‘Are you ready to be reborn?’
The search for a missing journalist is called off as a body is found at the scene of a carefully staged murder.
In a sealed chamber, deep in the heart of Gilmerton Cove, a mysterious network of caves and passages sprawling beneath Edinburgh, the victim has undergone a macabre ritual of purification.
Inspector Tony McLean knew the dead man, and can’t shake off the suspicion that there is far more to this case than meets the eye. The baffling lack of forensics at the crime scene seems impossible. But it is not the only thing about this case that McLean will find beyond belief.
Teamed with the most unlikely and unwelcome of allies, he must track down a killer driven by the darkest compulsions, who will answer only to a higher power . . .
‘Are you ready for the mysteries to be revealed?’
My Review
It is great to return to another baffling case with DI Tony McLean, except this will not be just one case. Is there a connection between three different murders? Tony believes there is, but his unfriendly senior officers don’t agree. And then a disagreement with property developers, whose plans for McLean’s old flat are not as he would wish, bring him involvement with the Serious Crime Squad. This a fast paced, constantly changing plot, interspersed with interaction between Tony and his friends Madam Rose and DS Kirstie Ritchie. The supernatural is less evident at first but it is reassuring to know that Mrs McCutcheon’s cat is still in residence. While Tony searches his mail for postcards from Emma, we learn more of his lonely childhood when his grandmother had decided he should go to boarding school in England.
This was my favourite Inspector McLean story so far. As a reader, observing his collaboration with Dalgliesh, a journalist who had caused him so much harm, and his care for his junior officers, my understanding of his character was greatly enhanced. The thrilling plot would make a very successful film or TV series and it won’t be long before I start the next volume in the series.
Prayer for the Dead on Amazon UK
My Review of The Book of Souls by James Oswald
Lizanne lost in a good book 
Love this series. You’re inspiring me to reread it again. Great review!
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