A fantastic blend of high fantasy, police procedural, and horror ('cause some of her crimes are graphic and all of 'em are brutal) is the trilogy by Tamara Siler Jones. Ghosts in the Snow is the first, Threads of Malice is the second, and Valley of the Soul is the third. Valley is due out at the end of October.
The central conceit is that the main character, Dubric Byerly, has been cursed for misdeeds in his past with the ability to see ghosts. The ghosts of the murdered, to be exact, and they continue to haunt him until he catches their murderer. As head of security at the castle, his domain includes pretty much the entire dukedom and the various books take him all over. You'll get very attached to his assistants (my personal favorite, Dien... rough-and-rowdy, swearing, head-bashing but somehow still a gentle soul and a perfect gentleman). Magic is an accepted part of the world, but subtle. No spell-caster, our hero. He does most of his work through rudimentary forensics with just a dash of magic to give him a nudge from time to time.
My god, this woman can write. Ghosts was addictive in all the best ways. This was a book I taunted myself with. I would only let myself read it at lunch, after class, when I had my drink.
When Threads came out, I couldn't do it. I gulped it down in chunks. This book was more grim than the first, a little darker (believe it or not), a little more on the horror side.
If you can handle horrific scenes that are not gratuitous but rather are treated with a sense of accuracy, that are there to further the plot and not simply to shock, you must must MUST read these books. Awesomeness in print form.
In the interests of full disclosure, I have to admit that after a raving fan-girl letter I sent to Ms. Jones, I did get ARCs of Threads and Valley. Yes, I've read the third book and it's good I tell you, good! No, you can't have it.
