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Narey & Winter #3
Cold Grave
November 1992. Scotland is in the grip of its coldest winter in 30 years and the Lake of Menteith in the Trossachs is frozen over. A young man and woman walk across the ice to the historic island of Inchmahome which lies in the middle of the lake. Only the man comes back.
Four months later, as staff prepare the ruined abbey for summer visitors, they discover the remains of the body of a girl, her skull violently crushed. Her identity is unknown.
20 years on, retired detective Alan Narey continues to be haunted by the fact that he and his team weren't able to resolve the crime all those years ago. Determined to relieve her father's torment, DS Rachel Narey, now returns to Lake Menteith and unofficially "reopens" the cold case.
After a series of investigations, Rachel discovers that the one man her father had instinctively suspected of being the killer has died after falling from a stepladder. The Police are not prepared to admit that there is anything more to the accident and Rachel must investigate the link without their help. But when she prepares a dangerous gambit, using a covert email operation to uncover the killer's identity, she puts herself in more danger than she could ever have imagined . . ..
Four months later, as staff prepare the ruined abbey for summer visitors, they discover the remains of the body of a girl, her skull violently crushed. Her identity is unknown.
20 years on, retired detective Alan Narey continues to be haunted by the fact that he and his team weren't able to resolve the crime all those years ago. Determined to relieve her father's torment, DS Rachel Narey, now returns to Lake Menteith and unofficially "reopens" the cold case.
After a series of investigations, Rachel discovers that the one man her father had instinctively suspected of being the killer has died after falling from a stepladder. The Police are not prepared to admit that there is anything more to the accident and Rachel must investigate the link without their help. But when she prepares a dangerous gambit, using a covert email operation to uncover the killer's identity, she puts herself in more danger than she could ever have imagined . . ..
448 pages, Kindle Edition
First published June 1, 2012
42 people are currently reading
445 people want to read
About the author
Craig Robertson
41 books250 followersDuring his 20-year career with a Scottish Sunday newspaper, Craig Robertson has interviewed three recent Prime Ministers; attended major stories including 9/11, Dunblane, the Omagh bombing and the disappearance of Madeleine McCann; been pilloried on breakfast television, beaten Oprah Winfrey to a major scoop, been among the first to interview Susan Boyle, spent time on Death Row in the USA and dispensed polio drops in the backstreets of India.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 91 reviews
November 27, 2024
Back in November 1993, during an extremely cold spell of weather, a young couple walk across the iced over Lake of Menteith to the island of Inchmahome where there is an ancient abbey. However, an hour or so later, only the man returns. When, the next spring, the abbey is prepared for summer visitors, the body of a young woman is found with her skull crushed.
This is the last case of Detective Inspector Alan Neary and the fact he couldn’t solve it has haunted him ever since. Now, suffering from Alzheimer’s, Mr. Narey is confined to a nursing home and his daughter, DS Rachel Narey decides to risk her job and reputation by unofficially reopening the cold case. With the help of police photographer Tony Winter and his uncle, former police sergeant Danny Neilson she prepares a dangerous gambit to uncover the killer’s identity.
With a suspicious traveller community and a spate of gangland killings in Glasgow thrown into the mix, this is a meticulously plotted thriller where the action barely ever stops. Rather fittingly, the finale occurs on the same spot where the original mystery began.
This is the last case of Detective Inspector Alan Neary and the fact he couldn’t solve it has haunted him ever since. Now, suffering from Alzheimer’s, Mr. Narey is confined to a nursing home and his daughter, DS Rachel Narey decides to risk her job and reputation by unofficially reopening the cold case. With the help of police photographer Tony Winter and his uncle, former police sergeant Danny Neilson she prepares a dangerous gambit to uncover the killer’s identity.
With a suspicious traveller community and a spate of gangland killings in Glasgow thrown into the mix, this is a meticulously plotted thriller where the action barely ever stops. Rather fittingly, the finale occurs on the same spot where the original mystery began.
January 24, 2023
This is the third in teh Narey & Winter series. Rachel Narey's father is a retired detective, now living in a retirement home with alzheimer's. Narey is full of guilt and wants, somehow, to makes things right for him. In 1992, her father was the lead detective on a unsolved case; that of a young woman whose body was found on an island, during a cold winter when the lake around it froze over. The woman remained unnamed, her killer never found, justice never done.
