A quick and easy read as this is a stand alone novella. A little gruesome for me but another very good book from this author.

This is a novella, which is a thriller set in the USA. The story is about a serial killer who preys on young girls. He makes a mistake by taking the sixteen year old daughter of a gangster, as soon the gangster and his mob are after him. Will they be able to capture him, and rescue the girl?

I found this book an easy read, which was fast paced, a bit gruesome and full of dark humour.

If you are looking for a short, quick read, and you love thrillers, then you will love this book. Highly recommended!

Many thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for a copy of this book.

I absolutely LOVE Stuart MacBride's books and he is definitely one of my favorite authors. He writes novels in a way that keeps you entertained, wondering and thrilled until the end! Recommended.

I'm an avid fan of Stuart MacBride and was delighted to have been approved to read this.

I'm not usually a fan of story stories and alas this is still the case. Wonderful and gruesome I would much have preferred a more in depth story.

Sawbones by Stuart Machine.
They call him Sawbones: a serial killer touring America kidnapping young women.

The FBI’s investigating – but getting nowhere.

The latest victim is Laura Jones. Sixteen years old. Pretty. Blonde. And the daughter of one of New York’s most notorious gangsters. Laura’s Dad doesn’t care about the law. What he wants is revenge. And he knows just the guys to get it.

This time, Sawbones picked on the wrong family…
I did enjoy this book. Read In one sitting. Great short story. I will definitely be looking at his others. 5*.

Sawbones was a Stuart MacBride first for me and I can gladly say it will not be the last. With brutal imagery and a raw and fantastical landscape, I flew through the pages of this short novella. Who instantly pops into your mind when you think of serial killers? Jack the Ripper, Jeffrey Dahmer, Harold Shipman, and Ted Bundy immediately come to mind. Well, MacBride’s Sawbones could give them all a run for their money. A man that kidnaps and tortures young girls to death by the hacking of their limbs for what seems like fun. What happens though when a serial killer takes the wrong girl and ignites the wrath of a notorious family?

I enjoyed Sawbones immensely. A story that could be easily lengthened and adapted as a Netflix original series. A deadly serial killer. A notorious family. A deadly vendetta. The story offers no protection. It strips back the layers of safety and put me in the here and now. Like all good serial killer stories, it makes you ask the difficult questions, why do human beings feel the need to hurt others? How can the psyche break that much that they can take pleasure in seeing young girls be mutilated and then killed? It’s the billion-dollar question that no one seems to be able to answer.

Told from the perspective of the driver hunting Sawbones we get plenty of dark humour and colourful language. There are plenty of personality clashes between the driver and the gang accompanying him and it makes for an interesting journey. They are against the clock to get their boss’s daughter back home safe, or their lives won’t be worth living either. The journey is fraught with cops, car trouble, and near misses. With a simple yet powerful prose the reader get’s a feel for the danger and boy does it pack a punch.

A great short story which wasn't set in Scotland so made a difference.
Well written, good characters and I really enjoyed this.

I LOVED this novella. Stuart McBride captured so many great, punchy characters and plot into a tight story.

A serial killer is on the loose, hacking off the limbs of innocent women. Narrated by mafia hitmen looking for a kidnapped mob boss daughter, this novella was full of drama, grit and gore.

I have never read anything by Stuart Macbride before, and when I saw this novella on netgalley, I was over the moon when I got accepted to read and review it.
I find quick reads either amazing, or pretty rubbish, and i am pleased to say that this one was a good one.
It was fast paced, and although it was about a serial killer who saws off people's arms and legs, there was also humour within it too!
I will definitely be looking out for this authors books - hoping the fact that I enjoyed a short read, I will love his normal sized books too.

Sawbones is the nickname of a serial killer who kidnaps young girls and removes their limbs. Every year he takes 10 girls but this year he's taken Laura Jones. Laura is the daughter of a New Jersey gangster and he will stop at nothing to get his daughter back so he sends his boys to find the killer. Laura is not such a passive victim and Sawbones is trouble.
This is a cracking little novella from the King of Scottish Noir. Set in the mid-West the action starts from the first page and it never lets up. I loved the fact that Laura was her father's daughter an d the final twist was both expected and great. Designed to help reluctant readers this book is a gem

The only criticism I have for this book is that it is too short! At just 70 pages long its a very quick read, but full of tension, gore, and menace! I really enjoyed it and wish it had been longer!

