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Frey & McGray #5
Die Totenfrau von Edinburgh: Kriminalroman (Ein Fall für Frey und McGray 5)
Madame Katerina, Detective 'Nine Nails' McGray's most trusted clairvoyant, hosts a séance for three of Edinburgh's wealthiest families.
The following morning everyone is found dead, with Madame Katerina being the only survivor. When questioned she alleges a tormented spirit killed the families for revenge.
McGray, even though he believes her, must find a rational explanation that holds up in court, else Katerina will be sentenced to death.
Inspector Ian Frey is summoned to help, which turns out to be difficult as he is still dealing with the loss of his uncle, and has developed a form of post-traumatic stress (not yet identified in the 19th century).
This seems an impossible puzzle. Either something truly supernatural has occurred - or a fiendishly clever plot is covering a killer's tracks...
577 pages, Kindle Edition
First published August 8, 2019
45 people are currently reading
1231 people want to read
About the author
Óscar de Muriel
22 books567 followersOscar de Muriel was born in Mexico City in 1983 and moved to the UK to complete his PhD. He is a chemist, translator and violinist who now lives and works in Manchester. The Loch of the Dead is his fourth novel, following A Mask of Shadows, A Fever of the Blood and The Strings of Murder.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 153 reviews
September 9, 2020
It is always a pleasure to sink my teeth into a Frey and McGray story: Oscar De Muriel's Victorian detective stories scratch my Sherlock-Holmes-meets-the-X-Files itch, and the fact that he keeps churning them out and that they are consistently good means I have a new tome to look forward to every summer.
After Frey suffered a tragic loss at the end of "Loch of the Dead" (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), he leaves Edinburgh, but McGray cannot do without his English partner very long; he comes to fetch him after his old friend Madame Katerina is involved in a séance that goes horribly wrong. Every participant of the séance except her is dead, but no one had gone in or out of the parlor in which the meeting was conducted. She claims to have seen the devil's very hand, and that a vengeful spirit is responsible for the deaths - and while McGray believes her, he knows that it will take more than that to convince a jury of her innocence.
De Muriel excels at locked-door mysteries, and his style is a breeze to read: I basically inhaled this one in a few sittings. Of course, I am an absolute sucker for stories set in Victorian Scotland, and Ian Frey and Adolphus McGray have now become old friends: I simply can't wait to see what they have been up to this time, and De Muriel has evolved their dynamic brilliantly. He makes them funny, yet moving and I can't be the only reader who has grown very attached to them. He also has a knack for unearthing the strangest ideas and wrapping them up in great plot twists that never go quite where I thought they would; I always enjoy being surprised with what he comes up with.
I am very excited to get to "The Dance of the Serpents", as a few tantalizing crumbs have been laid in this book, hinting at some pretty major stuff coming up in the lives of Frey and McGray. If you've enjoyed Oscar De Muriel's previous work, don't wait another minute and get around to this one, too!
After Frey suffered a tragic loss at the end of "Loch of the Dead" (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...), he leaves Edinburgh, but McGray cannot do without his English partner very long; he comes to fetch him after his old friend Madame Katerina is involved in a séance that goes horribly wrong. Every participant of the séance except her is dead, but no one had gone in or out of the parlor in which the meeting was conducted. She claims to have seen the devil's very hand, and that a vengeful spirit is responsible for the deaths - and while McGray believes her, he knows that it will take more than that to convince a jury of her innocence.
De Muriel excels at locked-door mysteries, and his style is a breeze to read: I basically inhaled this one in a few sittings. Of course, I am an absolute sucker for stories set in Victorian Scotland, and Ian Frey and Adolphus McGray have now become old friends: I simply can't wait to see what they have been up to this time, and De Muriel has evolved their dynamic brilliantly. He makes them funny, yet moving and I can't be the only reader who has grown very attached to them. He also has a knack for unearthing the strangest ideas and wrapping them up in great plot twists that never go quite where I thought they would; I always enjoy being surprised with what he comes up with.
I am very excited to get to "The Dance of the Serpents", as a few tantalizing crumbs have been laid in this book, hinting at some pretty major stuff coming up in the lives of Frey and McGray. If you've enjoyed Oscar De Muriel's previous work, don't wait another minute and get around to this one, too!
February 27, 2022
English version below
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Im 5. Band der Frey & McGray-Reihe gerät Madame Katerina, eine Hellseherin und wichtige Nebenfigur der Vorgängerbände unter Mordverdacht.
Der ihr seit der Katastrophe mit seiner Schwester tief verbundene Adolphus McGray tut sein Bestes um ihr zu helfen und den wahren Täter zu ermitteln und kann auch Ian Frey zur Mitarbeit bewegen.
