Traditional Private Investigators

Private Investigations provides practical guidance on all aspects of the investigative process and details how the different phases come together to ensure a successful outcome. It teaches the fundamental elements of an investigation, i.e., surveillance, open-source intelligence gathering, the handling of informants, other covert activities, evaluation of evidence, and much more.

Quintin Jardine's 26th Bob Skinner mystery sees the Edinburgh sleuth plunged into a gruelling new case in which no score will go unsettled. Former Chief Constable Bob Skinner has uncovered his fair share of crime scenes over his 30-year career. But few have affected him quite as much as the horrifying sight he finds stowed in the back of a stolen car that collides with his own on the outskirts of Edinburgh.

A con man always has a bag of tricks, ready to fool the unsuspecting, and almost everyone is unsuspecting until they get taken. When that happens, they turn to Carpenter and Quincannon, Professional Detective Services, to recover their money and what’s left of their dignity, and perhaps even to save their lives.

A young woman explains to Holmes that an unknown man has been following her by bicycle on her weekly trips from the house where she works to the railroad station. Having met two friends of her recently deceased uncle, one of the men, Carruthers, hires her as a governess and later proposes to her. The young woman, being already engaged, declines. The other man, Woodley, disturbs her with rude behavior and romantic advances. Holmes connects the clues and arrives in time to solve the mystery of the unknown cyclist and to save Smith after she is kidnapped by Woodley.