I have read several books by Neil Lancaster, Max Connor’s, other pseudonym. His police crime drama series are fantastic. With this new identity he is breaking into the thriller genre. No Mercy is a great read and slow burns through several episodes to a multi chapter crescendo. The characters are well built, human and fallible, which sets them apart in a genre filled with Jack Reacher’esque hard men. It feels an ensemble cast after the first few chapters and the opening twist with the various different characters each bringing their own contributions to the story.

The final ‘heist’ is crazy enough to be exciting, has enough twists to keep you enthralled but retains a realism that keeps it grounded. Possibly my favourite line was when facing a meticulously planned but tricky exit to disappear into the night the gang opts for “or we could nick their Land Rover”. It’s what I would have done!

At times the book felt more screenplay than novel for me, with several dramatic events on the gangs journey that felt like the culmination of this week’s episode. I think it would make a very fine four episode TV drama. My only story criticism is quite how neat and tidily everything gets wrapped up at the end… Although I do like a tidy ending.

All in all a great thriller, with I suspect more to come from Max.

Thanks to NegGalley and HarperCollins for an eARC of this book.

Absolutely loved this book and the story it gave. With a group of retirees then a young lady, this story takes you on a real journey that is interesting, intriguing and hard to put down!

This is a story of a group of ex military veterans all in their sixties now but they took part in the battle of Falklands on the night of the 11/12 June so now they call themselves the 11/12 .Frankie Chapman dies when someone breaks into his home and steals his precious medals and the group are determined along with Frankie's daughter Josie to get them back and in doing so uncover a ring who specialises in supplying precious medals to very rich men who ask no questions. Fast paced and gripping ,action packed crime thriller just brilliant I wish I could give it more than 5 stars ! I loved the ending .Thank you to NetGalley for my ARC.

I am a huge fan of this author with his DS Max Craigie Scottish Crime Thrillers and this deviation away from that was just as fantastic to read. Great characters and a storyline that had me hooked from the very beginning, so much so I didn't want to put the book down - my sign of a fantastic book! I loved the swap of Stonehaven Castle for Dunnottar Castle, set 20 miles away from where I live and kudos too for not changing local names either! I highly recommend that this book is to be read!

I was invited to read a copy of this book in return for my honest review-thank you very much!
Max Connor has written a cracker of a book which is a little different to the police procedurals written by his alter ego Neil Lancaster.
However, that’s not to say that this doesn’t move at the same pace.
When Josie Chapman’s father is killed when he disturbs a burglar in his house, at first it’s thought that it was pure bad luck - wrong place, wrong time. When it is discovered that the only items stolen during the burglary were Frankie Chapman’s medals, it becomes apparent that they were stolen to order.
With the help of the members of the 11/06, Josie is determined to recover the medals.
I really enjoyed this book and I’m looking forward to more.

Firstly thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the ARC in return for an unbiased review
Secondly although this appeared to be a new author to me, it is in fact an author well known to me, Neil Lancaster, written under a different name. Thirdly I have loved all the Neil Lancaster series about Max Craigie but this is different type of book and not a police procedural story.
Whilst I found it a reasonably enjoyable read, I did find some of the detail a little too much e.g. when discussing the type of kit they required and exactly what each piece's capabilities were. If you are in to climbing and military operations then this will be fine for you. All told at the end of the day, a reasonably enjoyable read to which I would award three and a half srars, rounded up to four as no option on NetGalley to award half stars.

When a gang of ex marines learn of a former comrade's untimely death at the hands of a petty thief, they plot revenge. The group are getting on a bit but aided by the grieving daughter of the victim who brings some unique skills to the party the adventure begins. The book picks up the pace and eventually leads them to a remote castle in Scotland where they must pull off a daring mission to recover lost medals, they soon however uncover more drama than they bargained for. Comradeship goes a long way and whilst they are very different characters the shared service and experience at war drives them to put right a wrong and a few more as well. Highly entertaining, great characters and loved the Scottish backdrop in the final chapters.

