Gory … but still a hellishly gripping book

The third book in the Ash Henderson series, this finds Ash and a cast of seriously socially challenged misfits – both police and civilian academics involved in two separate serial murder cases.

SPOILER: Without doubt, there are descriptions and actions (never mind language) that some may find unpleasant, but this is after all, a novel about some distressingly unpleasant stuff.

The action fairly skelps along, with a large cast of named characters, so you do need to keep up with who is up to what !

While the plot and action are gripping, what I also really like about Stuart McBride’s’ writing is the fantastically descriptive prose that are sprinkled throughout his books – such as “Rain slashing at her face with frozen, sharp little knives” and “Wind picking up enough to send a ceilidh of crisp packets whirling into a reel” sweeping across the road.

Scottish readers beware – even though this is set in a fictional North East Scotland, and I’m a Weedgie who’s lived away from Scotland for 40+ years – my wife reckoned I was ‘blethering in Scottish’ after reading this.

Another brilliant piece of ‘Tartan Noir’ and I eagerly await the next tome

My thanks go to Netgalley and the Publisher, for the chance to read an advance review copy of this book, in exchange for an unbiased review.

Have read many of this author's work and The Coffinmaker's Garden did not disappoint. Had me gripped and not able to put my kindle down. 5 star recommendation

Another thrilling page turner from Stuart McBride! I loved spending time with this gang of misfits as they solve the mystery in their own entertaining way.
Highly recommended.
Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to review this book.

I am so torn on what to say about this book. The characters are well drawn and vivid, BUT I don't like any of them. With Ash Henderson going into every situation fists first, beating the excrement out of suspects and punching women "because he's a feminist", I found it very difficult to warm to him in any way at all. His cutesy little sidekick Alice with her ickle red trainers and drink problem was equally unappealing. And yet I feel that it's a well written book - the characters are memorable, the interactions between them give a good sense of their personalities, and the settings give a constant background sense of grimness that to be honest makes me never want to visit Scotland again. I think it just wasn't for me, but readers who enjoy their crime fiction with a heavy dose of action will love it.

With thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for a review copy in return for an honest review.

Gruesome, shocking and everything in between. This cinematic novel gave me glimpses of acts which were depraved and brutal. The plot weaves between character viewpoints and kept me gripped until the tumultuous end.

The Coffin Makers Garden is third in the Ash Henderson series from Stuart MacBride and I think I would have enjoyed this more had I read the first two books, as I felt I was missing a lot of the backstory.

Some may find it a bit challenging as it's a graphic, gory and harrowing read, with descriptions of kidnapping, torture and murder that had my stomach churning at times, although there was plenty of dark humour throughout as well.
I'm not sure I'll read more of the Ash Henderson series as I found him to be an unrealistic character and I doubt any police force would keep him employed for long.

Not a book for the faint-hearted!

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC in return for an honest review.

While loving the Logan McRae series from Stuart MacBride I didn't really enjoy the first two books in this series. Mainly as the first was so depressing and the second so far fetched but I'm a sucker for a series and think Stuart MacBride is a great author. I did actually enjoy number 3 in the series as he's brought in more of the humour I've enjoyed in his previous novels and it does feel like a natural progression for the characters from the first book to where they are now.

Ash Henderson is an anti hero that you can actually believe as normally in these types of books you have the lone detective, breaking the rules and solving the crime. With Ash you believe it and I need to know what happens next., especially in relation to what happened in the first book. When I reflect on that book although I didn't enjoy it, it was because it made me angry as it didn't give me the ending I wanted but I remember the feeling it evoked in me which is always better than forgetting it once I've read the last page. I'll be reading number 4!

Loved this book! It was very exciting, mysterious and entertaining.
Loved the writing style, definitely recommended.
Thanks a lot to NG and the publisher for this copy.

The Coffin Makers Garden is third in the Ash Henderson series from Stuart MacBride. I have read the first in this series, but it was back in 2012 so I didn’t have a strong memory of the story. Stuart MacBride also writes the Logan McRae series, which is also good, and his writing is extremely vivid.

Ash Henderson is working as part of the LIRU (Lateral Investigative and Review Unit) team along with Dr Alice MacDonald, working alongside the police to assist in solving crimes. The latest case that they are called to involves houses on a crumbling headland. As more of the property crumbles into the sea, creating a dangerous environment for the nearby houses and their occupants, the disintegration starts to reveal a grisly secret hidden in the garden… but with the properly becoming less accessible with every gust of wind, will they be able to investigate what has happened? As the story progresses, more and more complications arise from their pasts.

What a great story! The plot rattles along with so many twists and turns, I couldn’t wait to pick the book back up every time I had the opportunity. The characters are well defined, and I’ll definitely go back to read the series from the start, although this can be read as a stand-alone story, despite there being lots of callbacks to the previous books. This is not a story for the faint hearted - the violence is graphic and visceral, and the writing is very vivid, but I found this to be very well written, if a bit hard going at times - I winced more than once through the last quarter of the book! I would definitely recommend this, as it’s a solid, well written thriller… if you have the stomach for it!


I received this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

As a fan of Macbride’s other books I was expecting another great story, and I wasn’t disappointed. His books are always fast paced and fun of dark humour. I would highly recommend this book.

I’m going to stick out like a sore thumb with this review because I wasn’t that keen on the book.
It may be that it’s because this is the first in the series that I’ve read.
The story itself is really good, and that’s what kept me reading up till the end.
The characters, especially Dr Alice are amongst the most irritating I’ve come across in modern fiction.
And I couldn’t quite get the fact that there’s a group of consultants basically taking over police investigations.

