LAST RESORT is the twenty-fifth novel in the Bob Skinner series by Quintin Jardine, Scotland's master of crime, and sees the Edinburgh cop back as never before.

After thirty years of service, former Chief Constable Bob Skinner faces the possible end of his police career, at its pinnacle.

A trip to Catalunya to contemplate his future soon takes on a different flavour when Skinner is asked by an friend, Xavier Aislado, to track down one of his business's brightest talents, vanished without a trace.

But it soon becomes clear that another manhunt is in progress, and that Skinner himself is the target. While his daughter Alex fights that battle at home, Skinner's own search takes one sinister turn after another, until he is faced with the toughest question of all:

Is natural justice sometimes the only answer?

"Praise for Quintin Jardine: 'If Ian Rankin is the Robert Carlyle of Scottish crime writers, then Jardine is surely its Sean Connery'" - Glasgow Herald

"Remarkably assured, raw-boned, a tour de force" - New York Times

"Well constructed, fast-paced, Jardine's narrative has many an ingenious twist and turn" - Observer

"Very engaging as well as ingenious, and the unraveling of the mystery is excellently done" - Scotsman

"Deplorably readable" - Guardian

"If you're looking for a detective whose personal life is as active, contradictory and complicated as his job then follow the Edinburgh exploits of Deputy Chief Constable Bob Skinner in Quintin Jardine's Skinner series" - Radio Times

"Gritty cop drama that makes Taggart look tame" - Northern Echo

"More twists and turns than TV's Taggart at its best" - Stirling Observer

"Compelling stuff" - Oxford Times

"A complex and suspenseful saga that never flags from start to finish" - Bolton Evening News