I've enjoyed all the previous books in the Max Craigie series, so was looking forward to this latest one. It certainly didn't disappoint. A young woman disappeared without trace 6 years ago. Now prison inmate Davie Hardie, part of the notorious Hardie family, says he knows what happened and can lead police to her body in exchange for his freedom. But the Hardie family would never cooperate with the police, so what is he up to? This is a fast paced story with lots of twists and turns. I love the characters and the dialogue is often hilarious! Thiswill keep you guessing to the end.
Thanks to NetGalley for a preview copy.
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Six years ago, a young Polish woman went missing and there have been no leads until now. A gangland boss confirms that she was murdered, and he is willing to provide details of the deposition site of the body and evidence to convict an individual, who has since risen to some power. There are conditions that need to be met, but these would be acceptable in exchange for a spectacular collar.

The criminal is Davie Hardie a man who is well known to Max Craigie, who put him behind bars. Part of the deal is that Max and the team have no influence within the case. An outrageous demand, but with Chief Constable Macdonald on holiday it suits the plans of his deputy DCC Campbell, who sees sidelining them the first step in getting rid of them entirely.

Sadly for the DCC, events take an unexpected course and the Chief Constable places the PSR team in charge of rescuing the position.


The question the reader must ponder over, in this story, is the morality of doing deals with convicted killers. This is a question posed in the real world, where quite rightly there is a reluctance to do so and be seen to be rewarding murderers. This is particularly difficult where the offer is to reveal where bodies are buried, thereby giving some measure of closure to the family left behind. Career minded senior officers can see the rewards of clearing up old cases as a boost, as does DCC Campbell, but how far do you trust a lying ‘lag’? In the case of Max Craigie not far at all. Max ends up with a compliment from the most unlikely of sources, as the only copper to be trusted as being straight in Scotland.

Once again, the action is quick fire and relentless. Like those before it, it is a real page turner but one where you will have to pause to catch your breath at times. There are grim prison scenes, aspects of violence and bloodshed at times, which go hand in hand with the subject matter and give it a sense of authenticity. So, there’s more than enough thrills and danger for most readers.

The darkness is offset with a rich vein of humour with contractor Barney a particular delight as the tight Yorkshireman, but they all get some great lines. It is very much an ensemble piece with fabulous interactions between the team members, with their individual stories growing with each new instalment.

Naturally away from the central players, the other characters become sketchier but avoid being cartoonish caricatures, although one is nicknamed Droopy after the ever-morose cartoon dog. The Hardies and Droopy pack enough menace to go around, though my personal favourite was Leo the dodgy solicitor acting for the Hardies.

I would like to thank Net Galley the publisher and author for access to this title in exchange for a fair review

I can’t say that I enjoyed this book at all. I have previously read about Max Craigie but I felt that the book was quite drawn out and boring.

This series gets better and better, gritty clever plot and again keeps you engaged with great characters and settings, feels so real, can’t wait for the next.

this is a series that I have thoroughly enjoyed. Max Craigie against the Glasgow Mafia. Now Max must deal with a Hardie who prmises to squeal as long as he is not involved. Glasgow's police force is riddled with informers and not on it's public side. This book in the series has more deaths than you can shake a stick at but max will eventually pull through. Ther is action on every page, more twists and turns than aon a mountain road and a thourougly enjoyable conclusion. I look forward to the next in the series

A great book that was full of suspense and questions as to what is going on! Thoroughly worth every moment of reading it

Excellent read. Memorable characters and a good story. Love a good police procedural!
Recommended.

This is the third book I've read in the Max Craigie series - think I need to catch up on the other 2! I love the characters and fast paced excitement as well as personal insights into the players. This book was another great story with corruption, criminal gangs and prison life and builds on past stories. I can't believe this hasn't been made into a series yet!

DS Max Craigie, Book 5 a great read. Fast paced that keeps you hooked from the first page I found it hard to put down once I had started it.

Excellent read. A well researched storyline that keeps you in suspense until the very end. Well written. As a lover of crime novels I would read other books by Neil Lancaster. Highly recommended.

Another brilliant crime novel by Neil Lancaster - now one of my favourite writers. I loved this story, like the last ones, and could hardly put it down. A great plot with constant suspense and interesting characters. I hope there will be more in this series.

