Nine Lights Over Edinburgh

Nine Lights Over Edinburgh

3.95 of 5 stars 3.95  ·  rating details  ·  237 ratings  ·  42 reviews
(Part of His For The Holidays Anthology)

Detective Inspector James McBride is riding high on the belief that he's about to bust a human-trafficking ring. But just five days before Christmas, his unorthodox methods catch up with him and his world comes crashing down.

McBride tries to concentrate on his new day job as security for the visiting Israeli ambassador. He even start

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Kindle Edition, 123 pages
Published (first published November 16th 2010)

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Muscling Through by J.L. MerrowScrap Metal by Harper FoxHard Tail by J.L. MerrowPricks and Pragmatism by J.L. MerrowPressure Head by J.L. Merrow
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Community Reviews

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Camilla ~ ♥Qhuay At Last♥ ~


After having read 70% of this story, I wrote as an update that this was the least gayest m/m story I've read so far (and by God, I've read a lot.. Thanks Qhuay! ;) and after having finished it just now, I can safely say that its still the least gayest m/m story I've ever read..

That doesnt mean its the worst though.. Far from it actually..

This story is much more about a lost man, who finds himself at age 40 with nothing but a broken marriage, thoughts about the only love he's had at age 16... wit...more
Quirkythrope
I'm listening to the audiobook version of the His for the Holidays collection and just finished with Nine Lights Over Edinburgh, and I'm in love! I mean, it was "literally standing on the porch trying to finish the last 15 minutes before walking into my house" good! At first I was frowning like mad through the glimpse of James' life, not really feeling much pity for the man who seemed to be drowning in self-pity and booze (I'll admit that I'm not the empathetic person to begin with), but when th...more
Kassa
2.5 stars rounded up.


Nine Lights over Edinburgh is Harper Fox’s contribution to the Carina Press anthology. Unfortunately I’m not a huge fan of Fox’s writing and author voice so I’m definitely not the target audience for this story. In some ways she really shines with unique characters and a real flair for dramatic tension and brooding. Yet the plodding pace and overly verbose prose kills the story for me every time. If you’re a fan of Fox, you already like the writing style and I think this mo...more
Emanuela ~plastic duck~
4.5 stars.

It doesn't happen very often that I can really really picture the places where a book takes place. In this case, it happened: I've loved Edinburgh when I visited and the author took me there. This isn't a light read, it's about a lost man, a detective who has denied himself his sexuality and he's not whole anymore. He's divorced and he's an alcoholic who's drowning himself in his work, while every aspect of his personal life is deteriorating. He's imprisoned in himself. The only person...more
Mantastic
The only thing you can expect from a Harper Fox novel is to not have too many expectations. The way she twists and turn, pulls everything inside out and backwards, all with blunt force, is unlike anything else in the M/M genre. She truly does stand out as an original.

Like her previous stories, Nine Lights Over Edinburgh doesn’t caterer to the Hallmark crowd. Her stuff is gritty. Her characters are dark. The events don’t happen in a neat little row. The poetic, yoda-style ramblings can be confusi...more
Dina
This book was too depressing and didn't feel like a romance novel. Before I scare you away, let me assure you that it has a HEA so this is technically a romance. Unfortunately, I didn't get it.

Detective Inspector James McBride's life is a mess and he doesn't know how to fix it. He's forty years old, divorced and not quite at peace with his sexuality. On the professional front, things don't look good either: his current undercover assignment has him pretending to be an alcoholic and gambling addi...more
Jaya
SlashReader: For me this story was about in a sense losing one's self and then finding one's self again. Of course through a dramatic and heartfelt series of events. :) Detective Inspector James McBride, has a few problems and has had a few problems. However he is still a character that I found myself rooting for even knowing he was going to fall.

