Written in Bones
Inspector McLean 7

Doing my best to catch up on series I love. This book is a great addition to this series. A real good story line has you gripped from the start.
Tony McLean is on his first day back at work after events that happened previously. A suspicious death. A body found in an odd place. Just how it got there or why it is there is a complete puzzle. One that McLean and his team will need to work hard at to solve.
Fantastic story with amazing characters. If you have not read this seriesI can really recommend it.

Not getting the support you need as an investigating detective is par for the course in the detective thriller genre. However, for Tony McLean a detective inspector with a nose for coincidences, he sniffs a whiff of corruption. In a case of a man falling from the sky to his death, progress in finding the method and the culprit goes at a snails pace. We have to wait until the big reveal at the end for the whole picture come in to focus and it's a truly thrilling finale. For entertainment value alone I would give it five stars but I would have to knock a star off as it was too far fetched for me.

So, I have finally reached the point that I got to last time when reading this series and it has only reminded me just how much I enjoy it and how I am glad that my sister encouraged me to pick up the first one.
The book opens with the body of a man falling from the sky into a tree with the only witness, a young boy walking his dog, convinced that a dragon was responsible. DI Tony McLean was hoping for a nice quiet return to work following his leave, but instead he found himself called to investigate this very strange case. As he digs into the case it brings to light an unsolved murder that for what ever reason senior officers do not want him digging too deeply into which if you have been reading the earlier books in the series is like a red rag for McLean and has him poking his nose into the old files with the help of Duguid.
This case is certainly stretching Tony and the team as they struggle to work out who wanted the victim dead and why. Despite him being a disgraced police officer, he had turned his life around and was now the head of a charity working with drug addicts. His colleagues can’t think of a reason anyone would want him dead but there is definitely someone out there trying to make things hard for Tony and the team.
As he fights against his superiors to ensure that the case is resolved and not swept under the carpet you do have to wonder sometimes why he stays in the force, he doesn’t need the stress and he certainly doesn’t need the money and he is never going to win any popularity contests. If the case is going to be troublesome you can bet he will be right in the middle of it no matter what.
Written in Bones sees McLean working with a new team of recruits and whilst it is refreshing to see how he interacts with them and mentors them, I kind of miss the Grumpy Bob and co. Don’t panic too much they are still there but very much a supporting act this time. As ever Tony manages to put himself in danger during the course of his investigation’s courtesy this time of a face from the past. It’s as though his quest to solve the crime means more that his own safety, a fact that doesn’t ever go down too well with Emma, who is also suffering with her health again, but what they discover will certainly make the future interesting.
I am now off to venture into new territory with book 8 and see just how much trouble Tony can get himself into next.

Although this is the 7th book in the series, it is the first one I have read and there is nothing I love more than finding a new series to delve into! I really like the character of Tony and it was a really interesting plot.

Great book - 4 stars

I absolutely adore James Oswald. I think I am a little bit in love with Inspector McLean. The characters in this series are brilliant and I like how they are involved with his Con Fairchild series. I always mark my calendar for the latest James Oswald.

"When a body is found in a tree in The Meadows, Edinburgh's scenic parkland, the forensics suggest the corpse has fallen from a great height.

Detective Inspector Tony McLean wonders whether it was an accident, or a murder designed to send a chilling message?"

A really dark tense thriller right from the outset and a book that I could not put down. A great introduction to James Oswald for me.

I have never read any of James Oswald's books before and it may have been helpful to have done so it didn't take me long to get to grips with the character of Tony McLean and become involved in the story. Any story that starts with a body coming down from a great height & becoming entangled in a tree has certainly got to grab the attention! He also describes Edinburgh in the depths of a Scottish winter to a T!
This was an gripping police procedural tale and there are lots of ins & outs and lots to keep you guessing. The characters were interesting and engaging. A great read.

I chose to read and review an eARC of Written in Bones but that has in no way influenced my review.

