Quintin Jardine

(born June 1945 - ) - Motherwell, now Gullane and Costa Brava, Spain

Crime writer Quintin Jardine was born in Motherwell in 1945, and studied law at Glasgow University. A varied career followed, including as a journalist, a political information officer, and media relations consultant. He gradually turned to novel writing, and his first book, Skinner's Rules, was published in 1993.

The Bob Skinner novels are set in Edinburgh, and feature deputy chief constable Bon Skinner, marketed as "Britain's toughest cop". There are 18 novels in the series, most recently Fatal Last Words. His second series of novels feature private detective turned Hollywood actor Oz Blackstone. The first of these novels was written under the pen name of Matthew Reid, but subsequent books used the Jardine name. Oz Blackstone died following the events of the novel For the Death of Me, and Jardine has continued the series but now features Oz's ex-wife Primavera, and moved the setting to Spain.

In the Oz Blackstone novels, Oz occasionally appeared as an actor in fictional films based on the Bob Skinner novels.

He left Motherwell in 1968, and now shares his time between Gullane in East Lothian, and L'Escala on the Costa Brava in Spain. He is married to his second wife Eileen, and has four grown-up children. He is a supporter of Motherwell Football Club.

The Bob Skinner Series

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Aftershock - Paperback
Still reeling from the tragic death of their much-loved colleague, Skinner's men are about to discover that a disturbed serial killer is still at large and very close to home. 'Aftershock' is the sequel to 'Death's Door'.
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Autographs In The Rain - Paperback
As DCI Skinner takes a stroll with a gorgeous filmstar, the worst of his worries seems to be a scheming colleague back at HQ. Then a frightening gun attack sends Skinner and his old flame diving for cover.
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Dead And Buried - Paperback
DCC Bob Skinner has a failed marriage on his hands, and a death on his conscience, but little time to deal with either as he faces the biggest challenge of his career within the secret corridors where dark power is wielded.
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Death's Door - Paperback
When two young female artists are murdered in what looks like ritualistic killings, the pressure is on to find a highly professional murderer. What is the link with the art world? Is the killer a disgruntled art critic? It's not long before Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner gets called back to the frontline.
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Fallen Gods - Paperback
The heat is on for DCC Bob Skinner, Scotland's most revered and, in some circles, most feared cop. His career hangs by a thread, as a recent illness gives his enemies a weapon to use against him. Is he up to the challenge?
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Fatal Last Words - Hardback
It's August and the Edinburgh International Book Festival is in full swing. The world of books is focused on Charlotte Square Gardens, so it's a considerable embarrassment when one of Scotland's most successful crime writers, and key Member of the Scottish Parliament is found dead. DCC Bob Skinner investigates.
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Gallery Whispers - Paperback
In this Bob Skinner mystery, the Deputy Chief Constable is tied to a desk job because his boss has recently suffered a heart attack. With murder and terrorism to contend with, his time at the desk will be short-lived.
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Head Shot - Paperback
Assistant Chief Constable Bob Skinner's legendary cool is shaken when he's faced with the bodies of his wife's parents. At the death scene, Skinner's out of his jurisdiction - but he's not going to let that stop him shaping the investigation.
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Murmuring The Judges - Paperback
In Court 11 of Edinburgh's Parliament House, an armed robbery trial is about to take a dramatic turn. While lawyers argue over police evidence, the judge collapses in agony. As the robberies continue, Lord Archergait is not the only judge under threat.
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Skinner's Festival - Paperback
Each August thousands of tourists and performers flood into Edinburgh for its famous Festival. But this year, on the very first day, an explosion rocks Princes Street and one man is killed. Assistant Chief Constable Bob Skinner, head of CID, soon learns this was no accident.
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Skinner's Mission - Paperback
When an Edinburgh car showroom is torched, leaving a fortune in luxury sports cars destroyed and one badly charred body, Skinner finds himself on the same side as a man he's been trying to nail while they both search for the man's wife's killer.
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Skinner's Ordeal - Paperback
A plane has been blown up in the Scottish skies, with the British and American defence secretaries amongst the victims. Chief Constable Bob Skinner finds himself with the greatest challenge of his career, as he tries to find the bombers.
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Skinner's Round - Paperback
A golfing tournament is being staged for the opening of an elite country club. However, the discovery of a body and a legendary witches' curse involves Assistant Chief Constable Skinner in a dramatic and unexpected investigation.
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Skinner's Rules - Paperback
As head of Edinburgh's CID, Detective Chief Superintendent Bob Skinner has seen it all - but even he is shocked by the savagely mutilated corpse discovered in a dark alleyway. The victim is identified as a successful young lawyer, and the motive for the brutal death remains a mystery.
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Skinner's Trail - Paperback
Skinner is on the trail of organized crime and a cold-blooded killer in this novel. First the joyous birth of Skinner's son then the grim reality of murder in one of Edinburgh's prosperous suburbs. Can Skinner catch the murderer?
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Stay Of Execution - Paperback
Excitement on the streets of Edinburgh is feverish as the city prepares for a huge rally to celebrate the return of Pope John the 25th to his home town. With the whole world watching, the security has to be bullet proof. But is there a chink in the armour and does Bob Skinner have the inner strength to find it?
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Thursday Legends - Paperback
A friend of DCI Skinner, who plays five-a-side soccer with the police team, is killed. As Skinner investigates he discovers that the perpetrator may be someone close, and a second murder convinces Skinner that the murderer may not be finished.