Ich fand es richtiggehend erschütternd zu lesen, wie schlecht Madame Katerinas Position vor Gericht war, da sie zum einen als Ausländerin galt und zudem von niedrigem Stande war. Daran hat sich zwar bis heute nicht viel geändert (Justitia ist halt alles andere als blind), dennoch wurde es hier extrem deutlich aufgezeigt.
Das Buch enthält nach meinem Empfinden deutlich weniger humoristische Passagen als die Vorgängerbände und ging mir emotional unheimlich nahe.
Insgesamt finde ich, dass sich dieser Band erheblich vom lustigen Buddy Cop-Image der Vorgängerbände entfernt hat und viel mehr in Richtung ernsthafter historischer Kriminalroman geht. Aber auch wenn dieses Werk von der mir sehr geschätzten Kategorie des humoristischen Krimis etwas abweicht, habe ich es mit großem Genuss gelesen.
Gegen Ende hin wurde es wie üblich sehr spannend und Frey und McGray sind einfach Charaktere, die ich ungemein ins Herz geschlossen habe.
Für Fans der Reihe definitiv ein Muss und von mir wieder mit 5 Sternen bewertet.
----------------------
In the 5th volume of the Frey & McGray series, Madame Katerina, a clairvoyant and important supporting character from the previous volumes, is suspected of murder.
Adolphus McGray, who has been deeply connected to her since the catastrophe with his sister, does his best to help her and determine the real culprit and can also persuade Ian Frey to cooperate.
I found it downright shocking to read how badly Madame Katerina's position was in court, both as a foreigner and as a lowly socialite. This has not changed much to this day (Justitia is anything but blind), but it was shown here extremely clearly.
In my opinion, the book contains significantly fewer humorous passages than the previous volumes and touched me immensely emotionally.
Overall, I think this volume has strayed considerably from the funny buddy cop image of the previous volumes and is much more in the direction of a serious historical crime novel. But even if this work deviates somewhat from the category of humorous crime novels that I value very much, I read it with great pleasure.
Towards the end it got very exciting as usual and Frey and McGray are just characters that I grew very fond of.
Definitely a must for fans of the series and for me worth 5 stars.
**************
Im 5. Band der Frey & McGray-Reihe gerät Madame Katerina, eine Hellseherin und wichtige Nebenfigur der Vorgängerbände unter Mordverdacht.
Der ihr seit der Katastrophe mit seiner Schwester tief verbundene Adolphus McGray tut sein Bestes um ihr zu helfen und den wahren Täter zu ermitteln und kann auch Ian Frey zur Mitarbeit bewegen.
Ich fand es richtiggehend erschütternd zu lesen, wie schlecht Madame Katerinas Position vor Gericht war, da sie zum einen als Ausländerin galt und zudem von niedrigem Stande war. Daran hat sich zwar bis heute nicht viel geändert (Justitia ist halt alles andere als blind), dennoch wurde es hier extrem deutlich aufgezeigt.
Das Buch enthält nach meinem Empfinden deutlich weniger humoristische Passagen als die Vorgängerbände und ging mir emotional unheimlich nahe.
Insgesamt finde ich, dass sich dieser Band erheblich vom lustigen Buddy Cop-Image der Vorgängerbände entfernt hat und viel mehr in Richtung ernsthafter historischer Kriminalroman geht. Aber auch wenn dieses Werk von der mir sehr geschätzten Kategorie des humoristischen Krimis etwas abweicht, habe ich es mit großem Genuss gelesen.
Gegen Ende hin wurde es wie üblich sehr spannend und Frey und McGray sind einfach Charaktere, die ich ungemein ins Herz geschlossen habe.
Für Fans der Reihe definitiv ein Muss und von mir wieder mit 5 Sternen bewertet.
----------------------
In the 5th volume of the Frey & McGray series, Madame Katerina, a clairvoyant and important supporting character from the previous volumes, is suspected of murder.
Adolphus McGray, who has been deeply connected to her since the catastrophe with his sister, does his best to help her and determine the real culprit and can also persuade Ian Frey to cooperate.
I found it downright shocking to read how badly Madame Katerina's position was in court, both as a foreigner and as a lowly socialite. This has not changed much to this day (Justitia is anything but blind), but it was shown here extremely clearly.
In my opinion, the book contains significantly fewer humorous passages than the previous volumes and touched me immensely emotionally.
Overall, I think this volume has strayed considerably from the funny buddy cop image of the previous volumes and is much more in the direction of a serious historical crime novel. But even if this work deviates somewhat from the category of humorous crime novels that I value very much, I read it with great pleasure.
Towards the end it got very exciting as usual and Frey and McGray are just characters that I grew very fond of.
Definitely a must for fans of the series and for me worth 5 stars.
August 8, 2019
Visit the locations
For reasons unknown even to me, I wanted to read this at night. I'm not sleeping that well anyway at the moment so thought this would at least keep me entertained in the twilight hours. Can I just say - this WILL keep you entertained in those quiet hours and it's a brilliant time to enhance the spooky feel of the story (not that it needs it - Oscar's writing stands on its own!)
