The Violent Hour : the next high-stakes thriller in the Sunday Times bestselling Inspector McLean series

Author: James Oswald

Crime & mystery

Published on 2 July 2026 by Headline Publishing Group (Wildfire) in the United Kingdom as part of 'the Inspector McLean' series.

Hardback | 384 pages
240 x 156mm | 0g

'A fast-paced procedural with plenty of surprises - while this might have been my first Tony McLean outing, it certainly won't be my last'TARIQ ASHKANANI'Written with real skill and heart . . . a propulsive and gripping read from start to finish'DOUG JOHNSTONE'James Oswald at his finest, his darkest, his most inventive'R. D. McLEAN'Do yourself a favour and read James Oswald's series. I can almost guarantee you won't stop at one' ? ? ? ? ?READER REVIEW'The Violent Hour should be on everyone's TBR' ? ? ? ? ?READER REVIEW'Another 'must-read' from James Oswald' ? ? ? ? ? READER REVIEWFestival season. The streets are filled to bursting with tourists, and Edinburgh is gripped by a stifling heatwave. Not the best time for one of the most violent murders the city has witnessed in years.

The victim of the murder cannot be identified; its brutal nature of the shocking both the public and the police. What could possibly have inflicted such gruesome injuries? Was it a wild animal on the loose, or the beginning of some horrific gang warfare?Another body is found on Musselburgh Beach: naked, comatose, but this time still alive. DI Tony McLean can't shake the feeling that there is a connection to the killing - but there are few leads for him and the team to go by.

The police are at a loss, and the city is on edge - will the killer strike again?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