The Rest is Death (DCI Tony McLean #14) by James Oswald

Description from Goodreads:

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

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."

📚📚📚📚📚📚

This is the 14th instalment in the DCI McLean series and I have read quite a number of them but it can be successfully read as a standalone although I would recommend you delve into previous books to get the backstories of the main characters and an understanding of the nuances of their individual stories.

Once again, this book has the usual brilliant characters, great plot with all the twists and turns you would expect and with a touch of the supernatural thrown in to make this more than the usual police procedural that all blends together seamlessly to give an engaging read.  I admit that it didn't grab me as much as his previous books and it took me a bit longer to read than it normally would because of this, but I enjoyed it nevertheless and would recommend.

Thank you to the author, Headline, Wildfire and NetGalley for enabling me to read and share my thoughts of this book and I look forward to the next instalment.

📚📚📚📚📚📚