Skinner's Ordeal (Bob Skinner Mysteries)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle .
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Did you know you can trade in your old books for an Amazon.co.uk Gift Card to spend on the things you want? Plus, get an extra £5 Gift Certificate when you trade in books worth £10 or more before June 30, 2012. Visit the Books Trade-In Store for more details. |
Frequently Bought Together
Product details
|
More About the Authors
Discover books, learn about writers, and more.
Product Description
Product Description
Skinner faces both the biggest case of his career and crippling personal crisis in this thrilling fifth novel in Quintin Jardine's bestselling Edinburgh crime series.
A mid-air explosion; a plane plunges to disaster from the Scottish skies, the British and American Defence Secretaries among the victims. Out of the blue, Edinburgh's Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner finds himself leading the biggest investigation of his career. As Skinner's ordeal reaches its crescendo, the police pursue their suspects one by one, until at last they are brought to a dramatic, thrilling, but tragic conclusion.
A mid-air explosion; a plane plunges to disaster from the Scottish skies, the British and American Defence Secretaries among the victims. Out of the blue, Edinburgh's Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner finds himself leading the biggest investigation of his career. As Skinner's ordeal reaches its crescendo, the police pursue their suspects one by one, until at last they are brought to a dramatic, thrilling, but tragic conclusion.
About the Author
Quintin Jardine gave up the life of a political spin doctor for the more morally acceptable world of murder and mayhem. Happily married, he hides from critics and creditors in secret locations in Scotland and Spain.
Inside This Book
(Learn More)
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
The book grips you from the very first page, with a heart wrenching decription of a plane crash. The story develops with emotion and feeling, and leads the reader through a detailed and intricate plot. The characters are well defined and very quickly the reader feels as though Skinner is someone you have known for a long time. An excellent read, and one of the best thrillers in ages.
Format:Paperback
I was a bit reticent about reading "Skinner's Ordeal" - the device of a bomb on a passenger airline over southern Scotland is a bit close to the reality of the Lockerbie disaster for me. However, Quintin Jardine handles the aftermath of the crash sensitively and with emotion. Unfortunately it is the rest of the book that is the ordeal to read. Rarely have I seen such a thin plot spread over such a thick book. Absolutely nothing of interest happens for at least the first three-quarters of the book. We are introduced to a few suspects, whose potential motives seem pretty weak; and, at last, we are fed a few "formula detective novel" secrets, but, deep down, as a reader I knew it was going nowhere.
Actually I guessed the identity of the killer only a short way into the book when a chapter is inserted which serves no purpose but to introduce us to a particular character. This person is then dropped into a number of scenes where a few subtle clues are slipped into conversation. Maybe I'm getting used to these books, but it all seemed a bit obvious. It all comes to a head in the final tenth of the book and, to be frank, you might as well jump ahead to this point and cut out the padding: it's all red-herring anyway.
Usually in the Skinner novels there is a secondary plot too, but in this book the second story takes place in Bob Skinner's dreams. It's all to set us up for a particularly tedious storyline in the next novel (I've read it already - I don't see the need to read them in order). It provides even more padding in an already over stuffed book.
I have enjoyed the other Skinner books I've read, but this one was too dull and drawn out for me, with none of the energy of the others. I cannot recommend it and, in fact, have decided to take a break from Bob Skinner for a bit while my annoyance at having to wade through this much padding cools. I'd say give this one a miss and try some of the stronger ones.
Actually I guessed the identity of the killer only a short way into the book when a chapter is inserted which serves no purpose but to introduce us to a particular character. This person is then dropped into a number of scenes where a few subtle clues are slipped into conversation. Maybe I'm getting used to these books, but it all seemed a bit obvious. It all comes to a head in the final tenth of the book and, to be frank, you might as well jump ahead to this point and cut out the padding: it's all red-herring anyway.
Usually in the Skinner novels there is a secondary plot too, but in this book the second story takes place in Bob Skinner's dreams. It's all to set us up for a particularly tedious storyline in the next novel (I've read it already - I don't see the need to read them in order). It provides even more padding in an already over stuffed book.
I have enjoyed the other Skinner books I've read, but this one was too dull and drawn out for me, with none of the energy of the others. I cannot recommend it and, in fact, have decided to take a break from Bob Skinner for a bit while my annoyance at having to wade through this much padding cools. I'd say give this one a miss and try some of the stronger ones.
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Police crime fiction. One in the series of DCC Bob Skinner, set in and around the Edinburgh area. As with any serial best read in chronological order as the reader benefits from the development of the characters written about. This story is set with the backdrop of an air crash investigation but as usual with Jardine there are plots and sub plots, Skinner himself is out of action and his team struggle on with the investigation. A good read not too taxing for the reader to follow.
Would you like to see more reviews about this item?
Was this review helpful?
Let us know
Most Recent Customer Reviews
No Ordeal to read this one.
Bob Skinner is in his 5th adventure. The book gripped me and kept me guessing almost until the very last page. Quite a twist at the end. Read more
Published on 4 Jan 2008 by ~
Poorly written and clunky prose.
When a plane explodes over Scotland, killing over 200 people, Edinburgh's ACC wants to know who is responsible. Read more
Published on 16 Feb 2001
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
![[Start the discussion]](http://g-ecx.images-amazon.com/images/G/02/x-locale/communities/discussion_boards/start-new-discussion-sec._V192198663_.gif){kind=small}
Listmania!
|
|
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
- Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
- I am the Author, and I want to comment on my book.
- I am the Publisher, and I want to comment on this book.
|
