Tony McLean is back with a new case that's every bit as addictive and twisty as ever. I hope there's more to come.

This is the thirteenth book in the series featuring DI McLean. I must admit I haven’t read them all but found that the book read well as a stand-alone. DI McLean retired at the end of the last book to care for his partner Emma who had suffered a stroke, so the lead investigator in this case is DS Janie Harrison as they haven’t found a suitable replacement for him. She is called out to investigate the discovery of a body in an old ruined church. The death doesn’t appear to be suspicious but when more bodies are found in similar places it seems to point to the work of the criminal underworld. Janie persuades McLean to be a consultant on the case as he had been involved with the dead men when he was an officer. This was a fast paced book, with excellent police procedure and an authentic storyline. A really enjoyable read.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me the opportunity to read and review this book.

After my catch-up blitz on the Inspector McLean series, I had to wait like everyone else for the next one in the series to be published so I didn’t want to rush in as I knew then I would have to wait a while for book 14 and I am not always the most patient of people. I have caved though and although I am so glad that I did and I was soon back in the middle of the investigation and as ever when Tony McLean is involved you can expect something otherworldly to make an appearance.
When the police are called to a disused church in Edinburgh they have to quickly remove the body of one-time ex-con Kenny Morgan before the building collapses on him. DS Janie Harrison soon finds herself action SIO on the case with a temporary promotion to DI as Tony is currently not working with the team. That is not to say he is not aware of what is going on as he is soon co contacted by Morgan’s former boss who believes there is more to the death that is being reported and he wants McLean to find out who is responsible.
Janie is determined to get to the bottom of this case especially when two more men are found dead in churches with crosses burned into their foreheads. Although Tony is not really involved (not at the beginning) his influence on how she conducts her investigation are definitely there, the insistence on getting involved in the work that maybe detective constables could do (as its quicker to do it herself) and the fact that she constantly goes against what her boss tells her to do. There are times when both she and the reader think that she is out of her depth but one thing she is more than capable of handling is the unwanted attention of her drunken boss even if it could possibly scupper her chance at permanent promotion.
What she does have going for her is that she knows her team and they know her so they work as hard as they can to solve the case and even have a bit of gentle teasing with her over her promotion and its great to see her really show what she is made of without the buffer of McLean. That being said, fans of the series know that Tony won’t stay away no matter what he says and when even Emma appears to have had enough of his “help” and encourages him to go back to work as a consultant he really doesn’t take long to go back to his old habits and that includes putting himself in harms way.
At the core of this book is an historic crime, one of abuse of a child who, now grown up believes his abuse is still alive but what this has to do with the murders is not very clear until near the end and the ending whilst does wrap the investigation up is actually quite sad and has you feeling that in some way the perpetrator had been let down over the years. I can honestly say I love this series and am now back to waiting (not patiently) for book 14

James Oswald is an author of police procedural books par excellence. I have read all of the ones he has published and never fail to be impressed. Once you start to read them you will enjoy all of his books from start to finish. Starting his books is like putting on an old pair of gloves in that they are so easy to get into.

I highly recommend this book if you are into crime writing.

Looking forward to the next one already!

A police procedural set in and around Edinburgh. A new series for me, but reads fine as a standalone and I will definately look to read more by this author. Told by different narrators, this book has a good pace, even though the team seem a little stumped by the case half way through. I like the no nonsense attitudes of Jaynie and the retired Tony. Pete, Jaynie's senior made my skin creep (the intention) . I would have liked to know a little more about Jaynie's homelife, other than she is is working long days and living on take-away pizza, perhaps a disadvantage of starting a series with episode 13.
All in all a great read though, thanks to Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review

In an obvious departure from the previous Inspector McLean books this one does not feature the eponymous detective as the main character, at least not until quite late on in the story. That's not to say the writing suffers because of it, indeed it could be argued the new perspective actually allows the book to explore new situations. Some of those are a little predictable, the sleazy senior officer who has a 'reputation' which he exhibits in ways that are almost cartoon like, being a bit of a cliche. However the main storyline does enough to engage and maintain interest. As always there are some elements of the story that hint towards the slightly supernatural so some readers may find themselves a little frustrated if this is not of their liking.

Thrilling new Inspector McClean novel. Janie Harrison is promoted to Acting Detective Inspector. A body is found in an old church soon there's more. Tony McClean has left the force to look after his partner, can Harrison step up? Love the McClean series and this is no exception. Plenty of twists along the way. Thanks to Headline and Netgalley for a review copy.

A thrilling 13th instalment in this tartan noir police procedural with a spooky twist. Retired Detective Inspector McLean takes a back seat and his protege Harrison takes the lead as acting DI. Three aging gangsters are found murdered in very unusual circumstances. Is this a turf war or is something more sinister at work? A welcome refresh to the series.