The 11/06 club’s members is made up of a group of ex-marines who have long since retired. But when one of them Frankie Chapman – a decorated Royal Marine is killed when a burglar breaks in to steal his medals, the police have no leads. Frankie’s wish was for his valuable medals to be sold to pay for his wife’s care home, so when the 11/06 club discover that they were stolen to order, with the help of Frankie’s daughter Josie, they decide to use their military training and get them back themselves. All of the men owe their life to their fallen comrade, after he saved each of them throughout their careers – and the time has now come for them to be able to repay their old friend. The search leads them to the Scottish Highlands, where a wealthy businessman known as the General who is a collector of rare and expensive things. Time is running out, so can the 11/06 club with the help of Josie get the medals back before it’s too late?

I loved this book immediately – not just because of who the author is but because of the synopsis of the story, and how well it unfolded from the outset! Having been a huge fan of this author since I read the first Tom Novak book, I was expecting big things, and I wasn’t disappointed! The story has raw emotion weaved though it, as I was reading, I could feel how much getting the medals back meant not only to the 11/06 club, but for Josie and her mum, and this made a great basis for this story. It added to the fact that each man had his own personal connection to Frankie, therefore his own reason for wanting to be involved, and I liked the fact that we got to know their stories throughout. It was so well written, it was easy to forget that the same author of the other series wrote this book, and I really liked that! It’s an amazing talent to be able to step outside of your usual writing style and become someone else. Having said that, there is a tiny bit of Neil like humour going on too! I thought it was a brilliant read, really enjoyed it! I hope we haven’t seen the last of the 11/06 club!
Thank you Max for letting me have an advanced copy in exchange for my review!

New story , "old author" not in age but the pseudonym of Neil Lancaster. This isn't a police procedural though, but relates more to his time in the forces with references to the Falkland War. It tells the story about Josie whose father dies in an altercation when his war medals are stolen, which were to be a legacy to his daughter in order to keep her mum in a good care home as she has dementia. Her dad's old troop rally together to not only get the medals back but also find and deal with the source who is targeting these men and their medals. Never a dull moment as we head round the country on a voyage of retrieval. The only slightly annoying part of Josie, was her always picking up on her dad's friends referring to her a 'love' or 'lass' and her having a go at them instead of just embracing the fact that this older male generation spoke like this and it is fairly pointless to change their ways now !! Enjoyable read and overall 4.48

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC to review

I was looking forward to reading this book by Max Connor but became even more interested when I realised it was written by Neil Lancaster under a pseudonym. It didn’t disappoint. A great line up of characters with the feisty Josie at the heart of it. Great humour makes this a book I did not want to put down. I look forward to Josie’s next adventure.

Absolutely brilliant from Max Connor! When an old comrades medals are stolen in a robbery his daughter and old mates join forces to find them! They all have certain skill sets that makes this story very compelling.

A well told heist novel. A group of former military personnel meet up every year on the anniversary of their time together during the Falklands War, but one of them dies during a break in targeting his medal collection. And so the group, plus the daughter of the comrade that died, plan a final heist to steal back the medals.

This was an exciting read, although maybe just a little far-fetched but still highly entertaining.

NO MERCY

New author..? Not quite, no Max Conner is in fact…

Neil Lancaster writing under the pseudonym Max Connor.

As Lancaster is well known for his DS Max Craigie series it makes sense to write a novel that doesn’t include the well known detective under a different name.

I was invited to read #NoMercy by the publisher in exchange for my honest review. And I am glad that I was.

As this story line was superb.

Conner continues down the action hero genre only with a twist, instead the main characters, are veterans would be consider as “geriatrics”.
Giving off Richard Osmon ‘The Thursday Murder Club’ vibes; in regards to the age of the main characters and the humour used.

This book is packed with a different sort of rollercoaster ride that is heart pounding, but still blood pumping like you’d expect from a novel by Lancaster.
Instead the characters are packed with Life experience.

This was a terrific start to a new series, and I can’t wait for the next instalment.

