A body falling 100 metres, will take 4.5 seconds and achieve a speed of 100mph. Deceleration to 0mph takes no time at all; as it hits the ground. Leanne Wilson probably spent the time wondering why someone had just pushed her off the side of a Scottish Mountain. DS Max Cragie, of the Scottish Policing Standards Reassurance Team, is off duty when he gets a call from an old friend, Shay Hammond, the Head of the rescue helicopter team. Shay is concerned about the circumstances surrounding Leanne’s death. She was an experienced hill walker, well equipped, the weather was excellent, the path in good condition, so an unlikely faller, but the police and the fiscal’s office had not requested an investigation, which he found odd. Looking at his records he had realised that at least four other women had died in similar circumstances in the last year, without an investigation. What if there is a serial killer stalking the mountains? Cragie and his colleagues start to look at the case, spurred on by another death with a lot of similarities. What they find is much more complicated than it first appears. This is the sixth book in this excellent series, perfectly self-contained but reading it will make you want to go back and read the others for the pleasure of doing so. Cragie is ex-army, ex-Met, married to Katie, expecting his first child, a solid, dependable guy and a great detective. The rest of the team are well drawn, believable characters with their own idiosyncrasies; especially their immediate boss, DI Ross Fraser, who takes idiosyncrasy to a (REDACTED) level. The writing style, the plot, the pacing, compel the reader forward. This is a read in a day book, because you want to know what is going to happen, and wallow in the pleasure. This is beyond a 5 star book, but 5 is all I have. I would like to thank NetGalley, the publishers and the author for providing me with a draft proof copy for the purpose of this review.

It's really great to come late to a series and not feel like you're missing half the information, or being bombarded with too much backstory. The plot was thrilling with a brilliant cast of characters and an especially devious villain. This was my first DS Max Craigie book, but it certainly won't be my last. Thank you to the publisher for providing a free copy of the book.

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.

Another excellent read in this DS Max Craigie series from Neil Lancaster. Max is asked by an old friend, a helicopter pilot to look into the death on a mountain of a woman who was out walking alone. Shay suspects that the death was not accidental and moreover, he thinks that there are other women's deaths that have not been investigated correctly. As Max investigates it becomes clear that procedures have not been followed and the deaths have not been fully investigated. It is a good story line but what really draws the reader in is the relationship between the team - a group of relatable and likeable characters who despite their bluster work well together, each knowing their strengths and who to rely on. Their banter and back chat as they work is irreverent and fun and provides a little lightheartedness in what could otherwise be a grim police procedural. As usual with this series the setting plays and important role and this time it is the mountains and in particular the munros that are in the forefront. An excellent, well paced, page turning thriller, with some fun characterisation. I look forward to the next in the series. With thanks to Netgalley and Harper Collins/HQ Digital for an arc copy in return for an honest review.

What an exciting read. Absolutely loved this new instalment of the DS Max Craigie series. It is tense, keeps you on tenterhooks and guessing until the end. Max get a call from his friend in Mountain Rescue that the circumstances of the death of a woman seemed a bit off. Women are less common to have fatal accidents but recently there were a few more deaths on the Munro. Max and Janie have a look at the cases and start investigating. You won’t be able to put the book down