Filled with zeal, Narey decides to resurrect the case that has haunted her father and drags police photographer, Tony Winter, to the Lake of Monteith for a snowy weekend away. Her relationship with Winter has always remained hidden from their colleagues and, before long, he is beginning to doubt that this promised romantic getaway has a different agenda. Once Narey comes clean, Winter and his uncle Danny are pulled into the investigation. Years ago, Rachel Narey's father had a suspect. When he is found dead, it appears that her resurrecting of the case has reawoken fear in whoever was responsible, all those years ago and, before long, there will be more murders to solve and guilt to carry.
I really like this series. Rachel Narey is a driven and intelligent detective, and she cares about people. Tony Winter, with his obsession with death and violence, is an interesting and often disquieting observer. However, I enjoy their relationship and the other characters around the force in a cold and snowy Scotland. I look forward to reading on and intend not to leave it too long before I visit Glasgow again in the company of these characters.
Filled with zeal, Narey decides to resurrect the case that has haunted her father and drags police photographer, Tony Winter, to the Lake of Monteith for a snowy weekend away. Her relationship with Winter has always remained hidden from their colleagues and, before long, he is beginning to doubt that this promised romantic getaway has a different agenda. Once Narey comes clean, Winter and his uncle Danny are pulled into the investigation. Years ago, Rachel Narey's father had a suspect. When he is found dead, it appears that her resurrecting of the case has reawoken fear in whoever was responsible, all those years ago and, before long, there will be more murders to solve and guilt to carry.
I really like this series. Rachel Narey is a driven and intelligent detective, and she cares about people. Tony Winter, with his obsession with death and violence, is an interesting and often disquieting observer. However, I enjoy their relationship and the other characters around the force in a cold and snowy Scotland. I look forward to reading on and intend not to leave it too long before I visit Glasgow again in the company of these characters.
May 31, 2012
After the intensely hard-hitting novel ‘Random’ featuring a serial killer in Glasgow, Craig Robertson is compounding his place in the Scottish fiction crime genre with this second novel (the follow-up to ‘Snapshot) featuring the police scene of crimes photographer Tony Winter. In this novel there is a subtle shift slightly away from Tony to the main police protagonist D.S. Rachel Narey who has her own particular relationship with Tony but is characterised as an exceptionally focused and, for the most part, by the book police officer. However, what Robertson captures brilliantly in this book is the impact of her father’s (himself a former police officer) Alzheimer’s which colours her actions throughout, both as a police officer and a daughter, being emotionally wrought by the deterioration of her father but with a single-minded determination to bring his last unsolved murder case to a conclusion which has always been the chagrin of his life post-police. This unsolved murder case forms the basis of the book, leading Rachel to operate outside her usual moral and professional boundaries to attain justice for the victim and to put to bed this case that has so haunted her father and to what extent this case impacts on her other personal relationships. It’s emotional stuff and despite my usual scepticism of a male author being able to effectively characterise women, Robertson accomplishes this with aplomb. This story is balanced effectively with the Tony and Uncle Danny show as they become involved in a connecting story line involving a community of travellers with a nicely balanced injection of humour amongst the bloodletting and counterbalanced again by Tony’s dark preoccupation with the photographs he takes for his day-job and that pervade his psyche. You certainly get a full quota of human experience in this one!
I will finish by saying that as a reader and a bookseller, the delight about Robertson is the way he slots in so neatly between the more visceral and blackly funny Stuart Mac Bride and the generally safer confines of Rankin’s ‘Rebus’, so what you get is a good solid police procedural underpinned by a more adept feeling for the realm of human relationships and the darker recesses of the human psyche.
I will finish by saying that as a reader and a bookseller, the delight about Robertson is the way he slots in so neatly between the more visceral and blackly funny Stuart Mac Bride and the generally safer confines of Rankin’s ‘Rebus’, so what you get is a good solid police procedural underpinned by a more adept feeling for the realm of human relationships and the darker recesses of the human psyche.
February 11, 2021
Far too long with lots of scenes and dialogue which add little or nothing to the story. The two lead characters were lacking in any real depth, Winter in particular is decidedly 'off' with his morbid interest in dead bodies! Narey, the police officer shows a complete disregard for procedure in this book and her actions would surely have led to her dismissal or at least a relegation to office duties pending disciplinary action. Too unbelievable for me.