Full review to come. 5 stars!
Ever been interested in participating in a seance? well, that’s what you do in this book. There’s one held at the start for a rich Edinburgh family and they want answers from the dead…
A medium is employed for the dark task, and the evening is set up. Table, candles and an offering to give to the dead person. Then they begin.
In the morning, all but one of the people in the room are dead – the medium. So, a clear and cut case, right? Not so fast….
A sceance. Six guests and the medium. The next day only the medium is alive and she states that she is innocent and woke up to a scene of carnage. No one believes her but it’s up to Frey and McGray to sort it all out.
And they do – from the investigation to the trial to the denouement, they race around Edinburgh and further afield to sort out what appears to be a matter of the dark arts, the occult and a confession that a dark hand appeared to float above the table just before the lights went out.
The chill factor is there from the start as is the confusion of the locked room mystery. There seems to be no suspects or clues as to what could have happened. The scene of the crime, the house of the victims, the home of someone far away from the city – the author evokes all locations and the atmosphere really well and I’m sure as I turned each page, a little puff of mist wafted in the air..
A suitably creepy read in the vein of the best locked room Christie style mysteries. The ending and denouement is interesting! Don’t read the author note at the end of the book before the story whatever you do! Spoilers galore of course.
And the best bit? Frey and McGray’s banter and annoyance with each other. I just can’t enough of these two and their working relationship. There’s some very funny scenes when one drags the other from their bed and gapes at the many suitcases he has. Then there’s the trying to outdo each other, the snide remarks about the medium and the seance, the love of food and drink and the general Scottish vernacular and sense of humour.
Oh a joy in other words. All in all, I was immersed inside a world of the dark arts, witchery goings on and the locked room mystery with a twist!
August 18, 2021
Nachdem der Vorgängerband mich total begeistert hat, war ich etwas besorgt, ob "Die Totenfrau von Edinburgh" da mithalten kann. Und sie kann! Zwar nicht so actionreich, aber ebenso spannend, lustig und gruselig. Ich habe bis zur letzten Minute mitgefiebert und mitgerätselt.
November 29, 2025
Another brilliant Frey & McGray story, captivating from start to finish.
This one was a classic who done it mystery with a gothic twist and oh so intriguing to read.
Again, very different from the previous books, but outstanding in its own way; holding my attention throughout the novel, keeping me on the edge of my seat at all times.
I really have not much more to add than that Oscar de Muriel is a very gifted, talented and brilliant writer; in my opinion, one of the best writers out there at the moment.
Also, the very final chapter of this book has gotten me incredibly exited for the next book, which I hope will follow soon.
This one was a classic who done it mystery with a gothic twist and oh so intriguing to read.
Again, very different from the previous books, but outstanding in its own way; holding my attention throughout the novel, keeping me on the edge of my seat at all times.
I really have not much more to add than that Oscar de Muriel is a very gifted, talented and brilliant writer; in my opinion, one of the best writers out there at the moment.
Also, the very final chapter of this book has gotten me incredibly exited for the next book, which I hope will follow soon.
October 10, 2022
Sad, that it took me a bit to get into it and that diminished the fun a little because the last third of this book was insane and intense and so GOOD. 🤧
May 17, 2021
Необременительное чтение на один вечер для любителей классических детективов.
Одним темным вечером 1889 года большое семейство собирается на спиритический сеанс с участием известной в Эдинбурге гадалки мадам Катерины: родственники хотят вызвать дух бабушки Элис, чтобы узнать у нее, где спрятано некое сокровище. На утро после сеанса все члены семейства оказываются мертвы, а гадалку подозревают в убийстве. За расследование дела берутся два харизматичных детектива — рациональный англичанин Иэн Фрей и сторонник оккультизма, друг мадам Катерины шотландец Адольфус Макгрей.
Сложно понять решение издателей начать переводить серию про детективов Фрея и Макгрея с пятой части, но если не бесит, что предысторию отношений детективов придется додумывать на ходу — рекомендую эту книгу.
Одним темным вечером 1889 года большое семейство собирается на спиритический сеанс с участием известной в Эдинбурге гадалки мадам Катерины: родственники хотят вызвать дух бабушки Элис, чтобы узнать у нее, где спрятано некое сокровище. На утро после сеанса все члены семейства оказываются мертвы, а гадалку подозревают в убийстве. За расследование дела берутся два харизматичных детектива — рациональный англичанин Иэн Фрей и сторонник оккультизма, друг мадам Катерины шотландец Адольфус Макгрей.
Сложно понять решение издателей начать переводить серию про детективов Фрея и Макгрея с пятой части, но если не бесит, что предысторию отношений детективов придется додумывать на ходу — рекомендую эту книгу.
