Evil stalks the city of Edinburgh. This time, the threat is bigger than the crooks, scam-artists, and drug dealers who find their prey in the shadows of the city’s streets. The body of a respectable businessman is found hanging from a tree, a veteran from a Belgian marching band is killed in a hit-and-run incident, and another person dies of an apparent heart attack.
Enter Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner, in his 14th adventure.
Keeping track of who’s hooking up with whom among Skinner’s police colleagues detracts from the central plot, the triumphant return home of Edinburgh’s most famous native son, Gilbert White, who recently was elected pope. White’s visit is a security nightmare, and Skinner must anticipate not only how and when terrorists might strike but how to keep the different government entities involved in planning the papal trip on the same page. Meanwhile, the deputy chief constable’s marriage to a pathologist hasn’t recovered from mutual infidelity, leaving him open to new romantic possibilities. ( )

Skinner series #14. The newly elected Pope is coming to visit Edinburgh, his home town, and the security has to be bullet-proof. A series of unusual murders, including a Belgian marching band member, may be related to organised crime. This is a good complicated plot, suspenseful escape reading, with interesting Edinburgh local colour. I like the whole series. ( )