First book I have read by Neil Lancaster but it certainly will not be the last. Having said that, when I started reading, I did wonder whether I had made a mistake but soon broke out into "the light of understanding" and what a roller-coaster it was from then on.

A really well-crafted story, with too believable characters that I would not, for the most part, ever want to meet in a public place in bright sunshine. Did my best to read it in just one setting, it is that good a tale, but settled for beginning to end in 28 hours.

If you enjoy a really, really good tale of good guys against the bad, in a police setting, you do need to read this book.

This book was truly a thriller. It was packed with action and suspense. It featured a policeman in Scotland who had once worked for the London Metropolitan police force. There were plenty of both bad and good guys in the story. I highly recommend this book to other thriller and police procedural readers.

Thanks to Net Galley and HQ for an ARC of this book in exchange for a review.
Wow!! This is a page turner. A police crime drama/thriller, murder/mystery set in Scotland, I could almost hear the Scottish accent.
DS Max Craigie has recently returned to Scotland, unresolved issues from his previous position in London & PTSD from his Afghanistan tour. He has been partnered with Janie, a young detective who is considered by her colleagues to be a bit weird, together they make a formidable team.
They find themselves in the middle of a centuries old feud, between two families one of which involves a Scottish crime family,it doesn’t take long for Max & Janie to learn as they investigate the murder that there is a high level of police corruption within the Scottish Police and it goes right to top level.
This is a fast paced action packed read. My first book by this author and I will be looking forward to more in this series.

An absolutely exceptional novel that continuously kept me guessing. Unputdownable and utterly gripping and I am looking forward for what comes next for the series

So apparently this is Book 1 in the DS Max Craigie Scottish crime series and if the others are as good as this then I am hooked

As an avid crime/thriller fan this was perfect for me I loved the main characters the DS Max Craigie and DC Janie Calder and the plot thickened all through the book with a look at how deep police corruption can be as well as a cracking story line

When the head of Scotland’s most powerful crime family is brutally murdered and his body is discovered dumped inside an ancient grave in a remote cemetery it unleashes a 200 year old feud and people will pay for this.

As the body count rises, and innocent people are in danger
Max and Janie need to solve the case that could also cost them their lives....

Thank you to Netgalley & Harper Collins for allowing me to read and review this book I will be following the series with great interest

4.5 stars;

When DS Max Craigie and his colleague Janie are sent to investigate the disappearance of Scottish crime boss Tam Hardie, they don’t expect to find his body in an abandoned graveyard, in a grave marked only with the phrase “The Grave Shall Never Be Opened”. And, although they quickly find the murderer claiming to have finally settled an old family feud, what follows is a deep investigation into just how deep the Hardie crime family have infiltrated Police Scotland.

⚠️ content warnings: death, murder, child death, parent death, violence, gore, blood, vomit, gangs and gang violence, corrupt police, mentions of racially motivated police crimes

I was so excited to read this one - I love the start of a new police crime series, and this one has everything I want! It is intriguing, gripping, and full of drama. I really liked most of the characters, and enjoyed the chemistry between them. I loved the setting, and am really looking forward to reading more of these!

I found the plot realistic, if a bit easily solved, and felt the pacing was good throughout, although some parts were maybe a bit rushed. I enjoyed the look at police corruption, and hope this will continue throughout the series, and maybe explore some of the police corruption we see in the real news.

Thank you to HQ, Neil Lancaster, and NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC of this book.
When I first started reading I thought the book was not going to be for me at all however it quickly moved to a must read. The characters are well formed and very likeable, the storyline is also , unfortunately, very believable. Will certainly keep my eyes open for future books.

I have never read anything by this author before but it looks like I will be following him in the future as this is the start of what I think is going to be a fantastic series of Police Procedural books focusing on DS Max Craigie.

Set in the Scottish Highlands, the story is set around a criminal gang boss who going missing, only to be discovered in a “grave which must not be opened”. This is where the story begins.

The new head of the family, Tam, sets out to avenge his Father’s death and vows to kill all blood relatives of his Father’s killer due to a long standing family feud between the two families.

