Dead Men's Bones: An Inspector McLean Mystery

I did not look at the information about this book before reading it, as a friend told me it was a detective novel...which it is. However, it is also a horror novel, and I don't do well with horror, either books or movies. It's written well, has interesting characters, good imagery and a cat, so it seemed perfect. The farther along I read in the book, though, it became more and more apparent where it was going, and eventually I had to stop reading it. This is my problem, and not a problem with how the book is written, so I'm sure people who enjoy this type of book should really like it. It's just not for me. I'm disappointed, because I thought I'd found a new detective series to enjoy.

I must be enjoying the series if i keep buying the books! The good thing about James Oswald's books is that there is no violence and swearing just for the sake of selling books. When used, these fit into the story, even though some of it is stomach churningly awful.I hate typos and grammatical mistakes, and I must say there are few, if any of these.The one thing that I do not like are all the para-normal inserts. In my opinion they add nothing to the story and could be left out. I tend to avoid any books that lean towards the occult and other weird episodes. The heart-warming bits concern a certain Mrs McCutcheon's cat. In my opinion, animals always bring that little something special to a book.

I only discovered James Oswald about four months ago. I have since read all four of his Inspector McLean novels; they are fantastic reading, real page turners. McLean is a police officer with an arrogant boss and a small cadre of loyal officers. In this book, he is assigned the case of an industrial tycoon who murdered first his two children, then his wife, and finally himself--on camera. The powers-that-be want the case closed as soon as possible and hushed up. McLean is in a no win situation when his boss urges him to keep working on it. If he solves it, he will be in trouble with the brass; if he doesn't solve it, he will appear incompetent and be in trouble with the brass. As the book draws to a close, McLean has an encounter with pure evil. He and his entire force of officers are endangered. Very difficult to put this one down.

I do enjoy James Oswald's Inspector McLean series. His writing, the well-developed, interesting characters, the wonderful complex plots which eventually intertwine with one another - all are a delight to mystery crime fiction readers. The area I most have difficult with is the use of the para-normal or supernatural as the reasoning and prime cause of the dastardly happenings. This seems to me to be an 'easy' way out for the author. Surely there is more than enough evil in mankind to satisfactorily provide more "normal" reasons for the many horrible crimes that mankind commits on him(her)self without blaming the deeds on ghostly visitations.I will continue reading other books in the series as I believe Mr Oswald's writing skills are second to none in the crime fiction genre.

A terrible disappointment. This book was recommended to me as a fan of British detective mysteries but I should have paid more attention to the blurbs on the Amazon page and noted the words "supernatural" and "ancient evil." It's not a bad detective story but when I was about 90% of the way through I realized that the solution to the mystery wasn't going to be ratiocinated Sherlock Holmes style. The solution to the central mystery, along with all the tantalizing loose ends, is religious/supernatural/fantasy, not human. Had I known this was a fantasy I wouldn't have purchased it as I was looking for a good whodunit.On the other hand, if you prefer The Exorcist to Sherlock Holmes you may like it.

I so enjoy getting lost in these Inspector McLean mysteries. The series has a dark side which fits so well in the city of Edinburgh. I think the building of characters with each book only adds to the reading experience. If you enjoy mystery with dark undertones and a touch of evil you won't be disappointed with this book or the series.

I have read the other books in the series and found them most entertaining. This is not. Boring to say the least. All talk and no action. No suspense and an incoherent storyline.. Total waste of time and money.

I love the Inspector McLean books. Oswald is a good writer, takes time to develop characters and has a great sense of humor. Being in Pennsylvania, I love reading about the Scottish environment and even went so far as to look up some of the places he writes about and I think Scotland is a very beautiful country. Good work!

