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Frey and McGray books in order: the complete series
Looking for Oscar de Muriel’s Frey and McGray books in order? Look no further!
It’s the nineteenth century and posh Londoner Ian Percival Frey is transferred to work in Scotland where he meets proud Scot Adolphus ‘Nine-Nails’ McGray, a detective with a penchant for the paranormal. The rest, as they say, is crime fiction history.
Brilliantly mismatched, Frey and McGray embark on a series of investigations into unsolved cases related to the odd and ghostly.
Interweaving the personal lives of the crime-fighting duo, it makes for a compelling series that’s bursting with character and Victorian macabre. Highly recommended if you’re looking for entertaining crime fiction that’s a little off the wall.
Here are the Frey and McGray books in order.
Oscar de Muriel’s Frey and McGray books in order:
The Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel
1. The Strings of Murder (2015)
Edinburgh, 1888. A virtuoso violinist is brutally killed in his home. But with no way in or out of the locked practice room, the murder makes no sense.
Fearing a national panic over a copycat Ripper, Scotland Yard sends Inspector Ian Frey to investigate under the cover of a fake department specializing in the occult. However, Frey’s new boss, Detective ‘Nine-Nails’ McGray, actually believes in such nonsense.
McGray’s tragic past has driven him to superstition, but even Frey must admit that this case seems beyond reason. And once someone loses all reason, who knows what they will lose next…
A Fever of the Blood by Oscar de Muriel
2. A Fever of the Blood (2016)
In Edinburgh’s lunatic asylum, a patient escapes as a nurse lays dying. Leading the manhunt are local legend Detective ‘Nine-Nails’ McGray and Londoner-in-exile Inspector Ian Frey.
Before the murder, the suspect was in whispered conversation with a fellow patient – a girl who had been mute for years. What made her suddenly break her silence? And why won’t she talk again now?
McGray drags Frey with him, tracking a devious psychopath far beyond their jurisdiction, through the worst blizzard in living memory, into the shadow of Pendle Hill – home of the Lancashire witches – where unimaginable danger awaits…
A Mask of Shadows by Oscar de Muriel
3. A Mask of Shadows (2017)
Idols of the theatre Henry Irving and Ellen Terry are preparing to stage Macbeth in Edinburgh. But long before the actors hit the boards the play-house is hit with horror; the piercing, desolate wail of a banshee and a bloody message smeared on the street.
Legendary Detective ‘Nine-Nails’ McGray and disgraced London sceptic Inspector Ian Frey are to investigate. While McGray flicks through tattered tomes on the supernatural, Frey is convinced the whole thing is just a publicity stunt.
But as the gory messages keep coming one thing is sure; whether by human hand or not, death is coming.
Loch of the Dead by Oscar de Muriel
4. Loch of the Dead (2018)
A woman pleads for the help of Inspectors Frey and ‘Nine-Nails’ McGray. Her son, illegitimate scion of the Koloman family, has received an anonymous death threat – right after learning he is to inherit the best part of a vast wine-producing estate.
In exchange for their protection, she offers McGray a cure for his sister who has been locked in an insane asylum after brutally murdering their parents: the miraculous waters that spring in a small island in the remote Loch Maree.
The island has long been a sacred burial ground, but the legends around it will turn out to be much darker than McGray could have ever expected.
The Darker Arts by Oscar de Muriel
5. The Darker Arts (2019)
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…
The Dance of the Serpents by Oscar de Muriel
6. The Dance of the Serpents (2020)
December, 1889. There have been many bad days in Edinburgh police’s secret subdivision ‘The Commission for the Elucidation of Unsolved Cases Presumably Related to the Odd and Ghostly’. But today is surely the worst.
Because the exiled English Inspector Ian Frey, and his Scottish boss ‘Nine-Nails’ McGray are summoned to a meeting in the middle of the night with the Prime Minister himself. And he tells them that Queen Victoria – the most powerful person in the world – wants them both dead.
To be pardoned they must embark on a mission so dangerous that they might be saving Her Majesty the job of executing them. Because this case ties together the dark history of the Pendle witches, with the tragic case of McGray own sister, to a conspiracy within the highest office in the land…
The Sign of the Devil by Oscar de Muriel
7. The Sign of the Devil (2022)
An ill-fated grave-robbery unearths a corpse with a most disturbing symbol on it. When a patient in Edinburgh’s lunatic asylum is murdered, the same sign is daubed in blood on the walls – the mark of the devil. The prime suspect: inmate Amy McGray, notorious for killing her parents years before. Her brother, Detective ‘Nine-Nails’ McGray, must prove her innocence – with the help of an old friend.
Inspector Ian Frey insists he is retired. But when called upon, he reluctantly agrees to their final case. As twists follow bombshells, leading to secrets that have been waiting in the shadows all along, all will be revealed.
There you have it – Oscar de Muriel’s Frey and McGray books in order! How many have you read? Let us know in the comments below…
Books like Oscar Muriel’s Frey and McGray
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I have read All the Frey and McGray books. Just bought the last one in hardback-“The Sign of the Devil”. So far so good. All his books are excellent, funny, informative, great sense of period and time. Brilliant.!!.
Have read them all – and want them to continue ……-fabulous series !
Have read them all. Frey and McGray are two of my favourite characters of all time. I love the banter between them. The plots, settings and writing are all magnificent. Well done Oscar – let’s have more please.
Absolute page turners! I picked one of the books by chance and could not put it down. Eerie, atmospheric and in parts funny these books are fantastic reads. I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series
Victorian gothic mysteries at its best!! Spooky but humorous at the same time. Loch of the Dead can not be the last book. Surely not. MORE PLEASE Oscar de Muriel!!
I read the first as it was loaned to me and thought it wouldn’t be my sort of thing…..now I am hooked. I have bought all the others and can’t wait for more. So dear Oscar please please please keep on writing. These two characters are now a firm favourite.
I have read them all so good wish he would hurry up with the next. If you have not read them your missing out I envy the fact you still have them to read..
Hace read all four and really enjoyed them, the end of Loch of the dead leaves some questions so can hardly wait for another tale of Nne nails and Frey.
Have only read Strings Murder I am looking forward to reading all the others on the List A most enjoyable read thank you for such a good book to read
Brilliant series and very atmospheric! Highly recommended!