This might be the 13th book in this series but it is no less a riveting read and slightly different to the previous ones as it focuses more on Acting Detective Inspector Janie Harrison with McLean taking a bit of a back step. Whilst this may not please everyone, I for one enjoyed it and because of this, you can definitely read this is as a standalone although I would definitely recommend you delve into previous books to get the backstories of the main characters and an understanding of the nuances of their individual stories.

For Our Sins is a story of death under strange circumstances. It has the usual great plot with all the twists and turns you would expect and with a touch of the supernatural thrown in to make this more than the usual police procedural that all blends together seamlessly to give an engaging and totally engrossing read.

I would highly recommend reading any of the books in the series especially if you enjoy something a bit different than the usual police procedurals and I must give thanks to Headline, Wildfire and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of yet another great read in this fantastic series.

Janine Harrison gets made acting DI in another page turning crime story by one of the 'must read' authors in the genre.
Where James Oswold succeeds is his believable plots, with an added touch of the supernatural. The theme running through the book is one of aging, both from McClean's perspective now he's retired from the force and the aging gangster at the centre of the story.

With McLean now retired the baton is passed to Janie Harrison to investigate major crimes in Edinburgh. When a body is found in a partially collapsed church it is ruled as a heart attack but when two more victims are found in churches and there is a link between them all then it appears there is a killer on the loose. Add in the fact that the men are all associates in an organised crime group and that Janie's new boss is rather difficult, McLean starts to question whether retirement is a good idea.
I really like Oswald's books and the McLean series is especially strong. Here there is a sound plot, a few little twists and some philosophy about ageing, all of which works really well.

A true page turner. DS Janie Harrison steps up to the mark to solve this intricate case and her character grows within it. Her guide and mentor DI MacLean is persuaded out of ‘semi retirement’ to help the badly overstretched police service solve actricky series of ritual murders involving a touch of gangland Some very current issues are dealt with within the story line and Oswald has given credence to ‘girl power’.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wildfire for my copy of For Our Sins by Janes Oswald.
It seems I am very late to the party as this is the 13th book in the series but the first one I have read.
I don’t know how I’ve missed them.
DI McLean has retired to look after his partner Emma, after she suffered a stroke, but she’s well in the mend now so when he gets drawn into a suspicious death as a consultant Emma is fully supportive of him taking it on.
I enjoyed this book and found it easy to pick up the back story.

A man has been found dead in a disused church. Because a wall has collapsed on him, the pathologists verdict of a heart attack means that it's not a murder enquiry. When another man, who also has ties to a local gangster, is found dead in another disused church, the team realise that all is not what it seems.
DS Jannie Harrison is tasked with investigating in the absence of a DI as DI McLean still has not been replaced. Her taks is made all the more difficult by the new Detective Superintendent who has come from Aberdeen and is making life complicated for her in more ways than one.
A twisting, complex tale of murder, abuse and religion. A good read.

The partial collapse of a disused Edinburgh church reveals a dead body in the rubble, his head badly smashed by falling masonry. Soon identified as an old ex-con, Kenny Morgan his death is put down to a heart attack and deemed non-suspicious. Tony McLean is approached by a notorious crime lord who suggests the police should be looking into Morgan's death more closely. But when a second man is found dead in another disused church, his forehead branded with a cross, this time it is clearly murder.
The thirteenth outing for Tony & the team & it could be read on its own, I love this series & look forward to each new addition a highlight of my reading year. Tony takes a back seat in this book as he handed in his resignation six months ago so he could care for Emma as she recovers from her stroke. However his post hasn’t been filled & this intriguing case falls on Janie Harrison’s shoulders & boy does she step up to the mark. There are old friends & some new additions including Peter Nelson who made my skin crawl from the first meeting – as Tony & Janie would say ‘something was off’. The case takes twists & turns & at times I wondered how things were linked or even if they were linked. From the abuse of choir boys to trafficking to an aging crime boss & his close associates being branded. The author does hold any punches but builds the picture & lets your imagination fill in the blanks. I love how Janie came into her own & look forward to future books & how she develops as a DI. A very well written, fast paced book with strong characters & an intriguing storyline. I thoroughly enjoyed it & highly recommend it
Despite struggling with his recent retirement, he is reluctant to involve himself.
My review is for a special copy I voluntarily read

Regular readers of James Oswald will know that waiting for this instalment of the Tony McLean series has, at times, felt like a very long time indeed. But now the time has arrived and we see that it is Janie Harrison that is taking the front and centre lead in this gruesome investigation.

Tony McLean has put in his retirement papers. He is determined to put all his time and effort into making sure his partner Emma recovers her health. He hasn’t been replaced but DS Janie Harrison has been made Acting DI, despite not having taken her Inspectors exams – and is not entirely sure she wants to either. As McLean’s protégée she also suffers from many of his flaws including that she hates the paperwork and loathes the idea of being office bound.

