Still reeling from the tragic death of their colleague, DCC Bob Skinner and his men get a call informing them that the body of a young woman has been found on a golf course. The way she has been laid out is uncannily familiar; the body has been "composed", just like the bodies of three other young women in a previous case. Could it be the work of a copycat killer?
Oz Blackstone didn't go looking for fame, but unwittingly found himself a movie star, married to a successful businesswoman. His first taste of bitterness was finding his ex-wife in tears, her life in ruins and robbed of her baby by his lying, cheating father. What else could he do but help? He sets out on a voyage of dark intrigue and wild discovery, turning his life upside down.
Primavera Blackstone investigates a series of murders happening in the vicinity of Patterson Cowling, the new boyfriend of her best friend Shirley, all while trying to entertain the nephew of her late husband and his golf-obsessed family.
As Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner takes an evening stroll with Louise Banks, an old flame and now a film star, it seems his biggest worry is that a new colleague is scheming to enlarge his territory at Skinner's expense. But when a frightening shot-gun attack sends them diving for cover, it seems danger has chosen to zero in on him once again.
Private Enquiry Agent Oz Blackstone finds stockbroker Willie Kane murdered and, thus, unable to to assist Oz in recovering the nine hundred grand he's stolen and secreted in a numbered Swiss bank account. The only person around to help him is Prim Phillips, who also happens to be irresistible.
Primavera is enjoying a quiet life on the coast of Spain. The single mother and her young son are popular figures in the community. But her friendship with the parish priest has tongues wagging. Then a dispute explodes with a powerful councillor who refuses to allow the village wine fair to go ahead. When his body is found, head caved in, some ominous questions are asked...
When millionaire Leo Speight is found poisoned at his Ayrshire mansion, Police Scotland has a tough case on its hands. The charismatic young Speight was a champion boxer with national hero status. A long list of lovers and friends stand to benefit from his estate. Did one of them decide to speed things up? Suspecting links to organised crime, the Security Service wants to stay close to the investigation. They have just the man to send in: ex-Chief Constable Bob Skinner. Combining forces with DI Lottie Mann and DS Dan Provan of Serious Crimes, he's determined to see Speight's murderer put away for a long, long time. But there's a twist even Bob Skinner couldn't see coming.
After cracking their first case as a private investigation team, Oz Blackstone and Primavera Philips find themselves in love and in the money. They retreat to the picturesque village of St Marti on the rugged Costa Brava. But beneath the surface of the idyll, a brew of intrigue, deception and murder bubbles.
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. But this isn't his only issue: he's also trying to protect his daughter from a stalker; a bookmaker has taken one gamble too many and paid his debt in a gruesome fashion; and a casual call to the Chief Constable sets him on a personal crusade, which quickly points to a bigamist at work. Or is it worse? Four crimes, four crises: can Skinner and his people solve them?
t's the Fiesta de San Juan in Spain, and there's much excitement about a huge firework display in the village of St Marti. But Primavera Blackstone is more inflamed by the appearance of a mysterious writer, Duncan Culshaw, who is determined to rake through the ashes of her past. And when extortion and blackmail are mentioned, Primavera realises the heat is on.
It's the Fiesta de San Juan in Spain, the national celebration of the Summer Solstice, and there's much excitement about a huge firework display in the village of St Marti. But Primavera Blackstone is more inflamed by the appearance of a mysterious writer, Duncan Culshaw, who is determined to rake through the ashes of her past.
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? A twice-jilted lover? It's not long before Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner gets called back to the frontline.
The heat is on for DCC Bob Skinner. His career hangs by a thread, as a recent illness has given his enemies a weapon to use against him. A body found in the detritus of a flood is identified as the hated brother whose existence he has kept hidden for years. And an incendiary device destroys a valuable painting in the Royal Scottish Academy in Edinburgh. As Skinner and his team tackle these crises, his wife Sarah, recovering from the loss of her parents, finds comfort with an old college lover. When fate leaves her staring at a seemingly inevitable murder conviction, Bob will need all his resources to sort out the tangled mess his life has become.
The Edinburgh International Book Festival is in full swing when a successful crime writer, and key member of Scottish Parliament, is found dead. DCC Bob Skinner is going to have to dig deep to solve this, even as his world implodes and a famous friendship is shattered for ever…
After a tip-off, a man's body is exhumed from a shallow grave in Edinburgh. Murder surely, yet he died from natural causes, so, case closed? Indeed was there ever a case? But Chief Constable Skinner and his people keep on digging. Who was the man, why was he buried so reverentially, and by whom?
With his boss recovering from a heart attack, Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner is filling his shoes - and that means more time behind a desk. But he's about to be provided with more drama than he could ever want. One of the world's most ruthless terrorists is on his way to Edinburgh - and he can only have one thing on his mind: the forthcoming conference of world Heads of Government. If Skinner doesn't pick up his trail fast, he could have a global disaster in his backyard.
When supermodel Annette Bordeaux is found battered and strangled in her Edinburgh flat, former Chief Constable Bob Skinner's old team instantly have a global case on their hands. The victim's husband, world-renowned footballer and recent Merrytown FC signing, is quickly discounted as a suspect. But there are others in the club with less watertight alibis...Two years out of the game, Skinner can't help getting his hands dirty. And as his old team work to convict the prime suspect, his own daughter, Alex, is the lawyer tasked with leading the defence. But in this game, no one can be trusted, and there are murkier deeds still to uncover before the final whistle blows.
Superintendent Bob Skinner is called to investigate a brutal death. A man lies at the deep end of an empty swimming pool, his neck broken and almost every other bone in his body shattered. Soon, an organised crime connection looms, and bloody retribution spreads to a second city. Then a vicious knifeman seems to be targeting Edinburgh's gay population. As if this double dose of homicide isn't enough Skinner's personal life takes a similar, perilous twist.
The body of a murdered woman is found washed up on Cramond Island near the mouth of the River Forth. Days later detectives are called to a flat in Edinburgh; the kitchen is covered in blood, and the occupier is missing. When the name of the woman from Cramond Island is revealed, it stirs unwelcome memories for those who knew her, Chief Constable Bob Skinner most of all.
