https://www.runalongtheshelves.net/blog/2018/3/31/the-night-lies-bleeding-by-m-d-lachlan

This was a very rare DNF for me (a Did not Finish) I always think this is more my fault than the books and so for me I think I hold my hands up and as it’s the fifth book in a series over a thousand years I realised I’m coming late into the tale so some elements gave me a sense of having missed the party. The other main issues for me was the main character of Craw the immortal was he didn’t feel much of a character I struggled with a thousand year old character who still felt he was a noble man’s son and hadn’t adapted to changes. The use of the SS seeking out dark magics was a familiar trope, but I felt it was more for shock effect than any real examination of a true force of evil. Rather noticeably well over a quarter of the book for more than one female character to appear. Not for me

When countries are at war there are plenty of casualties, but when bodies are turning up with strange markings, the London police are baffled. Calling in an expert who has his own secrets, can they find out who is behind it.
Whilst the murders are happening in London, in Germany Dr Max Voller has applied to join the SS. What started out as a bit of a laugh soon got serious when he was accepted to prove his psychic theory.
Craw and Dr Voller’s stories at the start are told separately but as the story continues they soon intertwine. Craw was constantly fighting his inner wolf, whilst also trying to help the police. Plagued with memories of his former lives he was slowly cracking up. Adding to his pressure was Professor Harbard who had his own agenda. Dr Voller was an idealist, Even though he was Nazi, he did not wish to be part of the conflict, but after entering the SS, his was forced to change his way of life. Mixed in with their stories was the history of the Ancient Norse gods and the part they played in the war.
As Craws and Voller’s stories were running parallel it was easy to follow the story. However there were parts that I found heavy going and this did slow me down with my reading. The experiments that Dr Voller did were graphic, but this was what happened in the war and whilst distressing, it did help explain the paranormal fascination that Himmler and Hitler had. The action was full on and the final scenes were a page turner. Whilst I had not read any other stories in this series I did not feel that I missed out as the story could be read as a stand alone. For my first introduction to Craw I really liked him as a character and I am interested in reading his previous stories.

I'm really sorry, but I had to give up on this one. I was enjoying Craw's plotline to begin with, but I wasn't finding the other bits as engaging, and the horrors that the doctor had to deal with were not something I wanted to be reading about. I got to about 35%, but the book just wasn't working for me, I was finding it quite a struggle to keep pushing on, so I decided it was best to stop.

ARC provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

First of all I am so annoyed with myself because I missed the fourth book in the series - Valkarie's Song - which came right before this one. Having said that all of these books are self contained stories so while reading them in order may result in a richer reading experience, you won't lose anything if you do happen to pick them up out of order. I've been utterly addicted to this series since Wolfsangel came out years ago. The mixture of Norse mythology - focusing on the fact that Nordic gods were largely suffered and respected rather than adored because hey they just aren't nice - historical occurrences and weird (or wyrd!) dark magic, they are a GrimDark treat. I think this one may actually be the best in the series so far. You'd think that mixing Norse mythology, werewolves, Ragnarok, the occult and WWII wouldn't work, wouldn't you? But it absolutely does. I've always been morbidly curious by the Nazi fascination with the occult, ad that thread really binds this story together through use of the Elder Futharc (runes). I don't want to post any spoilers. Suffice to say that was a fast paced, twisting and appropriately Stygian ride. If you're a fan of the series, you'll love this. If you haven't discovered the series yet, you have four books to catch up on before this one is released. Highly recommend.