Assistant Chief Constable Bob Skinner's legendary cool is shaken when he's faced with the brutally murdered bodies of his wife's parents. At the death scene in New York state, Skinner's out of his jurisdiction - but he's not going to let that stop him shaping the investigation. Soon it's clear that there's a killer hunting down a group of men with links that go back to the sixties, and that he's acting on instructions from highly placed sources. But just how high? Meantime back in Edinburgh Detective Superintendent Maggie Rose and her husband Mario, Divisional CID commander, are faced with a secret from that past that could bring their days in the police force crashing to a halt. And Skinner's not on hand to give out advice...

Industry Reviews

Quentin Jardine's series of novels featuring the resourceful DCC Skinner are consistently impressive, and this one is the most interesting yet - not least because the author has cannily relocated his protagonist to a different country (the US), with all extra problems such a move creates. There's a particularly personal element this time: Bob Skinner is obliged to identify the murdered bodies of his wife's parents and exerts pressure on his colleagues to become part of the investigation. But this is New York State, and American policing methods are very different from those on his home beat of Edinburgh. Skinner refuses to believe that the killings are part of a series of bungled burglaries, and finds himself tackling the usual recalcitrant witnesses and false leads. The switch this time, though, is the fact that Skinner is something of a fish out of water. Although not all his American colleagues are unhelpful, his approach has to be less intuitive than usual - and considerably more direct. Meanwhile things are not going well for Skinner's team back in Edinburgh, where a whole slew of problems cry out for the boss's attention. Fans will love this accomplished crime novel, and it's a perfect entry point for those new to Jardine's quirky and individual work. (Kirkus UK)