What do you think?
Rate this book
Bob Skinner #21
Grievous Angel
Edinburgh's toughest cop, Bob Skinner, looks into his past to assuage his demons in Quintin Jardine's thrilling new mystery.
Skinner revisits his nightmares: old but not forgotten. Fifteen years in the past, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Bob Skinner is called to investigate a most brutal death. A man lies at the deep end of an empty swimming pool, his neck broken and almost every other bone in his body shattered. Soon, an organised crime connection looms, and bloody retribution spreads to a second city. Then violence erupts on a new front, as a vicious knifeman seems to be targeting Edinburgh's gay population. As if this double dose of homicide isn't enough for a single man with a teenage daughter to raise and protect, Skinner's personal life takes a similar, perilous twist. Can he stay on the side of the angels, or will he fall . . .?
Skinner revisits his nightmares: old but not forgotten. Fifteen years in the past, newly promoted Detective Superintendent Bob Skinner is called to investigate a most brutal death. A man lies at the deep end of an empty swimming pool, his neck broken and almost every other bone in his body shattered. Soon, an organised crime connection looms, and bloody retribution spreads to a second city. Then violence erupts on a new front, as a vicious knifeman seems to be targeting Edinburgh's gay population. As if this double dose of homicide isn't enough for a single man with a teenage daughter to raise and protect, Skinner's personal life takes a similar, perilous twist. Can he stay on the side of the angels, or will he fall . . .?
410 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2011
36 people are currently reading
192 people want to read
About the author
Quintin Jardine
97 books243 followersQuintin Jardine (born 1945) is a Scottish author of three series of crime novels, featuring the fictional characters Bob Skinner, Oz Blackstone, and Primavera Blackstone. He was educated in Motherwell and in Glasgow where he studied at what was then the city’s only University. After career as a journalist, government information officer and media relations consultant, he took to the creation of crime fiction.
His first wife, Irene, with whom he shared over 30 years, from their teens, died in 1997. He is married, to his second wife, Eileen. They live in both Scotland and in Spain
His first wife, Irene, with whom he shared over 30 years, from their teens, died in 1997. He is married, to his second wife, Eileen. They live in both Scotland and in Spain
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews
May 22, 2015
A thoroughly enjoyable read. Sharp dialogue, sarcastic and sometimes funny. Skinner is very human, making lots of mistakes in judgment and action, which makes him a very interesting character.
Jardine uses an interesting technique in this novel that I may experiment with in my own new novel. The story is told in the 1st person by Skinner, but it's a case that happened many years before. This allows Skinner to make comments about what's going to happen in the intervening years, a forewarning of future events.
My novel takes place between 1923 and 1933, but the main characters also appear in what I call Interludes, which take place in 1990. I originally intended this as a means of allowing the reader to feel closer to the characters, but it also provides an opportunity to "forewarn" regarding my characters' participation in events which occur after 1933. Experimenting like this is part of the fun of writing.
Jardine uses an interesting technique in this novel that I may experiment with in my own new novel. The story is told in the 1st person by Skinner, but it's a case that happened many years before. This allows Skinner to make comments about what's going to happen in the intervening years, a forewarning of future events.
My novel takes place between 1923 and 1933, but the main characters also appear in what I call Interludes, which take place in 1990. I originally intended this as a means of allowing the reader to feel closer to the characters, but it also provides an opportunity to "forewarn" regarding my characters' participation in events which occur after 1933. Experimenting like this is part of the fun of writing.
November 4, 2011
Book 21 in the Bob Skinner series - as Bob is aging I wondered how the hard man would continue to fit in the always violent series. Quintin Jardine chose to take his hero back and relate in brutal honesty the 15 year old intertwined cases of a mob killing, the interlinking ties of the mob families and a pair of men killed that might have a gay hate crime link - all while balancing being a single father to a 13 year old daughter, a widower, a man who makes mistakes and learns to live with them, and a newly promoted Detective Superintendent.
This book includes Skinner's first meeting of many members of his "inner circle", an interesting perspective for those of us who have read all the books, however this books stands on its own very well.
The gritty violence sometimes is extreme in this book, but it never seems false, out of place, or gratuitous.
My only complaint about this book is that I now have "tell me what you want, what you really, really want" stuck in my head!
This book includes Skinner's first meeting of many members of his "inner circle", an interesting perspective for those of us who have read all the books, however this books stands on its own very well.
The gritty violence sometimes is extreme in this book, but it never seems false, out of place, or gratuitous.
My only complaint about this book is that I now have "tell me what you want, what you really, really want" stuck in my head!