November 4, 2019
I read one book at a time, always. I simply cannot just “switch” from one book to another anymore. So, if I hit a rotten tomato I tend to actually read less.
I’m typing this on my iPhone. A minute ago, I found myself wondering and thinking, “I usually read at a time like this.” - while I was playing a game. Then it began to dawn on me: ‘How much must you despise a book to fantasise about writing its review on GoodReads while actively trying to avoid reading said book?!‘
The answer in a nutshell: Very much, and the reason is that pretty much everything in this book is bland, wrong and unbalanced.
Let’s start with the supernatural aspects: While I’m in no way superstitious, don’t believe in anything supernatural, I actually greatly enjoyed the ambivalence of the previous instalments in this series. For McGray pretty much everything was at least supernaturally influenced whereas Frey never really believed in anything like that. The resulting strains between both and the different approaches made things interesting. It made for a nice balance.
Even better: De Muriel kept the ambivalence and we never knew for certain if there were supernatural elements or not. We, as readers, could make up our minds ourselves.
In “Darker Arts”, though, Frey and his no-nonsense philosophy clearly dominate the entire book. McGray basically only features as an unhinged clown who has a good idea at times but mostly raves or broods, sometimes attacking people.
Somehow, among complicated family trees, goldmines in Africa and lots of spiteful people the story meanders along, seemingly aimlessly and no progress is being made. At first, our heroes don’t worry but time passes and nothing really seems to be moving anywhere. Lots of false leads, a travesty of a trial and until the sensationalist ending during which Frey miraculously conceives the solution to the crime in a most unbelievable way, de Muriel obviously tries hard to bore us to death.
The solution to the crime is so complicated that de Muriel actually has to resort to having Frey spell everything out to his superior and, thus, us. If an author has to resort to such desperate measures, they’d better gone back and revised their plot.
Plus: Frey is basically constantly bemoaning his uncle’s untimely death during the previous book. The previous book, in fact, overshadows this one as it is being alluded to all the time. So often actually that I became annoyed about it. Yes, I enjoyed “The Loch of the Dead” but it’s not like it would garner de Muriel Nobel the Nobel Prize in Literature...
“Darker Arts” reads like de Muriel has spent all his good ideas. If it wasn’t for certain developments at the very end, I’d say this might be a farewell to the series – McGray receives grim personal news, Frey is impaired by the events of “The Loch of the Dead”, another important character leaves the scene...
Ultimately, considering the bland story, the bad writing and the fact that this book made me read less, I think that’s it for me – Oscar de Muriel just lost a reader for good. Or, to say it with McGray’s constantly repeated words: “Och nae...”
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I’m typing this on my iPhone. A minute ago, I found myself wondering and thinking, “I usually read at a time like this.” - while I was playing a game. Then it began to dawn on me: ‘How much must you despise a book to fantasise about writing its review on GoodReads while actively trying to avoid reading said book?!‘
The answer in a nutshell: Very much, and the reason is that pretty much everything in this book is bland, wrong and unbalanced.
Let’s start with the supernatural aspects: While I’m in no way superstitious, don’t believe in anything supernatural, I actually greatly enjoyed the ambivalence of the previous instalments in this series. For McGray pretty much everything was at least supernaturally influenced whereas Frey never really believed in anything like that. The resulting strains between both and the different approaches made things interesting. It made for a nice balance.
Even better: De Muriel kept the ambivalence and we never knew for certain if there were supernatural elements or not. We, as readers, could make up our minds ourselves.
In “Darker Arts”, though, Frey and his no-nonsense philosophy clearly dominate the entire book. McGray basically only features as an unhinged clown who has a good idea at times but mostly raves or broods, sometimes attacking people.
Somehow, among complicated family trees, goldmines in Africa and lots of spiteful people the story meanders along, seemingly aimlessly and no progress is being made. At first, our heroes don’t worry but time passes and nothing really seems to be moving anywhere. Lots of false leads, a travesty of a trial and until the sensationalist ending during which Frey miraculously conceives the solution to the crime in a most unbelievable way, de Muriel obviously tries hard to bore us to death.
The solution to the crime is so complicated that de Muriel actually has to resort to having Frey spell everything out to his superior and, thus, us. If an author has to resort to such desperate measures, they’d better gone back and revised their plot.
Plus: Frey is basically constantly bemoaning his uncle’s untimely death during the previous book. The previous book, in fact, overshadows this one as it is being alluded to all the time. So often actually that I became annoyed about it. Yes, I enjoyed “The Loch of the Dead” but it’s not like it would garner de Muriel Nobel the Nobel Prize in Literature...
“Darker Arts” reads like de Muriel has spent all his good ideas. If it wasn’t for certain developments at the very end, I’d say this might be a farewell to the series – McGray receives grim personal news, Frey is impaired by the events of “The Loch of the Dead”, another important character leaves the scene...