Max isn’t sure who to trust when it becomes clear that some police officers are on Tam’s payroll, so Max sets out to pursue the case with just his colleague Janie in tow initially. He then brings in help from his DI, Ross Fraser and then his old Met office in London as the case progresses.

A fast paced page turner which had me hooked from just the very first chapter. Believable characters. A great working relationship between Max and Janie which really made me smile. Some great one liners which made me laugh. Well researched Police procedures. All in all, a great read.

If you are a Line of Duty fan, give this a read!

Many thanks to netgalley, the publishers and the author for an arc. Really pleased to have discovered a new author.

Wow! My first book by Neil Lancaster will definitely not be my last! This is exactly my kind of book and I sincerely hope that this is the start of a series!

I won’t précis the book, that is done perfectly well by better writers than me on the cover and in other reviews.

This book sucked me straight in and I have taken every opportunity to put off anything and everything I could in order to sit and read! I really liked the main man D.S. Max Craigie, a man suffering from PTSD and having some ‘time apart’ from his wife. He’s hard, tough, and pretty fearless but with a soft centre, similarly his side-kick D.C, Janie Calder who is fast-tracked for promotion and gets some stick for it from the old-schoolers she works with. Their boss Ross, D.I. Ross Fraser, is a straight talking fair guy with a typically Scottish sense of humour and foul mouth. (I can say that I’m from Glasgow myself!)

It’s a fast moving, often violent but captivating book, really well written and I loved the sarcastic humour that often made me chuckle..

An out and out five star read and I cannot wait for the next one, which I sincerely hope Neil Lancaster is working on as I type! I love when I discover a new (to me) author who has written several other books! I shall be looking for them asap!

My thanks go to the author, the publishers and NetGalley for an advanced e-reader copy of this book in return for an honest review.

I love a good police procedural and this is definitely that. A fast paced page turner with a great cast of villains and hero’s. And in some cases a fine line between the two. I enjoyed this book immensely.

Briefly, when the head of a Scottish crimes family, the Hardie’s goes missing DS Max Craigie and DC Janie Calder are tasked with finding him. They do. His body is found inside a grave marked ‘this grave can never be opened’. The killer is soon found and the death is because of a family feud going back to the 1800’s. However, the new head of the crime family, Tam, determines to kill all blood relatives of the other family. It also becomes clear that the Hardie’s have a lot of police officers in their pay. Not knowing who to trust Max starts investigating off the book, with Janie’s help, putting his own life in danger.

I loved the relationship between Max and Janie, a little spark of humour amongst all the corruption and bloodshed. Max suffers from PTSD and this is handled sympathetically, but you can feel his pain. The settings are beautifully described and I so need to go and see the dolphins. This has got to be one of my favourite books so far this year, in this genre. I loved it. One of those books I couldn’t put down and I thought this was a really great first in the series. I can’t wait to read book 2.

Loved it. What a page turner! This crime thriller is a fast-paced, adrenaline-filled ride through drug lords and corrupt cops and heroic people risking everything to fight the good fight. I loved the intricate details of police work intertwined with strong character development. If you are looking for an all-consuming escape from your everyday life, pick up this book. You will not be disappointed...I definitely wasn't.

This was an excellent thriller. Very fast moving. Max Craigie the lead policeman very similar to Jack Reacher at times. Very enjoyable and I expect the first in a series. Would definitely recommend. Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for allowing me to read a preview copy of this book.

‘“Crime is common. Logic is rare. Therefore, it is upon the logic rather than upon the crime that you should dwell,”’ she said, dryly, as she got out of the car.
‘Sorry?’ said Max.
‘Doyle?’
‘Eh?’
‘Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, you know, Sherlock Holmes. That’s from The Adventure of the Copper Beeches. Have you read it?’
‘I only read books with exploding helicopters on the front cover,’ said Max, shaking his head.”

One of the best compliments I can pay Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster is that I’m fairly certain that lead detective Max Craigie would not enjoy it. No exploding helicopters, far too little of the Rambo on the run which people might expect from this genre.

