This is the second book I've read in the DS Max Craigie series - now I badly need to download the first two!
I love the different characters and how they interact and make a great team, it seems realistic and makes for a great read. This story is about trafficking victims and the shady underworld in Scotland and getting deep into kidnapping and prostitution as well as moles on the inside - a race against time. It kept me excited and could not put it down - a few late nights reading for sure. Well recommended - would make a great TV series I think.
Thanks to #NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy of this great book to review #BloodRunsCold

This is the fourth in the DS Max Craigie series if mysteries. Set in Scotland it follows the work of Max and his partner Janie who take on the job of investigating dirty cops. In this one a 15 year old girl has gone missing and since her location and identity was protected due to her being rescued from a drug trafficking ring at the age of 12, Max and Janie look into it. This is a police procedural that deal with sex trafficking, an Albanian crime boss and a scheme to force young immigrant girls into prostitution. In spite of the sometimes difficult to understand Scottish dialect, it is a great recommendation for mystery fans and I have really enjoyed the series.

Another outstanding read by this author

The storyline has it all; a young Albanian girl Afrodita Bushku is rescued from the clutches of the gang that smuggled her into Britain. She finds security when adopted by a wonderful family. Unfortunately, the smugglers still want their pound of flesh and kidnap her.

Usually, a kidnapping would not fall under the remit of the Policing Standards Reassurance – however – DS Max Craigie’s wife asks for his help as Afrodita (Affie) is a client. Max’s wife is trying to reunite her and her young sister, who is still in an Albanian orphanage. Max, together with his partner, DC Janie Calder, their boss, DI Ross Fraser, and their tech wizard Norma Kirk think that it will be a straightforward enquiry with a quick result; instead, they uncover a web of corrupt police officers who will do anything to prevent Affie’s rescue.

I love this series. I hadn’t read a couple of the books and before I read this, bought the others in the series which gave me a far better insight into how this specialist group came into being.

Neil Lancaster, you are a born writer. By choosing to write about a section within the police who go after bent coppers, this makes the series unique. I love the characters, the setting, and the sheer intelligence it takes to bring people to justice.

Rony

Elite Reviewing Group received a copy of the book to review.

Neil Lancaster is always a safe bet for a great read, and in my opinion, this is his best yet.

Well-constructed storyline, strong characters, and the pace is spot-on.

The underlying themes are quite dark, but there is humour and banter between the characters to lighten the mood.

This is the latest in the Max Craigie series, which I highly recommend, but it could be read as a standalone.

Thanks to the author, HQ Digital, and NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

I think I might have previously read a book by Neil Lancaster about Max Craigie but felt I learned more about his personal life with Katie in this book. Although not a pleasant story about the Albanians, it was very intriguing and certainly gave great insight to their criminal exploits. The book was fast moving and gripping from the beginning and I really enjoyed it.

Blood Runs Cold by Neil Lancaster was another excellent book, this is the forth book in the excellent Scottish crime thriller series featuring ex-military DS Max Craigie, especially as this book was the best one yet. It's a dark, gritty and fast paced police procedural book that will have you hooked from the beginning till the end. Neil has a way of writing that will wanting the next book within this series.

I highly recommend this series - Superb from start to finish.

Big thank you to NetGalley, HQ and the author Neil Lancaster for my ARC of Blood Runs Cold in exchange for an honest review.

I thoroughly enjoyed Blood Runs Cold by Neil Lancaster. It’s a thriller with a whole host of interesting characters. I particularly enjoyed the banter going back and forward between and amongst them. The plot is complex, taking in people trafficking, child abuse and police corruption. The pace is brisk and I was on the final chapter far too soon.

My thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read and review the book.

Neil Lancaster is a new author to me but not only would I recommend his work I will be checking out his back catalogue. This is an edge of your seat police procedural dealing with the obscene offence of people trafficking involving police corruption. I really loved the characters especially Max and Janie and it was a breath of fresh air to find a police officer who has a good relationship with his wife. This book would appeal to fans of Stuart MacBride and Mark Billingham. Incidentally the exclusive short story at the end was a well received bonus.

