Exciting and highly entertaining, you will be hard pushed to find a more riveting and refreshingly different thriller this year. Personally I will read another by Neil Lancaster and I would definitely want to read the next in this series. This is his second series, the first being the Tom Novak Series which was published by a small independent publishing house. One thing’s for certain, the Hardie family will not take this well, they already have connections to numerous murders, and someone murdering the head of their family will not be tolerated - retribution will be had!

Since retiring from the Metropolitan Police, Neil has relocated to the Scottish Highlands with his wife and son. Intent on addressing any misapprehensions that they have been weakened by the murder of their father, the powerful and ruthless Tam Jnr chillingly demonstrates that this is not the case, and is not to be deflected from pursuing a monstrous bloody retribution for the death of his father, despite Police Scotland's quick arrest of the killer, a man with mental health issues. He recently left the Metropolitan Police where he served for over twenty-five years, predominantly as a detective, leading and conducting investigations into some of the most serious criminals across the UK and beyond.The story involves a Scottish crime family, an old feud going back a couple of centuries and police corruption going to the highest level. They were fairly casual in their pursuit because the buffoon was indicating 3 seconds in advance before changing lanes or making turns thereby making him easy to follow. When they find his body hidden under a tombstone in an abandoned – and remote – churchyard, it at first seems that he has been murdered by a local man obsessed with a centuries-old feud between his family and that of the victim. It quickly becomes obvious that there's corruption at a high level in Police Scotland and the Hardie family are benefitting from it.

Unfortunately I knew some of what would happen but it didn’t detract too much from what was an otherwise explosive story! He pulled his old clasp knife from his Barbour pocket, extended the worn blade and began hacking away at the vegetation. Not all the facts of the case make sense to Mac and Janie, however, and they soon realise that others were involved; and now the victim’s family are out for revenge on the perpetrators, their families, and, as the investigation later on reveals corruption deep within the Police Force itself, on Max and his family. He served as a military policeman in the RAF and worked as a detective for the Metropolitan Police, investigating serious crimes in the capital and beyond. For more Scottish crime, we can recommend For Any Other Truth (DCI Jim Daley) by Denzil Meyrick and The Red, Red Snow by Caro Ramsay.Plenty of fast-moving active events, so for those who like this type of novel, it would probably be a four-star read. Former soldier, (now DS) Max Craigie, was stationed at Helmand Province, Afghanistan, fighting the Taliban, and experienced some horrific and tragic events, so he has his demons to fight, not least the terrifying nightmares that leave him shaking with cold cloying sweats. At first, the book was something of a slow burn, but as it gradually gathered pace, I found myself reading in longer and longer chunks until I reached the last quarter and then I had to gallop through the rest at speed.

Shite,' he hissed as he fell to the damp earth in a painful heap, cracking his knee on the edge of a flat, partially concealed gravestone. Dead Man's Grave had my favorite things: a police procedural with lots of mystery and intrigue, AND a sweet dog named Nutmeg! The head of Scotlands most powerful crime family is brutally murdered, his body dumped inside an ancient grave in a remote cemetery. They soon realise this murder is part off a blood feud between two Scottish families that stretches back to the 1800s. Max has always wanted to be one of the 'good guys' - that's why he joined the police force in the first place.When Tam Hardie goes missing, the job of liaising with the family is handed to DS Max Craigie, not long arrived with Police Scotland from his last job in the Met, and Janie Calder, a rookie DC. LONGLISTED FOR THE 2021 McILVANNEY PRIZE FOR SCOTTISH CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR 'The best police procedural I've read in years - fast-paced, compelling and deeply authentic.

Tam Junior, Frankie and Dave wouldn't normally go to the police but they weren't certain where their father had been and they were worried.He chose to transfer to Police Scotland and the Serious and Organised Crime Unit from the Met, and his wife, less keen on the move, chose not to join him. My wife’s best friend, Gail and her huge family had hired out this beautiful, massive house for a week and they had travelled from all over the world to be together for Christmas. It was who was missing that caught the interest of the Serious Organised Crime Team at Gartcosh and DS Max Craigie and DC Janie Calder set off to Caithness. At the heart of it, it's a multi-generation feud of Scottish crime families, corrupted police, a gripping tale, and good action.