The Recurring Cast
Character guide · 18 books · 2005 to 2026 · Mostly set in Aberdeen

Stuart MacBride

Crime and mysteryPolice procedural

Logan McRae polices a grim and darkly funny Aberdeen under the foul-mouthed Detective Inspector Roberta Steel, who gets her own books in 2026. Ash Henderson’s Oldcastle trilogy is darker still.

Best estimate, compiled from series guides, publisher descriptions and reviews where available, and from memory otherwise. Book level only, not chapter level. Minor includes cameos and brief references. Each book carries a confidence rating in its tooltip. The standalones are left out.

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Who appears in which book

Click a name to follow that character from book to book, or a book title to see its cast.

LLeadMMajor·MinorHas a note
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Stuart MacBride books in order

Each series in publication order, with its lead characters. Where the story runs in a different order, switch to Story order. Crossover books are marked and listed under their main series. Use My books to track what you have read.

Logan McRae

13 books · Set in AberdeenPolice procedural
  1. 1Cold Granite2005With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Dying Light2006With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  3. 3Broken Skin2007With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  4. 4Flesh House2008With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  5. 5Blind Eye2009With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  6. 6Dark Blood2010With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  7. 7Shatter the Bones2011With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  8. 8Close to the Bone2013With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  9. 9The Missing and the Dead2015With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  10. 10In the Cold Dark Ground2016With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  11. 11The Blood Road2018With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  12. 12All That’s Dead2019With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon
  13. 13This House of Burning Bones2025With Logan McRaeBuy on Amazon

Roberta Steel

2 books · Set in AberdeenPolice procedural
  1. 1And the Corpse Wore Tartan2026With Roberta SteelBuy on Amazon
  2. 2Blood, Rust and Steel2026With Roberta SteelBuy on Amazon

Ash Henderson

3 books · Set in the fictional Oldcastle, ScotlandPolice procedural
  1. 1Birthdays for the Dead2012With Ash HendersonBuy on Amazon
  2. 2A Song for the Dying2014With Ash HendersonBuy on Amazon
  3. 3The Coffinmaker’s Garden2021With Ash HendersonBuy on Amazon

Characters

8 recurring and key characters, with the book each one first appears in.

Aberdeen

Oldcastle