The Rest Is Death cover art

The Rest Is Death

Inspector McLean, Book 14

 Preview

Get 30 days of Standard free

£5.99/mo after trial. Cancel monthly.
Try for £0.00
More purchase options

The Rest Is Death

By: James Oswald
Narrated by: Ian Hanmore
Try for £0.00

£5.99 a month after 30 days. Cancel anytime.

Buy Now for £21.54

Buy Now for £21.54

Summary

 A macabre ancient secret. An innovative biotech company connected to the highest levels of government. And the trail of bloodshed in its wake.

'Finally got my Tony McLean fix' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ READER REVIEW

'Darkly gripping' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ READER REVIEW

'Do yourself a favour and read James Oswald's series. I can almost guarantee you won't stop at one' ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ READER REVIEW

Detective Chief Inspector Tony McLean is called to investigate a break-in at Drake BioTech, a trendsetting Edinburgh start-up. It's well below McLean's pay grade, but given the extensive political connections of its eccentric owner Nathaniel Drake, he doesn't have a choice. Even if nothing appears to have been stolen.

A missing person case turns complicated for DI Janie Harrison when a body is found half-buried in woods outside the city. The missing man shows no signs of trauma, the cause of his death a mystery. But when another man - linked to the break-in - is discovered dead in similarly mysterious circumstances, the police suspect there may be some connection between the two.

McLean is convinced the answer lies with the strange ancient artefact clutched in the second dead man's hands. But when the two bodies are stolen from the mortuary, and the artefact goes missing from evidence, the race is on to prevent yet more death.


Praise for James Oswald:

'The new Ian Rankin' Daily Record

'Creepy, gritty and gruesome' Sunday Mirror

'Oswald's writing is in a class above most' Daily Express©2025 James Oswald Crime Thrillers Suspense Thriller & Suspense Scotland Exciting Scary
adbl_web_anon_alc_button_suppression_c

Critic reviews

The new Ian Rankin
Creepy, gritty and gruesome
Crime fiction's next big thing
All stars
Most relevant
I love each instalment of this wonderful series and this is one of the best. Brilliant characters and excellent narration.

Fantastic

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have listened to every James Oswald McLean book and I love them all-the narrator is perfect, the plots are intriguing and the mixture between magic and police work is unique and compelling. The main characters are likeable and you want to root for them, as are the cats!

Never disappoints-a great alternative mystery

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
As excellent as ever, I love these books. It's an excellent series, with fantastic characters and interesting stories.

Excellent

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I read this book once, then decided to start at Number wand re read the whole series. It was worth it. Brilliant author and reader though poor Richie’s’ eyebrows, or lack of, get fat too many mentions; more books please?!

Brilliant!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Great story and narrator. But oh dear, Angus King, let himself down as tartan noir's most popular narrator. Even as a non Scot, non gaelic speaker, I know that Somerled is pronounced Sorley. Minor I know, but irritating when it gets repeated.

Nobody checks pronunciation?

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
See more reviews