Just..ok. Good mystery, great locale, but didn't connect with the characters much. Also seems like it's headed towards the over used and dreaded "love triangle". Meh.

Plodded along for the first 3/4 of the book, but the end made up for it

Really enjoyed this, although I figured out much of the mystery by the end, there were still a few twists and turns. Enjoyed the setting and the characters, really hope there are more to come.

Bottleneck is the fifth installement of the Scott Cullen series. Picking up where Dyed in the Wool left off, Cullen is enjoying a promotion to Acting Detective Sergeant and is put in charge of investigating a body found in Ediburgh's Old Town. Along the way he deals with job pressures, office politics and personal issues he can't ignore while he searchs for a killer.

I really enjoyed the book, the mystery twists and turns intricately and the pace is steady through the book. As always with Cullen, he struggles with personal issues but there's a sense that Cullen is evolving. Too many authors let their characters stagnate, which erodes the momentum of the series. Not so with Cullen thus far, and that makes it more rewarding while reading the books. The new characters introduced, as well as a look into Cullen's back story add a future potential that promises great things to come.

The book's shocking conclusion left off with a cliffhanger just in case you weren't already going to read the next book. Nicely done! Overall, a great read that didn't disappoint.

Just...meh. I was looking forward to this, after thoroughly enjoying the first in the series. The plot was kind of loose and rambling. League of Literary Ladies? More like League of one busybody and 3 hangers on lurking in the background. The mystery was convoluted and the thread was often lost, the secondary mystery came from out in left field and didn't feel very tied in with the plot. Just...meh. It wasn't bad, but it was a real let down after the first.

More like 2 1/2 stars. Not as bad as the last one, but the inane dialogue prevents it from being better. While never a hip, snappy series, it is getting a bit maudlin and the dialogue sounds dated. In some places, it reads like an 80s sitcom. The plot itself was interesting and was the only thing that kept me from chucking the whole thing.

Spoiler

The whole scene where Hannah was arrested was just...ridiculous. In fact, the whole plot point was just ridiculous. If Hannah should be arrested for anything, it should be for suggesting a graham cracker crust for a buttermilk pie.

I was reminded about something in this book (the mom sniffing her armpits when it gets hot) and decided to give it a nostalgia read 30 years after I read it the first time. It's amazing how timeless Judy Blume's books are. Her books were a rite of passage and if the current generation of Margarets aren't reading them, God help our civilization.

Great book, really on par with his early books.