Book Review: Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster

I love police procedurals and am always on the lookout for new novels to dive into. Dead Man’s Grave is the first in what I hope is many novels featuring the team of DS Max Craigie and Janie Calder. I was already familiar with author Neil Lancaster’s work, having enjoyed his Tom Novak series very much, so I anticipated this new series would be just as excellent.

Neil did not disappoint.

Craigie and Calder come upon a grave in a remote cemetery in the Scottish countryside. The grave is unkempt and bears a warning to never open it, yet the pair can see it has been recently opened and even more, a new body has been deposited there. The discovery of the corpse’s identity sets Craigie and Calder on an investigation involving everything from organized crime and police corruption to a blood feud that stretches back centuries.

Dead Man’s Grave includes well-developed characters, as well as a plot that unfolds, chapter by chapter, leaving you guessing until the very end. There are several storylines but all are easy to follow. Many police procedurals set crime fighters against criminals in a “black and white” world where law enforcement officers are good and criminals are bad. You won’t get that here. As mentioned above, this novel includes police corruption and a criminal (or two) who may actually earn your empathy.

I wonder how much inspiration author Neil Lancaster is drawing from his own experiences as a serious crimes investigator with the Metropolitan Police. I’m sure he has a treasure trove of unique and thrilling cases to draw from.

On his website, Neil shares where the inspiration for the remote grave came from – you can read more here.

Either way, I can’t wait until the next Craigie and Calder novel is released.

Dead Man’s Grave by Neil Lancaster. Publisher: HQ. Publication date: July 16, 2021