Cullen Year One

Scott Cullen Mysteries #1–4 omnibus

by Ed James

CULLEN YEAR ONE collects the first season, comprising the first four novels, of the DC SCOTT CULLEN series of Edinburgh-based police procedurals which has been compared favourably with Ian Rankin, Mark Billingham, Christopher Brookmyre, Ed McBain, Elmore Leonard.

GHOST IN THE MACHINE
Detective Constable Scott Cullen of Lothian & Borders CID has only been a full detective for three months. Struggling with his burning ambition, Cullen is assigned a Missing Persons case. Caroline Adamson, a young, recently-divorced Edinburgh mother, has disappeared while on a date.



But when Caroline's body turns up, Cullen digs into her past and her private life starts to unravel. Who was she on a date with? What happened during her divorce? What was she doing on Schoolbook?



Now, as Cullen investigates, his own private life gets messier and the relationship with his DI deteriorates. As other bodies turn up, Cullen soon finds himself hunting for a ghost in the machine.



GHOST IN THE MACHINE is an intense police procedural novel about privacy, loss and social networks that builds to a shocking climax.





DEVIL IN THE DETAIL
Detective Constable Scott Cullen of Lothian & Borders CID, still reeling from the events of a case the previous summer, is caught between antagonism with his superiors and the pressures of a new relationship.



But when the body of Mandy Gibson, disabled daughter of a pillar of the community, is discovered one January morning, Cullen is pushed out to Garleton, a typical East Lothian town - affluent, historic and with a good school.



Now, as the investigation becomes obstructed by a families broken by the tragedy, Cullen finds himself stuck between his DI and Bill Lamb, the local Sergeant. Is Mandy's religious group connected to her death? Where is the town's bad boy, Jamie Cook? As the community closes ranks, Cullen has to hunt for the devil in the detail.



DEVIL IN THE DETAIL is a taut police procedural novel about faith and trust.





FIRE IN THE BLOOD
Detective Constable Scott Cullen, bemused by the managerial positioning surrounding the impending merger of Lothian & Borders into Police Scotland, is torn by his personal and professional ambitions.



But when a male human body, battered and unrecognisable, is found in a barrel for Dunpender Distillery's special centenary edition, Cullen is sent out east again.



Now, Cullen finds himself trudging through a case with two likely victims who both went missing when the whisky was distilled. Could it be the owner's son, Iain Crombie? Is it Paddy Kavanagh, an employee with a fiery past? As he delves into the ancient history of the Crombie family, Cullen is soon contending with too many plausible suspects and his DI's desire for a quick collar, and finds himself hunting for a killer with fire in the blood.



FIRE IN THE BLOOD is a deep police procedural about family, friendship and alcohol.





DYED IN THE WOOL
Detective Constable Scott Cullen finds his professional and private lives at opposite ends of the spectrum. While his career is stagnating - impacted by the jockeying for position ahead of the Police Scotland restructure as much as by his own inability to push for promotion - his love life goes from strength to stren

Genres: Scotland

1296 pages, Kindle Edition

First published March 6, 2014

Reviews

[Damian · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this series, great procedural with enough depth to really like the main characters. Only one gripe, the sex scenes are out of place on this otherwise well written series - too much detail in the bedroom when it could have been glossed over to allow us to move quickly back to the main story

[i.s. wallace · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t get me wrong this wasn’t that bad of a compilation of books to read and they did seem to improve the further I read through them but... The police seemed more like the Keystone cops all running around like headless chickens and I didn’t really find any of the characters that appealing including Scott Cullen himself who came across as quite selfish and self centred. Also the second book of the four was so annoying with nearly every sentence where someone was talking ended with “said...”. This really was overkill for me and spoiled the flow of the story. It could still be interesting to see where the series goes from here and I do appreciate how hard it must be for self published authors.

[Whitey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A dysfunctional team within a dysfunctional organisation led by a succession of hopelessly self-centred and misogynistic supervisors/executives? It was fine for one book, repetitive in the second, boring in the third and outright annoying in the fourth. The sex scenes were superfluous and gained in needless detail as the series progressed. I finished the four books, downloaded and started the fifth and guess what ..... it’s more of the same. The names of the players change as the series moves along .... the essential core plot remains the same. I returned book 5 to Kindle after five chapters.

Not my scene by a huge margin.

[Pauline Martin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this series of books and it was interesting how the lead character developed as they progressed. It was also refreshing that the lead character DC Cullen is a lowly Detective Constable and not a Detective Inspector or higher rank. I loved the banter between the characters too. Having worked in a Police Station a lot of it did ring true.

[Hilary Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

4 books in one

This box set was the first of Ed James I have read. Each book just got better and better. The first four books of the DC Cullen stories were entertaining and ingenious. Cullen is in interesting character and by the final book I was convinced by him. Looking forward to reading more by this author.

[Iain Cameron · Rating 5 out of 5]

great series

This is a great series of books, and really enjoying the characters. Now looking forward to the next series!! Really like the tension between the lead characters and how they play off against each other!!!

[John Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good easy read, well written and makes hard to put the book down

[samantha knight · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took me a very long time to get through all 4 books as I don't like to read back to back but an excellent read.

[Ian Stickland · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. Enjoyed the Edinburgh scene.

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Book 1
nice characters, good story
Book 2
character of Scott Cullen develops further
his boss still is an ***
Book 3
good story

[Dave · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am starting to hate Scotland. Is everyone up there so miserable? Maybe it is the weather. I know it has rained every time I have visited.
Anyway, I actually enjoyed these mysteries if not so much the lead character, who needs to get over himself.
A bit obviously based on a "junior" Taggart with all the moaning, but the stories still hold up very well and keep the reader interested.
He would probably be sacked from an English force but I can imagine him easily as the Edinburgh Taggart.

The test - would I read the next set if released in a similar compilation - yes I WOULD.