I have read all of the Max Craigie books and have thoroughly enjoyed everyone. I devoured this book in a day (on holiday luckily!)

Beata Dabrowski disappeared 6 years ago, reported missing but no sign of her, and was never seen again

Gang boss David Hardie, from the notorious crime family has decided to do the one thing his family would never do and that's squeal to the police about where she is buried. There is a condition Max Craigie must not be involved at all or the deal is off.

Absolutely brilliant, page turning doesn't even cover how good this book is.

Highly recommended and can't wait for the next instalment

I was recommended to read the Neil Lancaster Max Craigie books and I was not disappointed this is a real page turner. Max, Janie and the gang are not initially involved in the story, but things soon change after Davie Hardie a member of a notorious crime family is shot by a sniper. Its obvious that someone in Police Scotland had passed info on to the sniper which means Max and Janie are called in to find the corrupt police. Lots of action follows with lots of twists and turns to find the culprit.
Always a great read from Neil with his knowledge of police procedure, looking forward to book six.

I always look forward to Max Craigie books. This one starts with the murder of Beata and then moves forward six years. One of the Hardie brothers Davie from a well known family with a criminal enterprise tells his solicitor, he knows who killed Beata and will lead him and the police to her body. The only problem is Davie is in prison and let’s just say, his attempt to help the police doesn’t go quite to plan. Lancaster takes up on a whirlwind chase with Max Craigie back in action. There is clearly a high level criminal at work and they seem to be one step ahead in evading Craigie and colleagues. As always, an engaging compulsive read with smatterings of black humour, true grit and lots of action. Max Craigie has a good career ahead of him in Neil Lancaster’s hands.

I love a good detective novel and this didn't disappoint. The twists and turns along the way took me by surprise and the twist at the end was unexpected. Good characters and weirdly start rooting for the bad guys!

Another great story from Neil Lancaster. The Max Craigie series is consistently good, and this book was fast paced and developed the main characters even more. I liked it a lot and look forward to more from the author.

Neil Lancaster’s DS Max Craigie is back in books 5 of this series.
Six years ago a polish woman Beata.Dabrowski was on the way to meet her lover in Glasgow and was never seen again.
Davie Hardie, head of the infamous Hardie family, now says he knows where she is - and will give the information in return for his freedom from prison. But he doesn’t want Max Craigie involved!
But things go wrong, and Max ends up on the case - and more people are killed. Max won’t stop until he uncovers who killed Beata, even if it means uncovering more police corruption.
Another first rate thriller from Neil Lancaster! A great read! Thanks to #Netgalley for the ARC.

I have loved this series from the outset, so I'm always excited to see a new installment come out and The Devil You Know is no different. From the beginning of the fifth book in the series, it is fast paced and full of drama and surprises, and it was almost impossible to tear myself away.

At first, it's difficult to see how DS Max Craigie and his team will be involved in the case that emerges in the first few chapters, as they are all instructed to stay away, but they soon find a way in, and are as dogged and determined as always. The partnership between DS Max Craigie and DC Janie Calder is just as strong as it has always been, with the banter between them providing some relief between some very dark scenes. I also love the supporting characters and their unorthodox methods make the investigation a joy to follow.

I was intrigued by the investigation from the very beginning as the complex nature of the plot means it's not always obvious what is happening. Neil Lancaster is brilliant at bringing the threads together in a fascinating way and I loved trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together. The tension towards the end of the novel is created brilliantly and I was hanging on to every word until the very end.

I do hope this series continues as the novel ends in a way that suggests there is much more to come from DS Max Craigie.

I enjoyed reading this detective novel. It had an abundance of tension and kept me hooked from the beginning. I liked how the characters were all so different yet worked so well as a team. It’s certainly one I’d recommend and I’d like to read more by this author.

My thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for the opportunity to read and review this book.

It was brilliant to be back with DS Craigie and the team. I only found this series from the previous book so you don’t need to have read them all to enjoy each one.

I adore the mix of characters in this series. I also love the set up, with similarities to The Line of Duty, Craigie and his team are there to root out bent coppers.

This time a member of a known criminal family wants out of prison and is ready to make a deal. As long as Craigie is not involved….

A gripping story line that had me hooked start to finish. Absolutely brilliant.