Publisher's Weekly Review
The star doesn't take center stage until late in Jardine's hard-hitting 17th Bob Skinner mystery (after 2007's Dead and Buried), but when he does, the Scottish deputy chief constable quickly makes his presence felt. Skinner's friends and colleagues on the force have been grappling with a possible serial killer who has claimed the lives of Stacey Gavin and Zrinka Boras, two young and attractive artists. The offer of a million-pound reward for the killer by Boras's father, a wealthy and well-connected businessman, hampers the official inquiry. After pursuing a flurry of false leads, the police find a personal connection between the victims, but their efforts to identify the man the two artists knew in common runs into unexpected interference from the security services. The novel's strength lies in the depiction of camaraderie among the police, which makes the tragedy that befalls one of them the more poignant, but readers should be prepared for routine prose and plotting. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Does Scotland have a vicious serial killer on its hands? And where's Big Bob Skinner when you need him? Two talented young female painters have been done away with using identical MOs. Normally, DCC Bob Skinner, mainstay of this durable, highly readable series (Dead and Buried, 2006, etc.) would be all over such a headline-popping pair of crimes, throwing his considerable weight around and, like Henry V at Agincourt, rousing his troops to a do-or-die effort. But today his door is closed and his office empty--and the media is left clamoring. All to no avail, for the master sleuth is swanning about in the States, conducting lectures on crimes he's cracked, writing learned articles and courting the sexy, redoubtable Aileen de Marco, Scotland's minister of justice. So busy is Big Bob on the periphery that he doesn't put in an appearance where he's most needed until more than 250 pages are gone. As if to make up for lost time, he swashbuckles like crazy from that point forward, taking on MI5, the CIA and everything else in his path, including a rich, powerful tycoon, father to one of the murder victims, who in his own nasty way turns out to be almost a match for Big Bob. Fans will make do, though it's not nice to keep them waiting so long for the hero to enter the fray. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Library Journal Review
While Edinburgh Detective Chief Constable Bob Skinner is on sabbatical, his team probes the murders of two young female artists and a young man in what appears to be ritualistic killings. As usual, the personal lives of the police officers play a part in the story; the unexpected conclusion will leave fans shocked. Jo Bannister, Peter Turnbull, and Ian Rankin can be considered read-a-likes, but when it comes to the depiction of a multilevel police force in action, Jardine, who also writes the Oz Blackstone series, stands alone. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