January 8, 2012
This is the latest in the Skinner series and yet it is the first. It is written as Skinner relating his memoirs of a time when he had just been promoted to Detective Superintendent, is still coming to terms with his wife's death and juggling fatherhood with his career and his love life.
Skinner is called in to investigate a horrific death which soon becomes linked to gang crime and sparks retribution within the criminal underworld which the police always seem to be one step behind.
I enjoyed this book more than some of the more recent Skinner books and liked the fact we see how Skinner first meets some of the people who become his closest colleagues and allies later in the series.
Skinner is called in to investigate a horrific death which soon becomes linked to gang crime and sparks retribution within the criminal underworld which the police always seem to be one step behind.
I enjoyed this book more than some of the more recent Skinner books and liked the fact we see how Skinner first meets some of the people who become his closest colleagues and allies later in the series.
February 18, 2012
When Jardine writes close in, he's great and I like the device of the origin story here for a well-known detective.
Bob Skinner goes back to his early days as DS and an investigation that starts with a bodyguard found in the deep end of an empty public pool, more than likely tossed there multiple times. On top of that, Skinner is playing the field a bit and that just might get him into depths he's not ready for.
The criminals are familiar if you've read other Skinner stories, and Edinburgh is its gritty, stoic, sardonic self. I love it when the city gets to be a character too.
All and still, I had the "bad guy" figured out right away, and really can't stand the title. Probably 3.5 stars if I could do that.
Bob Skinner goes back to his early days as DS and an investigation that starts with a bodyguard found in the deep end of an empty public pool, more than likely tossed there multiple times. On top of that, Skinner is playing the field a bit and that just might get him into depths he's not ready for.
The criminals are familiar if you've read other Skinner stories, and Edinburgh is its gritty, stoic, sardonic self. I love it when the city gets to be a character too.
All and still, I had the "bad guy" figured out right away, and really can't stand the title. Probably 3.5 stars if I could do that.
March 10, 2013
The book represents somewhat of a shift in style within the Skinner series as it is a first person narrative, written by Skinner - as a reflective memoir. While the premise is interesting and starts out promising - with a hope for some insight into how or why he operates as he does, it quickly descends to a point where it is evident that the approach is merely a device to insert some historical context into the series rather than include another larger than life story set in present day.
Yes, I wanted to see how it ended, but found that I was not engaged with the characters nor with effort to connect the dots on the numerous characters and sub-plots. Definitely not his best work.
Yes, I wanted to see how it ended, but found that I was not engaged with the characters nor with effort to connect the dots on the numerous characters and sub-plots. Definitely not his best work.
January 20, 2014
For the first third of this book I was tempted to put it aside thinking this is a waste of my time. I have enjoyed the recent books in the Bob Skinner series but this flashback to Skinner in 1996 before the first book of the series started is not nearly as satisfying as the recent novels.
However about halfway into the book I got interested and stayed up late to finish it. The introduction of familiar characters such as Andy and Mario at an early stage in their careers is interesting given the large role they play in the later novels. And Mia, well, her story makes the novel worth reading.
However about halfway into the book I got interested and stayed up late to finish it. The introduction of familiar characters such as Andy and Mario at an early stage in their careers is interesting given the large role they play in the later novels. And Mia, well, her story makes the novel worth reading.
April 8, 2013
The Bob Skinner novels are my guilty pleasure. This one is number 21 in the series but takes you back to 1996 before book 1 starts. Most of the characters from later books are there but much younger! There are also few that have been lost along the way. The story line as usual is set in Edinburgh and involves the dark under belly of the city. The only negative is that I did work out the conclusion well before the end.
January 1, 2012
This is a great read; one of my favourite titles by Jardine!
September 13, 2012
Story good. A little predictable but a good read
October 24, 2012
Enjoyed this even though it probably should have been the first in the series as it gives some of the earlier events of his career.
November 23, 2012
A must for all skinner fans set 15 years in the past it introduces all the main characters that appear in later books.
November 21, 2013
Really enjoyed reading how Skinner began. Well written.
April 28, 2014
Reasonably good detective novel. Skinner is not to be messed with.
March 25, 2017
I enjoy Mr Jardine's writing as he has a comfortable style of writing which makes you want to read "just another page" until you've finished. Grievous Angel is another winner but Mr Jardine has succumbed to the latest fashion and written a flashback book where the story is set early in Skinner's career but we have the advantage of modern day asides. I'm not really sure of the point of this exercise as it paints Skinner in an extremely unflattering light as a selfish, know all control freak and the plot doesn't teach him any noticeable life lessons which I thought was the whole point of writing down his old cases. Anyway whatever the excuse this is a good, exciting police procedural set in 1996 if I've guessed correctly.
