2016 supernatural mystery, sixth in Oswald's Inspector McLean
series. A police raid following a tip-off about a brothel goes wrong:
there's sex being had, but it all seems to have been consenting
swingers, except for one registered sex offender. Then people start
dying.
Another good series entry, but the overall development between
books has slowed down. One would think that, by now, McLean would be
ready to accept that there's magical nastiness about, even though he
obviously wouldn't be talking about it to his colleagues; instead, he
keeps on blundering on until he has his nose rubbed once more in
what's really happening.
Duguid laughed, a sound so unusual it took McLean a moment to
realise the superintendent wasn't having a seizure.
Indeed, it's clear early on just how an old case from McLean's early
days on the force is connected to the present day, and McLean himself
should probably realise it rather before he does. The pace is pretty
slow for much of the book, only really getting moving in the last
third or so, and the ending is disappointingly abrupt, with many
concerns left unresolved, particularly what seems to be a fairly
central conspiracy with tentacles in some very high places. This has
been part of Oswald's style before, of course, but I certainly hope
the next volume wraps up some of the loose ends.
While the supernatural element is mostly lightly handled, the serious
crime fan who wants a non-magical mystery will certainly be
disappointed; the explanations and resolutions only make sense on a
supernatural level. More important, though, is the development of
McLean himself: some old friends reappear unexpectedly, and the
process of old enemies seeming not so terrible as they were painted
continues from the previous book. (As usual with Oswald, one could
start here, but I felt I got more by having met these people before
and seeing how things had shifted from book to book.) There are plenty
of new enemies to replace them, mind.
The intensity is perhaps slightly lower than in previous books, but
this is still highly enjoyable, and getting away from the conventional
deluded killer opens several possibilities for the future of the
series.
Comments on this post are now closed. If you have particular grounds for adding a late comment, comment on a more recent post quoting the URL of this one.