The Devil You Know
(DS Max Craigie 5)
Neil Lancaster
It’s that time again! Another outing for Neil Lancaster’s brilliant Max Craigie.
Regular readers of this blog will know how excited I am when an advance copy of the latest in the series arrives unexpectedly on my door mat. Time to finish whatever I’m reading and go straight to this special treat.
Yet again, Lancaster has knocked it out of the park, over the main road and into somebody’s back garden!
For those unfamiliar with the set-up, Max Cragie is a former soldier and former Metropolitan Police Officer now working for Police Scotland’s ‘Policing Standards Reassurance Team’ – an innocuously-named unit specialising in rooting out corruption within the force.
As always, you can read the book as a standalone, but I’d suggest it’s worth starting at the beginning of the series with Dead Man’s Grave, The Blood Tide, The Night Watch and Blood Runs Cold. The characters (good and bad!) evolve over the series, which adds to the fun.
The usual gang are back: Max and his partner Janie Calder, the foul-mouthed DI Fraser, technical whizz Barney and their analyst Norma and as always, they all get their chance to shine. The story, which starts with the disappearance of a young woman some years before, brings back characters who have featured in previous books. I’m reluctant to give too much plot away, suffice to say that this time Craigie teams up with an old foe in an investigation with tendrils leading to the very heart of the establishment, at the same time seeking justice for an innocent young woman.
Again, Lancaster’s own policing expertise, especially in covert operations, gives the book a feeling of authenticity, and his regular cast, which he now writes with warmth and familiarity, provide humour where needed.
As always, I stress that I only include books that I have genuinely enjoyed, and this one is definitely a recommended read.
Enjoy!
The Devil You Know is out in March 2024 from HQ.
Regular readers of this blog will know how excited I am when an advance copy of the latest in the series arrives unexpectedly on my door mat. Time to finish whatever I’m reading and go straight to this special treat.
Yet again, Lancaster has knocked it out of the park, over the main road and into somebody’s back garden!
For those unfamiliar with the set-up, Max Cragie is a former soldier and former Metropolitan Police Officer now working for Police Scotland’s ‘Policing Standards Reassurance Team’ – an innocuously-named unit specialising in rooting out corruption within the force.
As always, you can read the book as a standalone, but I’d suggest it’s worth starting at the beginning of the series with Dead Man’s Grave, The Blood Tide, The Night Watch and Blood Runs Cold. The characters (good and bad!) evolve over the series, which adds to the fun.
The usual gang are back: Max and his partner Janie Calder, the foul-mouthed DI Fraser, technical whizz Barney and their analyst Norma and as always, they all get their chance to shine. The story, which starts with the disappearance of a young woman some years before, brings back characters who have featured in previous books. I’m reluctant to give too much plot away, suffice to say that this time Craigie teams up with an old foe in an investigation with tendrils leading to the very heart of the establishment, at the same time seeking justice for an innocent young woman.
Again, Lancaster’s own policing expertise, especially in covert operations, gives the book a feeling of authenticity, and his regular cast, which he now writes with warmth and familiarity, provide humour where needed.
As always, I stress that I only include books that I have genuinely enjoyed, and this one is definitely a recommended read.
Enjoy!
The Devil You Know is out in March 2024 from HQ.
