This is another superb tale in the series about Max Craigie and the team investigating corruption in the Scottish police force. The characters and their relationships have been well built up over the series but this title could be read as a stand alone. However I do believe readers encountering the team for the first time here would want to read the previous books in the series. In addition to the team, the books have some well-loved family characters in Max's Aunt Elspeth, his wife Katy and his dog Nutmeg. In this book Katy is nearing the end of her pregnancy and this is causing conflicting emotions for Max as he considers how to be a good father and continue in the job he loves. These emotions are well written by the author Neil Lancaster and add to the credibility of the book. 'When Shadows Fall' introduces some new characters who I think will be returning: Chay, a schoolfriend of Max, who is now a helicopter pilot with the mountain rescue team and Clive, a former student of Barney, the team's technology whizz.
This story was particularly terrifying and brought a number of contemporary issues to the fore, most significantly the 'incel' culture of men who hate women and the dangers of social media. Chay brings to Max's attention that there have been an alarming number of deaths of lone women hikers on the Scottish mountains recently which have not been thoroughly investigated by the police.. The team begin an investigation which tests all their skills and their emotions. Janie has recently completed an undercover course and is swiftly putting this to use in an attempt to unearth the killer. Barney brings on board the skills of Clive to help uncover the deeply hidden secrets of the dark web. Team boss Ross is brought up sharp when Janie and Norma alert him to how traumatising the serial killing of women is for them as women and begins to acknowledge the need for more consideration of the individuals of the team.
There are some nail biting moments in this fast moving story which was once again a thrilling tale with true heart. In addition to being a great story in the genre of crime fiction I do think this series would be an excellent introduction to the genre for those who may have steered away from crime / police procedurals in the past.
My thanks to the publisher via Net Galley for an ARC of this title which I have thoroughly enjoyed reading and offering this voluntary review.

Good police procedural featuring DS Max Craigie and his team. Young women are being pushed off the Munros in Scotland. But why? And by whom?
Enjoyed the characters and the story. My one complaint is the language of the boss, Ross. He is a slightly comic character and swearing is his thing. . I have no issue with this, some of his comments are funny, but it’s just too much and all the time and it loses some of its power and humour because of that.
Recommended read.

Neil Lancaster has done it again. I love all of the DS Max Craigie books, they get better with every one and the latest is no exception. In my opinion, this book is the best yet, it was both gripping and pacy and had me hooked from the start. I always feel so invested in the main characters and I already can’t wait for the next one. If you love a crime thriller I’d highly recommend all of the books in this series. But prepare for a serious book hangover when you finish them!

This Max Craigie Series has been absolutely brilliant from the get go and this storyline, I thought, was especially chilling. The thought that there are people out there who hate women so much that are willing to kill them just for their pleasure, and in such a way that it’s almost impossible to prove, was truly scary and thought provoking. I won’t précis the book, that is done by better writer than me in the blurb about the book and in other reviews, so you know the gist of it, I’ll just tell you what I thought about it.

Lovely to see the progression in Max’s life too, and a bit more insight into Ross’s life.

I have one small gripe, and it’s not enough to lose a star because frankly the book deserves more stars than five anyway. But, I looked back over the previous five books and it would appear that Ross’ potty mouth and the amount of ‘Scottishisms’ is growing exponentially. Now I’m a Scot myself and so I understood all the dialect use but even I just found it too much in this book. Even Janie it seems is becoming a slang/dialect user. Ross has always been sweary but now it seems every other word is foul. For me, it detracted from the book and was unnecessary.

However, having got that off my chest, don’t let that stop you reading this book. The whole story is thrilling and I got nothing done for several days and opted to read instead of watching TV at times as I couldn’t wait to read what happened next. Did I guess who was bent? Only the last one!

Can’t wait for book seven!! My thanks go to the author, the publishers and, of course, NetGalley for an advanced reader copy of this wonderful book.

A very gritty story following DS Max Craigie as he investigates, what the local police are calling, a tragic accident called Leanne Wilson who fell off a cliff but something is not right. With his trusted team. including a feisty woman DC Janie Calder. they start to uncover more women who have been murdered falling off a cliff. and they were all blonde.
On top of the investigation, max is expecting his first child due in 2 weeks time. So the pressure is really on.
Loved the characters and the gritty tension with a surprising ending.
Would recommend for a exciting read and gritty.

Having read the previous five books I was looking forward to this latest tale and it doesn’t disappoint. Rich characters and a dark twisty plot line make for another great read, the Scottish settings and banter are so believable and often hilarious which counters the grisly subject of this book. Max uncovers a link between several deaths of female adventure seekers in the wilds of Scotland. His team have to work hard and utilise special skillsets to delve into the mystery and unmask the evil perpetrators whilst his personal life conflicts with the demands of the job as the story unfolds at a blistering pace.

