Love the lead character in this series and his dog, Have read the others in series and eagerly await new ones.

DS Max Craigie is back, and this time is involved in unravelling the alleged suicide of one of his colleagues and a drug ring. I enjoyed this - I liked the return of Max and his squad, and of Bruce Ferguson. The novel was at times a little rambly in places, which took away from some of the thrill, but I still really enjoyed this. The ending was also pretty jaw-dropping. I think I enjoyed this slightly less than the first in the series (I would give it a 3.5) but I enjoyed it enough that I’d still look for more books in this series.

4 Stars from me

Dark and gritty and with a definite edge, I greatly enjoyed dipping into The Blood Tide.

DS Max Craigie is a fab character and the rest of the team compliment him perfectly.

The storyline is quickly immersive and I love that the author lets us get just as invested in a character who is only around for a couple of pages as with one who is in it for the long haul.

I loved the scenery, the various settings, the hard edge to most of the characters and the premise for the story overall.

Second in this series set in Scotland featuring Detective Max Craigie. The characters are excellent and the story realistic and fast paced. Bring on the next one.

Thanks to NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review this book. It’s part of a series but I enjoyed it having not read the first book. I will read it now though! Set in Scotland it’s a good read with a nice writing style and good character development. It hooked me from the beginning and held my attention to the end.

A little late with this one. My first book by this writer but not my last. Worthy praise from experts in this field.

A worthy addition to Scottish crime fiction canon. Follows the lead of Ian Rankins Rebus in setting nefarious deeds against a wholly authentic Scottish backdrop. In this case the truly shocking events contrast dramatically with the beautiful, supposedly peaceful, scenery of the West Coast. Highly recommended.

This is the second book in the DS Max Craigie series and I think I need to go back to the beginning and read the first book to understand the dynamics of the team of detectives and their personalities.
Having said that I don’t feel it spoilt my thorough enjoyment of this one. It was fast paced throughout and dealt with the subjects of drug barons, murder and possible police corruption. Even though there was often a lot going on I found Neil Lancaster’s writing style easy to read and I was engrossed throughout the book. This resulted in lots of very late nights as I couldn’t put it down.
I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Neil Lancaster lands another engaging tale of murder, corruption and the eternal fight between criminals and the forces of law and order. As with his previous novel, most of the action takes place across Scotland and we renew our acquaintances with old friends from the earlier investigation.

The body count steadily mounts in this tale of smuggling, drug dealing and police corruption at the highest level, whilst Lancaster’s ability to ratchet up the tension as the narrative reaches its tidy denouement is once again in evidence. For sure, there is a need to suspend disbelief here and there, with - once again - the author’s resort to our hero’s mysterious ex-special forces friend having a distinctly ‘deus ex machina’ feel about it.

None of this, however, stands in the way of this being a thoroughly satisfying yarn that would not let me turn off the light once I’d passed the 50% mark.

The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster is the second book in the DS Max Craigie Scottish Crime Thriller Series and follow up to the excellent Dead Mans Grave,. What an excellent book this was again. I was hooked from the beginning till the very end. This book was full of great twists and turns throughout and I love the DS Max Craigie character.

I am looking forward to the next book in this series and I highly recommend this series.

Big Thank you to Netgalley and HQ for an ARC in exchange for an honest unbiased review

A pacy thriller set in the West of Scotland. I hadn’t realised this was the second book in a series when I requested it but the fact I haven’t read the first one didn’t detract from my enjoyment of this one.

Thousands of miles of unprotected coastline have made Scotland very attractive to drug smugglers in Neil Lancaster’s new crime novel The Blood Tide. The follow up to the excellent Dead Man’s Grave once again sees DS Max Craigie and DC Janey Calder trying to root out corrupt officers at the very highest level in Scottish law enforcement agencies.
The disappearance of a fisherman from the shores of Loch Torridon, and the suicide of an NCA officer who feels his only course of action is to jump from the Erskine Bridge seem, initially, to have nothing to connect them. When an old friend and colleague of Max’s is found dead in ambiguous circumstances, and also happened to be the officer who tried to prevent the suicide on the bridge, Max’s suspicions are aroused.
Once again, we get to travel around Scotland, and view the glorious scenery, as Max and his team investigate how the criminals always seem to be one step ahead. Neil Lancaster was formerly an officer in the Met, but his love of his adopted home country shines through. His former experience also lends an authentic feel to the details of the crime scenes and how the investigations are carried out.
The characters are well written and convincing, the action is fast paced and gripping, and the humorous banter helps to take the edge off the horrific violence they encounter on a daily basis. Although you could read The Blood Tide as a standalone, it would make more sense to read Dead Man’s Grave first or you will have more questions than answers. Thanks to HarperCollins and NetGalley for a digital copy to review. I have already ordered the paperback, and am looking forward to the third book in the series, The Night Watch, due to be published later in the year.

This is the second in the series and delivers another sharply written crime story, Spot on. More please.

The Blood Tide is a pacy and tense detective thriller. The characters are very well developed with distinct personalities and I found them to be believable. The storyline held my attention to the end with twists and turns along the way. I recommend it to anyone who enjoys a good detective thriller.

My thanks to Netgalley and HarperCollins for a complimentary copy to read and review.

