Thank you for the chance to review this book, however, unfortunately, I was unable to read and review this title before it was archived.

I love, LOVE a good detective series-especially one with a crime solving duo set in the UK and in the 1800s! Highly enjoyable read. Looking forward to the next one.

I really enjoyed this dark and creepy paranormal mystery.

Unfortunately, I was unable to finish this title so I will not be leaving an online review.

If you're interested in witchcraft, this may be for you. This follows a prior book, but definitely stands alone as well. A horrific murder has been committed at a lunatic asylum in Scotland, drawing our H's to the asylum to solve the crime. Our Scot H, McCray, unfortunately has a sister who resides there, drawing him more personally into the crime. Our other H, an Englishman, is less personally invested. Their investigation leads them a merry chase through England in pursuit of witches, child snatchers and more murders. They encounter aristocrats, judges, politicians, maids and innkeepers all drawn into the evil plot.

A Fever in the Blood by Oscar de Muriel could have been great.

As far as plot goes, A Fever in the Blood does not blaze new ground. However, the author does have the laudable ability to create an extended, convoluted, unpredictable plot trajectory. Issues that might at first seem troubling are all tied up in the end. Most of the characters are interesting and engaging, especially the antagonist.

The two main characters perpetuate the good-cop, bad-cop trope. Although it has been done before, readers still enjoy it. The first-person narrator is Frey, an English police officer working in Scotland. His side-kick is Nine-Nails McGray. Frey is a solid, serious man who tries to follow the rules. He is believable and likable. McGray, on the other hand, is an unruly Scott. His characterization is rather overblown. His erratic behavior and dialogue tinged with unfortunate dialect make him hard to appreciate. In addition, randomly referring him with one name in one sentence, then the other in a consecutive sentence is confusing and slows the read. His metaphors and similes make him sound unintelligent.

The opening setting is Scotland. Unfortunately, there is little sense of place in this part of the novel. Salting the text with a "laddie" here and a "lassie" there does not create place. When the plot moves on to England, the sense of place improves greatly. Readers will be able to picture England of 1882 from madhouse to inns.

The tale begins when McGray and Frey are called to solve a murder that takes place in a mental institution. The perpetrator, a lord, has escaped into the darkness. The police follow his trail to England where they are hampered by the machinations of witches, locals who lie in an effort to derail their investigation, and massive snow storms. All this creates an interesting story that some readers will enjoy.

Unfortunately, refined readers will find A Fever in the Blood a painful reading experience. The text is littered with cumbersome adverbial dialogue tags that should be shown and not told in order to add depth to the story. In addition, animalistic tags such as growled, barked, spit, and roared are highly objectionable. Garbled participles, improbable metaphors, and excessive passive constructions are among many issues that derail the narrative. Most importantly, dialect must be used minimally and with stringent accuracy. To do otherwise can be insulting to native speakers.

Fortunately, the writer possesses an innate ability to create an interesting plot. Once his literary skills mature, he will likely become a favorite for readers of his chosen genre.

Without reading Oscar's de Muriel's first book, The Strings of Murder, I truly enjoyed A Fever of the Blood. This was a wonderful supernatural murder mystery that readers will enjoy.

On Goodreads.

Great story! Looking forward to reading more books by this author!

A Fever of the Blood was a great book, in my opinion, it was even better than the first installment! I love the writing in these books! I love how Muriel builds the supernatural and magical aspects up and keeps you on the edge of your seat. But there is always an explanation for everything so you are never left in the dark. I also loved the atmosphere of this book! Overall a great read!