Love this Author so thank you Netgalley. Love Tony McLean and the whole series of books about him and his team and Edinburgh. I think it would be best to read these books in order so with that will not say no more but what are you waiting for

I thought this was a fairly competent but rather uninspiring police procedural. It is the seventh in a series which I hadn't come across before but it can be read as a stand-alone book.

It's a good opening: a body falls and is impaled on a large tree in Edinburgh, and it's unclear how or why he got there and even who the victim is. A story then unfolds of murder, drug gangs, suspicions of police corruption and so on. To me the whole thing felt a bit clunky and artificial, from the hostile senior officer to "the press are going to be all over this" and the inevitable Maverick Investigator with Complications In His Personal Life in DI Tony McLean. There are also some pretty gaping plot holes (What was the significance of the samples on McLean's handkerchief? Why were places turned over? etc. etc.) At one point McLean is explaining things to his team and we're told, "The more McLean spoke it out loud, the more outlandish it sounded." And the climax (you've guessed it, a One-To-One confrontation with the True Arch-Villain) is simply ludicrous, I'm afraid. (It would be too much of a spoiler to list all the absurdities, but I honestly said "Oh, for heavens' sake!" out loud several times.)

The writing is OK but there is some very clunky structure and dialogue; for example, people say "You know as well as I do…" an awful lot (on one occasion it happens twice in the same conversation, in the space of just a couple of paragraphs). Hardly anyone says that in real life; it's just a clumsy device to get information to the reader by having one character tell another something they already know. An experienced author should be able to do better – and there are a lot of other things about which I felt the same. Stale usages like "his bundle of joy" and "the bowels of the earth," for example, crop up far too often and dreadful clichés like "they were as different as chalk and cheese" really won't do in any serious piece of writing.

I did finish the book because I wanted to know the answer to the mystery, but it was so unsatisfactory that in the end I wasn't sure I should have bothered. Penguin are shortly to reissue the whole series but after I don't think I'll be reading the earlier ones, and I can't really recommend Written In Bones.

I loved this book it is the first one I have read in the series but I shall be going back to read the other 6 as there are questions I would like answered ,but the book stands well on it's own merit .I loved the characters and actually felt I was there with them .A body dropped from the sky into a tree had me gripped from the beginning and the story carried along at a good pace ,a real page turner .Brilliant !!!

I jut love this series of books and am now looking forward to the next instalment. Death, drugs and corruption - what more could you ask from a crime investigation series? Maybe a sprinkle of weirdness and a hint of the occult? It's all here in the Inspector McLean series. Fabulous.

I had not read a book by this author before so I was not familiar with this character. As it turned out any previous knowledge was unnecessary. The back story was hinted at and only a little of it was referred to. I enjoyed the gruff character although in line with most detectives of this ilk a bit improbable in the was he was injured but still kept going doggedly onward to solve the case!

This is book 8 in a series and I think the reader would enjoy it more if they had read the previous books. Several references to older cases were not fully explained, which left me with the feeling that I was missing a lot of background to the story, and the characters. However, the plot develops nicely, places are described well, and the ending is interesting if a little far fetched. I do find it annoying that so many detectives in so many books go off on their own, without sending for backup or telling their team where they are, and end up in a life threatening situation.

I was interested in this book because it was set in Edinburgh, my home. It's always good to be able to picture the area being described. I didn't realise from the description, that the book was number 7 in a series. It can stand alone but there were many references to events from previous stories. It is a good read with a fast moving plot, very typical of a police drama, i felt.

Edinburgh-based police procedural – well worth a read

This is the seventh Metcalfe detective novel and previous volumes are referred to during the book. Not having read these, I still found this novel accessible and an easy read. It deals with a body falling out of the sky and the repercussions of this murder: it uncovers police corruption, drug dealing, murder and other nefarious activities.

Characterisation is very good and the novel is engaging and enjoyable. The plot is well put together and original. I recommend this to all lovers of well-written detective fiction.

