Customer Reviews:
 The Scottish John Grisholm June 28, 2003
5 out of 11 found this review helpful
I bought this because the author was favourably compared to Iain Rankin in a newspaper review. In fact, the books are worlds apart. While I love Inspector Rebus and his murky Edinburgh underworld, I have absolutely no sympathy whatsoever with Skinner and his appalling family. In fact, I only read through to the end in the desperate hope that one or all of them would be hideously slaughtered by the shadowy terrorists. And don't read these books on public transport - you fellow passengers will not appreciate your snorts of disbelief and cries of "oh come ON!" at the ridiculous plot twists; at the descriptions of Skinner's implausibly perfect wife and daughter; and yes, at the truly horrible sex scenes which could easily win a "bad sex" award. The only reason to give this any points at all is that the descriptions of Edinburgh are pretty good, and it is OK as a silly page-turning thriller. As another famous Edinburgh character would say, "for those of us who like that sort of thing, that is the sort of thing we like".
 A Good page turner but..... December 28, 2001
3 out of 5 found this review helpful
I like the characters, like the humour, like the twists, like the locations, but Jardine seems to have a couple of flaws in his make up- He drops the main villain into the story quite early, and quite obviously
- Every crime involving Skinner becomes an international incident (admittedly only in the two books of read of his so far!) I enjoy the books, and would recommend them to people who like strong characters & intersting locations, but would encourage that you suspend belief at about 3/4's of the way through the book
 Good on Edinburgh, bad on Skinner December 5, 2000
2 out of 3 found this review helpful
It is a matter of taste, I know, but I don't like the traditional harder-than-thou policeman or private detective. It's something about a man with "something in his eyes that scared her" that makes me scoff and loose interest. Skinner is one of these men, which is a pity, as he could be a decent guy if it wasn't for the macho posturing. Or, to be fair, if it wasn't for the posturing of the writer. This is the only Skinner book I have read, and it may not be the best one - the plot is OK, I love the descriptions of Edinburgh (my reason for reading it in the first place) - but the characterisation falters at times.
 Gripping, plot twisting brilliance, a true thriller December 1, 2000
4 out of 5 found this review helpful
Starting with an explosion in the midst of the Edinburgh Festival, top Edinburgh cop Bob Skinner is quickly thrust into a world where nothing is as it seems and dark twists and untrustworthy deeds can be done even by those you trust.Bluff and counter bluff are ever present in this tense thriller where the initial perceived political motives of the terrorists are expertly investigated by Skinner to reveal a much more basic motive. The characters ranging from the hero to the weak and snivelling political hungry Secretary of State are all too accurate and are recogniseable. Combining a sure knowledge of Edinburgh, this story is wonderful read.
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