Dead Man’s Tale

by Quintin Jardine

The latest Bob Skinner mystery from the legendary Quintin Jardine.

384 pages, Hardcover

Expected publication May 5, 2026

About the author

Quintin Jardine (born 1945) is a Scottish author of three series of crime novels, featuring the fictional characters Bob Skinner, Oz Blackstone, and Primavera Blackstone. He was educated in Motherwell and in Glasgow where he studied at what was then the city’s only University. After career as a journalist, government information officer and media relations consultant, he took to the creation of crime fiction.

His first wife, Irene, with whom he shared over 30 years, from their teens, died in 1997. He is married, to his second wife, Eileen. They live in both Scotland and in Spain

Reviews

[Claire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Huge fan of this series and this one was no exception.

[Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent entry in this series. where a lot of crime series start withering as the lead character gets older and retires or gets promoted, Quintin Jardine has managed to keep the character relevant to the plot and the interactions with the police characters don't feel clumsy or unbelievable, and I always eagerly await the next instalment of this now 37 book series and long may it continue.

[Marilyn Andrew · Rating 5 out of 5]

he’d to put down

I’m a big fan of Quintin Jardine Skinner series. Read most of the series more than once. This book was one of his best. More twists and turns when I wasn’t expecting them. Loved reading about the regular characters as well as some recently introduced. I wanted to just keep reading until I finished it.

[Karen Little · Rating 3 out of 5]

Loved the ‘crimes’ well written, good characters and well paced for me.

However, being one of a series with the characters having long histories it was not easy to keep up with old references. It was like being the newbie in a club, not understanding the in jokes.

Overall I did enjoy the storyline, my goodness the travelling was hard to keep up with.

[Cheryl Shearer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great story. Given how the previous book ended this one started in the perfect place and just got better as it went on. Old favourite characters from previous books and newer characters from recent books - coming together in a well paced story. Quintin Jardine’s books never disappoint me.