Playing catch up with this series, I'm not sure what else I can say about these books that I haven't said in the past. Real page turners and thrilling. These books drag you in from the word go and don't let you go until the very last word. This author certainly knows how to write and knows what the readers want from a thrilling read. He manages to deliver this with each and every book.

This is the 6 th in the series featuring Inspector Mclean all of which give a good read. The books all contain a touch of the supernatural as well as a well written and devised0 police procedural story. The characters are well developed and there are a number of sub plots as well as the main thread running through each book.
This book starts with a raid by the sexual crimes unit, of which Tony McLean is a member, of a suspected brothel which turns out, in fact, to be a private party.
Maclean meets up with a Facebook as he was tipped off about the case, he comes across a face from his past and although transferred out of the unit refuses to let it drop. He ends up working with Suptd Dagwuid who has been his bête noir in the past. Together they solve a vase which Tony was involved with early in his career and in the process ruffle a few feathers getting to the bottom of the original case too.
The book is a good read and the series well worth following too. Looking forward to the next.
Thanks to NetGalley for a review copy.

If I had reviewed this book about half way through I would have given four or five stars but once the story depended on the paranormal to progress I lost all interest.
Perhaps it's unfair of me to give this a poor review because I'm sure there are lots of readers who love this type of tale but I can only review from a personal level & it did nothing for me.

Another great installment of this compelling police drama

I read this, the 6th in the Inspector McLean series, after having read the 7th book in the series. I hoped to find out more of McLean's back story but instead I found more of the same issues that irritated me about the 7th book. There are too many minor characters with similar sounding names and attributes. Even two of the more major characters share the name Jo D. I found a number of sentences and phrases repeated throughout the book unnecessarily particularly regarding McLean's cat and his car. While the crime story is interesting, the 'who done it' element is ludicrous and left unanswered. Perhaps a clue to this is what the writer himself writes in the acknowledgements; he used to write dragon fantasies. While I can enjoy a well written fantasy if that is what I know I am reading, I can not say that introducing the fantastical to an Edinburgh based police procedural is the way to my literary heart.

The damage done by James Oswald.
Mclean is back. McLean must investigate the seedy goings on of an exclusive and secretive society, catering for the rich and powerful of the city. Somehow it is linked to a particularly gruesome cold case from twenty years ago, McLean's first case with the force.
Another fantastic read from James Oswald. I love this series. And mclean is still my favourite character. I love how he works. Definitely worth more than 5*. Highly recommended. Thanks netgalley and penguin books.

This was a real page turner from the beginning. Will definitely look for this author in future.

Book 6 and I'm sad. Sad that there's only 1 more book to go before I have to wait for number 8. I am loving this series!

An undercurrent of supernatural shenanigans flows through this series, it's not too much, it's just enough to keep you aware that something else is going on but doesn't detract from the 'main' story of each book.

So very, very good!

I enjoyed all the characters and the suspense of this novel and would have given it five stars if not for the ending which was unbelievable in the extreme

I would like to thank Netgalley and Michael Joseph for an advance copy of The Damage Done.
As usual a very entertaining read, great characters and I like the way the writer draws you in.
DI Tony McLean has been seconded to the sex crimes unit. He and his colleagues are carrying out a raid on a house they believe is being used as a brothel but when they enter and process everyone there all is not as it seems. During the raid Tony meets Heather Marchmont who is renting the house and he can't help but feel that they have met before but he can't think where or when. Then a body is found in strange circumstances followed by the death of one of the people arrested during the brothel raid and Tony is convinced there is a link between all three. Before he can start investigating properly he's removed from the sex crimes unit and made to work on cold cases with Grumpy Bob and his old nemesis Duguid. Is one of their cold cases linked to the current cases and is Duguid telling McLean everything he knows? Their resulting investigation leads to both their lives being threatened and McLean's suspension .
I did have a slight problem with the disjointed sentences on my Kindle making it difficult to read at times, but this seemed to rectify itself about a third of the way through the story.
I love this writer and this series of books so much I am always on the lookout for the next one. Good read, great characters, Can't wait to read the next one.