This was a well constructed and fast paced novella that was pretty brutal to boot. We follow a group of mob enforcers as they scour the country looking for the kidnapped daughter of their boss. Unfortunately for her, she has been taken by the infamous Sawbones - a serial killer. I thought that the point of view elements of the plot were done really well and I enjoyed the story a lot. I think it's a shame that this was a novella as there is a lot of potential mileage in this killer as an antagonist and I feel he warranted a full length novel.
I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Not for the faint hearted. Short but gritty with plenty of action and twists. A change for this author but we'll up to standard.

Dark, Gruesome…
Sawbones, a serial killer touring the States. The F.B.I. appear to be getting nowhere in their investigations. It seems that Sawbones can’t be caught…that is until one man decides that revenge must be sought at any cost and he’s not waiting for the law. Dark, gruesome, gripping novella. A punchy, quick read.

It's probably wrong to say this, but this book was fun to read! Yes, I know it's about a serial killer, and about some brutal enforcers trying to find one of the victims, but it was a fun read!

No I'm not sick, I just enjoyed reading a novella by an author who is known for his police procedural thrillers, but was let loose.

The humour is twisted, the violence is violent, and the language sounds like that from teenagers on the playground!

If you like serial killer thrillers with a twist, then get a copy of this novella to read. It's a short story, but packs a lot into it.

I was given a free ARC from NetGalley and the publisher in return for this review

Sawbones is a fast-paced and gripping novella from acclaimed crime writer Stuart MacBride. Despite being pretty short the story really packs a punch, with plenty of action to keep you hooked in. The story centres on an American serial killer dubbed 'Sawbones' who is travelling the country and kidnapping women. Sawbones' next victim is Laura Jones - daughter of an infamous New York gangster, who will do anything to get her back.

This is a clever story and I really enjoyed reading it. I would have loved for a bit more, I think this story has the potential to be a full novel given it has such an intriguing premise. It was very dark and gory, much more so than I was expecting. It took me a little while to understand who all the characters were, but by the second half of the book, I was completely invested in the story. I liked Laura as a character - though she was the victim she definitely wasn't the damsel in distress type.

If you're looking for a quick and engaging novella that you can easily read in one sitting, definitely give Sawbones a try.

2.5 stars. Rounding up to three stars as... well, you'll see below.

Imagine “The Sopranos” meets “Criminal Minds” and you get the vague idea of this is was meant to be.

This had potential. Don't get me wrong, this novella is dark and messy. And the idea behind it is simple and something I haven't read before (what happens if a serial killer kidnaps the teen daughter of a New York mob boss & sends his henchmen to get her back and get revenge?), and yet, this novella couldn't quite stick the landing.

Plus, for an idea that's quite simple and clever, the troupes that this novella used. We've seen them before countless times. A serial killer would abducts young, pretty blond teen girls? A serial killer that is a religious fanatic? Unlikely and unlikeable leads that somehow find the killer that Police/FBI haven't? We've seen this before and this doesn't add anything new to the genre (though if we saw more of the gangster side of it, that might have added an extra layer that we haven't seen before).

The start of this novella is quite confusing as you meet a lot of characters in a short space of time, and the plot picks up really round the halfway mark and that's when I began warming to this story.

This is a fast read of a crime novella but, while it has potential, it doesn't utilise this angle and a good chunk of the story falls flat.

Something completely different from Stuart MacBride. Great short read, this novella packs a big punch. I highly recommend this book.

Loved this Novella, the story opens and dropped you right in at the deep end. A serial killer is kidnapping blond girls, 10 at a time, the killer gets more than he has bargained for by kidnaping a mobsters daughter. Fast paced and gory at time's, brilliantly written. I think this is a fantastic read for someone who want to try a crime thriller.

A serial killer is kidnapping young, blonde women, ten at a time. He’s nicknamed ‘Sawbones’ as he removes their arms and legs. He’s just made the mistake of kidnapping Laura, 16 year old daughter of a mobster.

This American set story is a grisly but well written novella. Its not something I’d usually go for but I’d definitely read more from this author.