When further bodies turn up, also mutilated, Con finds herself in danger in a claustrophobic drama…. Con is trying to recover from the events of the previous book while mourning the death of her mother. A friend of her aunt has loaned her a cottage on the coast in a village near Aberystwyth, where she can heal.

Detective Constable Constance Fairchild is on compassionate leave following the death of her mother, and is renting a cottage near Aberystwyth, Wales to get away from the hustle and bustle of London. The problem is trouble appears to follow Fairchild around and she finds herself in a police station cell after defending herself from two would-be rapists. While at the station she is mistakenly put in the same cell as a young Ukrainian woman, Lila, who confides in that she’s been forced by her manipulative boyfriend into prostitution and running drugs. Fearing for her life, she has run away from him, only to end up in the cells. Nowhere To Run’ is the third outing for James Oswald’s Constance Fairchild but it can be read as a standalone book. As this new case gains momentum and more victims are discovered, Con finds herself on a journey to Edinburgh in the hope of unearthing more about the victim found near her flat. She remains officially off-duty and works somewhat outside of her legitimate parameters. While in Edinburgh, Con encounters characters who may be familiar to readers of James Oswald’s McLean series. I love how the two series ‘accidentally’ overlap and how James Oswald subtly weaves these characters into each separate plot-line. James has also introduced the world to Detective Constable Constance 'Con' Fairchild, whose first outing was in the acclaimed No Time To Cry. James Oswald fills this book with easter eggs and references to his hugely successful Inspector McLean Series. Locations and characters that will fill McLean fans with unbridled joy when they pop up. Yet Oswald still manages to do it in a throwaway, blink or you’ll miss it fashion that won’t confuse or deter readers new to this, the Constance Fairchild Series.Con has multiple issues to deal with. The trail of devastation behind her and in front of her is incessant with no sign of letting up. Supposedly off-duty, Con finds herself unwittingly caught up in this new case. With the paparazzi still hounding her, Con can find no peace in her own home. At her place of work, many of her colleagues are keeping their distance and passing snide remarks in her wake. Following on from her previous case, members of the police team are under investigation and Con is the scape-goat in her station, as the now additional workload is allocated out to those still in their jobs. With my previous knowledge of both the character and the author I still enjoyed the read but not as much as I had initially hoped. A minor blip but feel sure the next book in the series will be much better. I like Con Fairchild who wants to do a good job and is frustrated at every turn. She is dogged, determined and a magnet for trouble. It’s great stuff. The Hangman’s Song, which is the third book in the Inspector McLean series, was initially published in February 2014. In this book, there is a series of seemingly suicide cases wherein three Edinburgh residents take their own lives. But their suicide notes point to a creepy helical trail, implying that a murderous person or thing is on the loose. Detective McLean is on the quest for reconciling the suspicious murders and sleuthing organized crime all the while. My first J.Oswald read was a McLean story, at least it was more tightly written as a police procedural, this was a combo of circus, Indiana Jones crypt cliche and new world religion folks.

It starts off pretty sedately with Con recuperating in an isolated cottage in Wales but, as is the case with Con, trouble seems to find her regardless of whether she is in the centre of London or in the middle of nowhere! Here she is getting embroiled in a smuggling operation on the Welsh coastline - you just know from the very beginning that things aren't going to go well for Con but little do we know just how bad. I really enjoy the sense of something other worldly that imbues these books; just out of reach of explanation, never tangible enough to grasp, but there in plain sight, all the same. The ambiguity of dealing with ritualistic crimes and looking for legal justice leads to a fascinating and utterly compelling tension that keeps the reader transfixed. Nothing to Hide is a terrific addition to the series. It’s very interesting to follow DC Constance Fairchild’s career and to follow her relationship with her family and colleagues. On her way she calls in home and stays with her Aunt Felicity. Her brother Ben is getting married to Charlotte shortly and Con needs to tell her mother that she won’t be attending. The last thing Charlotte and Ben need is a bunch of paps turning up at their wedding in search of the ‘Posh cop’ and her family. I found this a fast paced, gripping read which I found hard to put down. There are lots of twists and turns to keep the reader very interested in the story, which helped keep me guessing what was going on. I had to keep reading to find out what was happening and to see if Fairchild comes out on top again.But she does her best to ignore them and finds allies in Karen Eve, Bain and Diane Shepherd. They do their best to include her in the investigation that concerns the young man she found and others that have died from their injuries. Strange and unusual seem to be an everyday occurence for our favourite Detective and Nowhere to Run is absolutely no exception to the norm. It's one of the things I like about this series, and James Oswald's books in general to be fair. They are not your average police procedurals. Not by a long chalk. And Constance Fairchild is not your average Detective. She has seen her fair share of the inexplicable and the scene is set for more to come with local legends and mythology intermingling with a case very much grounded in the real life atrocities that could all too easily have been ripped from the headlines. It is a story which is very topical, a touch dark in terms of theme perhaps, but told in the series trademark first person, almost conversational style which keeps readers immersed in the action but a step removed from the real depravity of what is happening. It works brilliantly in this case, with Con's conscience and natural curiosity driving her to get involved in a very complex investigation, even though she is meant to be on sabbatical. But from her perspective we get a unique take on what is happening, and I found myself faced with a real determination of our own to see the whole thing through to its conclusion.