Scottish gangland crime police procedural thriller but not set in some dark tenement building in a major city. A local infamous gang leader is murdered in a what seems to be a generational revenge killing with the body found in an old grave.

We follow DS Max Craigie in unravelling this case, not always helped by the gangsters sons.. I liked DS Craigie who has the 'normal' standard police/wife relationship.

Excellent countryside descriptions and characters make for a good read.

Thanks to Net Galley and HQ Books for the chnace to read and review.

Dead Man’s Grave is a brilliant police procedural set in Scotland. It is gritty, fast-paced and thrilling, and will certainly appeal to the fans of Line of Duty. I can’t wait to read the next instalment to this series.

Hugely enjoyable thriller dealing with high level corruption in the highest levels of the Scottish Police Force. Although the subject matter sounds a little “dry” it is anything but, as our Detective hero, Max Craigie, returns to Scotland after a spell working for the Met.Police.

The story rattles along at breakneck pace, with Max and colleagues battling against Scotland’s premier criminal gang, run by psychopaths with a predilection for extreme violence..It was a pleasure to read a book properly constructed and , surprisingly in this day and age, progressing in linear time scale.The characters are well drawn, the dialogue sharp and the action non-stop..

The most consistently enjoyable book I’ve read for ages and thoroughly recommended.

At first I thought Dead Man's Grave was your run of the mill Scottish crime drama, but as I got further into reading it, the action turned full on Line of Duty! It's a great twist on the standard fare, and made for a very tense final few chapters. The writing style is excellent, with some great character build ups that really keep you engaged. Please can we have more of Max Craigie!

Police procedurals are my favourite and this debut from Neil Lancaster did not disappoint!

Wow. It had me gripped from the beginning and I already can't wait for the next instalment. DS Max Craigie is an incredible character and one that I will not forget in a hurry. I resented any time spent not reading this book if I'm honest!

Tam Hardie's father has gone missing , he reports this to Police Scotland who send officers to interview Tam and his brothers about this. It is very unexpected for the family to contact the police for help as they themselves are leaders of a notorious group of gangsters dealing in everything from drugs to people trafficking . D.S Max Craigie . who has just returned to his homeland from the Met in London is paired with a young officer Janie and they set about trying to trace the father . From his phone history they trace him to a small village and find out he was aking questions about an abandoned church with a graveyard nearby , so they follow this up and find his car and searching the graveyard find his body under a gravestone . He has been stabbed and they follow up all clues and find a family feud has been ongoing for nearly 200 years and a member of the other family who has suffered mental illness has decided to avenge the early death of one of his ancestors . It has become apparent during this investigation that the Hardie family had been kept informed of everything happening by police they had on their payroll . As well as the murder investigation Max and Janie now have to try and root out the bent coppers, which apparently appear to go right to the top of Police Scotland despite Max being set up and suspended. The Hardies have also put out a kill order on all living relatives of the killer's family. Truly gripping from start to finish and I am looking forward to the next book in this series.

What starts as a search for a grave in a remote part of Scotland lands up with murder and corruption at the highest level of the police. Max Craigie recently moved back home under investigation for a shooting in London must go it alone when many avenues shut down. A real look into the everyday life of police procedure really comes to life off the page. A good central character that keeps your attention in this fast paced story. Plenty of legs in these characters for many more stories.
I was given an arc of this book by Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

What an absolutely blistering first novel featuring Max Craigie. It had me on the edge of my seat, I couldn't put it down!! The crime family the Hardies..... everyone's nightmare. Police procedure at its best, pitch perfect. The well observed scottish patter just set the atmosphere too. I loved it.... a tour de force....and cannot wait for the second installment....." the Blood Tide", Max Craigie can do no wrong & well done Neil Lancaster for bringing him to life!!!

Dead Man's Grave is a thoroughly gripping read from start to finish. The author's evocation of place is amazingly accurate, having just returned from a trip to the Black Isle and beyond. The book's premise - the grave that should never be opened - has the reader hooked from the first page.
The author's own life as a detective in the Met lends the novel a firm authenticity. I loved it and it's a worthy contestant for the William McIlvanney Prize.

Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster is the First book in the new DS Max Craigie which is a new Scottish Crime Thriller. This book was fast pace and full of great twists and turns throughout that had me gripped from the very first few pages. and I can't wait for the next one.

‘This grave never to be opened.’

OMG...........Why? Who is in there?

But, this murder can never be forgotten.

When, Detectives Max Craigie and Janie Calder arrive at the scene, a small town where everyone has secrets to hide. They soon realise this murder is part of a blood feud between two Scottish families that stretches back to the 1800s.
One thing’s for certain: This won’t be the last killing…

This killer can never be caught.

