The Rest is Death cover art

The Rest is Death

Inspector McLean, Book 14

Preview
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free
Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.
Prime members: New to Audible? Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Just £0.99/mo for your first 3 months of Audible.
1 bestseller or new release per month—yours to keep.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, podcasts, and Originals.
Auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

The Rest is Death

By: James Oswald
Narrated by: Ian Hanmore
Get this deal Try Premium Plus free

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly. Offer ends 29 January 2026 at 11:59PM GMT.

£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.

Buy Now for £15.99

Buy Now for £15.99

LIMITED TIME OFFER | £0.99/mo for the first 3 months

Premium Plus auto-renews at £8.99/mo after 3 months. Terms apply.

About this listen

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

Listeners also enjoyed...

Cold Granite cover art
The Turning of Our Bones cover art
Whisky from Small Glasses cover art
A Long Time Dead cover art
A Litter of Bones: A Scottish Crime Thriller cover art
The Bone Clock cover art
Blood Runs Deep cover art
The Engine House: A Black Beacons Murder Mystery cover art
Dark Is the Grave cover art
Dead in the Water cover art
Never Somewhere Else cover art
The Somerset Slayings cover art
Broken Bones cover art
Grimm Up North cover art
No Man's Land cover art
The Girl in the Loch cover art

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.

Loved this latest book from James Oswald. Recently I felt McClean was becoming depressed and he wasn’t up to his best police work. This novel has changed that. Great writing from Mr Oswald, fantastic storyline

McClean is back on form !!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

Absolutely loved this book, didn’t know where it was going, I couldn’t put this book down wanted to keep listening, good narrator so buy or listen to this amazing story, can’t wait for the next one now.

Great story

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

See more reviews