July 6

Dead Man’s Grave – Neil Lancaster

This grave can never be opened.
The head of Scotland’s most powerful crime family is brutally murdered, his body dumped inside an ancient grave in a remote cemetery.

This murder can never be forgotten.
Detectives Max Craigie and Janie Calder arrive at the scene, a small town where everyone has secrets to hide. They soon realise this murder is part of a blood feud between two Scottish families that stretches back to the 1800s. One thing’s for certain: it might be the latest killing, but it won’t be the last…

This killer can never be caught.
As the body count rises, the investigation uncovers large-scale corruption at the heart of the Scottish Police Service. Now Max and Janie must turn against their closest colleagues – to solve a case that could cost them far more than just their lives…

 

My thanks to Finn Cotton at HQ for the opportunity to read Dead Man’s Grave ahead of publication

 

Dead Man’s Grave.

This.

Book.

Is.

Brilliant.

I could stop writing at this point, I loved it. But I am going to rave a bit more…

Dead Man’s Grave grabbed me in the opening pages and is still in my thoughts a few weeks after I finished it. Top quality crime fiction with lashings of tension and drama, mysteries and secrets for the reader to discover as they read.  There is humour to break up the darker scenes and, despite the very clear presence of the villains of the piece, there are several untrustworthy characters who are hidden from DS Max Craigie. Watching him flush them out into the open is why you will keep those pages turning long into the night.

I mentioned Max Craigie – who he?  He is a name you want to watch out for! An officer with Police Scotland and working out of Glasgow he used to work for the Met in London and brings a wealth of experience to his team. And Craigie will need to bring every ounce of that experience to his next investigation as a leading member of one of Scotland’s most powerful crime families has gone missing. His family (the criminals) are prepared to co-operate with the police as they want their father back. But Craigie knows they have their own contacts within the police so everything he knows will soon make its way back. Who can he trust amongst his own colleagues to help him and who is passing information to the crooks?

Working with the capable and quirky Janie Calder the pair make their way North from Glasgow to the wilds of the Scottish Highlands to visit the last place the missing gangster was seen.  Their journey is far more successful than he anticipated and their missing person investigation turns into a murder hunt. This isn’t going to be the first murder either as a violent gang are hellbent on avenging a centuries old feud and a family who have no knowledge of recent events are now in grave danger.

The action moves up and down the country and Cragie and Calder discover the corruption in the police runs much deeper than a few informants in each station. Can they shine a light on the perpretators or will their interference prove too costly?  Craigie is at risk and as he unknowingly courts death I could not turn the pages fast enough.

Dead Man’s Grave was recently announced on the Longlist for the 2021 McIlvanney Prize, it’s already establishing its credentials as one of the best Scottish crime thrillers of the year. Trust me on this one, you will struggle to find a more gripping read.

 

Dead Man’s Grave releases digitally on 16 July 2021 and the paperback will be available in September. You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0925KS87N/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

 

 

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February 16

Deity – Matt Wesolowski

A shamed pop star
A devastating fire
Six witnesses
Six stories
Which one is true?

When pop megastar Zach Crystal dies in a fire at his remote mansion, his mysterious demise rips open the bitter divide between those who adored his music and his endless charity work, and those who viewed him as a despicable predator, who manipulated and abused young and vulnerable girls.

Online journalist, Scott King, whose Six Stories podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the accusations of sexual abuse and murder that were levelled at Crystal before he died. But as Scott begins to ask questions and rake over old graves, some startling inconsistencies emerge: Was the fire at Crystal’s remote home really an accident? Are reports of a haunting really true? Why was he never officially charged?

Dark, chillingly topical and deeply thought-provoking, Deity is both an explosive thriller and a startling look at how heroes can fall from grace and why we turn a blind eye to even the most heinous of crimes…

 

My thanks to Karen at Orenda Books for my review copy of Deity.  Thanks also to Anne Cater of Random Things Blog Tours for the opportunity to join the Deity Blog tour.