She’s also completely creeped out by her loathsome boss, Detective Superintendent Peter Nelson, a transfer from Aberdeen. Nelson is boozy and handsy – a particularly poor combination and Janie has to be on her toes to avoid his none too subtle advances.

The case begins when Janie is called out to a dead body that has narrowly avoided being trapped in a disintegrating church. Though there’s no evidence of foul play, the dead man is Kenneth Morgan, a serial offender who has been clean for the last ten years. What’s puzzling though, is that Morgan was a Catholic and this church, now derelict, was not.

It’s one of those niggling things that worries away at the back of Janie’s brain and when two more criminals turn up dead in churches, with distinctive marks branded on their foreheads. Is there a serial killer at work?

It doesn’t take too much to link all three of these dead men to gangland boss Archie Seagram. Seagram himself is concerned. He won’t, of course, reach out to the police, but he’s not above putting in a call to Tony McLean to let him know that this is no gangland war. He clearly wants McLean to investigate and McLean can see that Seagram is on edge, but he is determined to stick to his guns and focus on Emma.

Emma, meanwhile, is working with Madame Rose and she doesn’t really need Tony hanging around the house. That, and the fact that Madame Rose has a few thoughts on what’s going on – all conveyed in her usual cryptic fashion – is enough to at least lead him to call in at the Historic Cases Archive to take the temperature with Grumpy Bob and a newcomer to the unit, though not to Tony.

It’s great to meet pathologist Angus Cadwallader again too – though he is also heading for retirement. This is a book in which the old is making way for the new, but the echoes of the past are still swirling round and the gothic Edinburgh churches with their essence of past ghosts bring that home even more.

So Tony becomes involved as a consultant and Janie leads the way, and soon we see that there is a figure who links all three of these bodies. A diary from the 1980’s gives a strong motive for wanting revenge and a young boy writes of his trauma at the hands of a priest more than 30 years ago.

Resolving all this takes time and on the way Janie acquits herself magnificently, showing she has everything it takes to be a great D.I. even if she isn’t quite so sure. I loved the way that women lead from the front in this book, supportive and encouraging; justice is seen to be done inside the force as well as out.

Verdict: A fantastic addition to this series with lovely out of kilter notes and some subtle challenges to orthodox police proceedings. How lovely to see all our much loved characters back. There may be trouble ahead, but I’m looking forward to it!

I love this series, and at the end of the last book I was highly anxious about whether we’d seen the last of Tony McLean. This book sees his colleague, Janie, step up in his absence and I think this has given this series a good refresh.
The crimes involve some very unsavoury victims, found dead in local churches. There’s a back story about historic abuse, and some pretty horrible workplace harassment, which might be triggering for some readers,
The eventual resolution of these murders is thought-provoking, and asks questions of the reader. This is my favourite McLean book for some time.

For Our Sins by James Oswald is book 13 in the DI Tony McLean series. It is published on 15 February. I am a long-time reader of this series and was lucky enough to receive an ARC through Wildfire, Netgalley and the author. The Tony McLean takes a back seat in this series. He has been on long-term sick leave and possible retirement. DS Janie Harrison has had to step up as have the rest of the team as no replacement has been forthcoming to fill the empty DI position. A series of murdered hard-core criminals at old churches may lead back to an historic crime. During the course of the story, it is sprinkled with short flashbacks providing the reader with information about what happened in 1982-83. This series has some fascinating characters. Love Madame Rose, a medium as well as having other talents. There is also Angus Cadwallader, the pathologist who is easing into retirement with Tom MacPhail, his assistant, taking on a more leading role. I love this series and find each book a pleasure to read. For Our Sins is a great addition to the series.

For Our Sins is the 13th book in the Inspector McClean series by James Oswald, although it’s the first book I’ve read by James I’m now looking forward to reading the previous 12 in this series!
In short, the Major Investigation Team led by DS Janie Harrison is investigating a case which starts with a body found in a partially collapsed church but when another body is discovered in another church it would seem that they are linked to a disturbing historic crime.
It’s a cracking crime novel, the case itself is dark and sinister, however, the story is more than just about the investigation, it’s fully character driven giving plenty of fodder for further storylines. I loved it.
Big thanks to James Oswald, Headline and NetGalley for this eARC which I chose to read in return for my honest review.

I just love James Oswald. I will now just patiently wait for the next one humph! Tony McLean after Logan McRae is my book crush. I just think Tony is a great character. He ticks all the boxes, I just wish he had been in this book more but I do really like Janie so it was kind of acceptable. I really enjoyed this story. Well rounded characters and the ending was tied up neat and tidy. Highly recommended as always.