Following on from Natural Causes, James Oswald's The Book Of Souls is the second outing for DC Tony McLean and I must admit that I probably enjoyed it more than it's predecessor

Twelve years ago, McLean's fiancée was brutally slain by the so-called Christmas Killer, his tenth victim, one per year and always around the festive season, only on that occasion, he made a mistake leading to his capture, imprisonment and, in the present day, ultimately being murdered in prison!

McLean attends the funeral for closure, however with Christmas fast approaching, a body is discovered, killed in a similar manner to those murdered years ago! Did they get the right man or is this a copycat, possibly helped by the release of a book graphically detailing the murders from the past?

The plot thickens when another body turns up, especially as the Christmas Killer only killed once a year and McLean and his team find themselves with no motive, few clues and a race against time before more bodies potentially pile up. Add into the mix some random fires around the city, seemingly started from nothing, and you have a mystery!

McLean's adversary – Duguid - from the first book is back and there remains plenty of friction between them whilst SOC expert Emma is a welcomed on-off romantic interest for McLean as the book comes to a tense finale and cliffhanger ending. However, some of the descriptions are pretty graphic throughout so dont expect a Miss Marple type whodunnit.

Unlike Natural Causes (which I did enjoy as well) this has fewer characters to remember which helped me no end and I found the storyline more interesting as well. The Book of Souls of the title is an interest concept and adds a slightly supernatural feel to the story as well, although never to the point of turning from a crime fiction novel to anything darker.

A decent continuation of a good series and I'll certainly be catching up with the next in the series soon.

Another fantastic read. Up to the library to order next! Loving the characters especially Grumpy Bob 😀

Second in the Inspector McLean series, The Book of Souls is just as good as book #1. Excellent writing, realistic and well-developed characters (likeable ones, too!), twisty suspense, and a dash of the supernatural combine to send readers on a fun reading adventure. I’m glad a friend pointed me toward James Oswald’s work. Read and enjoy!

The second book in the series and I loved it just as much as the first. Cannot wait to read the third book. I am caught up in the lives of the characters and thoroughly enjoy the setting and the supernatural aspects.

Another great inspector McLean epic gripping stuff, but I must be improving my own investigation skills as I had guessed the culprit early on correctly

Again... a nice easy, and quick read... storyline is good. Still don't care for Duguid... that storyline just adds bulk to the book without any purpose. Overall a good read, and definitely looking forward to the next in the series.