Book 1

Natural Causes

by James Oswald

Published 9 February 2012
Sixty years ago, a young girl was brutally murdered - her internal organs were removed and her body mutilated. Until now she lay undiscovered, sealed in an underground chamber. For the Edinburgh police force the six-decades-old case is not a priority, but Detective Inspector McLean is haunted by the dead girl's ritualistic murder and the six trinkets placed carefully around the body. As a wave of high-profile and bloody murders hits the city of Edinburgh - each one bearing an uncanny resemblance to the last - the same name begins to recur. As McLean digs deeper, he must question just how many coincidences there can be, realizing that the most irrational answer might be the only one possible ...

Book 2

Book of Souls

by James Oswald

Published 21 June 2012

The Book of Souls is James Oswald's second electrifying thriller in the Detective Inspector McLean series.

Every year for ten years, a young woman's body was found in Edinburgh at Christmas time: naked, throat slit, body washed clean.

Ten years, ten women.

The final victim, Kirsty Summers, was Detective Constable Tony McLean's fiancee. But the Christmas Killer made a mistake. In a cellar under a shop, McLean found a torture chamber and put an end to the brutal killing spree.

Twelve years later, and a fellow prisoner has just murdered the incarcerated Christmas Killer. But with the arrival of the festive season comes a body. A young woman: naked, washed, her throat cut.

Is this a copycat killer?

Was the wrong man behind bars all this time?

Or is there a more sinister, frightening explanation?

McLean must revisit the most disturbing case of his life and discover what he missed before the killer strikes again . . .

The Book of Souls is the second in the Detective Inspector Mclean series. The first was Natural Causes and the upcoming third will be called The Hangman's Song. Fans of Ian Rankin, Peter James and Stuart McBride will love James Oswald's work.

Praise for James Oswald:

'A star of Scotland's burgeoning crime fiction scene' Daily Record

'Crime fiction's next big thing' The Sunday Telegraph

'Literary sensation...James' overnight success has drawn comparisons with the meteoric rise of EL James and her Fifty Shades of Grey series' Daily Mail

'Fifty Shades of Hay' The Times

'Oswald is among the leaders in the new batch of excellent Scottish crime writers' Daily Mail

'The new Ian Rankin' Daily Record

'The hallmarks of Val McDermid or Ian Rankin: it's dark, violent, noirish' The Herald

'A good read' The Times

'An excellent start to what promises to be a fine series' Guardian


Book 4

Dead Men's Bones

by James Oswald

Published 3 July 2014

THE TWISTY FOURTH NOVEL AND SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER, FROM THE GRIPPING INSPECTOR MCLEAN SERIES SET IN EDINBURGH

A family lies slaughtered in an isolated house in North East Fife . . .
____________

Morag Weatherly and her two young daughters have been shot by husband Andrew, an influential politician, before he turned the gun on himself.

But what would cause a rich, successful man to snap so suddenly?

For Inspector Tony McLean, this apparently simple but high-profile case leads him into a world of power and privilege. And the deeper he digs, the more he realizes he's being manipulated by shadowy factions.

Under pressure to wrap up the case, McLean instead seeks to uncover layers of truth - putting the lives of everyone he cares about at risk . . .
____________

PRAISE FOR JAMES OSWALD:


'A star of Scotland's burgeoning crime fiction scene'
DAILY RECORD

'Crime fiction's next big thing'
SUNDAY TELEGRAPH

'Literary sensation' DAILY MAIL

'Oswald is among the leaders in the new batch of excellent Scottish crime writers' DAILY MAIL

'The new Ian Rankin'
DAILY RECORD

'The hallmarks of Val McDermid or Ian Rankin: it's dark, violent, noirish'
THE HERALD

'Oswald's writing is in a class above most in this genre
' DAILY EXPRESS


Book 5

Prayer for the Dead

by James Oswald

Published 12 February 2015

Sunday Times bestseller Prayer for the Dead is the fifth novel in the bestselling Inspector McLean series by author James Oswald.

'The hallmarks of Val McDermid or Ian Rankin: it's dark, violent, noirish' The Herald

***

'Are you ready to be reborn?'

The search for a missing journalist is called off as a body is found at the scene of a carefully staged murder.

In a sealed chamber, deep in the heart of Gilmerton Cove, a mysterious network of caves and passages sprawling beneath Edinburgh, the victim has undergone a macabre ritual of purification.

Inspector Tony McLean knew the dead man, and can't shake off the suspicion that there is far more to this case than meets the eye. The baffling lack of forensics at the crime scene seems impossible. But it is not the only thing about this case that McLean will find beyond belief.

Teamed with the most unlikely and unwelcome of allies, he must track down a killer driven by the darkest compulsions, who will answer only to a higher power...

'Are you ready for the mysteries to be revealed?'

Praise for James Oswald:

'A star of Scotland's burgeoning crime fiction scene' Daily Record
'Crime fiction's next big thing' The Sunday Telegraph
'Literary sensation . . .James' overnight success has drawn comparisons with the meteoric rise of E L James and her Fifty Shades of Grey series' Daily Mail
'Fifty Shades of Hay' The Times
'Oswald is among the leaders in the new batch of excellent Scottish crime writers' Daily Mail
'The new Ian Rankin' Daily Record
'An excellent start to what promises to be a fine series' Guardian
'Classy, occasionally brutal, and with the odd suggestion of the supernatural, this will doubtless be another deserved hit. Oswald's writing is in a class above most in this genre' Daily Express