The Book of Souls (Inspector McLean series 2)

When an Edinburgh serial killer is murdered in prison, his deadly legacy lives on to claim more victims in this “engrossing” Scottish detective mystery (Publishers Weekly).

For ten years, a gruesome Christmastime tradition terrorized Edinburgh. Each year as the holiday approached, a young woman’s body was found—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 finally put an end to the horror.

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.

“Oswald’s detective gives John Rebus a run for his money in this noirish page-turner.”—Kirkus