I struggled to get into this book was a slow burner, I finally got into it and enjoyed the last third of the book. Liked the main character McLean and Harrison.

I only found out about James Oswald and the Inspector Maclean books by chance on a visit to Edinburgh at the end of 2016 so was very keen to read and review this latest in what is a 7 book series to date. As a fan of detective novels and Scottish writing this promised to be a pleasing read. The book starts off with immediate action which pleased me. No long drawn out story for the murder which will form the backbone of the book. Maclean is well characterised but there are rather too many other characters, some of whom seem to be quite similar to each other and many of whom the book assumes reader knowledge from prior books in the series. I found there were also rather a lot of story threads which were dependent on prior knowledge meaning the book has a bit of difficulty standing alone. While it is good to develop characters through a series it is not great if the new reader gets a bit lost. Much of the book reads as a fairly straight forward police procedural with other professionals (forensics and pathology) given their place. However the final chapters of the book stretch credulity and I did not feel were well explained. Many threads are left untied and events left unresolved. If this is a device to encourage readers to read the next in the series this should not be necessary. I will give the author and the series another read as much of the book was enjoyable, particularly the development of the new DCs and their relationships to each other.

I hadn't read any of the other books in this detective series but I shall certainly be giving them a go now. Entertaining look at the seedy side of Edinburgh begins with a very unusual murder when a victim is flung from the sky into a tree. The only eyewitness is sure it was a dragon but that's pretty unlikely to be true. My only downside was the connection between the very likeable Inspector McLean and the evil Mrs Saifre which was reminiscent of the tedious Rebus/Cafferty relationship. I hope the other McLean stories are as enjoyable.

This is the 7th book in the Inspector McLean series and I simply do not understand why I have not read the previous 6 books. That’s certainly something I will put right very shortly. I’m sure it helps to have read the first 6, but that did not stop me enjoying Written in Bones immensely and it works fine as a stand-alone book.
The writing really flows well. D.I.McLean is a likeable character; his interactions with his colleagues are often terse and difficult but believable.
A wee boy walking his dog finds a dead man stuck on a tree near Jawbone Walk in the Meadows in Edinburgh. The boy tells McLean that a dragon dropped the body there. McLean realises that the body is an ex-colleague – a corrupt officer who served time in prison and then rehabilitated started a charity to help drug addicts, and has since become extremely well connected.
McLean’s investigations are made more difficult by the fact that his bosses, senior officers at the station are seemingly engaged in a back covering exercise and he has to resort to old contacts to get to the truth.
When he realises that an old enemy is likely to be behind this death, his investigations become more life threatening and when his partner, Emma falls ill he is seriously concerned. More deaths follow before McLean and his colleague, P.C. Harrison, co-opted from the beat to help in his enquiries, are able to follow the tangled web of clues to reveal the true perpetrator.
This was a really good book and the complicated plot was brought to life through excellent tale telling and really strong characterisation with good descriptive passages. The seedy side of Edinburgh is beautifully contrasted with the affluent political capital in a way which underlines the incessant struggle between privilege and poverty.
Highly recommended.

James Oswald is one of my favourite authors so I was delighted to be given the opportunity to read and review the latest in the Tony McLean series. I am pleased I had read the previous books in the series but the plot was easily followed. The book opens dramatically with a body found in a tree near the home of a murdered criminal. The complex plot unwinds with twists and turns and an underlying menace. In previous books in the series the supernatural aspect seemed superfluous but this time I felt the author had got it right. It is still there but adds atmosphere without becoming silly. McLean is a likeable character who is human rather than the trend for highly flawed that some crime authors seem to hook onto. Looking forward to the next adventure. Will add positive review to Amazon after publishing date.

An enjoyable, dark, gritty thriller that weaves one way and the next leading to what you think are the answers to the many unanswered questions that this murder mystery throws up.

