Detective 'Nine-Nails' McGray and Inspector Ian Frey are back in A Fever of the Blood. It's New Year's Day, 1889 and a patient escape from in Edinburgh's lunatic asylum, but not before he kills a nurse. The strange thing is that the man that escaped was heard talking to a girl that hasn't talked for five years. And that girl is McGray sisters who were locked up after she killed their parents. McGray wants to find the killer, not only because he is leaving dead bodies everywhere he goes, but because McGray also wants to know what his sisters said.

It was quite a ride reading this book. Action from beginning to the end. McGray and Frey are still having a bit of a difficult working relationship and that's part of the charm of reading this series. Lots of hilarious banter. In this book, they have to try to find a crazy killer, or is he so crazy? There seem to be something weird going on. And weirder it gets when it seems that the man is out to kill witches.

I love the mix of historical mystery and paranormal things like witches. McGray is a believer and Frey, not so much. A bit like Mulder and Scully. But, Frey is I think having some doubts about everything is explainable in this book. The story was good, although I must admit that I felt a bit impatient now and then towards during the reading, but that could be just me wanting to know what is going on. But the final confrontation between, well good and evil was great and I'm looking forward to reading the next book in this series.

This is a great book for those that are looking for something action-filled, with humor and paranormal mysteries.

I want to thank the publisher for providing me with a free copy through NetGalley for an honest review!

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I suppose I love this series so much because it plays a) at the end of the 19th century, b) in Scotland (mostly) c) and the supernatural and the cult of the witch occupy a great place.
On New Year's Eve, Frey and McGray are called to the psychiatric hospital where McGray's sister is a patient. A nurse was poisoned by Strichnin and it looks like another inmate might be the killer. Another nurse has noticed that the fugitive and McGray's sister have spoken to each other, but she has not spoken a single word in five years. McGray has to find the fugitive because he wants to know what she said. Frey and McGray have to quickly realize that a big witch ring is behind this whole conspiracy. Can they stop them?
This was a very exciting read. ( )

The title and blurb for this book are way more dramatic than the book actually is. It was a pretty straightforward mystery and it wasn't hard to figure out the plot. Good points for the Odd Couple relationship of the two detectives and the portrayal of the witches, though, as these were nicely done. ( )

The second book in this series is all about madness & witch hunts. It grabs you from the beginning and the action is relentless until the final page. In this installment detectives Ian Frey & his Scottish partner "nine-nails" McGray are on the trail of an escaped patient from the local asylum, who murdered his nurse before escaping from a window he smashed. The patient on the run is from a prominent family, and was supposed to have died years ago in a shipwreck. The family had kept his confinement a secret to avoid scandal and now want the detectives to keep the investigation into the murder and his disappearance quiet as well, to keep reputations intact and avoid city-wide panic.

What begins as a fairly straight forward murder investigation & suspect chase soons turns into a full blown story about 19th century witches & black magic.
Because I am not a fan of stories based on the supernatural, I could only give this book 3 stars. The situations that Frey & McGray find themselves in, stretch credulity, but the adventurous nature of the story kept me reading. Highly recommended for readers interested in witchcraft and black magic. ( )