Ultimately, considering the bland story, the bad writing and the fact that this book made me read less, I think that’s it for me – Oscar de Muriel just lost a reader for good. Or, to say it with McGray’s constantly repeated words: “Och nae...”
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August 22, 2019
I received a finished copy of this book from the publisher for my independent honest review. Thank you
3.5* I love this series and after the magnificence of Loch of the Dead I found this to be a little bland. I was so looking forward to the story focusing on Madame Katerina and I did enjoy it but my least favourite so far. The essence of Victorian Scotland is still captured very well, however the convoluted family tree of those involved in the seance disjointed the plot and my reading experience somewhat as I had to keep referring back to the family tree diagram to fully understand it.
I feel that McGray's character is getting more and more uncouth,more violent and unbalanced which I hope doesn't get any worse as in my opinion this would unravel the partnership between Frey and McGray which I've always loved.
I enjoyed the continuation of this great series, however I didn't love it like I usually do.
Looking forward to the next installment and so sorry Oscar this was a little disappointing.
3.5* I love this series and after the magnificence of Loch of the Dead I found this to be a little bland. I was so looking forward to the story focusing on Madame Katerina and I did enjoy it but my least favourite so far. The essence of Victorian Scotland is still captured very well, however the convoluted family tree of those involved in the seance disjointed the plot and my reading experience somewhat as I had to keep referring back to the family tree diagram to fully understand it.
I feel that McGray's character is getting more and more uncouth,more violent and unbalanced which I hope doesn't get any worse as in my opinion this would unravel the partnership between Frey and McGray which I've always loved.
I enjoyed the continuation of this great series, however I didn't love it like I usually do.
Looking forward to the next installment and so sorry Oscar this was a little disappointing.
September 20, 2019
This series just gets better and better. Frey and McGray are wonderful characters who keep evolving. So are minor characters such as Mary and Katarina in this case. The plot was so suspenseful it kept me up reading at night, turning page after page frantically (until the solution finally dawned on me a few pages before the big reveal, I must admit, but it was still fun to read it). The background of dreary Scotland is somewhat less dominant this time, not an actual character like in previous novels of the series, but still added atmosphere. In short, I will read anything this guy writes - he is a master of storytelling.
August 5, 2019
This is an excellent series and I think this one might even be my favourite. It's one of those closed room mysteries (which I always enjoy) with a Victorian twist. Seven people take part in a seance and only the medium leaves the room alive. Inspectors Frey and McGray (Nine Nails) are such favourites of mine and it's good to see them again as we return to the darkly colourful and witty world of Edinburgh in the 1880s. Oscar de Muriel's writing, as always, is an absolute joy to read. Review to follow shortly on For Winter Nights.
May 25, 2021
Из-за начитки несколько раз почти бросила, но хотелось узнать разгадку. В результате закончилось все неожиданно, вся мистика объяснена, ответы на вопросы "кто?" и "зачем?" получены, все ОК.
December 3, 2023
Part five of seven of the "Frey and McGray" series and it's just getting better and better.
This time we are back in Edinburgh, where six people mysteriously die during a seance that is held by McGray's close friend Madame Katerina.
As there seems to be no reasonable explanation for the deaths, McGray seeks his colleague Frey for help to save Katerina from the gallows.
Part 5 was yet another enthralling and greatly plotted case by Oscar de Muriel.
The more I read the more I am intrigued by the mixture of themes and characters. What I like best (beside the stories of the main characters) is the fact that though we always have supernatural elements, every case is solved by the evidence of nature and science, which makes this truly a crime, murder mystery series.
On top of that, the author opened another case of mental health issues with Frey suffering from something that we today would call PTBS. This is another great plot twist that talks about something that was highly tabooed during the Victorian era and is even tabooed in parts in our society today.
The next case, which is already the second to last part (😭) is a very special one and I cannot wait to continue with the series!
This time we are back in Edinburgh, where six people mysteriously die during a seance that is held by McGray's close friend Madame Katerina.
As there seems to be no reasonable explanation for the deaths, McGray seeks his colleague Frey for help to save Katerina from the gallows.
Part 5 was yet another enthralling and greatly plotted case by Oscar de Muriel.
The more I read the more I am intrigued by the mixture of themes and characters. What I like best (beside the stories of the main characters) is the fact that though we always have supernatural elements, every case is solved by the evidence of nature and science, which makes this truly a crime, murder mystery series.
On top of that, the author opened another case of mental health issues with Frey suffering from something that we today would call PTBS. This is another great plot twist that talks about something that was highly tabooed during the Victorian era and is even tabooed in parts in our society today.
The next case, which is already the second to last part (😭) is a very special one and I cannot wait to continue with the series!
Read
October 20, 2020I love this series, it deserves to be hugely popular. In this Madame Katrina has been asked to hold a seance, tragedy occurs and Katrina finds herself charged with multiple murders. Mcgray and Frey find themselves in a frantic search for the truth.