September 13, 2017
I'd seen Quintin Jardine books all over the place for years and given he's so prolific I thought they might be interesting...couldn't have been more wrong. Getting through this one was bad enough. I kept going because I wanted to know "who dunnit." It was the gangster girl turned budding DJ's brother btw - save yourself...you're welcome.
I found it impossible to find anything remotely likable about Bob Skinner...egomaniac, bully, womanizer (supposedly irresistible to women - ummm no), plain old asshole. I kept thinking it would get better but it was a bit like watching a car crash, followed by a 20 car pile up, topped off with a fuel tanker explosion. Just bloody awful. You've been warned.
I found it impossible to find anything remotely likable about Bob Skinner...egomaniac, bully, womanizer (supposedly irresistible to women - ummm no), plain old asshole. I kept thinking it would get better but it was a bit like watching a car crash, followed by a 20 car pile up, topped off with a fuel tanker explosion. Just bloody awful. You've been warned.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 13, 2019
Bob Skinner now aged 50 and married to Aileen deMarco looks back on his life at age 34 when he was a Detective Superintendent in charge of Serious Crime in Edinburgh.
The cases of what are termed gay murders but actually are none of the sort and the death of gang leader Tony Manson’s driver, Marlon Watson are described. Of course Skinner gets his men with a very convoluted explanation at the end. So many characters and so many odd connected families - Holmes, Manson, Spreckley, Drysalter and Watson, it is hard too keep track of them all. Mia Sparkles, radio show host, appears (actually Mia Watson) and Skinner is sucked into a one night stand with her that didn’t end well and he later finds that she set him up.
The cases of what are termed gay murders but actually are none of the sort and the death of gang leader Tony Manson’s driver, Marlon Watson are described. Of course Skinner gets his men with a very convoluted explanation at the end. So many characters and so many odd connected families - Holmes, Manson, Spreckley, Drysalter and Watson, it is hard too keep track of them all. Mia Sparkles, radio show host, appears (actually Mia Watson) and Skinner is sucked into a one night stand with her that didn’t end well and he later finds that she set him up.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
September 8, 2020
Grievous Angel is incredibly well written and offers all the twists and turns that you'd expect from Jardine. It's a great story and something of a page turner.
This book is a sort of prequel and offers some insight into Bob's life prior to becoming DCC. It introduces some of the characters that we've come to know and love.
It's an interesting read but came at an odd time in the series and I wasn't really prepared for it if I'm honest. I found it a bit odd to be hearing about characters much earlier in the life.
A great stand alone book but tricky to read as part of the series.
This book is a sort of prequel and offers some insight into Bob's life prior to becoming DCC. It introduces some of the characters that we've come to know and love.
It's an interesting read but came at an odd time in the series and I wasn't really prepared for it if I'm honest. I found it a bit odd to be hearing about characters much earlier in the life.
A great stand alone book but tricky to read as part of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 4, 2021
4 1/2 stars. This is the 21st book in the Bob Skinner series and this one was a bit different than usual, in that it was a prequel. Bob is writing about a couple of cases from his early days and it was most interesting to find out how he met and assembled his team along the way. The cases themselves were interesting as were the people involved. I thoroughly enjoyed this look back at the beginnings of Bob's career. A most enjoyable rea
September 20, 2018
Good book. Haven’t read any other Skinner books. You know I knew Mia was bad news, there was just something off about her. I gotta say he’s doing a good job raising his daughter, I like their relationship. I also like Alison.
Read
August 3, 2019Absolutely brilliant is Bob Skinner's back story with very cleverly entwined forward glances. I've said it before but this series just gets better and better.
February 23, 2021
Quite good at the start, but it got a bit confusing and contrived as I went on. Lost interest towards the end and nearly abandoned it
January 23, 2022
I am a big fan of the Skinner series and this was a well-written look back as Skinner came up in the ranks and formed his team. If you like a good crime novel, this series is a great one to read.
August 17, 2022
Not a big fan of flash back books. Clearly set in 1996, the author has taken liberties with the technology available at that time.
September 1, 2016
In which we get to meet the cast of characters featured in just about every Bob Skinner book from "Skinner's Rules" onward, and witness the beginning of their careers. An excellent introduction - albeit more than halfway through Skinner's story.
November 30, 2013
It's OK. Not as good as Rebus, to which it is impossible not to compare it. I'll probably not read any more of this series. But it was an OK book.
June 7, 2015
Trip back in time to one of skinners old cases
February 25, 2016
Completely met expectations--a good dose of intrigue, a touch of humour, a bit of angsty romance, and some good old-fashioned "bad guy got 'em good' murder scenes. Overall an enjoyable read.
March 3, 2013
Not as good as others in this series.
Displaying 1 - 29 of 29 reviews