Afrodita Dushku was traffiicked as a child by an Albanian gang and used as a drug mule. She was rescued when she was 12 and given a new name, Affi Smith, a new home, and new, caring foster parents. Her life is going pretty well and she is working hard at being an athlete. One day when out running she is abducted by the Albanian gang again. DS Craigie's wife pushes him to take the disappearance seriously, as more than just a potential runaway, since she has been representing Affi and is convinced she was turning her life around. It is soon learned that other former Albanian trafficked victims have also been abducted, leading to the unfortunate conclusion that there must be a leak in the police department. This was a fast-paced, riveting read about police corruption and I thoroughly enjoyed the story as well as the wonderful characterization.

This blog is nine years old. Therefore I can confidently state that ten years ago I had little awareness of books which were approaching publication. I would make time to find out when the next new book by Terry Pratchett or Lee Child would be published but, other than that, I relied upon spotting new books on the tables at Waterstones or if my friends at my local library gave me the heads-up about new books I should be reading. Support your local library people!

Now I follow my favourite authors on Twitter. I rely upon other bloggers flagging up books I need to be looking out for and I am actively tracking the next publication date of several authors so I can get my next fix of some of my favourite characters. One of the authors I make no secret of tracking is Neil Lancaster. His Tom Novak thrillers were (and still are) brilliant reads but then Neil introduced DS Max Craigie to the world and I was an immediate fan.

Craigie works within Police Scotland and his remit can take him all around the country which gives the author scope to showcase the best, the busiest or the remotest corners of Scotland. Alongside partner Janie Calder, their foul-mouthed boss (Ross) and and Norma their computer and data whizz, the four are working slightly under the radar within the police to identify and remove corruption within the force. The nature of the crimes they investigate and the fact they can’t always trust the personnel they are working with on any given investigation means in every book there is a constant tension that their plans may be scuppered at any moment.

Turning my focus to Blood Runs Cold – terrific. Again. It’s another Neil Lancaster crime thriller which is perfectly paced, delivers on the entertainment, makes you care about the characters (and not just those recurring faces) and I didn’t want the book to end. As a reader I don’t think I could be asking for more.

Particularly enjoyable was the lead in to this investigation and how Craigie becomes involved. In the Scottish Highlands a young Albanian girl is heading out for a run. She’s run before – fleeing from the Albanian gang who had asked her to carry drugs for them. Now she has been placed in the Highlands with a family and a support network and she has been thriving, her natural athletic ability has given her a chance to compete in the national running trials but it has also put her on the radar for the gang she escaped and they want her back. For Affi, going for a run is going to be a terrible mistake.

When Affi fails to return home at the planned time her parents are frantic. They tell Affi’s care worker who, in turn, tells her husband – Max Craigie. Craigie initially doesn’t know what he can do to assist but when he does reach out to the local police they are happy to have some assistance. Soon Craigie and Janie are discovering some unusual activity and making a little progress. Their enquiries will see them pitted against Albanian gangsters and traffikers. These are dangerous criminals and the stakes are high. Higher still when it becomes apparent the gangs are relying upon some members of the police force to keep their activites running.

I really don’t want to post spoilers so I will simply say this story kicks ass. I don’t always enjoy reading about the bad guys in crime stories but in Blood Runs Cold I found both the heroes and the villains to be hugely entertaining. The author makes excellent use of humor to keep some of the more intense and bleak moments on the right side of enjoyable and it makes the story shine. Four books in to this series and it is going from strength to strength.

“We’ve got evil scumbags to find, and I need mean and nasty cops fully focused on bringing them in.”

My thanks to HQ Digital for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘Blood Runs Cold’ by Neil Lancaster.

This is Book 4 in Lancaster’s series of Scottish police procedurals, featuring DS Max Craigie. I have followed this series from its start and they have all been excellent. ‘Blood Runs Cold’ continues in this vein and I read it in a single day as once started it was impossible to put down.

It focuses on the case of former trafficking victim Afrodita Dushku. She had escaped from a sinister Albanian gang when she was twelve. She was provided with a new identity as Affi Smith and a secure home in the Scottish Highlands. Now aged fifteen she was supposed to be safe but one day she goes out for a run and doesn’t return.

DS Max Craigie’s wife, Katie, is assisting Affi in her application for permanent residence and is naturally concerned when she is advised of the girl’s disappearance. She asks Craigie to investigate. He quickly discovers that other young trafficking victims have disappeared in the same circumstances. It appears that there’s a leak somewhere within law enforcement.

Max and his team are under pressure to track down Affi’s kidnappers and uncover the mole’s identity before the situation escalates. No further details to avoid spoilers.