This is another volume in the Ash Henderson crime thriller series. Fast-paced with an intricately woven narrative, the author certainly knows how to put ex-Detective Inspector Henderson through the Gates of Hell and back again. And if you haven't read any of the previous Ash Henderson escapades, be warned: extreme violence and emotionally disturbing crimes feature throughout.

Set in Scotland, coastal erosion exposes human remains, the only problem being the perilous state of the crumbling cliff edge makes investigating the crime scene extremely hazardous. Health and Safety regulations would have any Chief Constable claiming conditions make a thorough investigation at best hazardous and at worst unfeasible. Ash, being an ex-Detective Inspector, is not encumbered by such inconveniences.

For readers who like oddball macabre, the narrative is peppered with black humor. Indeed, Ash Henderson is the literary version of a comic book superhero, invincible in the guise of a gritty ex-Detective.

While this is not the easiest books to read — there are a vast array of named characters and subplots which can be somewhat confusing unless you have been following the book series — but if you can stomach subject matter which involves torture and child murder then you will not be disappointed by this latest installment in Ash's journey of redemption.

Firstly let me say I didn't realise this was book three in a series and I haven't read the first two. That said, I liked it so much I will be going back and getting/reading them. A storm is raging and the house of Gordon Smith is slowly crumbling.....right into the sea. When part of it goes in his neighbour clocks human remains and detectives go in and have a look, elderly Smith is nowhere to be seen. Ex copper Ash Henderson is helping the team and comes across horrors in Smith's basement however evidence is falling into the sea and they already risked their lives by going in. An investigation kicks off with an unlikely alliance and lots of hinderance along the way. Where is Smith, how did he get away with it for as long as they did, how can they prove it with only old pictures, frictions in the team and another killer on the loose.


Oooh so obviously as I said I hadn't read the previous two books so Ash to me was new and brilliant, damaged - seriously the guy has a gun shot to the foot and hobbling. Grief stricken and had some temper and fists on him. He is very protective of his colleague who has her own demons to battle and trying to keep her heed out the bottle. So much has obviously transpired with these characters and I do love a bit of a rogue good guy.

There are two investigate themes in the book, one is a child killer and the police are actively investigating that. The main theme is the finding of this Smith and any evidence before it crumbles into the sea. A killer who has operated for years, victims men and women, undetected and now being hunted. We also have a wild card crackpot criminal who is desperate to find her grand daughter but she isn't opposed to battering someone, has a criminal history and not a fan of the police.

It has plenty of action, characters to love and hate, lots happening, bad words so don't pick it up if you get offended with swearing. There is also violence mentions of torture and harm to animals so just an FYI. I do enjoy Scottish characters/fiction and as I say I will be getting and reading books one and two. Not sure if he is coming back to this series but I do hope so, they are a good cast and I would like to hear more about them, 4/5 for me this time.

The Coffin Maker's Garden - Stuart Macbride.
#3 in the Ash Henderson series.

I prefer to read books in order, my fault for not checking, but it didn't spoil the reading.

I've read a few of the author's Logan McRae series a few years back so was more than happy to pick up Macbride's latest offering.

A good solid, fast paced murder hunt with a nice balance of action, gore and wronguns to satisfy even the most jaded Crime fiction addicts. A nice dark atmosphere and a very entertaining read overall.

Thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins UK

I was really excited about reading this book by Stuart MacBride, it’s exactly my type of thing, though as many reviewers have said, I hadn’t realised it was part of a sequel.

That said, the author is descriptive enough for this to not affect the storyline and to allow you to fill in the missing pieces.

Ash Henderson and Alice MacDonald, with dog Henry are called to a house in a storm where the edge of a cliff has eroded on the North Sea coast. This has uncovered the remains of many human bones.

I really wanted to enjoy this book and judging by the reviews of the other readers, I think it has to be just me. But I found the reference to the DI as Mother irritating; I couldn’t see why wasn’t able to have a name rather than a noun.

Then there was the “squealthunk” of the windscreen wipers and the “thunk” of the pothole with the constant driving.

Once I’d noticed these things, they stopped me from enjoying the rest of the book sadly.

I rate this book 2 stars 🌟🌟

The Coffin Maker’s Garden by Stuart MacBride is the third in the Ash Henderson series. A storm is battering the Scottish coast and part of the garden of a coastal cottage crashes into the sea exposing a graveyard in the basement of the cottage. Who were the victims, how did they get there, where is the owner of the cottage?

With massive media attention, the senior brass are looking for a scapegoat as the evidence gets washed out to sea and Henderson is determined it will not be him. Filled with tough and disillusioned characters, this is classic dark crime that rattles along at a blistering pace. I highly recommend this and the other novels in the series.

I enjoyed this book, but found it a bit dark, and violent. The characters are good, and the conversation is often very funny, which takes some of the sting out of the distressing subject-matter. This is a real page-turner, even if I had to skip the more gruesome bits.

It took me time to clock onto first person voice taking us this tough story of serial killer who kills people in social room in his house and buries them where the earth will reclaim them In eroding earth .. .. the eccentric characters began to get on my nerves .. the whole thing went grand guignol .. unconvincing humour .. the author is having fun creating outlandish people .. adeptly too. But it's the scale thay didn't make it for me.

Ooh this is just brilliant. One of the best dramatic starts to a book I’ve read in a long while. A cast of characters that grow from strength to strength with each book. This is why Stuart MacBride is one of my favourite writers.

A taut, harrowing thriller that kept me turning the pages. Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this ARC