January 10, 2017
Not great
I am a huge fan of Scottish thriller writers and was excited to find an author I hadn't read before. Sadly I won't be rushing to read another of his works. There are two main characters and I wasn't impressed with either. The man is a crime scene photographer who is off the scale weird in a way that doesn't lend anything to the plot and left me questioning the author's mental state rather than the characters. The female was a police sergeant who had the personality of a cardboard cutout and was basically just really annoying. I was also extremely disappointed that a book set in Glasgow had no famous Glasgow wit You could drive a truck through the holes in the plot, the amount of gore was gratuitous and if you enjoy a police procedural you will find police but no procedures that any serving police officer would recognise. It would appear that every single department within this police force has an unlimited budget and any Tom, Dick or Harriet can authorise spending it. By the end of the book I didn't care who had done it, I was just relieved to get to the end and considered it a huge achievement that I didn't give up at the half way point. I'm back to Brookmyre now and he's in a different league.
I am a huge fan of Scottish thriller writers and was excited to find an author I hadn't read before. Sadly I won't be rushing to read another of his works. There are two main characters and I wasn't impressed with either. The man is a crime scene photographer who is off the scale weird in a way that doesn't lend anything to the plot and left me questioning the author's mental state rather than the characters. The female was a police sergeant who had the personality of a cardboard cutout and was basically just really annoying. I was also extremely disappointed that a book set in Glasgow had no famous Glasgow wit You could drive a truck through the holes in the plot, the amount of gore was gratuitous and if you enjoy a police procedural you will find police but no procedures that any serving police officer would recognise. It would appear that every single department within this police force has an unlimited budget and any Tom, Dick or Harriet can authorise spending it. By the end of the book I didn't care who had done it, I was just relieved to get to the end and considered it a huge achievement that I didn't give up at the half way point. I'm back to Brookmyre now and he's in a different league.
March 25, 2017
I have read all Mr Robertson's previous novels and I found this one a little slower in the action stakes but insidious in that you just want to know what's going to happen next. You do need to suspend your disbelief a little that Rachel and Tony had so much free time and flexibility to pursue their investigation but other than that this is cracking read. The Glasgow vernacular and locations are spot on, the plot is a slow burner and we get to know Rachel a bit better so I really recommend this book to those of you who fancy a bit of tartan noir.
December 24, 2022
3.5-Overall I enjoyed this, maybe didn’t find it quite as compelling as some of the author’s books, but I enjoyed his change of scenery and the Alzheimer’s aspect of the plot. The crime scene photographer is getting a little out of control with his morbid gory obsessions, I think, better get him some help!
April 13, 2017
A cold case, in fact not strictly a case at all but an unsolved crime which Rachel wants to solve because it was her father's case and it is unfinished business for him (he is deteriorating rapidly with Alzheimers). One or two slight editing slips, and I suppose the question for me is the morality of the detective actually having caused some of the new rash of crimes by the way in which she (unofficially) stirs up the old case. Tony the photographer is a strange character. An unresolved issue is the betrayal of the gypsy community who albeit reluctantly did help. Reasonable plot and good setting.
February 10, 2020
Good, gripping story. Didn't see the twist coming. Even when it was spelled out to me I misinterpreted and read too much into it. When did Winter get so morbid and obsessed with death? I'm sure that's much more heavy handed than it has been
July 13, 2016
This is the 3rd in the Tony Winters series and features the cold case of a young girl found at the Lake of Monteith over 20 years ago.
What I love about Craig's books are the vivid description of the locations - with reference to actual shops, streets and bars and being a Glasgow girl myself I can picture the scene easily as I read. Cold Grave is no different - the reader gets a real sense of place throughout the book.
The relationship between Winters and DS Narey is no less complex than in previous books and this seems to be further hampered by Narey's guilt at placing her father into care, Winters is left feeling like an onlooker at times - which is pretty representative of his role in the series as he is police photographer. While this series is police procedural I like that it is unique in that the main focus is on Winters. His obsession with capturing death on camera is known only to a few but suspected by others and I think this adds a fascinatingly macabre touch to the series.
And of course where would a Glasgow crime novel be without our gallows humour and Cold Grave doesn't disappoint!
Lots of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing throughout the book, brilliant character development that gets stronger as you read each book in the series and excellent sense of place for the reader as Craig takes you into the murkier sides of our city (and country) seats - 4.5 stars from me.
What I love about Craig's books are the vivid description of the locations - with reference to actual shops, streets and bars and being a Glasgow girl myself I can picture the scene easily as I read. Cold Grave is no different - the reader gets a real sense of place throughout the book.
The relationship between Winters and DS Narey is no less complex than in previous books and this seems to be further hampered by Narey's guilt at placing her father into care, Winters is left feeling like an onlooker at times - which is pretty representative of his role in the series as he is police photographer. While this series is police procedural I like that it is unique in that the main focus is on Winters. His obsession with capturing death on camera is known only to a few but suspected by others and I think this adds a fascinatingly macabre touch to the series.