Neil Lancaster served for over twenty-five years as a detective with the Metropolitan Police where he investigated serious crimes. As a result he brings this considerable experience to his police procedurals. They are undoubtedly gritty tales though are lightened by the banter between Craigie and his team members. There is also the adorable presence of Nutmeg, the Craigie’s shaggy cockapoo.

‘Blood Runs Cold’ was excellent and confirms this series as one of the best of the Tartan Noir crime thrillers being written today. I look forward to reading more of DS Max Craigie’s cases in the future.

This is outing number 4 for DI Max Craigie and his trusted colleague DC Janie Calder as they search out corruption in Police Scotland. On this occasion they are involved in the hunt for an abducted Albanian girl, Affi Smith, who was rescued from trafficking a few years before and has been living with a couple in the highlands of Scotland. As they search they quickly find evidence of information being passed over to the traffickers by police.

This book keeps up the very high standard of the earlier books in the series and it is always great to spend time with Max and Janie, as well as the rest of the team. Neil Lancaster has pulled together a great group of characters; I always feel like the highlands of Scotland is another character in these books, and for me adds another layer to the book, which makes me love them.

There is plenty of fast paced action in this book, as with the others in the series, and the deeper the team dig the more corruption they find. Well before the end of the book I worked out who the main culprit wasn’t but this still didn’t spoil my enjoyment of the book.

Overall the series has developed into a must read series for me and a favourite series. If you like high quality crime fiction I would definitely recommend the book which can be read as a standalone, but I also recommend the series. A five star read for me and I look forward to the next outing for Max and his team.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

This is the fourth in the DS Max Craigie series & is an excellent addition. It can be read as a standalone but, if you want to get under the skin of the team dynamics & friendship nuances, why not start at the beginning. I love Scottish crime books so I was on to a winner before I even started reading this, anticipating a cracking storyline & some luscious dark humour.

Affi Smith, rehomed & renamed, is a promising athlete & whilst on a training run disappears. Craigie & his team investigate & it becomes apparent that other rehomed trafficked girls have also gone missing. Is there a leak in the force? Does Craigie have to investigate one of his own?

Despite being a police procedural, which can sometimes be a little staid, this is fast moving & full of thrills & spills. Extremely dark in places but equally matched by gallows humour. A brilliant read.

Another cracking book in this great series. It’s not necessary to have read anything previously but because I had, I enjoyed re-meeting this dysfunctional group of maverick police officers. It’s also refreshing to have the story set in Scotland. I’m already looking forward to reading more in this series - so hurry up Mr Lancaster and get scribbling please.

Another fantastic story in the Max Craigie series from Neil Lancaster. This time Max takes on the difficult topic tacking an organised crime gang trafficking young girls for sex. Always gripping with enough humour to lift the darkness.

Thank you to HQ and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

This is the fourth book in the DS Max Craigie series. It can be read as a standalone book, but it definitely helps to have read them in order.

I have enjoyed them all and found this one a little different from the others. People smuggling and corruption via blackmail in high places. Some very good technical sections and I love the fact this is set in Scotland.

An excellent read and can't wait for the next one.

The fourth book in this police procedural series, and the action never stops. This time we are dealing with people trafficking, the sex trade, kidnap and blackmail threats against loved ones back home.
Affi Smith was rescued from traffickers when she was 12years old, the action moves to three years hence, Affi is settled with foster parents in Scotland, living in Easter Ross. She is a keen runner, and goes out on a training run, and never returns. It transpires that she is being held by the Albanian gang she escaped from before, and DS Max Craigie and DC Janie Calder take on the case. The action is fast paced, the commitment is really authentic, and as usual the dialogue sparkles with great Scottish vernacular.
I find these books to be really action packed, the reader is taken straight into the situation, and the tension is maintained throughout the story.
We quickly become reacquainted with familiar characters, their familiar gripes about authority, training needs, their self deprecating humour and abusiveness is fantastic, you have to have such humour in order to deal with the sights and sounds you experience on a regular basis. The characters are so likeable and you care a great deal about them, their safety and well being.
The Scottish settings will always find me reading these novels, my heart is in Scotland, but the Black Isle, Glenelg, and Isle of Skye are such wonderful areas.
The story is harrowing, with such ruthless and devious characters, sadly these days, we no longer appear shocked by police corruption.
Luckily in this series, we are blessed with the very best and determined representatives of that body. Definitely not Police Squad!!
Am already looking forward to the next book.
My thanks to Netgalley and the publishers HQ Digital for my advance digital copy, freely given in exchange for my honest review.
I will leave a review with Goodreads and Amazon UK.