#MaxConner #NeilLancaster #pseudonym #NoMercy #actionthriller #geriatric #military #veterans #crimethriller #mystery #revenge

4.5⭐
When Falklands War hero, friend, father, husband, and retired Royal Marine Frankie Chapman is killed during a robbery at his home, the only thing stolen is his prized medals.

So his 4 friends and the remaining members of the 11/06 Club, named after the Battle of Mount Harriet in which they served, unite for one final mission. However, they are not alone in their endeavours, as Frankie's daughter, Josie, insists on joining the action. As she is determined not only to retrieve her father's medals but also to seek revenge.

Yet, what the 11/06 Club and Josie don't anticipate is that the medals will resurface and fall into the hands of a billionaire who is also an alleged human trafficker.

Nevertheless, this won't stop these wily old veterans and a daughter focused on achieving honour and justice for her hero.

And with pulse-pounding moments, great characters, personal tensions, dark humour, banter, and emotional depth, this is a gripping thriller that I would happily recommend to all.

5 Stars from me ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

I loved this book which gave me serious 'New Tricks' vibes and oh my god now I've got the theme tune stuck in my head 🤦‍♀️

Although actually to be fair I think it was kind of an Oceans 11/New Tricks hybrid. Either way, it was gripping and engaging and I loved it.

No Mercy is the perfect thriller, with a reasonable amount of peril throughout and a mission based on heart, integrity and defending honour. It's no surprise the book is good given that Max Connor is the pseudonym of bestselling author, Neil Lancaster, whose DS Max Craigie series I also happen to love.

Josie and a gang of ex-military operatives form an unlikely but formidable team intent on retrieving her dad's war medals from a particularly nasty collector. The job puts them all at risk in a variety of ways, and Josie surprises them all making it clear she is a chip off the old block.

Alongside this main storyline sits another unpleasant hobby of the wealthy collector - human trafficking and the story nicely highlights an underworld full of individuals confident in the belief that wealth puts them above the law.

My thanks to the author, Netgalley and HQ Digital for an ARC in return for an honest review.

A very entertaining read that is quite a tame read due to the humour that is weaved through what would otherwise be a tense thriller. Good storyline and character development.

Wow. Thrilling, unputdownable, packed with gripping action and a satisfying ending. I hope this is the start of an epic series.

I'm a fan of the Max Craigie series by Neil Lancaster so was looking forward to reading this book. I wasn't disappointed and the storyline about a group of friends looking to avenge a burglary where medals were stolen from one of their comrades. Escellreading.

No mercy
When Frankie Chapman a tough veteran marine commando dies after confronting a burglar in his home who is stealing his precious war medals his tough as nails daughter Josie and The 11/06 club band together after discovering the medals were stolen to order. The 11/06 club comprises of a group of 4 veterans that served with Frankie from conflicts in the Falkland to Afghanistan, Iraq and Kosovo and beyond.
They forge a plan to infiltrate the ‘castle’ of the collector who has all manner of priceless articles stolen to order for his own private collection.
With great military banter these veterans with their aged hips, knees, weak bladders and even haemorrhoids are determined to steal back the medals.
This is an entertaining terrific read that has humour, a cast of characters with depth and such a well constructed story it is page turning and full of heart beating moments. Being an army veteran nurse during the Falklands conflict it brought back many memories not just of the bravery of the forces but their ability to to make light of difficult conditions by humour and comradeship.
The finale was superb as was this well constructed thriller from this author, top class as usual.
My thanks to net galley and publisher for the opportunity to review this book honestly.

This was a mixed read. 'Chappers', a military veteran, is killed during a robbery, the burglar making off with his unique collection of medals. H,is unit, now aging and with various ailments, resolve to avenge him and retrieve the medals. Chappers daughter Josie is determined to join them. the story then follows them as they move up the line of people involved in the burglary and purchase of the medals.
This was a mixed read for me. It was a good adventure story but I just couldn't get involved with the characters. There was so much joking around, even during planning and the carrying out of the retrieval plan, it just irritated me. And so much of it was about piles and how often Jacko has to pee. In addition, Josie is just so aggressive she is not very likeable.
So a good premise to the story, but unsympathetic characters leave a mixed review.