This book hits the ground running and doesn’t let up throughout. Well written characters and excellent story construction make this a hugely enjoyable read. Max is a great central character and well rounded enough to carry the story. DISCLOSURE: Thank you to Harper Collins UK Audio via Netgalley for providing an audio ARC of Dead Man's Grave by Neil Lancaster for review. All opinions expressed in this review are entirely my own personal opinions. After a couple of minutes of furious scraping and chopping, his work was done. Tam Hardie stood, a mix of apprehension and excitement beginning to take hold as he saw the six words that his grandfather had assured him would be there.

Author, Neil Lancaster was with Metropolitan Police for over two decades. You just know that he has many good ideas for his upcoming books. Can't wait for the next! Oh, and don't miss the author's note! ways draws me to a 📚 it was very atmospheric & thought I was there I can’t wait to read the next instalment in this wonderful new series. 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.The missing person in question is notorious gangster Tam Hardie, head of Scotland’s most powerful and ‘influential’ crime family - nothing happens without Hardie’s say so. Looks like someone did open the Grave though, as Tam Hardie’s decomposing body is discovered beneath the heavy slab of granite covering the grave, in what turns out to be a centuries old feud. 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! DCI Max Craigie & his partner DCJanie Calder are called to a burial ground near a church to look for a missing person they see a grave that says NEVER TO BE OPENED, but that doesn’t deter Max & Janie they open it to find the body of a notorious drug lord Tam Hardie he is the most wanted gangster in Scotland .

When ageing gangster Tam Hardie goes missing Max and Janey are asked to investigate. It doesn’t take them long to find his body hidden in an old grave in the Highlands under a stone carved with the message “this grave can never be opened” and not much longer to find the killer and uncover an old feud. The consequences of the murder are much worse with the bodies piling up and evidence of police corruption emerging. 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. 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. 4.5/5So the plot is good but it is accompanied by an excellent writing style that is lively and encourages further reading. The humour is rough, realistic and funny and wouldn’t be out of place in most workplaces. The plotting is clear sighted and logical with little room for misunderstanding or ambiguity (not always a given). There are also some great descriptions of the Highlands scenery and locations. I like Max and Janey. They are well developed characters who are smart and dedicated, even a little idealistic at times, and their banter is great.

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. Ore Max & Janie look into the murder that corruption is rife in this case, who Killed Hardie & why? Initially I thought this was maybe a fairly conventional cop story. "Cop" with a history coming to a new force, working with an interesting new female officer - I wondered whether this was really my sort of book. The story follows Max during his investigations. Increasingly I found parts entertainingly unconventional or dark and well worked. It seemed that my initial judgement was off the mark here. 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. As the body count rises, the investigation uncovers large-scale corruption at the heart of the Scottish Police Service. Now Max and Janie must turn against their closest colleagues – to solve a case that could cost them far more than just their lives… 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?

I thoroughly enjoyed Dead Man’s Grave which has an unusual opening premise, a fast pace and plenty of twists and turns. It is told mostly from Max’s point of view with the reader given glimpses from the other side’s point of view to widen the perspective.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. 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? THE AUTHOR: Neil was born in Liverpool in the 1960s. 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. 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.