Book excerpt: Death reads between the lines... It's no ordinary summer for DCC Bob Skinner, as murder and mystery leap from the page of Fatal Last Words, the nineteenth volume of Quintin Jardine's outstanding crime series. Perfect for fans of Ian Rankin and Peter May. 'Very engaging as well as ingenious, and the unravelling of the mystery is excellently done...Very enjoyable. Fatal Last Words will accompany many on their holidays and quite right too' - Allan Massie, Scotsman August in Edinburgh: As Skinner stands on the edge of a career-defining moment and his fiancée, Scotland's First Minister Aileen de Marco faces a political crisis, a famous figure from another field is found dead. As the mystery deepens, Skinner finds himself crossing swords with an old enemy from the past, while his investigating detectives are faced with the unwelcome complication of a duke's junkie daughter. Meanwhile a second Scottish celebrity dies violently in Australia. It seems impossible, but could the two be connected? As DCS Mario McGuire heads to Melbourne to investigate, back in Scotland his boss's big moment is compromised in the most dramatic and unexpected manner, as a famous friendship is shattered for ever. What readers are saying about Fatal Last Words: 'Gripping, from page one to the twist at the end' 'Very exciting and very hard to put down' 'Five stars'