November 4, 2021
Aus mir nicht ersichtlichen Gründen ist dies der einzige Band der Frey & McGray Reihe, der in meiner Bibliothek verfügbar ist.
Gefiel mir deutlich besser als der Einführungsband, der ziemlich holperig war. Trotz allem werde ich nicht richtig warm mit Frey oder McGray. Es sind einfach zwei totale Unsympathen und dieses gegenseitige Gemobbe nervt mich. Der Fall war allerdings spannend genug, um mich bei der Stange zu halten - obwohl ein bisschen abgedroschen war das ganze viktorianische Gerichts-Palaver ja schon.
3,5 Sterne - ich habe aufgerundet, da es zum Ende hin besser wurde und damit der Gesamteindruck positiver hängen blieb.
Gefiel mir deutlich besser als der Einführungsband, der ziemlich holperig war. Trotz allem werde ich nicht richtig warm mit Frey oder McGray. Es sind einfach zwei totale Unsympathen und dieses gegenseitige Gemobbe nervt mich. Der Fall war allerdings spannend genug, um mich bei der Stange zu halten - obwohl ein bisschen abgedroschen war das ganze viktorianische Gerichts-Palaver ja schon.
3,5 Sterne - ich habe aufgerundet, da es zum Ende hin besser wurde und damit der Gesamteindruck positiver hängen blieb.
July 30, 2022
Eher 3,5 Sterne
October 25, 2020
First of all, one of my all time top five covers! Old school creepy magic theme. I just adore this series. I still love the boys. This one centered on a seance that ended with six dead bodies. A locked room type of mystery. It wasn't solved til the bitter end.
March 25, 2022
A good book but I felt it was a little too long.
October 24, 2020
Seven people attend a séance, but only one survives: Madame Katerina.
Katerina is a noted clairvoyant and now the prime suspect...
She swears the hand of the devil himself appeared before her, until she passed out, only to awaken surrounded by six dead bodies of people who put their trust into a stranger.
However, her flimsy story won’t save Katerina from people’s accusations, or from the gallows.💀
Detective McGray calls Inspector Ian Frey, his erstwhile English sidekick, to help solve this crime.
You join Frey and McGray as they work against the clock to save Katerina from a crime she is adamant she did not commit.
So just who is to blame for all of this?
The grimy streets of Edinburgh hum and come alive on the pages as you get lost in a world of death, spirits, dishonesty, and a lot of roughhousing(curtesy of McGray and his temper which is non-existent)
They attempt to unravel a mystery most foul: a parlour trick of a séance that was more thought out and planned than you would think which leaves six people dead, and Katerina framed.
How did they die in the same fashion? Just what were they trying to achieve by holding court with the dead in the first place?
Will the detective duo figure out a plot which could leave an innocent swinging from the gallows, or will they uncover the truth which itself could be buried deep within the crumbling walls of a long forgotten Edinburgh?
Full of intriguing characters, beautiful backdrops and a story which will keep you guessing until the very end.
Katerina is a noted clairvoyant and now the prime suspect...
She swears the hand of the devil himself appeared before her, until she passed out, only to awaken surrounded by six dead bodies of people who put their trust into a stranger.
However, her flimsy story won’t save Katerina from people’s accusations, or from the gallows.💀
Detective McGray calls Inspector Ian Frey, his erstwhile English sidekick, to help solve this crime.
You join Frey and McGray as they work against the clock to save Katerina from a crime she is adamant she did not commit.
So just who is to blame for all of this?
The grimy streets of Edinburgh hum and come alive on the pages as you get lost in a world of death, spirits, dishonesty, and a lot of roughhousing(curtesy of McGray and his temper which is non-existent)
They attempt to unravel a mystery most foul: a parlour trick of a séance that was more thought out and planned than you would think which leaves six people dead, and Katerina framed.
How did they die in the same fashion? Just what were they trying to achieve by holding court with the dead in the first place?
Will the detective duo figure out a plot which could leave an innocent swinging from the gallows, or will they uncover the truth which itself could be buried deep within the crumbling walls of a long forgotten Edinburgh?
Full of intriguing characters, beautiful backdrops and a story which will keep you guessing until the very end.
August 29, 2025
This is the time I am reading rather than listening to the Frey+McGray book but I could not switch off the amazing narration in my head that Andy Secombe has imparted in the previous books. Also, I am very glad I read this because the family tree was very helpful (although I still got pretty lost among all the relatives).
Is it a literary masterpiece? No. But I freaking enjoyed reading this so much (after a terrible slog with boring books) that I am willing to forgive every mishap of the author because I haven't been engrossed so much into the story for a while! I am just amazed at how well de Muriel balances the superstitions of the times with the modern understanding of science when mysterious events unfold. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humour and the appearance of Frey-Senior.
A separate point about the post-mortem procedure.