Lancaster has made a name for himself as a writer of kick ass thrillers with fast paced plotting and bone crunching action. And his biography does suggest that, more than most writers, he has the experience to back this up.
Armed Forces background, surveillance and undercover work for the Met and now successful thriller writer based in the Highlands. His debut novel featuring, ‘Going Dark’ was part of a trilogy featuring Tom Novak, a man who seemed in capable of not being chased by various Eastern European mafia hoods and corrupt law enforcement officers.

This time out we have Max Craigie, a former soldier struggling with PTSD and recently moved from London to Scotland under a cloud with a fatal shooting on his record.

When a prominent gangster disappears near a creepily titled grave in the Badlands of Caithness, it isn’t long before Craigie and other outsider from the squad, Janie, is sent to get involved.

Lancaster manages to twirl this plot on a sixpence with no warning for the reader and this is a really attractive trait for the reader. Expectations are dashed at every turn and, for readers who have enjoyed the Tom Novak series, whilst there are similarities between Craigie and Novak – both military men, both are or have worked in the Met, both have ties to Scotland – here the character of Craigie is more cerebral, more open to human relationships and more easily likeable than the sociopathic here of the ‘Going…’ series.

The other aspect of this new series of novels which demonstrate the evolution of Lancaster as a master craftsman is the humour. Whilst plot is clearly where this author lives, funny interchanges between Craigie, Janie and their foul mouthed but essentially cheery boss, Ross, are handled with aplomb.

“‘What’s your instinct on this one?’ Ross asked.
‘Honest answer?’
‘No, I want you to bloody lie to me, you daft twat. Stop pissing about.’”

For my money, exchanges like this make the book one of the funniest novels in terms of character relationships outside another crime writer with a Black Isle connection, Ian Rankin.

And, it would appear that I am not alone in my appreciation of the novel. While I was halfway through my advanced copy, it was announced that Dead Man’s Grave had been long listed for the coveted McIlvanney Prize from Bloody Scotland. This puts Lancaster alongside luminaries such as Val McDermid, Chris Brookmyre, Stuart MacBride and Denise Mina which is the right company for any crime writer, I’d have thought!
My only complaint on that score is that I’ve been a reader for that award since the inaugural year and I rarely get a novel as good as this.

In conclusion, Dead Man’s Grave is a fine introduction to a series and packed with plot twists, enjoyable characters and the verisimilitude of the author’s experience make this a fine addition to the Tartan Noir canon.

This was a good police-procedural thriller, a new detective on the scene, DS Max Craigie. Set in the Highlands of Scotland and gave a good sense of place. The plot was well thought out and takes us right back into the history of some of Scotland's oldest families and the rifts and rucks between them. The author may well have been a policaman as the detail felt very authentic. It will be interesting to see how Craigie develop in future stories, well worth a read.

“He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster
And when you gaze long into an abyss then the abyss also gazes into you”.

With those words from philosopher Nietzsche, we get a glimpse into the soul of Detective Sergeant Max Craigie, in this, the first of the series featuring Max and his colleagues in the Serious Organized crime team at Gartcosh, Scotland.

Max is a serious cop, - a man who has faced trauma, both on the job, and in his previous time with the military and it has left it’s mark. Looking for a new beginning, Max has left the Met and taken up shop in Scotland, where he comes home to a remote cottage with idyllic views after spending his days battling the darkest criminals of the Scottish underworld.

Thick with detail, this procedural novel rings with authenticity, as we follow Max, his partner, DC Janie Calder, and his boss, DI Ross Fraser, along with a whole host of homicide unit specialists, through the investigations of a series of brutal murders.

Along the way Max uncovers a centuries old feud, a horrific crime family headed by a monster nicknamed “the peeler”, and a river of corruption, extending deep into the darkest corners of the police services itself.

Tightly plotted, tense and filled with action, this book reads like the best of Jack Reacher meets Harry Bosch (or better yet, Inspector Rebus) - with Max soon finding himself a lone-wolf cop facing a momentous and deadly task, surrounded by enemies and no clear sense of who can be counted on to help him.

My stop on the #HQStories #Blogtour for #DeadMansGrave by @NeilLancaster

I’m afraid I’m badly out of step with most other reviewers here, but I really didn’t think Dead Man’s Grave was much good. I tried it because it came with strong endorsements from Ian Rankin and Jane Casey, both of whose work I admire very much, but this is nowhere near their league.