The 6th book in the series and they just get better and better. This one is totally gripping, evil at its best in a storyline with our hero and the team out to get the culprits. A great storyline with a mix of characters both good and bad that you feel completely invested in. Not a book to start if you have a lot of things planned - they won’t get done until you finish the story!

Thank you to Netgalley the author and publishers for an arc in exchange for an honest review

This latest book from Neil Lancaster does not disappoint. The fast paced story kept me gripped from beginning to end. The Scottish setting is beautifully described, despite the gruesome events taking place there. The police officers are a great bunch, the banter between them is a key feature. I can’t wait for the next book to come out!

This is book 6 of 6 in the DS Max Craigie series and is an incredible read peppered with atmosphere, great characters and wonderful humour.
The plot involves lone, fit and well women climbers who fell to their deaths and was reported by the police as accidents. DS Max Craigie thinks there is more to these accidents than meets the eye and investigates. The plot is clever, absorbing and starts as one incident and then takes the reader in a completely different direction.

Max’s small team is led by DI Ross Fraser of the Police Standards Reassurance unit, who answers directly to the Chief Constable, Chris Macdonald. The character development is fabulous. My favourite character is DI Ross Fraser. His vocabulary is definitely not PC, but he is a great leader of his team of talented detectives. There is a lot to like about all the team. DC Janie Calder a fiesty, clever and thinks on her feet. Norma, the anylist, intelligent, funny and holds her own when up against DI Ross Fraser. Barney, ex-MI5, the technical member of the team, a Yorkshire man with many talents. The black humour running through this novel is laugh out loud.

I would recommend this book and give it a 5-star rating.

MY THANKS TO NETGALLEY AND THE PUBLISHER FOR THE OPPORTUNITY OF READING AN ARC OF THIS BOOK IN RETURN

A women is found dead on one of the Munro mountains in Scotland, the police put it down to a tragic accident even though she was an experienced climber.
DS Max Cragie and his team discover that 5 other woman have fallen to their death in these mountains in the past year and only cursory investigations performed, also coincidentally all the woman were blonde and climbed regularly They conclude they must have been murdered and the murderer is still at large.
There’s a lot happening in this brilliant story with obvious police corruption and other highly placed individuals involved in the cover up of these murders.
There’s a lot of pressure on the team to work quickly to prevent another murder and Max himself is awaiting his wife to give birth to their first child due in 2 weeks time so he could be pulled away from the case at anytime.
This wonderful team as usual work so well together with humour and dedication and all manner of things are uncovered.
As usual from this author this is another terrific thriller in the series where the tension remains high throughout and with an outstanding finale.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

I have enjoyed all Neil Lancaster’s books and this another that ticked the right boxes.. I did, however, think I had read it previously for some reason, but having read so many books, there was perhaps another on a similar vein.. The main character is good, but one of the others certainly has more than a slight likeness to one from another book. Still, as I said, an enjoyable read.

I have read a number of Neil Lancaster's books with the detective DS Max Craigie. They have sound police procedural storylines and are real page turners. This was no exception. Max and his team are called to investigate a number of murders involving lone female climbers who meet their deaths in the Scottish highlands. Although part of a series it worked well as a stand alone novel.
Thank you to NetGalley and HQ for the advance copy of this book.

What a brilliant story a real thriller. Someone is targeting newly single young women who love to climb and then pushes them over the cliff edge to their deaths.Max and Janie and the rest of the team investigate but slowly find that there is more to this than meets the eye. The book is a real page turner ,fast paced and gripping .A fantastic series I can't wait to read the next one .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

Another cracking episode in the life of DS Max Craigie. Great setting, great atmosphere and let’s hear it for the midgies! Loved that the several strands were so beautifully interwoven. The whole story showcasing the teamwork needed to solve a case. Loving Barney and Clive looks like they will be appearing again. A wee link to the Mountain Rescue might help with their funding - just an idea! Can’t wait for the next one!

I am really enjoying this series and When Shadows Fall is a cracker of a read and a great addition to the authors Max Craigie series. Max and his team are asked to look into similar deaths that appear to have not been properly investigated and correct procedures followed. Wow, this book certainly hit the ground running and I was drawn into the story very quickly. Neil Lancaster certainly knows how to connect with his readers and this book really hit the mark with me. It has everything I like - a good plot line, engaging writing, great pacing, a slow build up of tension, thrills and suspense and cliff hanger chapter endings that made me eager to know more. I loved following the team as they chase leads and are horrified by what they uncover. The author has created a team of such likeable, and relateable characters that you just root for. I love their camaraderie, team banter and the way they all work and pull together. I really liked the ending and look forward to the next book, and would recommend this if you are a fan of police procedurals - if you've not read any of the previous books you need to read the series in order to know the characters and their histories from the beginning.