Oh the perils of NetGalley. Imagine the scene. Wherever you look, crime fiction readers are raving about an author and your FOMO seriously kicks in. Everywhere I looked on social media, the name James Oswald was being mentioned. The need to read a book by Oswald went from being 'vaguely intrigued' to 'epically strong', so I toddled off to NG and requested Written in Bones. Only to discover that it's the seventh book in the DI Tony McLean series . Book seven. Now, I don't mind going into a series partway through, but knowing I had missed out on six earlier books had me worried. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with DI McLean and team, but I did feel a little lost at times. If you're coming to this series for the first time, then I would strongly suggest that you start at the beginning as I felt I struggled a little not knowing the history of these characters.

McLean is called to a crime scene in The Meadows and what he finds is like nothing he's seen before. An ex-police officer with a notorious past is found dead in a tree. By the looks of things, Bill Chalmers was dropped from a great height. The 10-year-old boy who discovered the body tells of hearing a dragon whilst out walking his dog. But surely that can't be the case, can it...? McLean is at a loss. Taking a microscope to Chalmers' colourful life, they struggle to find why anyone would want him dead and in such an elaborate fashion to boot! Staff shortages, the sudden retreat of many of the senior officers and an eye witness account of a mythical beast, all muddy the waters. How far does McLean have to dig into the past to discover what really happened to Bill Chalmers and more importantly, why...?

I really liked DI Tony McLean. I read a lot of crime fiction, particularly police procedurals, and I enjoy it when an author gives their lead detective a different spin. McLean's wealth and his determination to get the job done at any cost made him a memorable character. He doesn't need to keep the bosses onside, and does whatever it takes and upsets whoever he needs to, to get the job done. I can see why this is such a popular series and why Oswald is a much-admired writer. I absolutely loved the cold, snowy setting of Edinburgh and could easily picture the scene as McLean drove through the streets in his vintage Alfa. I liked the way the treacherous weather hampered the investigation. It was almost a character in itself!

I found the plot a little confusing but I think that's because there are quite a few key characters at play and I was meeting them for the first time. Had I had some experience or knowledge of the cast, then perhaps I would have been able to get to grips with the plot a little quicker. Rather than having to refer to my notes a lot of the time to remind myself who was who and what I knew about them up until that point.

Would I recommend this book? Sort of. I would recommend that you start at the beginning of the series with Natural Causes and work your way up to Written in Bones. There's a lot of pressure on authors to make sure each of their books 'stand alone' but I feel there's been too much water under the bridge for that to be the case with this book. I came into Written in Bones expecting to not fully understand all of the references to previous cases and to not be familiar with the characters. That's what you get when you start a series partway through. But I felt I had been left out of the cool group at school, a little on the periphery and watching the action from afar. Not really understanding exactly what was going on. I loved Oswald's writing, his characters and his bitterly cold Edinburgh, and would happily (gladly!) read more. Just in the right order this time.

I chose to read and review an eARC of Written in Bones. The above review is my own unbiased opinion.

**3.5 stars rounded up to 4 for Amazon and Goodreads**

This is a fantastic police crime thriller which grabs the reader and puts them right in the heart of the action from the very start! The author is skilled at bringing everything to life in the imagination of the reader

I have loved the opportunity to spend time researching novels to re-stockl our senior bookshelves in the school library that plays a central role in the life of the school. When I first took over the library was filled with dusty tomes that were never borrowed and languished there totally unloved.
Books like this, play a central role in ensuring that the library is stocked with fresh relevant fiction that appeals to the readers. It has a strong voice and a compelling plot that ensures that you speed through its pages, enjoying both its characterisation and dialogue whilst wanting to find out how all of its strands will be resolved by the end.
I have no hesitation in adding this to the 'must buy' list so that the senior students and staff of the school can enjoy it as much as I did. This is a gripping read that will be sure to grip its readers whether they are fans of this genre or coming to it for the first time through our now-thriving school library recommendation system. Thanks so much for allowing me to review it!

I have never read an Inspector McLean story before and it was obvious that there were characters in this book who had featured in past books and were quite relevant to the story line. However, this did not detract from my enjoyment of the story. James Oswald managed to summon up a great literary picture of a very snowy inhospitable Scotland where his detective work was not enhanced by the copious snow fall. When a man's body is found in the top of a tree, Inspector McLean has to not only prove who killed him but also how he got into the tree in the first place. The twisting tale throws up drug dealing and police corruption but also manages to delve into the Inspector's home life. He manages to solve the mystery but in the last chapter receives some unexpected and happy news on a more personal level!

