Neil Lancaster is the author of the DS Max Craigie series. The first novel in the series Dead Man's Grave was longlisted for the 2021 William McIlvanney Prize for Best Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The second book The Blood Tide is published on 23rd February 2022.
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Neil- So, tell us all about Max Craigie then?
MC - What do you want to know?
Neil - Well, how about your childhood for a start. Where is “home” fox Max?
MC - We’ll I’m a Black Isler, by birth. I grew up in a tiny community in the centre of the Isle in a house surrounded by barley fields. It was nice and peaceful. I went to school in Fortrose, I did okay, but didn’t set the world on fire. I was a dreamer.
Neil - Oh wow, Island life must have been very different.
MC - It’s not actually an Island at all, it’s a peninsular surrounded on 3 sides by the Cromarty Firth, Moray Firth and Beauly firth. It’s only twenty minutes to Inverness, so it didn’t even feel remote to me. I had a great time. I was outside in all weathers, fishing, building camps or sorting wood for the fire.
Neil - A good childhood?
MC - It was great until I was fifteen. My parents were killed in a head on traffic accident.
Neil - Oh, my goodness, how dreadful. What happened to you after that?
MC - I went to live with my Aunt Elspeth who lives close by in Avoch, a small village by the sea, she took me in and was wonderful to me. I joined the Army shortly afterwards. I don’t want to be rude, but can we not talk about my parents, please?
Neil - So, what was the young Max like, then?’
MC - Very outdoorsy. I loved biking, hill walking, kayaking, and swimming in the sea I was rarely inside, I also was a keen amateur boxer. All this, probably pushed me towards the Army. Elspeth was wonderful and treated me like her own son, but I needed to get away from the remoteness and discover life for myself. I probably had a lot of pent-up anger in me, so I needed structure and discipline to stop me going off the rails. The army gave me that.
Neil - How did you enjoy the Army?
MC - I enjoyed it a lot. I was very young, but I was physically very fit so it was much easier for me. It gave me a sense of belonging and purpose.
Neil - Did you see action?
MC - Yes. I went to Afghanistan twice.
Neil - How was that?’
MC - It was interesting.
Neil - You must have seen some terrible things.
MC - Good times and bad. I was with a brilliant team of guys, and we did some good, I’d like to think. I also saw a good friend killed by a landmine. That was hard. It still lives with me today. Overall, I’d describe it as a huge adventure, to do the job you’d been trained to do.
Neil - Has there been any impact to the things you witnessed?
MC - Can I just say yes, and leave it at that?’ I saw things I wish I hadn’t seen. It has affected me, but I manage it in my own way.
Neil - Can you share how you manage it?
MC - I don’t drink alcohol for a start, I stopped a few years ago. It made me feel dark when I drank, so I don’t drink anything other than cranberry juice any more. I also run a lot with my dog, Nutmeg, but the biggest thing is that I accept it. I saw bad things, and they still affect me. I just accept that they affect me and I’m not ashamed about it. Owning it is what keeps me happy. If I tried to block it I think I’d struggle more, but I think I’m a mostly happy bloke now, despite an occasional dream.
Neil - What type of dreams?
MC - I’d rather keep that to myself, if I’m honest. I have people I can talk to about it, and my wife understands, so we just manage it.
Neil - Tell me about joining the police.
MC - I wanted to leave the Army and it just seemed like a good idea. A decent career, part of a team and a desire to do something worthwhile was about the extent of it, I think. I didn’t over-think it, to be honest, which is fairly typical. It’s a good career, and I still maintain that we are the good-guys, despite everything you hear in the media. The vast majority of cops want to do what’s right, and they mostly do. Some bad news stories don’t change that. There are cops out there right now, in the eye of the storm, putting themselves in harms way for no other reason than to do the right thing. I did some time in uniform, then moved to the CID. I wanted to be a squad man, chasing the real criminals. The career villains who do it out of choice, so I ended up on the Flying Squad.
Neil - Like The Sweeney?
MC - Almost, although with less drinking, less swearing, casual racism and sexism. It was a good job, but it took my life over. I’d met Katie, my wife by this point, and I was always at work, following armed criminals around London and beyond. It was tremendous fun, but just so hard on relationships. That was part of the reason I moved north, back to Scotland. A new life. Leastways, that was the idea, but I’m still always busy. It took a bit of time to settle, but I think we’re both happy in Scotland. We like the clean air.
Neil - What do you do outside of work?
MC - Nutmeg, my dog takes up a lot of time, she’s my best pal. We walk and run miles together. I also train a lot in my gym. Hard exercise is a big part of my healing. I also spar with my work partner, Janie. She’s a real tough cookie, and is definitely better than me at most martial arts.
Neil - I heard that you came to own Nutmeg by an unusual method.
MC - *laughs* I’d moved up and found the house I wanted to buy It’s a lovely place in Culross, with views over the Firth of Forth, and I fell in love with it. Lots of other people were keen to buy it and there was likely to be a bidding war. The old lady who lived there was moving into sheltered accommodation and couldn’t take Nutmeg with her. When she saw me and Nutmeg playing together in the garden, she said that I could have the place at the guide price if I took on Nutmeg and promised to bring her to the sheltered home for visits regularly. Well, I bit her hand off, and we’re still friends to this day. Either me or Katie take Nutmeg to visit her at least once a week. We have a cuppa with her and Nutty curls up on her lap for an hour.
Neil - You’re a big tough guy, Max. I just love that you have this cute little cockapoo dog.
MC - Ach I’m a big softy, really.
Neil - So, what are you doing at work, right now?’
MC - I could tell you, but then I’d have to kill you afterwards, sorry.
Neil - What, not anything?
MC - Sorry, but ask me anything about boxing, or Nutmeg , but let’s stay away from my job.
The Blood Tide by Neil Lancaster (HarperCollins) Out Now
You get away with murder. In a remote sea loch on the west coast of Scotland, a fisherman vanishes without trace. His remains are never found. You make people disappear. A young man jumps from a bridge in Glasgow and falls to his death in the water below. DS Max Craigie uncovers evidence that links both victims. But if he can’t find out what cost them their lives, it won’t be long before more bodies turn up at the morgue… You come back for revenge. Soon cracks start to appear in the investigation, and Max’s past hurtles back to haunt him. When his loved ones are threatened, he faces a terrifying choice: let the only man he ever feared walk free, or watch his closest friend die…
More information about Neil Lancaster can be found on his website. You can also find him on Facebook and he tweets @neillancaster66
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