As head of Edinburgh's CID, Detective Chief Superintendent Bob Skinner has seen it all...but even he is shocked by the savagely mutilated corpse discovered in a dark alleyway. The victim is identified as a successful young lawyer, and the motive for the brutal death remains a mystery. Then further seemingly random killings in the city begin to suggest a vicious serial killer is on the rampage. But when the lawyer's fiancee is also murdered, Skinner realises that someone is in deadly earnest...

From Publishers Weekly

A vicious and possibly insane killer is stalking Edinburgh's Royal Mile in this striking debut, nominated for England's John Creasey Award for Best First Novel. The mutilated and decapitated body of advocate Michael Mortimer is discovered in what seems to be an isolated incident. More vicious murders suggest the work of a serial killer, but then Mortimer's lover, Rachel Jameson, dies when she is pushed under a train. Detective Chief Superintendent Robert Skinner of the Edinburgh police discovers that Mortimer and Jameson had successfully represented the defendants in a rape-murder case. When one of the defendants turns up dead and mutilated, political considerations prevent Skinner from jailing his suspect. His doubts about the motive behind the murders become certainty, leading him into a maze of dangerous and conflicting loyalties where his own rules of conduct are no longer valid. Solid plotting (including surprises) and short, snappy chapters that tell the story through action and dialogue leave the story lacking only in convincing atmosphere.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Jardine's first novel, a police procedural, relies heavily on realistic detail in character and plot for much of its chilling credibility. DCI Robert Skinner, lean and intent at 42, seeks the serial murderer of four people-all killed with grisly efficiency-in Edinburgh's Royal Mile. With equal aptitude, Skinner focuses on two of the victims-both lawyers-and catches the supposed killer. Something continues to nag at him, though; he reopens the case, discovering political conspiracy, Intelligence manipulations, and cold-blooded "eliminations." Spine-tingling suspense arises from a dramatic, tightly wrought plot. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Publishers Weekly

He's Robert Skinner, a high ranking Edinburgh policeman. He's got a villa in Spain, two houses in Scotland, the world's best behaved newborn and the world's most resilient new mother, in her late 30s, for a wife. He's a crack shot and a tough-fisted guy with a crass, insensitive, sexist posture who is a distinctly unpleasant fictional creation. In Skinner's third appearance, after Skinner's Festival, a crime lord is murdered in Edinburgh, and a property swindle is uncovered in a Spanish resort town. Skinner gets to log some flying hours, shout at admiring subordinates, swear unnecessarily in mixed company and solve two cases that the author links by coincidence rather than design. Jardine's collection of villains is instantly forgettable. With the exception of the amazingly stalwart Ms. Skinner, most of the women in the book are odoriferous hookers or office underlings required to serve biscuits and coffee to Skinner and the other North Country Neanderthals he hangs out with.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Assistant Chief Constable Bob Skinner has plenty of responsibilities to juggle, what with the birth of his son, Edinburgh's increasing crime rate, and the murder of local businessman Tony Manson, whose chain of Laundromats provided a legitimate front for his drug-dealing and prostitution rings. The case all comes down to money, of course, with Manson's numerous nefarious schemes, from fiddling with his company funds to running illegal land scams in Spain, all producing plenty of suspects. The investigation takes Skinner from Scotland to Spain to Amsterdam as he tries to track down the missing money, nail the killer, and close the case. Jardine offers up a superb plot that's chock-full of high-octane action, keep-'em-guessing twists and turns, and a slam-bang ending that's as satisfying as it is surprising. Another winner from this very talented writer. Emily Melton