edition

challenging dark sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

3.5

tatty28's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.25

slavicsongbird's review against another edition

4.0

Predictably, difficult to read at times but very very well-plotted. I was frustrated by the ending but I think I was meant to be so very good. 4.5 stars.

lucha0s's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Cannibalism, Excrement, and Kidnapping