Dead Man’s Grave: The first book in a gripping new Scottish police procedural series for crime fiction and mystery thriller fans (DS Max Craigie Scottish Crime Thrillers, Book 1)

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When bodies connected to the murder start appearing, Max is less inclined to stop investigating even after his superiors tell him to move on to the next case. Which brings up another question: Why is new evidence being ignored? Ross Fraser, Max's boss, and Max have a strong relationship, having served together in the Armed Forces. Their camaraderie doesn't, however, prevent Ross from giving Max a good bawling out when he thinks he deserves it. 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. The author was previously a Metropolitan police detective investigating serious crimes in addition to serving in the military police so I would recommend this to those connoisseurs of police tactical methods.

I'm not usually a fan of novels based around organised crime and gangs, but Dead Man's Grave is so much more than that. Yes, it's a tense, taut and gritty thriller, but it's also a character study of a man who serves his country with every fibre of his being, and continues to do so in the face of every obstacle. More than a ‘Who Dunnit’, this is a sharply focused police procedural with an expert eye for the hierarchies within a department. Good cops, bad cops, and corruption at many levels.You okay Guvnor?’ Max said, smiling at Fraser’s worn and unpolished Oxford shoes. Sartorial elegance was not at the top of Ross Fraser’s priority list. Tam Hardie is the head of the biggest Scottish OCG and is on a quest into the past. He finds a burial ground in the far north and a grave marked ‘this grave never to be opened’ .... it is the last thing he sees on this earth. His death unleashes a vendetta pursued by his ruthless son Tam Jr and a net of corruption that spreads far and wide. DS Max Craigie and DC Janie Calder of the Serious Crimes Team at Gartcosh are instructed by boss DI Ross Fraser to carefully tread in a close enquiry. In a sense this is as much an action thriller/suspense story as an ordinary cop story. While this comment will date think "Line of Duty" but with a much better ending rather than anything else! In the end I found a book that I was not expecting at lot from initially very enjoyable. Personally I will read another by Neil Lancaster and I would definitely want to read the next in this series. 4.5/5 The best police procedural I've read in years – fast-paced, compelling and deeply authentic. DS Max Craigie is a brilliant hero and I can't wait for the next in the series’ Jane Casey

Max is an admirable character with along with his lovable dog. I look forward to the next in this new series and unlike other first books, this wrapped up well. No annoying loose strings or unfinished business. A remote burial ground containing a grave with the inscription "This Grave Never to be Opened" created an atmospheric start to this new crime series. What followed was a good gripping story that included a two hundred-year-old feud, gangsters & police corruption. It’s up to Detectives Max Craigie & Janie Calder to get to the bottom of the tangled web that’s been woven. The head of Scotland’s most powerful crime family is brutally murdered, his body dumped inside an ancient grave in a remote cemetery. I just recently read The Blood Tide - book 2 of the DS Max Craigie series by this author and I loved it so much I had to buy the first book. Unfortunately I knew some of what would happen but it didn’t detract too much from what was an otherwise explosive story!

Hobbies

The characters are maybe not the strongest part of this story though Max is good. I also liked the character of Janie too who acts as his partner in this story. For me it was the pace and inventiveness of the storylines that got to me. It was a book I returned to whenever I had any time free and times I read for far longer than I intended. The more I read of this the more I got into it and enjoyed it. I found the opening of this book very atmospheric. An old crime boss visits the grave of a very old relative. It says "this grave can never be opened" on the grave stone. However, when the crime boss disappears and his family (also hard core villains) ask the police for help, the grave is opened. DS Max Craigie is the policeman who is involved. He has only recently returned to Scotland from England and has some issues from his time there. Will Scotland bring him any peace... When Max reports to the sons of the crime boss about his findings they don't seem surprised by any of the news. Could they have possibly found out before Max saw them and if so how? Really looking forward to the next in this series. The book itself is a standalone but has been set up beautifully for the next one. My first read by Neil Lancaster and certainly won’t be my last.