[5]McRae has been described as the "last bastion of sanity in the manic Aberdeen police department; [he is] surrounded by squabbling, heavy drinking, cursing and frequently incompetent fellow officers...."[6] After the events of "Flesh House" (which while searching for a cannibal, led to McRae eating cooked human flesh), he became a vegetarian in "Blind Eye" the follow-up novel.
By the ninth book ("The Missing and the Dead"), McRae has been moved to rural Aberdeenshire (after he breaks police procedure in questioning a suspect) under what is termed a "development opportunity".
[11] After two stints in rural Aberdeenshire, McRae takes a job with Professional standards and appears briefly in "Now We Are Dead", before being back as centre story in "The Blood Road".
Louise Fairbairn, writing in The Scotsman, describes her as "The human tornado with a selection of ill-fitting bras...",[12] and as one MacBride's "most beloved creations".
[18] It has been noted that Steel is more graphically described than McRae is and that she has "off-grey fillings and a yellow tongue”, exposes “pale, hairy shins” when her trouser legs ride up, drinks whisky like there's no tomorrow and stuffs her face with sausage rolls.
[10] He is the subject of much ridicule and in the second book "Dying Light" he is assigned to DI Steel's Screw-up Squad although he protests that as he has only just been made into a detective constable, he hasn't screwed up at all.
It comes as a major surprise to McRae that Napier wishes him to transfer to professional standards as a DI during the events of "In the Cold Dark Ground".
Bob works in CID alongside McRae and is famed for his telephone manner and breaking wind in the office Baby sitter twice.
An ever present in the Aberdeen based novels as Desk Sergeant and Fed Rep as well as unwilling message taker for McRae.
In The Blood Road her death results in Logan working the case when still in with the Professional Standards and seconded by his boss Supt Doig.
Largely unseen but frequently mentioned when matters begin to unwind and usually due to some accident or blunder brought about by him resulting in injury to himself with the need to re-plan in his absence.
She is paralysed and left in a coma after a fire and during the events in "Shatter the Bones", and whilst she is comatose in hospital, McRae imagines having conversations with her.
[29] During his time in Banffshire, McRae is living in the police house and eating tinned soup so that he can afford to pay for her 24-hour care.
At the end of "The Missing and the Dead" Samantha is kidnapped and half-drowned, which makes her seriously ill. She dies after McRae switches off her life support in the novel "In the Cold Dark Ground".
Moir-Farquharson is punched by a suspect which causes huge amounts of glee amongst the police officers especially DI Insch who acquires a video of it.
The courier used by Wee Hamish Mowat to deliver "evidence" for Finnie and later McRae to undermine competing businesses but also able to turn his hand to casual brutality and murder.
In "Shatter the Bones" Steel lifts her daughter from her "Baby Barlinnie" where Macbride gives the child her full name of Jasmine Catherine Cassandra Steel-Wallace.
A victim in "Shatter the Bones" in another way but after a considerable absence from subsequent books he is mentioned in "Blood Road" as an active colleague of Logan's current girlfriend Tara.
He makes an appearance in "All That's Dead" where he supplies computer time for Logan which in turn gives Tufty his big break in show business (maybe not).
Also known as Malk the Knife,[32] is discussed in several books, but he only appears in one scene in "In the Cold Dark Ground" when he attends Wee Hamish Mowat's funeral.