Police procedural set in St Andrews. The detective Gilchrist is suspended mainly because he's better at his job than his boss but goes on to solve the case. Gilchrist may well become to St Andrews what Rebus is to Edinburgh. ( )

I read this, the first min T. Frank Muir's Andy Gilchrist series, out of sequence. No matter. Reading the second and third book prior didn't spoil this one for me. The story is compelling and the setting harsh, cold and brutal. Andy Gilchrist is a great character and the streets of St Andrews beautifully described by Muir. The killers are pretty sadistic (no spoilers here!) but the conclusion very satisfying, as with the other novels. Really enjoyable and recommended. ( )

Yet another audiobook! This is the first book in a series set in St Andrew’s, Scotland and featuring DI Andy Gilchrist.

Someone is killing men in St Andrew’s. All of the victims are men who are known to abuse women and all of them are stabbed through one eye and then murdered. DI Andy Gilchrist is head of the investigation, and there are plenty of potential suspects to choose from, as well as severe pressure from his superiors, the public and the press to get a result. Gilchrist has a patchy past, relationship-wise – divorced from his former wife Gail and not as close as he would like to his two children Jack and Maureen, he has had a couple of relationships since his marriage ended, but nothing permanent. Add to this the fact that his boss wants him out of the police service and times are tough for DI Gilchrist.

When I started this book, I felt that it had lots of potential and I was fairly sure that I was going to enjoy it. While I cannot fault the narrator David Monteath, who did a good job of ratcheting up the tension, I actually became disillusioned the story, the more I listened. I am not against violence or gore in books (American Psycho is, for my money, one of the best books I have ever read), the violence here just seemed gratuitous and there was too much of it. I also thought that the author possibly tried too hard to create a huge pool of suspects, and the way he finally worked out who the stabber was seemed highly unrealistic. Let’s just say it involved a cat and lots of convoluted thinking. I got the impression that everything but the kitchen sink had been included in the book!

I did prefer the parts where Andy interacts with others, such as his children and some of the witnesses in the case, although apart from Andy himself, none of the characters really made much of an impression on me.

All in all, it wasn’t terrible – the descriptions of St Andrew’s were interesting and obviously come from a place of intimacy with the area – however, I don’t think I would read any more books in this series. ( )

What a great find "Eye for an Eye" is. I happened to read a favorable review on Kathy's Kittling's Books blog which I highly recommend for those interested in crime fiction. Anyway, this is the first book in a series, three books are available so far, only two at this time in the USA. #2 is "A Hand for a Hand" and #3 is "A Tooth for a Tooth"; I don't even want to think about future titles. Our hero is Andy Gilchrist, a mid 40's police detective in St. Andrews, Scotland best known for being the site of occasional British Open Championships (golf). This story has nothing to do with the golf course there except for one brief scene in the early days of Andy's marriage. Quickly, we are brought into the midst of serial murder. So far there are half a dozen victims, each stabbed through the left eye. There is a common thread, and I'll leave that to the reader to discover. Of course, pressure and frustration are mounting for an arrest. In the meantime, a former girlfriend of Andy's is being stalked by a creepy guy who gets sicker and more dangerous every minute. And Andy's boss hates his guts and wants to sack him. Lots of characters, all done well, plus a tight crisp story with a satisfying ending. Enjoyed the book very much and I recommend it highly, a pearl. ( )