Truly brilliant.

A body is dropped from the sky, landing skewered in the bare branches of a tree in a wintery Edinburgh. DI Tony McLean is tasked firstly with identifying the deceased and then uncovering the murderer and motive. It is a complex plot involving previous crimes and office politics.
Although this is the seventh book in the series, and I have not read his previous novels, it still worked well as a standalone. It is an excellent police procedural, well written and it gripped my interest throughout. I am not sure how I overlooked this author but I will certainly read more of his books. I thoroughly recommend it.

Once again James Oswald has written a book with lots of twists and turns to keep the reader guessing. This is one of those books that you know you ought to stop reading because you've got other things to do - but you just can't put down! I've read all the books in the series and have read them in order, but although there are references to the previous novels this book can be read and enjoyed without having to have read them. I'm just wondering when someone is going to realise that Insp McLean, Emma and his colleagues would make excellent TV drama as they're such good characters. Roll on the next in the series (I hope it's soon!)

Written in Bones by James Oswald

For a few moments, the man in the sky thinks he might be flying. Until he smashes into a tree. And with death comes the realisation that this had been a terrible final fall. It’s no easy matter to get the body disentangled from the tree but once it is, it falls to Inspector Tony McLean to discover his identity and find out who is responsible. Matters are complicated by the young boy who found the body – or, rather heard its impact – when out walking his dog. The child is the son of a notorious criminal, murdered a few weeks before the boy’s birth ten years before. Nobody really wants to talk about that. Perhaps it’s time they did. McLean doesn’t believe in coincidences, especially not the weird ones.

Written in Bones is the seventh novel in James Oswald’s fine Inspector McLean series – one of my favourites – and it goes from strength to strength. McLean doesn’t have the best of relationships with his superiors and this is partly because McLean is particularly adept at uncovering the strange and the unusual. He discounts nothing and is prepared to prove the impossible possible. Sometimes in these novels there’s a hint of something inexplicable, almost other worldly, but it’s always subtly treated, just adding to the undercurrent of criminal evil that flows beneath these streets and houses. McLean, better than anyone, can tap into it. The resulting stories are clever, gripping and extremely atmospheric, set so well in Edinburgh and brilliantly written by James Oswald.

As with most fictional detectives, McLean has a history and homelife that influences his career but it never intrudes. I love his unusual home and his complicated relationship with the cat. And then there’s the car. How McLean loves his car. McLean is a fascinating individual even before he begins a crime case and he’s backed up by some other intriguing characters, such as Grumpy Bob and Call-me-Stevie. The senior police officers are an extraordinary bunch. Even the police station is a little bit odd with one newer building built on top of the basement of another. People like to think it’s haunted even though McLean insists it isn’t. In Written in Bones, there’s another factor affecting its mood – a bleak, frozen Scottish winter. You can feel the chill in your bones. This book might have fewer hints of the supernatural than some of the others but it more than makes up for this with mood.

The story is such a good one and makes use of previously encountered individuals, although no other knowledge of the series is needed to enjoy Written in Bones. As usual, McLean goes his own way in his investigations but he has the full support of his junior officers. Tony McLean is such a likeable man. His bosses might not get on with him but everyone else does. Here, McLean has to break in a new detective constable and I really enjoyed the pages that the two share.

These books are always hard to put down and Written in Bones is no different. James Oswald is such a fine, elegant writer, as brilliant at creating mood as he is characters and plot. Not surprisingly, Written in Bones went straight to the top of my reading pile as soon as it arrived and it rewarded me with such a brilliant, gripping read. If you’ve yet to read these books, you have such a treat in store.