DS Max Craigie has just moved back to Scotland after time in the Met. Craigie is endowed with a range of abilities and qualities which are verging on the superhuman; intelligent, empathetic, a street-tough boxer, ex-army with an extraordinary array of skills as a result, with an ESP-like ability to sense when he is being watched, and so bursting with integrity it’s a wonder it doesn’t give him a nosebleed. He becomes embroiled in an investigation into Scotland’s toughest gangland family which reveals deep corruption within Police Scotland. He sets out to bring the whole lot down – as he tells us very regularly.

It started off reasonably well, but began to pall as implausibilities and clichés mounted up. I wouldn’t dream of including spoilers, so you will have to guess for yourself whether, for example, Max is Taken Off The Case or whether there is a Tense One-To-One Climax In A Deserted Location From Which He Only Narrowly Escapes. I just didn’t find any of it believable; not the characters, not the way in which things developed and not the over-convenient way in which Max Gets The Better Of His Opponents.

On top of this, the writing wasn’t very good. Neil Lancaster will insist on spelling things out for us which he’s already implied, and peppering this laboured prose with stale usage and cliché. Lots of people need to get their ducks in a row, for example, and characters eyes are often filled with hate while others keep being gripped by resolve or determination. He insists on telling us all these things rather than showing us. What is obviously a joke or banter is invariably followed by a description of someone chuckling or of a smile spreading across their face to make sure we’ve got the point – and ruining any lightness which may be intended. Dialogue is often pretty clunky, with people telling each other things they already know or talking in a way which doesn’t ring true. People spontaneously explain their motivations in painstaking detail, which no-one in real life ever does. Sententious speeches crop up pretty regularly, presumably because we need to be reminded what splendidly upright people the good guys are. (Did I mention that Max is gripped by a determination to bring all the bad guys down?) Even the title makes little sense as a thriller – I mean, graves are supposed to be for the dead, aren’t they?

I’m sorry to be so critical, but I really didn’t get on with Dead Man’s Grave. I struggled to the end, but I won’t be bothering with DS Craigie again.

(My thanks to HQ Digital for an ARC via NetGalley.)

The warning that this grave, isolated in the far north of Scotland, should never be opened has been observed for centuries but no longer. A body has been buried there and it is the body of a master criminal of Scotland’s leading criminal family. His sons are after the perpetrator and from there we are on a roller coaster of revenge. It is a complicated read given that part of the strength of the criminal family is its police access. There are many characters because the English police are drawn into it too. You will also be an expert on tracking vehicles! It starts brilliantly and keeps up its shady momentum throughout. The breakaway Scots police officers who bring the whole thing crashing down are well constructed. I recommend it.

A great crime novel, set in Scotland. Max Craigie is an engaging hero, flawed enough to be appealing but thankfully not the stereotyped agonised detective. I started thinking I was reading a novel about one murder but it twisted and turned far beyond that. A very enjoyable read, looking forward to No.2 in the series.

It's like a Scottish version of Line of Duty, bent coppers, gangsters.

Based in and around Scotland I was waiting for Jim Taggert to pop up and say " There's been another murder" book is very well written but annoyed me when they called females bints not many men would call their wife that or another woman without fear of getting slapped in the face.
Book was a bit slow to start and once you pick up on the lingo it was easier to follow, Max Craigie is back in his homeland of Scotland and he has picked up the job of finding the head of the Hardies a local gang who have their fingers in all the pies and some so deep within Police Scotland and now with a murder Max seems to be getting shut down at every turn and now his mental health is being questioned but like a dog with a bone Max doesn't give up and with help from his quirky partner Janie they uncover a world of corruption but just how deep does it go, who can Max trust?

Excellent, gritty, police procedural thriller.
I really liked the main character who is a bit of a maverick and as such wanted him to succeed.
Just the right side of violent for me and when you mix a relatable protagonist, the head of an organised crime family and a centuries old family feud, what's not to like?
Will certainly look out for others by this author.
Many thanks.