Dead Man’s Grave cover art

Dead Man’s Grave

DS Max Craigie, Book 1

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Dead Man’s Grave

By: Neil Lancaster
Narrated by: Angus King
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About this listen

 ‘The best police procedural I’ve read in years’ Jane Casey

‘Grabbed me from the first page’ Ian Rankin

This grave can never be opened.
The head of Scotland’s most powerful crime family is brutally murdered, his body dumped inside an ancient grave in a remote cemetery.

This murder can never be forgotten.
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: it might be the latest killing, but it won’t be the last…

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. Now Max and Janie must turn against their closest colleagues – to solve a case that could cost them far more than just their lives…

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. DS Max Craigie is a brilliant hero and I can't wait for the next in the series’ Jane Casey

‘Genuinely gripping, a total page-turner and one of my favourite reads of the year’ Matt Nixon, Daily Express

‘A stone cold classic of the genre; the strongest start to a series I’ve seen in years’ Tony Kent

‘Absolutely blown away by how good this is’ Marion Todd

‘A thriller writer set to blow up the bestseller lists’ C. L. Taylor

‘The most authentic voice in thriller writing’ Tony Parsons

‘A genuinely thrilling adventure’ Scottish Sun

‘A page turner you won’t want to miss’ Denzil Meyrick

Don’t miss the first stunning thriller in the new DS Max Craigie Scottish Crime series!

©2021 Neil Lancaster (P)2021 HarperCollins Publishers Limited Crime Crime Fiction Mystery Police Procedural Suspense Thriller & Suspense Fiction Highlander Murder

Critic Reviews

‘Grabbed me from the first page … think Jack Reacher fronting Line of Duty’ Ian Rankin

‘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

‘A genuinely thrilling adventure’ Scottish Sun

‘Compelling, quirky and engaging, this is a page-turner you won't want to miss!’ Denzil Meyrick

‘Genuinely gripping, a total page-turner and one of my favourite reads of the year’ Matt Nixson, Daily Express

‘Great storytelling with a whiplash smart hero and heroine’ Daily Mail

‘A cracking good story … kept me turning the pages, and loving the twists. I can’t wait for the second Craigie instalment’ Gytha Lodge

‘Gripping’ Bella

‘A sizzling start to a new series’ Crime Monthly

‘A thriller writer set to blow up the bestseller lists’ C. L. Taylor

‘Rock hard cop stuff, from a writer who’s done it for real. Absolutely terrific’ Paul Finch

‘If you liked Line of Duty, you’ll love this’ Real People Magazine

‘The most authentic voice in thriller writing’ Tony Parsons

‘An edge-of-your-seat, read-in-one-sitting book. If you like Line of Duty, you must snap this up’ Cass Green

‘A fast-paced read’ Suffolk Magazine

‘An authentic and compelling thriller. Highly recommended’ Mark Dawson

‘Absolutely blown away by how good this is’ Marion Todd

‘If you loved his Tom Novak series, you’ll love this even more’ Stephen Leather

‘A powerful and gripping story … D. S. Max Craigie is a fantastic creation’ Howard Linskey

‘An incredible piece of work. Great storytelling, pacy and written with such a sense of place’ Chris MacDonald

‘A stone cold classic of the genre; the strongest start to a series I’ve seen in years’ Tony Kent

‘The best police procedural money can buy’ Imran Mahmood
All stars
Most relevant
a fresh story for scottish crime fans like me ,if you like Peter may , val McDairmed, or anne Cleeves , you might like this , a bit different,.

great read

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Very well written with wonderful detail. Great storyline and characters. Love the narration by Angus King (one of my favourites). Will definitely read the next book. I read this at 1.4X and it was perfect. Don’t miss this one!

Excellent Story

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Really enjoyed this book, clever plot and well developed characters. I really liked Max, the main character and the relationship between him and his colleague Janet. Well narrated.

Scottish gangsters

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Enjoyed this book just fine. The narrator is Angus King and I think he’s great. The only thing I could say is that Angus also narrates the DCI Logan series by JD Kirk and being a fan of those audio books, I have listened to them all. Sometimes I started to think I was listening to a DCI Logan book while listening to Dead Man’s Grave, because some of the character voices were very similar. Other than that, an entertaining story and I look forward to more from this author.

I enjoyed it

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listened to this after I'd listened to the next in the series...still thoroughly enjoyed it

powerhouse of a story

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Loved it all. Angus King is the best narrator. I just love Scottish crime fiction and this is among the best. Look forward to the next one.

Not knowing what was happening next

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How can anyone say they don’t like Angus Kung as a narrator? He’s the one that brings this wonderfully entertaining book by Neil Lancaster to life, the perfect pairing. Can’t wait for more, I love these guys . I just wish they had more work together, perfect way to kill a day……

This pair, author and narrator, will have you wishing the book would never end.

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Very entertaining, wonderful storyline with great characters that come to life under Angus King's colourful narration. Well done Neil Lancaster, I look forward to reading the sequels.

Another Great Scottish Series to Enjoy

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The beginning of this story was very intriguing but the story from it was very enthralling. I really enjoyed it!

Terrific Start!

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This is very long & complex!
BUT it's worth it. (A touch slow at the start but given its a new series its understandable that he'd write more indepth context and background.)

I've read Ed James's DI Marshall books recently and they're long & unnecessarily convoluted. And quite weak on the actual crime, despite the length. this is the opposite.

This is the best police procedural I've read for a long time.
Much better than JD Kirk which has great characters but is weak on the crime side of things. always so unbelievable & better than
the Black Echo book of Bosch which was constant cliche after cliche that I didn't care about what was happening. This story I've actually binged to finish, though I don't recommend it cause listening to the last 3hrs tired is difficult with so many new names and people suddenly dumped in. all very valid characters though.
the characters have depth & you care about them.
Off the top of my head the closest I can think of is Cara Hunter's DI Fawley series.
Oh & reviewing the rank hierarchy of Police Scotland may help. esp at the end lol.

G

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