This is the 6th book in the Inspector McLean series by James Oswald and I am struggling to find anything different to say in praise of these books. "The Damage Done" is more of the same, great characters, well paced stories and plenty of sub plots to keep you interested, in fact every ingredient needed to keep a series of books going. These books feature a small amount of supernatural throughout and for me personally is just about right.
This novel has McLean working at the Sexual Crimes Unit and carrying out a raid on a suspected brothel that turns into an embarrassment when it becomes evident that they have raided a private swingers party. When McLean refuses to let the case drop, insisting there was a tip off, he is transferred to the Cold Case Unit run by the retired Chief Superintendent Daguid who he has had less than an enjoyable relationship with previously. They look in to an old cold case from when McLean was a young policeman and make some startling discoveries. McLean's life is threatened when this case that featuring child abuse, police corruption and prostitution reaches a climax.
I would like to thank Net Galley and Penguin UK for supplying a copy of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This is the sixth in the DI Tony McLean series set in Edinburgh. In this one DS Ritchie joins Tony at the Sexual Crimes Unit at the point of carrying out vice raid on a suspected brothel. However, the raid is a failure when it becomes clear that what they have is a private swingers party, suggesting there was a tip off. Tony recognises a woman, Heather Marchmont, but for the life of him cannot think where from. Surprisingly, it takes him much longer to place her than I would have expected. The police hierarchy want him to drop the investigation leaving him wondering why. Tony is frustrated as his witnesses are dying as a series of gruesome deaths take place in the city, such as the death of a salesman. Tony's refusal to let the investigation go leads to him being transferred to the Cold Case Unit run by the retired Chief Superintendent Daguid, with whom he now has a more comfortable relationship. They pursue an old cold case from when McLean was a lowly beat cop. Tony also finds himself unsettled as he reconnects and works with Jo Dalgleish, the reporter. In a case that takes in child abuse, prostitution, conspiracies, police corruption, and the activities of the rich and privileged, once again Tony's faces life threatening danger. There is the usual low key element of the supernatural in the story. Many thanks to Penguin Michael Joseph for an ARC.

I have never read any of the Inspector McLean series so you feel that there are things you should perhaps know about the character but as a story it stands alone. A police raid doesn't deliver the expected result. As the story unfolds a parallel story seems to be weaving itself into book and at times you wonder how the two interact. I found myself gripped from start to finish as you wonder who the person is Inspector McLean meets at the raid. You then discover much darker forces at work. If I had one negative point and that is the book leaves you slightly hanging at the end, but having said that it just makes me want to read the next book when it comes out. If you like crime then this is a brilliant book and would really recommend.

Love the characters and human interest in this series. This one has a satisfying tying together of many seemingly unconnected cases, but I prefer my police procedural so to have a killer that is human rather than supernatural. There was also no total tying up of all the loose ends. I will wait for the next book in the series.

When a police raid in Edinburgh goes horribly wrong, the only silver lining for Inspector Tony McLean is a discovery that could lead to a long-lost girl from his early days on the beat. He hasn’t thought about her in years but is now haunted by the mystery of what happened to her, McLean begins to dig into a case he thought long buried. Tony has been working with Jo Dexter & SCU. Dagwood has retired, so lots of change. Rae arrives heavily pregnant from California & Phil soon follows.
The shadows of the past are soon eclipsed by crimes in the present as a series of strange and gruesome deaths shock the city.
Another page turning read in the series, there are on going threads through the series so I’d recommend reading in order. The antagonism between Tony & Dagwood had gone & their relationship is now far more positive. There is more insight into Tony’s early career & why he was fast tracked but I’d like more insight into him. There are some twists & the usual paranormal element. Tony is as dogged as ever, Stuart still attached to his tablet & Kirsty as efficient as ever whilst Grumpy Bob doesn’t change. I look forward to the next in the series

Have just finished this book and it lost nothing in rereading. Another 'can't put it down' tale. The usual James Oswald format: a strange opening chapter that outlines events leading up to the murder and then the investigation itself. Woven into the story are regular updates on McLean's private life and also what seems to be a supernatural element. The continuity of characters and the progression of McLean's own life story throughout the series enable the reader to feel comfortable with each book from the onset of any investigation and a feeling that they're observing the lives and actions of old friends. Look forward to reading the next book.