Lethal Intent (Bob Skinner Mysteries) [Hardcover]

Quintin Jardine (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 1, 2005 | Series: Bob Skinner Mysteries

Four Albanian gangsters have infiltrated Edinburgh. They're ruthless operators and deep undercover. MI5 are on their case, and unknown to Bob Skinner and his men, they've set up a drug-dealing sting to flush them out. The resulting mayhem throws everyone off, but when the dust settles, they realize the gangsters are planning a hit on a member of the Royal Family—a certain prince attending St. Andrew's University. Meanwhile, two high-ranking police officers mourn the loss of a son and a daughter under mysterious circumstances. Are these events linked?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Jardine's 15th Bob Skinner police procedural opens promisingly, taking the reader inside the corridors of power in Scotland as an ambitious first minister plans to exert near-total control over the police force. While Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner makes a convincing hero, Jardine (Skinner's Rules, etc.) is less skilled at juggling his various story lines—the political struggle between Skinner and the first minister, the "accidental" deaths of children of high-ranking police officers and the hunt for Albanian terrorists. The denouement, which features a last-minute rescue of a British notable, will strike many as something out of James Bond, and only the subplot centering on a traitor within British intelligence redeems the novel. (Dec.)
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Review

"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

“Much to savor.” -- Library Journal

“Spirited entertainment. Jardine’s randy blokes (and birds) in blue are reliable page–turners.” -- Kirkus Reviews

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 376 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing (July 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755304063
• ISBN-13: 978-0755304066
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,894,327 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Perplexing, November 8, 2005

By 

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

This review is from: Lethal Intent (Bob Skinner Mysteries) (Hardcover)

Perplexing is indeed the word for this mystery. Jardine, in his 15th addition to the series, has, in my opinion, betrayed two of his main characters--Bob and Sarah. In this book, he has them both declaring that they never really loved one another; yet if you read the books in the beginning of the series, that makes a lie out of the statement. He further insults the reader by giving Bob a new love interest that makes you scratch your head in wonderment--the two of them have no chemistry together. Jardine then states that Bob has never gotten over his dead wife inspite of the fact that she was chronically unfaithful and disloyal--and Bob is a person that values the truth and loyalty. I discovered Jardine's Skinner series many years ago on a trip to Scotland. I've eagerly ordered them from Amazon.UK and pushed our local library to buy them, however, I think now, unless Jardine does something spectacular with the series and puts some depth into his characterizations, this may be the last book I buy or read of his. His characters are not all likeable (especially Bob's self-centered daugher Alexa), but they should grow and they should grow within their character's attributes. It cheats the reader when an author takes a character in a direction (which Jardine has been doing in the last three books) that makes absolutely no sense in the context of the whole series.