Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster

Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster 

Publisher - HQ Digital 

Publication date - 16th July 2021

Review rating - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Thanks to @netgalley and @hqstories for the ARC. 

‘Dead Man’s Grave’ is the first in a new series for Neil Lancaster featuring DS Max Craigie who works in the Serious Organised Crime (SOC) out of Gartosh. This was a tour de force of how to do a stunning piece of crime fiction. It was slick, action-packed, fast paced, and darn right funny! There will be obvious comparisons to Line of Duty and Rankin’s Malcolm Fox character but I sincerely hope that this is going to be a best-seller for Neil as I believe it is on par if not better. I was hoping for one ‘Now we’re sucking diesel’ quote though! 

There is an author’s note at the end of the book which explains how he got the idea of the opening of the book. I too wish there was someone who would have been able to read this book, my dad. He owned the dog kennels in Dunbeath until last year and was a huge crime fiction fan and was also ex-military SAS and an ex cop. Seeing the wee area he lived in and loved for 20 years was a real treat and Neil got everything spot on - yes the pub in Dunbeath does look that shit from the outside! He would have loved this book. 

DS Max Craigie and his colleague DC Janie Calder are asked to work on a missing person’s case, that of Tam Hardie, who happens to be Scotland’s top gangster. For the family to call in the people is mind-boggling and Max knows they will have to be very careful when handling this. They both head up to Caithness, Dunbeath as Tam was supposedly looking into his family history there. They follow his movements to a deserted graveyard and a grave which only has the inscription ‘This Grave Never To Be Opened’. What occurs is a murder investigation, a familial fued going back decades, ruthless OCG activity, a police anti-corruption investigation and so much more! 

I loved the main characters of Max and Janie. Maybe, because I could see a lot of the characteristics of my dad in Max, well life experiences shall we say. Ex forces, suffering from PTSD, hard-working, doesn't suffer fools easily and have a built-in sense of justice. Max is a strongly drawn character and I can see this series going from strength to strength. Plus, he has a cute dog! Janie is a high-flyer on the accelerated promotion programme and is a bit ‘odd’. She is intelligent, a history buff and is determined to prove herself. The relationship between the two of them is amazing and I'm so pleased that Neil didn't go down the romance front as it would have spoiled it in my opinion. Having each other back, amazing banter and a strong trust in the other is so much more fruitful.

This is a stunning start to a series and I for one will be promoting the heck out of it! It's certainly the best crime book in Scotland so far this year.