Book Log 2013 #27: Bloodshot by Stuart MacBride

The third entry in the Logan McRae series focuses on two sex crime cases. The one that initially involves McRae is a John Doe who is dumped at a hospital after being sodomized to death. The other case, involving a violent serial rapist, actually involves McRae's girlfriend, PC Jackie Watson, whose physical approach to policing compounds the trouble that their suspect, a prominent footballer, is lawyered up and has strong alibis from his mother and girlfriend.

As in the previous books, McRae has to (eventually) balance work in both cases with the needs (both professional and personal) of his supervisors. There's a further romantic complication when Jackie appears to be stepping out with a colleague, which sends McRae into the interested arms of a junior prosecuting attorney. Also as in previous books, McRae has to suffer his ration of shit before finding a way to solving both cases.

It's a pretty disturbing entry in the series - the ending is one of the more mindbending I've come across - but it's another well-written entry, balancing the action and tension of the cases with the personal issues (McRae's love life, McRae's relationship with reporter Colin Miller, and a dive into the BDSM scene in northern Scotland, thanks to a lower-ranking officer). The only thing I didn't like was the title change from the original. A series to pick up if you haven't already.