Fallen Gods (Bob Skinner Mysteries) [Paperback]

Quintin Jardine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2004 | Series: Bob Skinner Mysteries

The heat is on for Bob Skinner, Scotland’s most revered, and in some circles, most feared cop. His career hangs by a thread, as a recent illness gives his enemies a weapon to use against him. A body found in the detritus of a flood is identified as the hated brother whose existence Skinner has kept hidden for years. On the crime front, an incendiary device destroys a valuable painting in Edinburgh’s Royal Scottish Academy. As Skinner and his team tackle these crises, his wife Sarah—left in America with their children, to recover from the tragic death of her parents—finds comfort with an old college lover. When fate leaves her staring at a seemingly inevitable murder conviction, Skinner will need all his fearsome resources to sort out the tangled mess of his life. But is he still up to the challenge?

Editorial Reviews

Review

“A remarkably assured first novel… a tour de force.” -- The New York Times, for Skinner’s Rules

“Bob Skinner’s wife, brother, and heart all fail him, but not his Scots gall.” -- Kirkus Reviews

“If Ian Rankin is the Robert Carlyle of Scottish crime writing, then Jardine is surely its Sean Connery.” -- Glasgow Herald

“Jardine excels at coordinating the multiple crimes crucial to a police procedural and setting his coppers against the clock.” -- Kirkus Reviews

“This gritty, fast–paced mystery will pin even the most squeamish readers to the page.” -- Publishers Weekly, for Thursday Legends

From the Publisher

The heat is on for Bob Skinner, Scotland’s most revered and, in some circles, most feared cop. His career hangs by a thread, as a recent illness gives his enemies a weapon to use against him. A body found in the detritus of a flood is identified as the hated brother whose existence Skinner has kept hidden for years. On the crime front, an incendiary device destroys a valuable painting in Edinburgh’s Royal Scottish Academy. As Skinner and his team tackle these crises, his wife Sarah—left in America, with their children, to recover from the tragic death of her parents—finds comfort with an old college lover. When fate leaves her staring at a seemingly inevitable murder conviction, Skinner will need all his fearsome resources to sort out the tangled mess of his life. But is he still up to the challenge? Lightning–paced and emotionally gripping, Fallen Gods is Quintin Jardine’s breakthrough novel.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing; New Ed edition (February 1, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747263892
• ISBN-13: 978-0747263890
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 4.4 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,103,638 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A solid addition to the series!, October 21, 2003

By 

Deborah Verlen "Deborah" (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Fallen Gods (Hardcover)

I really like the Bob Skinner series by Quintin Jardine. Fallen Gods is a worthy addition to the series, but there were too many plot lines to allow for the comprehensive development and depth of any one of them. In this book, it seemed like Jardine was just touching upon each of his characters because he felt he had too. Fallen Gods lacked the depth of some of his earlier books in the series. If he had concentrated on the arson, or the murder(s) instead of weaving in and out of these various plot lines, the suspense and the character development would have been better. And one does wonder why Bob Skinner stays with his wife Sarah. Whenever the going gets rough, she has an affair and he forgives her each time. He is such a strong, well-defined character and deserves an equally strong partner.