Other reviews
Natural Causes
The Damage Done

I absolutely love this series. It is one of the series which I would credit with enticing me back to reading in earnest. It is certainly the series that introduced me to the works of Stuart MacBride (readers of the series will understand why) and to be honest, since I started reading again, I have never looked back. I was absolutely stoked to lay my hands on an ARC of this just before Christmas, but knowing I would have to wait for the next instalment, I tried my hardest to hold off reading. And I did. For over a month. But then I gave into temptation. And for me, with these books, it is very much a tub of Pringles. Once I pop, I can't stop.

Oh, oh, oh what a story. Following on from the events in The Damage Done, Tony McLean has been on extended leave from the force and it is his first day back when he is called out to a suspicious death. Suspicious in as much as the body is skewered on the branch of a tree and eye witness reports about how he got there are beyond belief. As they learn more about the victim, his ties not only to the community but to the police force, McLean's intuition kicks in and the strange coincidences surrounding the case to become too much to dismiss.

Now in this book McLean's life has been in disarray due to his suspension. The Cold Case Unit he had been temporarily reassigned to is under threat, and he has been trying to find his stride in his personal relationship. He comes up against antagonists galore, all trying to derail his investigation for reasons unknown and all of his allies seem to be pulled away from Edinburgh, perhaps as a means to isolate him. So it is with a very strange feeling in my heart when I say that in this book I actually started to like Duguid. Yes. Seriously. The man who used to make McLean's life hell... Well, he's actually a real straight talker and in this book especially, the man done good.

The tension in this book is palpable. You can see the undercurrent of corruption and McLean's investigations once again bring him close to uncovering the true extent of the lies. And there were so many times when I felt my heart was in my mouth, partly because of the way people were trying to derail the investigation but also because there are two moments where McLean's life is placed in absolute peril. I am not sure whether he is the luckiest or unluckiest Detective on the planet but the little bubble of protection he finds within his home needs to come in a travel pack I think. Either that or he should consider a job where he can work from home.

There are some very familiar characters who resurface in this book, some good and some very, very bad. I kind of miss MacBride (he could be a muppet but he was fun) and there was a lot less of the old guard with Grumpy Bob, Dalgliesh and Ritchie taking more of a back seat. That said, the characters we were introduced to were great and very well developed, even in the short window we had with them. But the pièce de résistance is the reemergence of Ms Saifre. Remember her from Dead Men's Bones? Well, yep. She's back. At least... well you'll see when you read it. And you must, must read it. It's full of all the twists and turns you would expect from this author; the beautiful supernatural come otherworldly tones that I adore and a few other surprises to make you smile along the way. And maybe it's fair to say our author was missing one his other fabulous creations when he wrote this as there are echoes of the tales throughout.

And then that final bombshell. Oh poor McLean. That's a game changer for sure.

As I said, absolutely love this series and Written In Bones is yet another superb offering. I wish I could unread this and read again. I regret racing through this in just two short evenings. To be fair I started reading at 10 pm and stayed up until 3 am racing through the first half of this book, and if it hadn't been for that blasted thing called work, I'd have read it all in one sitting. There are just some books that can do that to you and this was most definitely one.

A massive, fire-breathing, corruption busting 5 stars from me.

My thanks to NetGalley and publishers Michael Joseph for the ARC of Written In Bones. You truly made my day. My apologies to poor author James Oswald, who I am going to stalk for a signature at the book launch in Edinburgh tonight. (Sorry, not sorry 😂 )

Really enjoyed this book, have like the whole series so far and this one did not disappoint.

Was well written as always, good characters and an interesting storyline. Can be read as a stand alone but there will be some questions that can only be answered by previous books.

One very small criticism, character of Ruth Tennant was the same name the whole way through apart from in one scene where she became Joan Tennant?? Unless this was very different character who just slipped in?

Look forward to the next book very much.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishers for giving me the opportunity to read the book in exchange for an honest review.

I am unable to review this book as the formatting was very poor e.g lines dropped mid sentence, no separation for changes of situation / scene. I struggled on to 30% and gave up. I have enjoyed this author's work in the past and didn't want to spoil a book I would buy once edited.