The Oz Blackstone Series

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Alarm Call - Paperback
Oz Blackstone didn't go looking for fame, it just happened. Movie stardom and wealth - Oz is standing on the brink of the big time when it all goes wrong. The first sign of trouble appears when Oz finds his ex-wife Primavera Phillips, drenched in tears - cheated out of her fortune and robbed of her baby by his con-man father.
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Blackstone's Pursuits - Paperback
When private enquiry agent Oz Blackstone takes on the job of finding an insurance company's missing half million, he finds the corpse of the would-be embezzler with a knife in his back and no sign of the missing money.
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A Coffin For Two - Paperback
After cracking their first case together, Oz Blackstone & Prim Phillips find themselves simultaneously in love & in the money. But the good life soon turns sour as they become involved in the strange case of the corpse nobody wants.
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For The Death Of Me - Paperback
Oz Blackstone, crime investigator turned international film star, is back but the demons of the past begin to creep up on Oz's sunny life. Blackmail and murder are lurking in the shadows and when organised crime muscles in on the picture, Oz is getting close to losing a lot more than his wealth and reputation.
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Poisoned Cherries - Paperback
When Oz Blackstone is offered a major role in a cop movie he cannot resist taking centre stage. However, a brief encounter with Susie Gantry is turning into something more long term. It all looks like a bowl of cherries until ex-lover Alison Goodchild turns up asking for a favour.
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Screen Savers - Paperback
Life is sweet for Oz Blackstone, private enquiry agent turned money magnet - until a visit from his policeman pal, DI Mike Dylan, resurrects his part-time career as a private investigator, on the trail of a poison pen.
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Unnatural Justice - Paperback
Actor Oz Blackstone has the lifestyle of everyone's dreams. But when blackmailers threaten his father with a particularly sleazy scam, the dream turns into a nightmare. Oz has never ducked out of confrontation, but as he prepares to fight back, he knows he is being sucked into a vortex of evil.
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Wearing Purple - Paperback
In this third book of the new series, by crime author Quintin Jardine, Oz Blackstone returns from Spain to Scotland in pursuit of true love, but encounters an entirely different turn of events.

The Primavera Blackstone Series

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Blood Red - Hardback
Primavera Blackstone is enjoying the quiet life in an idyllic village on the Catalan coast of Spain. The attractive single mother & eight-year-old Tom, son of the late & still lamented Oz Blackstone, are popular figures in the tiny community. But her close friendship with the parish priest has eyebrows rising & tongues wagging.
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Inhuman Remains - Paperback
Oz Blackstone has died and his ex-wife - the feisty, tough-talking Primavera Blackstone - takes over as investigator in a thrilling new series.