The novel “The Book of Souls” by James Oswald was published for the first time in 2013. It’s the second novel in the Tony McLean series and is the sequel to “Natural Causes”.
Inspector Tony McLean has never totally recovered from the murder of his fiancee. When her murderer Donald Anderson is killed in prison, McLean feels very few emotions even if he goes to see his burial to make sure he’s really dead.
Years have passed since the murder but suddenly in Edinburgh someone finds the body of a woman killed following the same modus operandi of Anderson. How is that possible? For McLean that’s an old wound that gets reopened and the worst thing is that someone insinuates that Anderson wasn’t the murderer. McLean and his colleagues have to find the perpetrator but what does an old book have to do with the crimes?
James Oswald wrote for a long time as a hobby but a few years ago decided to self-publish “Natural Causes”, the novel that introduces Inspector Tony McLean. The initiative had aconsiderable success, as well as the sequel, “The Book of Souls”. For this reason, a conventional publisher signed a contract with the author and started publishing the novels, which were translated into several languages.
In the second novel about his investigations, Inspector Tony McLean has to face his past. The Christmas killer, as the serial killer who killed McLean’s fiancee was called, was caught and convicted. His death in prison could close the case for good, instead there’s a new murder with the same modus operandi.
Tony McLean must find new murderer and make sure it’s really a copycat and that Donald Anderson was indeed the Christmas killer. As if that wasn’t enough, in Edinburgh several cases of fires keep the police busier than ever. Everybody’s are under pressure but for McLean it really seems that circumstances conspire against him.
“The Book of Souls” isn’t exactly a psychological thriller but Tony McLean’s state of mind is a very important element of the story. The new murder that opens an old wound never fully closed is very tough for him. The building in which he lives burns up and this increases his stress. His problems with his superior, Chief Inspector Duguid nicknames Dagwood when he can’t be heard, doesn’t help.
Eventually, Chief Superintendent Jayne McIntyre orders McLean to talk to a psychiatrist, but that’s Matthew Hilton, the same who examined Donald Anderson. McLean’s investigation becomes even bizarre when he meets an old monk who claims that the murders are caused by an old book.
The supernatural element may please you or not. “The Book of Souls” isn’t a very orthodox detective story, meaning that James Oswald mixes the elements he wants to tell the story in a certain way. The plot isn’t just about the murders but also various obsessions: the killers’ ones but also McLean’s one as he goes on with his investigation even when he should rest.
Tony McLean is the protagonist of “The Book of Souls” so James Oswald develops him thoroughly, letting us know in details his thoughts, his desires and his motives. Other characters are more or less developed, starting with some of McLean’s colleagues. In a series of novels, character development should be considered throughout them.
A couple of characters left me puzzled. Chief Inspector Duguid seems mostly an idiot who wastes his subordinates’ time, someone who really must have very powerful connection to have reached such a high rank in the police. Psychiatrist Matthew Hilton is described as a haughty kind of guy and doesn’t seem to be of great help either for McLean or for the investigation. Those two characters seem to me a bit surreal who’d fit in much better into a comedy than a dramatic story.
Those are the only two elements that leave me in doubt in a novel that otherwise seems well blended. The narration is very fluid and has a fast pace despite the abundance of dialogues thanks to many twists. The setting is in Edinburgh is charming helping to make the novel intriguing.
Due to its characteristics, “The Book of Souls” isn’t specifically targeted to detective stories fans but to a wider audience. It’s actually a somewhat unconventional thriller that anyone looking for a good book with a story intense and full of surprises can like.