Written in Bones is the 7th book in the Inspector McLean series but I felt it could be read on its own or if you haven’t read some of the others.
McLean is back from a 3 month suspension and starts work on a case of a drugged man who has fallen to his death. Was it murder? If so Why? His investigations leads him to look into the possibility that some senior members of the team could be involved!.
It is a very well written book with a lovely flow to the story keeping up interest and those pages turning.

Written In Bones by James Oswald
Set in Edinburgh, Oswald's Detective Tony MacLean books never fail to appeal to me. They are beautifully, almost, poetically, written in parts and this, the seventh in the series is brilliant. A body is found in a tree in The Meadows in Edinburgh and seemingly it fell from a great height. As ever the slight paranormal element to these books enhances the prosaicness of the normal police procedural. i always feel I've experienced another side of Edinburgh when I read his books. Brilliant!

Leading the investigation is DI Tony McLean, though right from the start it's an uphill climb, as police funding cuts, and the insistence from his superiors that he brings this investigation to a swift conclusion, certainly ramp up the pressure for him. Even the weather appears to conspire against him, as a prolonged spell of snow and ice threatens to lengthen the investigation process.

The victim turns out to have a very colourful past - he's a local disgraced former cop, turned criminal kingpin, turned philanthropist.

McLean has to dig deep to get to the heart of this crime, but there are those who would prefer that he just scraped the surface rather than dig too deeply where secrets like to stay hidden.

Despite the many obstacles placed in his way, DI McLean is nothing if not tenacious, working his way through numerous leads, barely giving a thought to his own needs, given that he's not in the best of health. It was a good read.

Again I would have liked to have read the earlier books first, although this is a standalone it just would have been nice to read them.

A very good read for lovers of this genre, especially when you feel you've exhausted arguably better novels from Peter Robinson, Peter James and Ian Rankin! I enjoyed it but with one or two niggles. I felt some of the characters (especially the senior officers) were stereotypical and one dimensional. The basic scenario in this as in the works of the other authors referred to above, rests on the 'maverick hero outsmarting his superiors' yet again and it is perhaps getting a bit tired. Despite this, I enjoyed the read and found it hard to put down!

A taut and complex police procedural where the solution is not what you expected.
Whilst there are references to previous occurrences - this is the 7th book in the series - this did not distract from, or impede the current story.
This was my first book by this author and I was very taken by the clean style and concise method of storytelling.
I liked the characters but did guess the mystery illness quite early on as I recognised the symptoms! What I also suspected was what the drug was that was used as I have come across this in other stories.
So because I did guess some elements it is down to 4 (4.5) rather than 5 stars.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book.
Strong characters
Intriguing plot
well written
Well worth a read

DI McLean returns to work after injury and suspension to an immediate case involving an ex copper with a drug history. Oswald has a huge cast of characters very well portrayed and varied in nature. The story line is good with several twists and turns. I read this without reading the preceding books in the series and would recommend against that. However overall it was an enjoyable read

I tried really hard with this book because it was set in Edinburgh and I know Edinburgh and I like to 'recognise' places in books to help set the scene. I tried on more than 3 occasions to 'get into' the book unfortunately however this one was just not for me.

"'You kiss your mother with that mouth?' she asked, and before he could say anything else he was in an arm lock on the ground."

I found this to be a really quick, light read. I don't read that many crime dramas/ mysteries but I really enjoyed this one. I received this from netgalley and didn't realise it was the 7th in a series before now however it was easy enough to read as a standalone. I'm contemplating picking the other books up at a later date.

McLean had a strange murder to try and solve in this one which consisted of a dead guy hanging out of a tree.. First time I've ever heard of that one. I loved the characters of Emma, McLean and Harrison to name but a few and I enjoyed seeing them picking up clues and putting stuff together as they went along and all of the pieces fitting into place.

All in all a very easy and enjoyable read.