Blood Runs Cold

Buy from Amazon.
Buy from Bookshop.org and support independent sellers.

Neil Lancaster’s Max Craigie series is fast becoming a regular treat. I’ve previously reviewed the first three books in the series, so there was no question that it went straight to the top of my To-Be-Read pile as soon as it dropped through the letter box.

Blood Runs Cold features the well-established team of DS Max Craigie, DC Janie Calder, the wonderfully foul-mouthed and irascible DI Ross Fraser, the ever-competent Norma and of course Barney, their tame ex-spook (with the obligatory cameos by Nutmeg the cockerpoo). Four books in and Lancaster is now really comfortable writing these old-friends, but I’m pleased to say that he has continued to grow and develop the characters. As ever, the dialogue and interactions between them are natural and realistic, and often laugh-out-loud funny.

​For those unfamiliar with Neil Lancaster, he has worked as a detective in London’s Metropolitan Police, and before that was a Military Police Officer. He now lives in Scotland, and so his books are set there, with his investigative team part of Police Scotland. Consequently, his police procedure is spot-on, but he balances that authentic detail with a fast-paced story.
The theme this time is one that Lancaster cares deeply about, dealing with the trafficking of young victims for prostitution and county-lines drug running, and it shows in both the authenticity of the writing and the compassion he shows towards those involved.

Max Craigie’s initial involvement in the case is personal; a fifteen-year-old former trafficking victim that his wife is working with disappears after going for a run. Max agrees to take a look into it and soon discovers that there are other disturbingly similar cases. With it becoming increasingly apparent that there is a leak somewhere within law enforcement, the case soon falls within the remit of Craigie’s specialist anti-corruption team and they start to investigate.

Lancaster has chosen not only to follow Craigie and his team, but also tell the story from the perspectives of the trafficking victim, Affi, as well the bad guys. This really fleshes out the story and helps ratchet up the tension, giving a delicious sense of foreboding as we the reader sometimes know more about what is coming than the heroes. Spending time inside the head of young Affi not only evokes sympathy, it also ensures that we are really invested in her and genuinely fear for her safety. Similarly, we gain an insight into the bad guys, and whilst we may not sympathise with them, we can see why they do what they do and their motivations.

I’ve said in previous reviews that this is a series that gets better every time, and I still believe that. Neil Lancaster is not only a terrific writer, but also a brilliant story teller. I’ll be elbowing my way to the front of the queue for the next one!