The growing friendship and trust between Max and Janie is terrific as they power up the A9 like Batman and Robina. A Scottish crime story, Max, ex military who suffers with PTSD finds himself stationed back near his home town in Scotland after a move from his base in London where he was involved in a questionable shooting and has also left his wife behind who wants a break from their marriage.

It is a world apart from my favorite detective, Vera Stanhope who does her policing based on facts and intelligence and where there is a bit of mystery that you need to find out. I am thoroughly enjoying getting to read beyond YA fiction but also think a lot of these crime novels would be enjoyed by senior high school students too, but they need to read the content warnings. By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file.One does need to listen hard sometimes because the majority of the time the narrator uses numersous Scottish Dialects, and quite right; however, it din’t diminish my thorough enjoyment of this book. Facts about police procedure, details of surveillance or how mobiles are tracked, often have my eyes glazing over but the balance here was spot on. Dead Man’s Grave is the first instalment in the DS Max Craigie Scottish Crime Thrillers series, a book that reels you in from the very first sentence only releasing you from its grasp once the story has concluded. Summary: The first in a new series left me wondering to start with but the book quickly grabbed me and wouldn't let go. In the grave is the recently missing Tam 'Peeler' Hardie, the elderly head of Scotland's biggest crime family, controlling and distributing heroin and cocaine from their Glasgow base.

Sure, it’s just a police procedural but the book is so tightly plotted, so fast paced, so edge of seat with characters aplenty to both root for and to hate that it is really a cut above your everyday procedural. A stroke of luck for Max and Janie on their way back to Glasgow means the investigation into Hardie’s death might be wrapped up sooner than anyone expected, but Max is convinced there’s more to the killing than just some ancient family feud. Their boss, DI Ross Fraser is an old warhorse with a heart of gold and he backs his troops to the hilt. As a covert policing specialist, he used all manner of techniques to investigate and disrupt major crime and criminals. This is a fast paced, enjoyable and exciting crime read that is hard to let go of, it is engaging and entertaining, and I loved both main characters.If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance. However, where it falls a little bit short (but does not affect my overall enjoyment) is on the character development of the criminals.

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.

The settings are fantastic, I love the coast beyond Inverness, the Black Isle and as for the dolphins as Chanonry Point, be still my beating heart! He carries with him a lot of guilt over something that happened back when he was in the Black Watch and his former role in the Flying Squad and, as a result, between those memories and the demands of the job, his marriage is on somewhat rocky ground.