I won't repeat myself and say that I wanted more. I almost always want more no matter what I'm reading. It's like falling in love with a set of charact...more
Janna
Jan 12, 2011 Janna rated it 4 of 5 stars
Shelves: m-m
Nine Lights over Edinburgh
Harper Fox

4.5 out of 5 stars

This author’s writing style is different from most authors’ I know of. It’s elaborate, descriptive - some will call it verbose - and expressive. I think you’ll love it or hate it. I happen to enjoy it once I surrender to it. Harper Fox’s writing has the ability to take me to the places she describes. In this story those are the dark alleys and obscure corners of the streets of Edinburgh. The colorful descriptions of the surroundings emphasize...more
Julia
I got this in the His For The Holidays collection. I read the blurb for this one and was a little skeptical but figured I'd give it a go. WOW. I was blown away. Not only did the author manage to take me into a city I've never been and give me a clear and amazing picture of the place, but she also managed to tie a lot into this story. There's a lot going on here and it would have been easy to muddle things up, but she did a fantastic job. It's sweet, funny in places, tense in others and left me w...more
Adriana
4.5 stars

This is the third Harper Fox book that I have read and I can officialy say that I love her writing.
This book is about a 40 year old pale-alcoholic-unkept-divorced-stocky-lonely-policeman (sorry, detective inspector), and don't you love this book just hearing that? Because I do! I love that the character is full of flaws, that his life is less than perfect, that he is not in his 20's.
I love this because, even if the plot is not real, the MC feels real, and he gets his knight in shining a...more
Kirsten
Well, this was the least Christmassy of the collection and the written dialect and Edinburgh-specific vocabulary would often take me out of the world, but I really enjoyed this story. There was a nice mix of characters and even the married/divorced couple's relationship was realistic and believable. I think my biggest complaint is that the relationship between Toby and James moved quite fast. It could have used another hundred pages and a week or two of story time so the relationship didn't seem...more
Kaje Harper
3.5 stars. This book didn't quite measure up to the others I've read by this author. It was still very expressively written, but the interactions of the characters seemed forced. I can't see a straight cop giving his partner blow-jobs to induce after-sex confidences, unless the stakes were a lot higher than in this instance. And the relationship between McBride and Toby moved fast, without the kind of underpinnings that Fox usually provides. It felt more like desperation than love. McBride was a...more
Kelly
Second in the "His for the Holidays" anthology, and probably my least favorite of the quartet. The first five chapters are all setup and back story and the hero's eventual lust interest doesn't even get a line until around chapter six. I found myself skimming up until this point, but once Toby (the aforementioned lust interest) was on the scene the story really picked up and kept me hooked until the end. I still don't know how I feel about the protagonist, James. It took me a while to warm up to...more
Lillian Francis

Maybe 3.5.

Gritty and very unchristmas-like.

The descriptions of Edinburgh were wonderful, I swear if I were to visit I would recognise the places mentioned. Occasionally the harsh accents of the Scots dragged me from the story.

Unlike Toby, McBride was a hard character to warm to (just the fact that I used Toby's first name and James' surname underlines that fact) but I'm glad I stuck with him. If I had any complaint it was that the relationship between the two leads developed too quickly, not the...more
Nikyta
This book was pretty dark and kind of depressive for something of a Xmas story. It happens during the days of Xmas but doesn't revolve around it.

I didn't really like James in the beginning. I usually don't have a problem with characters that having drinking or drug problems but James' attitude rubbed me the wrong way. His 'I don't give a shit' personality was more annoying than charming and when he got hurt all I could do was think he deserved it. I think this partly had to do with how confused...more
Plainbrownwrapper
Rereading this for a special December Holiday challenge. I'll read anything by Harper Fox, any time, any where, for any reason. This one is a multiple reread for me, and well worth the repeated exposure. Since this reread is for a Holiday challenge, I'll refer to Christmas and Hanukkah in the review below.

This is a very atypical Christmas tale, with a dark and gloomy/depressed/hopeless/desperate tone for much of the story. Nonetheless, it IS very much a Christmas and also Hanukkah story. The bul...more
Elizabetta
Re-read for the M/M Bingo challenge.

4.5 stars so the previous rating holds up...