I rushed to Youtube to see the
Is it a literary masterpiece? No. But I freaking enjoyed reading this so much (after a terrible slog with boring books) that I am willing to forgive every mishap of the author because I haven't been engrossed so much into the story for a while! I am just amazed at how well de Muriel balances the superstitions of the times with the modern understanding of science when mysterious events unfold. I loved the tongue-in-cheek humour and the appearance of Frey-Senior.
A separate point about the post-mortem procedure.
I rushed to Youtube to see the
July 18, 2020
Madame Katerina, Detective 'Nine Nails' McGray's most trusted clairvoyant, hosts a séance for three of Edinburgh's wealthiest families.The following morning everyone is found dead, with Madame Katerina being the only survivor. When questioned she alleges a tormented spirit killed the families for revenge.
This book simply had me gripped around the waist, and it wouldn't let me go until I finished it, i was glued to the book and this hands down, has taken the top stop for my favourite book of the series so far! As all the other books in the series, it made me laugh, and confused me and made me feel smart when I put all the pieces together before the case conclusion was revealed to the reader, but most importantly for me, this book made me cry, i won't spoil anything but theres a truly sad moment, that if you've been following the story and characters to this point, your bound to shed a tear, which is weird for me as I've never cried to a book before. So for me that was a huge conformation that this book deserves the top spot, also the relationship between fray and McGray was at its closest, it's ever been, and i feel that fray is slowly finally coming around to the idea and possibility of the supernatural. With each book the characters evole and learn, and the plots just get better and better, the author is a natural born writer, and his writing constantly improves and blows me away, he just knows how to make his characters feel human and real, he makes you love some, and truly hate and despise a charecter, like "Pratt and mr fox" oh i hated them both! But this these books are just special to me and I really do wish more people read these books, as you will laugh, you will scream, you will feel emotion, and maybe even cry, but you will always keep coming back, i know i do. So drop what your currently reading, and read this series, you won't regret it!
5/5 Stars GoodReads ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
100/100 GingerPoints 🔥
This book simply had me gripped around the waist, and it wouldn't let me go until I finished it, i was glued to the book and this hands down, has taken the top stop for my favourite book of the series so far! As all the other books in the series, it made me laugh, and confused me and made me feel smart when I put all the pieces together before the case conclusion was revealed to the reader, but most importantly for me, this book made me cry, i won't spoil anything but theres a truly sad moment, that if you've been following the story and characters to this point, your bound to shed a tear, which is weird for me as I've never cried to a book before. So for me that was a huge conformation that this book deserves the top spot, also the relationship between fray and McGray was at its closest, it's ever been, and i feel that fray is slowly finally coming around to the idea and possibility of the supernatural. With each book the characters evole and learn, and the plots just get better and better, the author is a natural born writer, and his writing constantly improves and blows me away, he just knows how to make his characters feel human and real, he makes you love some, and truly hate and despise a charecter, like "Pratt and mr fox" oh i hated them both! But this these books are just special to me and I really do wish more people read these books, as you will laugh, you will scream, you will feel emotion, and maybe even cry, but you will always keep coming back, i know i do. So drop what your currently reading, and read this series, you won't regret it!
5/5 Stars GoodReads ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
100/100 GingerPoints 🔥
August 26, 2019
Book number five in the Frey and McGray series. In this book, 'Nine Nails' McGray's trusted friend and Clairvoyant Madame Katerina hosts a seance for one of Edinburgh's wealthiest families. But the following morning the six who attended are found dead by the family's valet. Madame Katerina is the only survivor and is accused of the murders. As the whole of Edinburgh is baying for blood, the witch hunt begins.
Frey and McGray are tasked with the impossible duty to ascertain what really happened at the seance - was it a malevolent spirit or a devious plot to commit murder?
This is one of my favourite series, Mr De Muriel knows how to get you right in the feels one minute then laughing out loud the next.
I've loved watching the relationship between Frey and McGray grow over the series and look forward to the next.
Frey and McGray are tasked with the impossible duty to ascertain what really happened at the seance - was it a malevolent spirit or a devious plot to commit murder?
This is one of my favourite series, Mr De Muriel knows how to get you right in the feels one minute then laughing out loud the next.
I've loved watching the relationship between Frey and McGray grow over the series and look forward to the next.
May 21, 2024
Another solid installment in the Frey & McGray series, and one of the better plots so far.
❤️ The Pacing - I didn’t feel like I had to rush through it, but it still kept me interested. A nice casual mystery.
❤️ The Plot/Ending - I genuinely could not guess at what was going to happen, and was really happy with the way everything tied up at the end
❤️ The Characters - while not necessarily a lot of “development” per se, I really enjoyed the relationships between characters, their of humor, and different personalities at play
😐 The Shaw/Willberg family tree was pretty confusing, even with an illustration to help. The plot would have been WAY more impactful if I didn’t have to constantly keep looking up who was who and how they were related.
