Detective Constable Scott Cullen of Lothian and Borders has only been three months in CID as a full DC. He is assigned a Missing Persons case that has stretched his uniform colleagues. Caroline Adamson — a young, recently divorced mother from Edinburgh — has disappeared whilst on a date.
The more Cullen digs into her disappearance, the more he unravels her private life. Who was she on a date … a date with? What happened during her divorce from Rob Thomson? As Cullen’s own private life gets messier and the relationship with his DI deteriorates, Caroline’s body turns up and he finds himself hunting for a ghost in the machine.
more
A slightly under-stated but thoroughly enjoyable book with real characters and slightly too real settings – I was alarmed to find one scene set in the hotel I was just about to stay in the following night! It showed a thorough knowledge of Edinburgh (not just the usual aspects) and its people, and the plot was a good page-turner. I’ve gone on to …
This is the first book in a series about a detective in Scotland and the last of the series I will read.
I didn’t like the characters. Hard to get involved in a story when you abhor the characters. And, I don’t know Scotland, but I don’t see any supervisor getting away with the trash that Detective Inspector Bain gets away with. To say the …
Good mystery with suspense and surprises. I enjoyed the story.
it was different, enjoyed the majority of book, a few places where the thread kind of got lost,
I read while commuting – so my long days start & end with a book. This being said i like books that i can hardly wait to get back to! This story meets that interest level. Good story
didnt like it
magnificent!!
Not a good read.
I thought this book was a little too hard to follow.
I don’t know much about how cops interact with each other, but I can’t imagine them speaking to each other like this – but maybe it’s a Scottish thing. Good story though, if you can get past the Britishisms and understand them.
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Good story, characters you can love and characters you can hate. Looking forward to more from M. James.
The book was interesting enough to finish (i am ruthless about not finishing books that are unworthy). That said, the characters were not all that likeable and the plot was slow moving. The “tech” seemed dated, i didn’t need explanations about what is an IP address or what is a DBA. I kept “seeing” what they should have been able to see if only …
I didn’t finish it, just too slow. I got very board with the whole plot and characters. Hard to follow some of it because I didn’t understand the meaning of some of the British slang. I hardly ever “not finish a book” but when you just don’t feel like picking it up to read then it’s time to move on
Very puzzling.
this, like all of Ed James mystery novel is a page turner with down to earth characters and realistic action throughout. I recommend his books to all.
I liked commentary about social media and its dangers as well as how easily we become “friends” with people we don’t know. Other than that, 77% through, I’m finding the story as tedious as real police work and the characters about as likeable (not). I’m struggling to finish it.
A good read with flawed but interesting characters. Twists on the hard-boiled detective novels.
I had a hard time putting this book down ! It was great !
Another poor sod trying to solve crimes with his boss pulling against him.
as i’m from the usa, i didn’t quite get the language/terms used all the time….I got the gist of it but it left me wanting a better understanding….the story was good as well as the characters