Book Review #1 : Natural Causes by James Oswald

A young girl’s mutilated body is discovered in a sealed room. Her remains are carefully arranged, in what seems to have been a cruel and macabre ritual, which appears to have taken place over 60 years ago.

For newly appointed Edinburgh Detective Inspector Tony McLean this baffling cold case ought to be a low priority – but he is haunted by the young victim and her grisly death.

Meanwhile, the city is horrified by a series of bloody killings. Deaths for which there appears to be neither rhyme nor reason, and which leave Edinburgh’s police at a loss.

McLean is convinced that these deaths are somehow connected to the terrible ceremonial killing of the girl, all those years ago. It is an irrational, almost supernatural theory.

And one which will lead McLean closer to the heart of a terrifying and ancient evil . . .

 

I thought this would be a great book to start my book review section off as I am a keen reader of Crime Fiction. I entered a giveaway on Goodreads some time ago and was surprised when I received an advance copy of Natural Causes through the post. This is a gripping Crime Thriller with elements of the supernatural and occult scattered throughout it’s pages. It is reminiscent of Ian Rankin’s Rebus novels, however there are striking differences that set it apart.

Set in Edinburgh, the story follows Detective Inspector McLean as he tries to solve the murder of a young girl some sixty years previous, all the while having to deal with gruesome killings happening all over Edinburgh. The story is complex and interesting, but gets muddled from time to time. I found it hard keeping track of certain details that were important to the cases, and it took me a while to get the facts straight in my head. The cast of characters is large and diverse, some overly Scottish in their speech. I do have an issue with the names – I got so confused with Duguid/Dagwood as they are the same person (one being their actual name, the other a nickname), they were used in quick succession switching back and forth that at one point I was sure they were two different people. Also, McLean, McIntyre, MacBride – I just found the names too similar to be able to really keep track of who was who.

Having said that, the plot was great. There were great twists and unexpected connections – although I did work out pretty early on who done it. The action flows at a good pace and keeps the reader turning the page. The murder scenes are a bit overly gruesome, which I think was meant to shock the reader more than anything else. I think it was written quite well and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. I am left with several unanswered questions, however, which gave it a very dissatisfying ending for me personally.

My rating : 3 stars.