I have to say it doesn't start in a sparkling way - it seems to meander and you begin to wonder where the whole thing is going - but not in a good way. Rather like in Case Histories this book looks from the viewpoints of several characters, linked very loosely to Jackson Brodie, ex-army, former policeman, previously a private investigator and by this time independently wealthy (as explained in the previous book). He is also going through complicated (and not smooth ) personal relationships. This time there is one incident that each character is involved with, (road rage in Central Edinburgh) but as you would expect in a thriller (and this is in many ways a traditional thriller) there are many twists and turns, and nobody (and nothing) is quite what it seems. So after a shaky start Ms Atkinson gets into her stride, and this proves to be a real page turner - she is so good at developing characters without over writing, you care about what happens to even the minor and fleeting people - you want to 'good' guys to succeed and the 'bad guys' to lose - and some do spectacularly. The author is much better at female characters than male - and I wonder if she'll need to look at Jackson Brodie a little more closely to make some of his actions and emotions more credible. Still a worthy 7/10
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