The fourth book in this series, so once again we are given a great read. If you have not read any of the other books so far and this is the first one for you, then do not worry as this is a standalone tale, although if you have read the others you will know the main characters that bit better, and where there are references to some other cases, be fully aware of what happened with them.Here then DI Tony McLean finds himself busy. Starting with a body found in the river that is naked and covered in tattoos, it is not long until he is called to investigate the death of a MSP, who has killed his two daughters, his wife, and then blown his brains out. A seemingly simple case of a man becoming deranged, for those higher up in the Scottish government this looks like something which they need clearing up quickly, just a routine of crossing ts and dotting is. But Duguid unusually has told Tony to take his time and be thorough, and then it looks like Whitehall has sent a spook to tell him the same.Taking in police politics, the politics between the devolved Scottish parliament and that in England so there is a bit of skulduggery going on behind the scenes, and the way that we start to see certain links between what on the surface originally seem as two different cases is skilfully handled. Well written as with the other novels in this series, so we get to know the main characters that bit better still, and we have the first appearance of Mrs Saifre. With a lot of excitement and thrills along with the more normal investigating of the cases, so this makes for a relatively fast-paced read.Those familiar with this series will already know that there is a certain supernatural, indeed occult ambiguity that surrounds these tales, and of course it is most certainly here. Could Tony be investigating something outside the normal? After all there is the uncanny way that his main team seem to be put in harm’s way, and the unexpected illnesses and deaths of others, as well as the cats that seem to be keeping a quiet and watchful guard on Tony and his house. What I like with these books is the more mundane police procedural along with the quirky possibly supernatural element, which adds an extra layer to the story, and this certainly keeps you reading and wanting to know all the details.

Another Oswald story of Inspector McLean where again there is a supernatural background but it does not become apparent until later in the book. The links between the different threads are also difficult to detect in the early stages of the book which makes for a good read. There is also an air of truth about the book which means you need to keep reminding yourself that this is fiction. I also felt that the other characters in the book, although they have all appeared in previous stories, took on a more believable picture and the superintendent was far more believable. It is a good story but with all McLean investigations, he is unable to present the evidence that would convict the culprit. Good read.

This is book 4 in the Tony McLean series. I have read books 1 & 2 in this series but somehow missed the 3rd one. I keep coming back to these books because the plots are good, the characters are very well made and Tony McLean, the central character is a likable man. This book is no exception. It starts with a bang and I was immediately drawn into the story. It draws you on and the story lines which merge are made credible and exciting by good writing. There is a 'but' however. It flatters to deceive. The ending does live up to the promise of what has gone before and that it is a characteristic of the first two books in the series.When I read 'The Book of Souls' I found the ending very disappointing, reliant on the apparently supernatural rather than a carefully plotted and worked out end. On balance though I felt that what went before compensated for the let-down of the end.'Dead Men's Bones' winds up to a spectacular and explosive conclusion but the that's just the physical conclusion. Sadly the plot ending is not so thoroughly developed nor as satisfying. What a shame the ending lets down what had otherwise been a thoroughly good read.

I have enjoyed the first 3 books and I like the character of Tony McLean but as others have said this is a total load of utter drivel. Half hearted story lines, never coming together and never having a coherent ending. I'm so disappointed and feel throughly confused. I know some have said the author went supernatural with the ending but even that hasn't been written very well.

Review of a guilty pleasure. Inspector McLean novels are very entertaining and full of character, the first character being the Edinburgh real streets and fictional ones and the inhabitants of this city, the scottish element of language, CSI on steroids, and the police department, the inspector loves and hates, all make for a real treat especially if you know this ancient metropolis streets.McLean is a very likeable character, obsessed and persecuted by his superiors and the power that be in the city, political and darker ones, he has no financial needs and is more dangerous and obsessed than most police characters, do not get too close to him death walks by his side with no mercy for any one.This cases are not your everyday procedural faire but all tainted with a twist of the occult, it really should not work but it does and is a great deal of fun to jump into this world. you could read any of this stories on their own, as a matter of fact I sartet from the second book not knowing it was a series, it was just as much fun. Now I would not recommend to read this in a lonly large house, while the wind makes noise, you will begin by hearing voices and the creaking of the floor will increase as the clock approached midnight, apart from that a great read any other time.