Dead Man's Grave was a great debut for a new Tartan Noir series and this second instalment is even better.
A gripping, adrenaline-fuelled, and well written story that kept me turning pages.
A complex plot, a well developed cast of characters, excellent storytelling.
Can't wait to read the next one.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

If you missed out on Dead Man’s Grave last year then the good news is that it recently released in paperback and is available in all your favourite book-buying places. The other good news is that Dead Man’s Grave is the first book in what I am calling “an unmissable new series” so you should grab a copy as soon as possible and catch up on the exploits of DS Max Cragie.

The Blood Tide, which is why we are here today, is the second Cragie book. It picks up after the events of Dead Man’s Grave and Craigie is about to get drawn into another tension packed adventure. While The Blood Tide can be read as a stand-alone title there are recurring characters across the two stories where knowing their background will help you understand why they undertake certain actions in the second book.

On the shores of western Scotland a small boat is coming ashore with a significant supply of class A drugs on board. There is a sole occupant in the boat but he knows he is meeting a friend when he reaches land and he will be well paid for the risks he is taking. What he had not anticipated was encountering two strangers on the shore and he was even more unprepared for what happens next. Perhaps the payment wasn’t quite enough or he underestimated the level of risk he was taking?

Next we head south to the Erskine Bridge. A cop on his way home at the end of a long shift spots a man on the edge of the bridge ready to jump. He stops and tries to talk down this desperate stranger but the man is terrified and after telling the cop there is nothing he nor anyone else can say or do to protect his family from the powerful, dangerous people he steps off the bridge.

The event leaves the cop badly shaken but he writes up the incident and realises the terrified man had implied there were police involved in the threat against his family. He calls his friend Max Craigie to tell him about the incident and Max agrees to meet him to discuss this further. But before the meeting can take place there is another death and Craigie believes there is a dangerous connection.

I really don’t want to get too much deeper into the events of The Blood Tide as I want to avoid too many spoiler possibilites. Suffice to say Lancaster’s recognisable patterns of tension, explosive drama and putting his lead characters through peril and trauma are very much present. It is exactly what you want from a crime thriller, think “one more chapter” and you’re there.

Drugs and corruption are powerful motivators and people will do anthing to protect their interests when both are involved. Craigie and his colleagues, Janie and Ross, will have their work cut out to identify where the risks lie and their lives will be in danger – even if they don’t know it. When you investigate the colleagues around you it is impossible to know who you can trust.

There are more than a few shocks and twists waiting within the pages of The Blood Tide. I had been in a bit of a reading slump before I picked this book up and it blew away those cobwebs. High stakes, fast paced and wonderfully realised characters, do not miss out on this series.

This is the first book I have read featuring DS Max Craigie, there is a previous book but not having read it did not affect the enjoyment of this book.
This book is fast paced and easy to get into, a real page turner.. The characters are well described and believable..
It begins with a suicide and a missing fisherman but develops far beyond those two events.

Thanks to NetGalley & HQ for a advanced copy to review

Wow!!

This is the second book in the DS Max Craigie series and I think this one was even better than the first!

This book is so well written, its fast paced and full of some brilliant banter from some great characters.

I honestly could not put this book down! Can't wait for the next installment!!!

Wow this is the first book I have read featuring DS Max Craigie and loved the story and the characters. Fast moving and keeps you wanting more and find out why a man's suicide and a fisherman who goes missing is linked and to whom.
A real page turner and can't wait for the next one.
Thanks to NetGalley & HQ publishers for a advanced copy.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher HQ for the electronic copy.

Wow! - well-written, fast-moving, full of action and full of interesting characters. This is really good - a real page-turner. Set around the west coast of Scotland, it's a story of police corruption, drug smuggling and murder which involves DS Max Craigie and DC Janie Calder: this small team led by DI Ross Fraser - the Police Standards Reassurance Unit - they work in the shadows but have access to any and all resources they need. For this particular "episode", tech-wizard Norma is seconded to the team - and she certainly earns her keep!

Fisherman Jimmy McLeish from Torridon, a small village on the coast, needs money; he's smuggling drugs into a deserted Loch but, after encountering two strangers - he disappeared.

PC Hamish Beatty encounters a potential suicide on the Erskine Bridge. Murdo Smith, an analyst with the NCA, desperately tells Hamish why he has to jump - including the murder of a man at Torridon. Not least, Murdo implicates the Police, NCA and Customs - hence he couldn't trust anyone to help him. Hamish tells Max about that conversation and Max gets on the case.
Meanwhile, Max's nemesis Tam Hardie, in HMP Edinburgh, gets visit from two strangers - Davie and Calum - who want to use Hardie's drug network for themselves, and in the process disrupt his rival Scally's supply routes. They had access to information to allow that to happen.

As Max tries to link the missing fisherman case with that of Murdo Smith he and his team begin to realise there is something bigger going on, especially when the bodies start to pile up. But Max is anything but conventional and he throws everything into the mix to root out the corruption.
............................

I absolutely love the interactions of Max and his team - lots of "choice" language, banter and humour; they are all great characters. There's lots of twists and surprises - quite a bit of violence, but I think that's expected. Even Max's Auntie Elspeth makes a contribution to a satisfying conclusion.

A very enjoyable and un-put-downable read.