Dead Man’s Grave: DS Max Craigie, Book 1

The first in a new series for me begins with DS Max Craigie investigating the disappearance of an elderly member of one of Scotland's biggest crime families. Shortly after finding his body, someone confesses to his murder but its about to reopen a centuries old family feud aided by police corruption.I really enjoyed this with some great characters,  notably Max and fast-tracked partner Janie. It's very fast paced and as the story unfolds, the reader is never quite sure who from the police is trustworthy.Highly recommended and a series I'll look forward to continuing.

I have to admit that I bought this because it is written by one of our neighbours and just wanted to see what his writing was like. Really enjoyed it with all it's references to local towns, villages and tourist spots. I enjoy detective thrillers set in Scotland ( Ian Rankin's Rebus novels and Anne Cleeves Shetland series) and look forward to more from Neil Lancaster.

This is a must read story especially if you like crime novels. It had me sucked in I just didn't want to put it down. It's a police officer that tried to take down a crime organising family and has time apart from his wife and he has to protect his family at all costs x

Warning - SpoilersThis book started off well, I was interested in what the 200 year old feud was about and why it had suddenly resurfaced after so many years, unfortunately I never found out as the feud and the grave that should never be opened have absolutely nothing to do with the plot of the book and become irrelevant after a few chapters.The book becomes all about police corruption with apparently only a few people in Police Scotland not being criminals. Throughout the book its hinted that somebody very high up is involved and it builds to the big reveal...... when the name was revealed my first thought was 'Who?' I had to use the search function on my Kindle to figure out who it was, he was briefly mentioned once very early on and that was it. So disappointing!Also, it was never explained how the car crash was orchestrated. Something to do with dry ice apparently.....Overall it was OK, probably won't read the other two.

An old man visits an almost forgotten cemetery out in the wilds of Scotland. He has been looking for this grave for years & there it is, marked - 'This grave can never be opened.' A few days later, his family report him missing & when his remains are found & it seems he was brutally murdered, they vow revenge. For this man was the head of a powerful crime family in Scotland & his sons are just as vicious. The investigation uncovers both a blood feud going back to the 1800s & corruption in the force in the present day.New boy, Detective Max Craigie is sent to investigate the case as an initial 'missing persons'. Back home in Scotland after serving in the Met, when it comes to who to trust, he doesn't have many choices. His assigned partner is Janie, a young female detective who is part of an accelerated promotion initiative & who has been frozen out by the other, mostly male, colleagues & given the nickname 'Fast-Track Fannie'. To their surprise they actually work well together.This was a great police procedural - fast-paced, excellent plotline, & genuinely likeable main characters. Main character, Max Craigie, is a welcome change from the usual gruff, sometimes misogynistic police types. I kind of imagined him played by David Tennant at times. His relationship with Janie gives off vibes of perhaps becoming a genuine friendship, & fingers crossed, we may get a male/female cop duo who don't fall for each other. All in all, I really couldn't fault this.

Like some of the blurb says, it is the mindless, almost anti police Line of Duty approach, with Jack Reacher on steroids, with a female Reacher along too, and an ex-special forces with global communications access guardian angel added in. One needs to shout, on the second page or so, to the baddies to 'give up now' "youse huvnae a chance against such super skills ". We have bent cops and baddies from the Fu Manchu school at central casting, and the Met in all its pristine glory riding to the rescue (with no jurisdictional problems) to a hapless Police Scotland and its band of few, but important, honest supercops. Poetic licence runs away with itself, in a rather repetitive fashion, add in dream country cottages, gyms, motorbikes - what more could you want? A bit of a clunker - yet three stars, an annoying but not unenjoyable read - so, again what more could you want? Will try another in the series, but....

I found this author by accident while on a short trip to Arran I read the synopsis and was hooked. I'm a huge fan of Scottish crime books and this certainly does not disappoint. Max Craigie is a great character and you also get immersed in his colleagues Janie and Ross It is a gripping book from page 1 and the gangster and police corruption storyline is very well written I would recommend this book to anyone who loves a good old Scottish crime thriller can't wait to read the next two

The continual fast pace of the story line and switching the emphasis of the main characters at appropriate times. Nothing to dislike in this book.