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The Coffinmaker’s Garden

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What to expect

A Sunday Times bestseller for the w/c 11th January 2021

A house of secrets…

As a massive storm batters the Scottish coast, Gordon Smith’s home is falling into the sea. The trouble is: that’s where he’s been hiding the bodies.

A killer on the run…

It’s too dangerous to go near the place, so there’s no way of knowing how many people he’s murdered. Or how many more he’ll kill before he’s caught.

An investigator with nothing to lose…

As more horrors are discovered, ex-detective Ash Henderson is done playing nice. He’s got a killer to catch, and God help anyone who gets in his way.

‘Stuart MacBride’s deft plotting and whipcrack dialogue, along with a strong sense of place, make The Coffinmaker’s Garden a must read. If you like your serial killers with lashings of dark humour, this is for you’ Peter Robinson, no. 1 bestselling author of the DCI Banks series

'The Coffinmaker's Garden is brilliantly creepy, with the most cleverly conceived crime scene I've ever read. His legions of fans will love this – it's an unmistakable Stuart MacBride cocktail of dark violence and even darker humour’ Jane Casey, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Cutting Place

Critics Review

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‘Stuart MacBride’s deft plotting and whipcrack dialogue, along with a strong sense of place, make The Coffinmaker’s Garden a must read. If you like your serial killers with lashings of dark humour, this is for you’ Peter Robinson, no. 1 bestselling author of the DCI Banks series

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'The Coffinmaker's Garden is brilliantly creepy, with the most cleverly conceived crime scene I've ever read. His legions of fans will love this – it's an unmistakable Stuart MacBride cocktail of dark violence and even darker humour’ Jane Casey, Sunday Times bestselling author of The Cutting Place

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‘A brutal, visceral read, laced with the blackest of humour and travelling to some very dark places’ Guardian

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‘A magnetic mix of creepy places, dark humour, horror and violence’ Sun

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‘Stuart MacBride’s latest slab of tartan noir opens in spectacular fashion’ The Times

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‘Taut storytelling with a deliciously dark sense of humour’ Woman’s Weekly

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‘Another ingenious thriller from Stuart MacBride…taut storytelling with a deliciously dark sense of humour’ Woman magazine

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Praise for Stuart MacBride:

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'Dark and brilliantly written' Linwood Barclay

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‘A satisfying read and a hugely thoughtful novel … there’s no let-up for the reader’ Scotland on Sunday

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‘A tense and gritty thriller’ Irish Sunday Independent

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‘The pages turn effortlessly. His best work yet.’ i

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‘A tour de force … smartly paced and vividly pungent’ Laura Wilson, Guardian

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‘Dark and gripping. A riveting page-turner’ Independent on Sunday

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‘MacBride is a damned fine writer’ Peter James

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‘A satisfyingly compelling thriller’ Sunday Mirror

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‘Skilful storytelling … strong characterisation … both intriguing and engrossing’ Guardian

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‘MacBride’s thrillers just keep getting better’ Express

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‘Exciting … a guaranteed bestseller’ Literary Review

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‘Unmissable … Superb storytelling’ Sun

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‘Crime fiction of the highest order’ Mark Billingham

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‘A terrific writer … Logan McRae is a delight’ The Times

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User Reviews

Book 4.8
Narration 4.7
5.0
5.0
This is my first Stewart McBride book. I found it quite difficult to put down to do my normal daily activities. So many twists and turns keeping the reader onwards. Whilst the storyline is rather gruesome, one just has to continue reading in order to satisfy one's curiosity. Joy of joys! I learned that he has written many books in the same vein. Needless to say, there are being downloaded for future reading.
Geoff Miles 31/07/2023
5.0
5.0
First time listening to a McBride audio book. Must say very enjoyable, with numerous twists. Not sure if characters are present in past or future books. But they work
Well worth listening too
Nigel Tansley 27/12/2022
5.0
5.0
Vicky 31/05/2022
5.0
5.0
Every few seconds you were rewarded with a punch-line description or real-life character-to-character interaction of a Scottish persuasion. ‘a strip of flesh the colour of old yogurt’. Epic. Attention-grabbing!
Gillywilly 23/05/2022
4.0
3.0
fox 07/03/2022
5.0
5.0
I've read a few Stuart MacBride books and this one was as amazing as some of the others I've read.

This was really well written, and I loved the balance between dark/gruesome and humour. Stuart clearly has a knack for that! The descriptive writing and setting of the scenes was also excellently done (I don't think I'd have the courage to go down into a basement where the house was in danger of falling off a cliff! There were a couple of those moments in the story and they were so well written, I actually felt like I was there!)

The characters were really well written too, and I loved Ash (he's one tough cookie despite Stuart putting him through hell!), Alice, Shifty, DS Franklin (she might have started off as grumpy but she totally grew on me) and DI Malcolmson (or Mother as she's also referred as!).
akara 08/12/2025

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