Skinner's Rules

Had high hopes for this book.
However the ghost of Logan McRae lingered and gradually I grew disbelieving and disliking of Skinner. His character DOES seem to be the author's wish list fulfillment. NOONE is that perfect and I think once I realized that on top of everything else he was a perfect widowed dad ( widowed parenting in REAL life being my forte) ...I switched off.
A totally unbelievable, goody two shoes character . Shame as the crimes were brilliantly described....but my Logan is The Man :)

I know this is a long and well respected series but it is going to have to get a lot better for me to stay with it long. I found the plot a little bit of a mess and the writing a little stiff. Skinner was also a little too perfect and the love interest wasn’t that interesting.

The first part of the book was better than the second and that will keep me going for at least one more book. I was hoping to love this series because I am caught up with Rankin and Oswald but I just barely got through it. More of a 2.5 star for me.

The 'sex' is about as bad as it comes (sic). But otherwise quite a good plot and the blood, guts and brains are quite unemotional as ....[SPOILER].... he does a good job of protecting any characters that you might get to like! And just because it was written in 1994 that does not mean it should be out of the question for any women to do violence. In fact it was quite an enlightened time for a feminist! The women in this book are only allowed to be victims, lovers, mothers, wives and daughters. However I did enjoy it - especially as it was set in Edinburgh.

The 1994 time frame feels far more dated than it should, the protagonist seems like an exercise in authorial wish fulfillment (a middle aged man who has good looks, is fearsomely fit, a karate master, a crack shot, emotionally healthy, and great in bed, etc., etc.), and the identity of the villain is glaringly obvious. Worth it if you want to experience the cognitive dissonance associated with a 2011 perspective on the central conspiracy involving Saddam Hussein ("the Iraqi") and Syrian/Lebanese politics.

The 'sex' is about as bad as it comes (sic). But otherwise quite a good plot and the blood, guts and brains are quite unemotional as ....[SPOILER].... he does a good job of protecting any characters that you might get to like! And just because it was written in 1994 that does not mean it should be out of the question for any women to do violence. In fact it was quite an enlightened time for a feminist! The women in this book are only allowed to be victims, lovers, mothers, wives and daughters. However I did enjoy it - especially as it was set in Edinburgh.

The book starts off well with a serial killer on the loose in Edinburgh and a dubious suicide in Glasgow but rather than stay in the realms of a good murder mystery the plot takes a disappointing turn into international politics and intrigue featuring spies and assassins.

The characters are a bit one dimensional and I found myself not really caring about any of them.

An entertaining read, but I do not like the international intrigue. The book envisions a different kind of Arab spring, but I do not think that even the Iraqis or the Syrians would have tried the stunt that is the basis for this plot. I will give this series one more chance.