Teenager Affi is rescued from drug traffickers and placed into a foster home where she finds a loving family. When she goes missing on her fifteenth birthday, DS Max Craigie and his team find that she is not only the only trafficking victim to disappear, suggesting someone within the police is involved.

I enjoyed the previous DS Max Craigie book but Blood Runs Cold was even better!

The title of this book says it all. I was completely terrified for Affi as I realised that she had been kidnapped. I could barely put it down thanks to the fast pace and the fact that it was jam-packed full of action.

For me the best part of the book was the fantastic characters, so much so that I actually found myself getting emotional over what was happening to them. I also loved how there was so much humour in amongst the serious topics as it made for such an entertaining read.

I really hope there is another book coming because I cannot wait to see where this series goes next.

Thank you NetGalley and HarperCollins for sending this book for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

I happened upon this series some time ago, and it has become compulsive reading!

Affi Smith is a refugee, now settled in the Scottish Highlands with a new identity. When she goes out for a run one day and doesn't come back, nothing much seems to be getting done about it. DS Max Craigie has a personal interest in the case and when he discovers that other trafficking victims have also disappeared, he realises that there is a leak somewhere in law enforcement and he vows to find out who it is, bring them down and, most importantly, bring Affi home safe and sound.

As always, this is a gripping, edge-of-your-seat read and a window into the world of trafficking and crime. Max works as part of a team, each with their part to play and, while I would be very happy to have him on my side if push came to shove, I would definitely want Janie there too! They just don't give up and this is another high octane investigation. Gruesome in parts, but necessary. Another cracking novel in this must not miss series, and one I'm delighted to give all five shining stars!

My thanks to the publisher for my copy via NetGalley; this is - as always - my honest, original and unbiased review.

Another case for the Policing Standards Reassurance Team to investigate which is great news if you like reading action-packed, high-octane police thrillers. Don’t get too hung up on procedures and form filling, bang up those bad guys. Mr Lancaster has done it again with another fast paced, gripping page turner, in keeping with the style of the previous three.

The team come across the case by accident when Max’s wife Katie asks him to look into a case of a missing girl. Katie is a paralegal at a firm of immigration solicitors and the girl, Affrodita (Affi), is a client. She’s Albanian and was trafficked to the UK aged twelve and eventually rescued by the authorities whilst making a drugs delivery to Scotland. Now three years later she is settled with foster parents in the Highlands of Scotland but has gone missing whilst out for a training run. She's now happy and well adjusted, her foster parents cannot believe she has decided to just run away. A bit of digging by Max and Janie reveals a fud of an ex-boyfriend and a bit of help from Barney the helpful former spook provides an opening. She’s clearly been kidnapped using information from a bent copper, so it becomes a live case for them.

Plot the centres on the search for Affi, the tracking down of the rogue policing elements and bringing the Albanian gang to justice. Its straightforward and linear but well thought out and put together, there is some guile, but what it lacks in complexity it more than makes up for in action, bloodshed, and jeopardy.
Keeping a small investigation team allows tight plotting and control over the storyline. Barney comes in to do his magic with the technology and phones and the regular part of the investigation is handed over to DCI Marnie Leslie, but the action centres on the team.

The themes are up right to date and sadly a true reflection of the problems faced by Britain and Europe. Human trafficking into slavery (in this case drug running) and prostitution with no regards to humanity or life together with weak, corrupt men in power.

The subject matter may be serious but there’s still room for lighter moments too. The banter between the officers is a good as usual. There’s a great cameo by Lewis McPhail the ex-boyfriend of Affi. He’s four years older but somewhat behind her in maturity terms and is a wannabe Gangsta and gets all Bolshie to be pulled by the ‘Feds’. He thinks he’s Hip Hop but comes over as a Scottish version of the man from the Staines ghetto, a sort of Ali McG. Silly but hilarious and the sad thing is if you go to any small town, you will find young men like him.

There’re some lovely little touches that bring the characters to life, like when they become worried that they can’t find Barney because he’s left his baccy pouch behind so it must be serious. There’s a little more filling in of a character’s back story with a surprise that shocks everyone (including the reader so no spoiler.) Hoxhaj is a menacing crime boss, and you can practically smell Enver his rank oversized bodyguard.


I would like to thank Net Galley for access to this novel in exchange for a fair review.