It seems that it always takes me a bit to get into Harper Fox’s stories -- patience is called for... but the payoff makes it worth it. This starts off slowly as we get the character build and backstory and place setting. James McBride is a Scots police detective living on the edge. He’s let drink and apathy bring his career down until he comes to realize that the main cause of this misery is his life-long suppressio...more
Gavin Stephenson-Jackman
Harper Fox truly has a winner here. The title, the setting, all drew me in before I even opened the cover. The back streets and wynds of the ancient city of Edinburgh and the seedy clubs and gambling dens form the backdrop to a crime drama that leaves you wondering will they get there in time to protect the innocent and bring the guilty to justice.

Detective Inspector McBride has always known that he was different, but like so many has conformed to expectations of straight society. His marriage h...more
Kat
My review is cross-posted from Joyfully Reviewed: http://www.joyfullyreviewed.com/new-r...

Detective Inspector James McBride is on the verge of bringing down the head of a human-trafficking ring. Then his cover is blown, getting McBride kicked off the case and reprimanded by his superior for his drinking problem. McBride isn’t willing to let the case go, however, and the fact that he’s assigned to security for a visiting Israeli ambassador isn’t about to distract McBride from his mission. But McB...more
Ami
2.5 stars
I don't think I will ever get used to Harper Fox's way of writings from the start of a book; she always makes me WORK hard to get into the story. I can get through the writing for previous books, though, because they DO offer characters that I can get emotionally attached to.

Not this one.

Somehow, I get lost in the overkill of prose -- and I don't even feel the romance. Even the dialogs don't work with me this time (they usually save the story). I can't find myself enjoying it.
Holly
4.5 stars but I'm rounding up.

Much darker than my previously read Christmas stories, this story involves an Edinburgh cop whose life has completely fallen apart in every way who finds redemption and love in his last chance. The atmosphere of December in Edinburgh is a large part of what really makes the book. I did have to plow through the sadness of what was happening to the MC and the pending dread of what was to come. But, there is light in the darkness and happiness to be found.
Brandilyn
Not so much a Christmas story as a story that happens over Christmas. James' world is falling apart around him. During a fateful security gig, Toby takes a bullet for him. When James' daughter is kidnapped, it is Toby, a Israeli secret service agent, who he turns to for help. But can they make things work when they live world's apart? Of course the climax happens on Christmas Eve.
Terry
Not sure why I chose to read this book, maybe because Edinburgh is one of my favorite cities but for me the story did not gel properly. As others have said, the writing is very good and scenes are set so well you could actually be there but I could not warm to the characters - maybe come back to this one when I am in a different mindset.
Tamela
What an unlikely pairing. A alcoholic Scottish Detective Inspector and a disillusioned Mossad agent under internal investigation. But Harper Fox did a great job melding them both together and making the whole story work. Highly recommended for the mystery and suspense as well as the relationship being forged.
Suze
Mar 28, 2013 Suze rated it 4 of 5 stars
Recommended to Suze by: Read for w&k challenge
I like this story - it is part of an anthology so is relatively short but it feels like you've been through a mangle at the end! It is dark and gritty, showing the underbelly of Edinburgh (maybe having done the Grassmarket pubs as a tourist, it makes it a bit easier to set in my mind). I did like that James got his happier ending.
Karin Wollina
I like Harper Fox`s books and this is no exception. I sometimes was reminded a little bit of Ian Rankins famous hero, but maybe it`s because it is in Edinburgh. This just tells me, I have to visit this city ...
The jewish aspect is very interesting
Bookbee
Read as part of the His For The Holidays Anthology. This story was the best of the bunch!
Hearts On Fire Reviews
Reviewed by: Gawain
Genre: M/M Suspense
Rated: 5 hearts

Check out the review at: Hearts On Fire Reviews
Beck
I have the anthology His For The Holidays
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Nine Lights Over Edinburgh (ebook)
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Harper Fox is an M/M author with a mission. She’s produced six critically acclaimed novels in a year and is trying to dispel rumours that she has a clone/twin sister locked away in a study in her basement. In fact she simply continues working on what she loves best– creating worlds and stories for the huge cast of lovely gay men queuing up inside her head. She lives in rural Northumberland in nort...more
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