4 stars

Another excellent addition to the series with engaging, well-rounded characters coupled with a tense story line. Leaves the reader feeling that there is plenty of scope for more to come.

I enjoyed this book. The story is a good one, although the pace is slowed by (in my view) excessive dialogue. The characters all work well together, and the subject matter is sufficiently different to be interesting.

The body of a woman is found at the base of a Scottish mountain. She appears to have been a well equipped and fairly fit walker but there's nothing to indicate that this is anything but an accident. However the search and rescue helicopter pilot, who attended the scene, is an old military friend of Max's and has an inquisitive mind. He gets in touch with Max to point out that this may not be a one off. Max and the team do some preliminary work and realise that this may well be worth investigating.

Book six in the Max Craigie series looks at just why no connection has been made with previous "accidents" and whether there really is a pattern. In the main it is the usual gang working on this and they do make a good and interesting team. It feels as though the boss - Ross - has been tamed a little and that is no bad thing in my opinion. His views had started to feel more than a little off key. It will come as no surprise to fans of this series that there are enough twists and turns to satisfy and keep you reading.

An interesting facet of this book is that the fact that Max is about to become a father for the first time and it will begood to see where this leads. In generally this is quite like other books in the series which is no bad thing. The characters are good. The settings in the Scottish hills are well used. As always the pace and tension is well worked. Ultimately I'm a fan of Lancaster's writing. You get a decent feel of "Line of Duty" type stories but rather better than most in that genre for me. I do like the characters in this and the way they are used and the writing is very good indeed. Maybe not my favourite in this series but highly readable.

The sixth in the Max Craigie series and the best of the bunch so far. And that's saying something because this is a series that cannot be missed. For those who don't know, Max is part of a team investigating police corruption. If you liked Line of Duty, you'll love this series, One of the joys of crime series is that you get to see characters develop and to know them better. This time round, we find out more about Ross, the team leader. He is a character fit to rival the best of them. In some ways he reminds me of Jackson Lamb (of Slow Horses fame). He's shabby enough and coarse enough to be a close relative of Jackson. Here he's forced to look at toxic misogyny in a different light when it becomes apparent that women are being killed for no reason other than the fact that they are female. One of the best scenes is when the two women in his team confront him over comments he thoughtlessly makes. Like any decent man, he retracts. No fuss, no accusations of'wokeness' just a quiet realisation that he has overstepped the mark. And let's not overlook his malapropisms, sprinkled throughout the tale, they provide light relief to all the dire derring-dos.

Max too has to confront some demons. His wife Katie is about to give birth. She's nervous about how he'll cope with the joint pressures of fatherhood and his job. Max shares her doubts. Can he do justice to both? No doubt we'll find out in the next of the series.

I could say more about the characters and how they're coming to life more and more in each book but I must mention the plot. Often in crime series these can stretch credibility but this one is frightening. Young women are being killed by being pushed off mountains. We know this happens. Recently there was a case in Edinburgh where a young women fell from Arthur's Seat, not a mountain obviously, but high enough to kill. If she hadn't managed to tell a passer-by what had happened then it could be that her killer would have got off with it. Terrifying,

A brilliant read. Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC,

Another thrilling read by Neil Lancaster!

I love the Max Craigie series, for me they are guaranteed page turners. And this one was no exception!

In this edition we see Max on the cusp of becoming a father. Throughout the case it highlights to him how dedicated and deeply involved he becomes in each case. It’s a similar struggle to which nearly all women face… putting their career on hold to have children and then trying to get a bit of themselves back once the child has arrived. Interesting to read it from the other pov but with his character and the nature of his job I fear it will be a continual battle.

This book’s theme largely revolves around males and themes of masculinity covering; gender roles, role models and relationships.

Most interestingly his bosses (Ross Fraser) professional and personal character really gets explored in this novel - and I’m so here for that. He’s a fantastic character, full of contradictions and yet a really good leader for his team. In this book we see a much softer side to him. Even though he swears (a lot) we get a little glimpse of his character outside the job. During the case his attitude is put into question with the female staff putting him in a situation he’s not been in before. Ross, although surprised, once again shines as a leader and put it right immediately. I like this character so much he brings light during the intensity and is grounded when his staff/friends need to rely on him.

But that’s enough about Ross!

Brilliantly written and thoroughly entertaining. If you haven’t tried this series yet you can jump aboard anytime.

Thanks to NetGalley for my advance copy in exchange for my honest review.