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[close] The Book of Souls by James Oswald
Detective Inspector McLean series Book #2
5★'s

What's It About?
Each year for ten years, a young woman’s body was found in Edinburgh at Christmastime: naked, throat slit, body washed clean. The final victim, Kirsty Summers, was Detective Constable Tony McLean's fiancée. But the Christmas Killer made a mistake, and McLean put an end to the brutal killing spree.
It’s now twelve years later. A fellow prisoner has just murdered the incarcerated Christmas Killer. But with the arrival of the festive season comes a body. A young woman: naked, washed, her throat cut. Is this a copycat killer? Was the wrong man behind bars all this time? Or is there a more frightening explanation? McLean must revisit the most disturbing case of his life and discover what he missed before the killer strikes again .

What Did I Think?
I love the supernatural overtones of this series. I do get rather frustrated with the bullying that is allowed by the higher ups in the police department. If this a true reenactment of all police headquarters in Edinburgh then there is a strong need for major counselling and anger control sessions.

What the book actually was and what it was capable of was not revealed until almost the very last and it let the reader form their own opinion of what it was and how it fit in with the story. I will say the ending was not a total surprise but it did leave a major string dangling. Perhaps it will be answered in the third book. Looking forward to it.