 

Six Stories. A phenomonal concept and Matt Wesolowski just seems to deliver chills and tension every single time.  With Deity we are concentrating on Zach Crystal, a musician who reached the very top at a young age and lived a mysterious and controversial lifestyle before tragedy struck and he died in a fire at on his remote country estate in the Scottish Highlands.

Scott King is a podcast host who in each of the four previous Wesolowski novels has conducted interviews with six guests in a bid to cast light on mysteries, murders or strange phenomonon. The story telling is always wonderfully layered and the salient points to each story will not be immediately obvious to the reader until Scott King himself draws your attention back to they key revelations which can turn your understanding of a narrative on its head.

Deity is no different. Six interviews with six people to understand better the complex and controversial superstar Zach Crystal.  The first story makes it quite clear where the headline controvosy will be found.  King interviews a man who alleges Crystal was active in an internet chatroom trying to arrange a meet with a 12 year old girl (Crystal at this time was in his mid 40s).  Throughout his career Crystal has spent time with young girls from disadvantaged backgrounds at his remote Highland home.  “Entirely innocent” he always maintained and there was never any real traction behind the few stories which cast doubt on his assurances of innocence.

The reason the stories never amounted to anything, King’s first guest asserts, is that King employed a team of hostile investigators who would shut down any rumour or story before it could manifest itself into anything more substantiated.  No proof, no story.  But Crystal cannot hide from all bad press and when two young girls are found dead (it is alleged in mysterious circumstances) on the grounds of his Highland Estate it has to be acknowledged that his extensive security staff could not have done anything to prevent the unfortunate death in the inhospitable environment of the Cairngorms. It is also worth mentioning that Crystal has bought land and settled in a notoriously dangerous part of the mountains and local legend tells of dangers in the Whispering Woods and Crystal tells of seeing a cadaverous wild animal which stands tall and has flesh hanging from the skull under a wild antlered head.

Crystal himself chooses to wear antlers and often masks his face when performing so the link to the mysterious creature is a fascination for the reader. It also makes Crystal seem even more of an odd character.

The accusations against Crystal which were laid out by King’s first guest are firmly shut down by his second guest.  A YouTube star who is a devoted fan of Zach Crystal, has spent time in his company and on his Estate, and who believes all the stories of inappropriate behaviour with minors is just women seeking to cash in on the deceased star now that he cannot defend himself.  This guest turns the story of the the first guest on its head.  Although the reader may not like what they are hearing about Crystal (he does come across as a total bampot) it cannot be taken for granted he is guilty of the allegations which follow him around.

Through four more guests we strip back some of the mystery surrounding Crystal.  Did he deserve to die?  Was he a troubled individual – thrust into fame too young and with no social skills to survive in the entertainment industry? Why did he always have to take groups of vulnerable underage girls to his home?  It does make for uncomfortable reading and I never shook the feeling that Crystal was a dangerous individual, so why are his defenders so determined to protest his innocence?

One unexpected development was the return of a character from an earlier novel.  No spoilers but I found this a nice touch for returning readers but the appearance of this character will not leave new readers baffled as their involvement is very different.  One other surprise was that the story is set, in part, in Inverness and surrounding areas (one interview takes place in Aviemore).  I grew up in the Inverness area. When you live in London you probably don’t bat an eye if you pick up a book and find the story is set in your home town – if you live in Inverness this is much more of a novelty and it certainly brought a smile or two as I was reading.

Deity is the fifth book in the Six Stories series.  I own all the earlier books in audiobook, paperback and in digital format – I am a bit of a fan.  It is a tough call but I think Deity may be my favourite of the five books.  I think the complexity of Crystal and the frustration King encounters in trying to find tangible proof around any of the rumours linked to the star make this the most complex of books in the series. Kings podcasts assert they are not to uncover the truth or reach a conclusion but to present more facts to allow listeners to make their own judgement – the reader is doing this here to a greater degree than other books.

If you are new to the series you can read the Six Stories books in any order – I envy you the hours of enjoyment they will bring you.  If you are a returning reader you can be assured Deity is a triumph.

 

Deity is published by Orenda Books and is currently available in paperback and digital version.  You can order a copy here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B08D6J458T/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i1

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