It leaves his focus almost exclusively on the investigation which, in this case is probably for the best.

The killer is apprehended quickly by Detective Max Craigie and his new partner Janie Calder and that should have been the end. Tam Hardie stood, a mix of apprehension and excitement beginning to take hold as he saw the six words that his grandfather had assured him would be there. His death unleashes a vendetta pursued by his ruthless son Tam Jr and a net of corruption that spreads far and wide. They soon realise this murder is part of a blood feud between two Scottish families that stretches back to the 1800s. It was Christmas 2019 and my wife Clare and son Ollie had travelled from our house in the Highlands to a large country pile in the depths of the countryside near Pitlochry.She's a highly intelligent and intuitive woman on the fast track program, which earns her a lot of stick, not always well-intentioned, from her colleagues. Still muttering suppressed oaths, feeling suddenly a little guilty about blaspheming on consecrated ground, he looked at the memorial with renewed interest. This is corruption that involves the Hardie family, and certainly impacts the increasing body count in the investigation. As the body count rises, the investigation uncovers large-scale corruption at the heart of the Scottish Police Service.

And at the end, although one door closes, another opens and I was glad to learn that we haven’t seen the last of Max and Janie, but please, please, hands off Nutmeg! We use cookies to personalise content and ads, to provide social media features and to analyse our traffic. Been off work for 3 months after surgery, surrounded by dozens of books that I pick up and put down, nothing gripped me. Tam Hardie had been determined to find the grave - and it took some finding, in an overgrown old cemetery.One does need to listen hard sometimes because the majority of the time the narrator uses numersous Scottish Dialects, and quite right; however, it din’t diminish my thorough enjoyment of this book. But as I got onto the story I found myself warming to the characters - particularly Max and Janie who have a good relationship with no hint of romance. I liked the camaraderie and banter between the two, that quick kinship that develops, and am interested to see where this partnership leads. What is obviously a joke or banter is invariably followed by a description of someone chuckling or of a smile spreading across their face to make sure we’ve got the point – and ruining any lightness which may be intended. Although Max has the stereotypical relationship breakdown common to many fictional detectives, he’s neither bitter nor angsty about it, which is refreshing.