😐 McGray’s character and how irrational/out of control he is got on my nerves a lot (especially in the scenes with Eddie).
3.5/5
January 6, 2021
Took me a while to get into this one due to an oh so lovely book rut (uuughhh) but once I did I was off!
I love these books, as I have mentioned in the past. I'm a big fan of an odd pairing and Frey and McGray deliver that in spades. I love the way they bounce ideas and insults off one another. I love seeing the mysticism of McGray against the disbelieving Frey it makes for some very interesting reading. Watching the 2 of them solve mysteries is hilarious. Especially this one which struck closer to home than the others being that is was McGrays friend Katerina who was up on murder charges. The whole book was great I especially loved the mad dash at the end. The only thing I'm sad about is now I am caught up with these books and have to wait for the next one to come out. Booo
I love these books, as I have mentioned in the past. I'm a big fan of an odd pairing and Frey and McGray deliver that in spades. I love the way they bounce ideas and insults off one another. I love seeing the mysticism of McGray against the disbelieving Frey it makes for some very interesting reading. Watching the 2 of them solve mysteries is hilarious. Especially this one which struck closer to home than the others being that is was McGrays friend Katerina who was up on murder charges. The whole book was great I especially loved the mad dash at the end. The only thing I'm sad about is now I am caught up with these books and have to wait for the next one to come out. Booo
November 24, 2024
I have read these books in order and didn’t enjoy 2 to 4 anything like the first. This one however was brilliant.
I was hooked from the start and devoured it in no time at all.
I loved the atmospheric details as usual land my imagination tan wild picturing all the details from the seance, the underground town and the scenes leading up to the hanging.
It definitely made up for the sad loss of Frey’s uncle in the last book.
Both Frey and McCray seemed to have a lot more character development this time and it will be interesting to see how they continue to work together now, it feels a new dynamic between them is starting. I expect they will still bicker like an old married couple though haha.
I have the hardback version of this one and then cover illustration is amazing.
I was hooked from the start and devoured it in no time at all.
I loved the atmospheric details as usual land my imagination tan wild picturing all the details from the seance, the underground town and the scenes leading up to the hanging.
It definitely made up for the sad loss of Frey’s uncle in the last book.
Both Frey and McCray seemed to have a lot more character development this time and it will be interesting to see how they continue to work together now, it feels a new dynamic between them is starting. I expect they will still bicker like an old married couple though haha.
I have the hardback version of this one and then cover illustration is amazing.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 13, 2019
I only realised it was the fifth book in the series after a few chapters - but by then, it was too late. I was really getting into the story! I liked the duo Frey & McGray. The contrasting personalities worked well together. The writing flows beautifully throughout the book. I may have noted a few inconsistencies while reading, but I cannot remember them now. I l also appreciated the ambiguities towards the last few chapters and how they all tied in together. Highly recommended!
April 11, 2020
Definitely not what I expected. The synopsis on the back reads like a supernatural police procedural but set in the 19th century. Instead, it is mostly an historical fiction adventure story. Easy to read with fun characters. Some of the details are a little off, but still a worthwhile read.
One aside: this is the fifth novel in a series. This does not detract from the story but worth noting.
Recommended.
One aside: this is the fifth novel in a series. This does not detract from the story but worth noting.
Recommended.
May 26, 2020
Loved this book, it could so easily be made in to a detective series for TV especially with the banter that takes place between the two detectives, one being an antagonistic Scotsman and the other a principled English Cambridge dropout
I did not realise this was book number 5 so, although this can be read as a stand alone it does mention things that obviously happened in the previous novels, so I will definitely start reading them from the beginning as they were quite enticing snippets.
I did not realise this was book number 5 so, although this can be read as a stand alone it does mention things that obviously happened in the previous novels, so I will definitely start reading them from the beginning as they were quite enticing snippets.
November 2, 2020
La trama es inquietante y repleta de acción, pues será una investigación a contrarreloj. Como es habitual, aunque muy especialmente en este libro, no sabremos qué creer y cuando pensamos que ya está todo aclarado, ¡boom! el autor consigue sembrar una semillita de duda que me ha gustado mucho 🥰
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Muy destacable la Nota del Autor al final, que da detalles sobre un fenómeno que se describe en la novela y que me tuvo viendo vídeos durante un rato 😋
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Muy destacable la Nota del Autor al final, que da detalles sobre un fenómeno que se describe en la novela y que me tuvo viendo vídeos durante un rato 😋
March 30, 2020
Was ok but did seem overlong with too many characters and the scene at end with Katerina was a bit far fetched that she was told to drop her weight so she would die quicker when hanged butt she doesn't -and is saved . The next book in series does look interesting and like the way it looks as though it builds on previous books in the series.
The explanation about poisons at end was interesting too
The explanation about poisons at end was interesting too
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
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