Book Review – Skin and Bone by Ed James – Compelling Read
Table of Contents
My Rating – 4 out of 5
Plot Summary – Skin and Bone
Ed James as an author, in my opinion at least, is getting better and better as he publishes more. For an Indie author he has been a fabulous talent and much unrecognized by the mainstream media. His DI Simon Fenchurch series, which he writes the least of, is an absolute cracker and now the DS Vickie Dodds series is getting close to that fluidity. This is the 3rd book of the series, and probably the best of them to date. The last one Flesh and Blood is not as good as this one though…
Noel or Dax, as he likes to be known by, is like many other teenagers of our times. Brought up by his father, a single parent, in the Scottish town of Dundee, he’s more into the world of virtual gaming than into real life. He’s 15, and smart for his age. Then one day, he’s kidnapped in broad daylight by two men who threaten to do major harm to him. Noel escapes from the moving van, only to die in an accident. The only clue that the police can find is a string of numbers, etched on his skin. DS Vickie Dodds was out celebrating her birthday, with her family when she’s called in to investigate.
Meanwhile, Vickie‘s boss, DCI Forrester is investigating the case of another missing teenage girl, Ashlynn – a nineteen year old with a dodgy past. As Vickie gets deeper into the investigation, she discovers there is much more to the accidental death of Noel. There are people in the Police department who maybe involved in a larger crime of Pedophilia, human trafficking and even abuse of the most vile nature. She cannot trust anybody as things are happening too fast, pointing her in first one direction, then another.
Her first husband Alan, with whom she has a daughter, Bella, is a journalist and keeps hounding her for Bella’s custody and generally bugging her – but here even he is an aid to her investigation, even though that comes at the fag end of the novel. Vickie’s current partner Rob, who has a son from his previous marriage, Jamie, has a calming influence on Vickie and stands by her through the current turmoil. But the investigation, which seemed like only a murder/accident turns into a much larger conspiracy which will redraw the lines in Police Scotland.
Conclusion – Book Review of Skin and Bone
As I began by writing, this is by far the most fluid of the Vickie Dodds series, a fantastic page turner with no leaps of faith. The investigation is fueled by gritty police procedural work, and one thing leads to another. Unlike the American Cop thrillers, the UK Police forces, are not generally armed with lethal weapons, so you see a lot less people killed in Police shootouts. While that makes a novel rather dull in comparison, it’s another matter in real life, where trigger happy policemen can, and do, make mistakes which cannot be undone.
Those readers who do not mind reading new authors, i strongly recommend that you give Ed James a try, you’ll be glad you did. For those of you, who are already familiar with his work, this is a really good one, so go ahead and read it.
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