As the body count rises, the investigation uncovers large-scale corruption at the heart of the Scottish Police Service. Max and Janie must turn against their closest colleagues. They have to solve a case but, it could cost them far more than just their lives…

Wow!!!!!

I highly recommend this new book.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review

Firstly, a book set where I live will always be a winner, purely for the relatability factor!

This one was a fab read! Max reminds me of the Line of Duty AC-12 characters but set within the realms of police Scotland with well written characters to chase down.

The writing style was well paced and the author created a suspenseful atmosphere. I will be looking out for more from this author

I really enjoyed this book. It was a great storyline with excellent characters. I would highly recommend this book as it was a great read.

Totally page-turning action and suspense. Max is a tough but sympathetic character battling organised crime and police corruption. Riveting story from intriguing start to big finish. Highly recommended.

Interesting police procedural that I read in a couple of days. Zippy and held my attention. If you're a fan of Peter James, Karin Slaughter you will probably enjoy this.

Excellent police procedural.

This book isn’t reinventing the wheel but it is a well written crime book with well developed characters that any fan of these types of book will enjoy.

Scottish gangland crime, with added fuel when the local infamous Hardie gang leader is murdered in a curious generational revenge killing.
Dead Man’s Grave is the first in Neil Lancaster’s series of Scottish police procedurals featuring DS Max Craigie. And Craigie is an extremely likeable character. He has the usual police/wife relationship difficulties. He has experienced his own traumas, with personal demons to temper, but he is an incredibly thorough and experienced detective, with an even temperament - whilst also a wee bit naughty. He is good at reading people but probably needs to work on how he interacts with his superiors. Having said this he is also respected and nurturing.
With great characters, of which Nutmeg the dog was probably my favourite, I found myself with theories as to whodunit from the oft! There are corrupt insiders in the police clearly feeding the Hardie family with information. There is a need to temper police involvement whilst avoiding adding volatility when dealing with the Hardie family which could create more carnage. This even though Tam Hardie Jnr wants to show his power as new leader of the family gang, so more deaths inevitable.
Pacey, tense, with a steady plot development that is plausible, despite the breadth and challenge of this type of storyline. And a great opener with a dilapidated cemetery and a headstone marked as ‘This grave never to be opened’. You’ll get it when you read it…

DS Max Craigie is sent to investigate the disappearance of Tam Hardie Snr - the head of a large criminal family in Scotland. But when he and DC Janie Calder find Hardie he had been murdered and left in a grave marked ‘’This grave never to be opened’.
Max tries to work out what is going on, but finds that he is turned away from investigating the truth by the corruption in Police Scotland.
Max and Janie are not sure who to trust - just how far up does the corruption go?

I enjoyed this read, and thanks to NetGalley for the chance to read it. I’ll be looking for Neil Lancaster’s next book in the series.

Detective Max Craigie has moved from London back to his native Scotland after working in London. He is assigned the task of searching for missing Tam Hardie senior, a gangland leader and criminal. When he does indeed find Tam, he opens up an old feud which leads to a string of murders and unearths police corruption at the deepest level.
This is a fast paced book, action starting from the first chapter and barely letting up through the whole book. It is a gripping read, but I did find Craigie to be a bigger than life character, an ex boxer, an ex soldier with a range of skills that include tracking devices, security cameras and phone tapping, plus he is intelligent, witty, personable and kind to the oddballs in his division. He doesn't really have the flaws that make most endearing detectives. His weakness is his PTSD, a hangover from his time in the army, but apart from giving him nightmares it doesn't impinge on his daily life. He doesn't drink and loves animals. What's not to like?
I also found that Craigie strengths were continuously explained to the reader, along with several other things that would have best left for the readers to understand for themselves. The quick humour and banter between the detectives is good but we don't need to know that they all laughed and the number of times we were told that Craigie drank only cranberry juice....
I had hoped for further explanation of the opening chapter - more details of the feud and what led to the whole murder of Tam Hardie senior in the first place. - but it was not to be. I never understood why the grave of the title should not have been opened, and who were the other bodies inside it.
All in all I found this a readable book which could however, have been a lot better with some careful editing.
With thanks to Netgalley and HQ stories at Harper Collins for the digital copy in exchange for a fair review.

A gripping police procedural novel from Neil Lancaster. First in a new series featuring DS Max Craigie, who has recently moved back to his native Scotland from the London Met after a shooting incident. The story unfolds after the head of a crime family is found murdered in an ancient remote cemetery. An intriguing fast paced mystery full of secrets from the past and present day corruption. Would highly recommend.

This is the first of Neil Lancaster’s books I’ve read and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I found it gripping and very informative in terms of police procedure and loved the central characters Max and Janie whom I’d love to read more about. As a devotee and regular reader of crime novels I’d rank this as amongst the best I’ve read this year. Thoroughly recommended.