And of course where would a Glasgow crime novel be without our gallows humour and Cold Grave doesn't disappoint!
Lots of twists and turns that keep the reader guessing throughout the book, brilliant character development that gets stronger as you read each book in the series and excellent sense of place for the reader as Craig takes you into the murkier sides of our city (and country) seats - 4.5 stars from me.
January 31, 2016
Ah.. this was proper decent stuff - I was looking for a familiar and enjoyable gritty crime thriller, and this hit the spot.
The tale was a touch different from the usual police procedural, dealing - as it does - with a murder which occurred twenty years previously, and central characters Rachel Narey and Tony Winter investigating this in an unofficial manner for various reasons. The 'cold case' trope, even though it made a nice change from a straight-forward 'people turning up dead in the present day' format, was slightly overfamiliar in a sense - I always wonder how much time and freedom real police would have to do all this 'off the record' stuff.
Anyhow, it was enjoyable - an easy read, plenty of twists but not too many silly ones, characters well-painted and familiar from earlier in the series, bits of humour, quick pace, and (as I have said before) it reads like a Stuart MacBride to me, almost as good as him as well. It did feel slightly flimsy in places, it didn't impact on me as much as the two previous of Craig Robertson's I have read, but it was damned fine.
The tale was a touch different from the usual police procedural, dealing - as it does - with a murder which occurred twenty years previously, and central characters Rachel Narey and Tony Winter investigating this in an unofficial manner for various reasons. The 'cold case' trope, even though it made a nice change from a straight-forward 'people turning up dead in the present day' format, was slightly overfamiliar in a sense - I always wonder how much time and freedom real police would have to do all this 'off the record' stuff.
Anyhow, it was enjoyable - an easy read, plenty of twists but not too many silly ones, characters well-painted and familiar from earlier in the series, bits of humour, quick pace, and (as I have said before) it reads like a Stuart MacBride to me, almost as good as him as well. It did feel slightly flimsy in places, it didn't impact on me as much as the two previous of Craig Robertson's I have read, but it was damned fine.
January 14, 2013
This is a 'cold case' murder investigation that is gritty and very well thought out.
DS Rachel Narey is feeling guilty at having to put her father into care due to his forgetful mind. Alan Narey was a detective and the one case that would play on his mind was one that he couldn't solve. Rachel has to try and solve it for her fathers peace of mind and gets help from some unlikely soruces. The trail that follows goes through the streets of Glasgow and follows some of the same paths her father followed. Someone however is tying to stop her getting to the truth and when the suspects seem to 'disappear' her team seem to find themselves deeper than they thought they would stray. Would they ever find out who the victim was and who killed her.
DS Rachel Narey is feeling guilty at having to put her father into care due to his forgetful mind. Alan Narey was a detective and the one case that would play on his mind was one that he couldn't solve. Rachel has to try and solve it for her fathers peace of mind and gets help from some unlikely soruces. The trail that follows goes through the streets of Glasgow and follows some of the same paths her father followed. Someone however is tying to stop her getting to the truth and when the suspects seem to 'disappear' her team seem to find themselves deeper than they thought they would stray. Would they ever find out who the victim was and who killed her.
February 7, 2013
Really enjoyed this book. I did skip through the Alzheimer's bits as a bit too close to home but I did admire her determination to solve the case for her dad. I did find the lead male character somewhat odd and possibly a tad uncomfortably odd.Overall a good read
April 17, 2022
Did not finish. This book just didn’t grip me at all and because it’s quite long I just couldn’t bring myself to keep going. Not a one because the premise is interesting.
August 29, 2015
Good enough. The locations kept me interested.
January 2, 2018
I cannot comprehend the amount of fantastic reviews for this book - I think a lot of people must have had the pleasure of reading a different version of this book than I did. This book was overly cliche, riddled with painful similes and forced character 'depth', laced with a terrifying seemingly sexual attraction to brutal crime scenes, was roughly 150 pages too long for its plot and - and I cannot stress this enough - was painful to read.
Tony Winter is the main problem - stop explaining the guy is constantly too warm (as he can deal with the cold as his namesake suggests) and then on the next page have him pacing around trying to get warm. JUST STOP THAT. It was really annoying. Next, stop over explaining cameras to people. We get it, he is a crime scene photographer. 99% of your reading audience in the selfie-obsessed world understands a) how to take a fucking photo and b) that they can't do it very well. Ugh. Then, this guy has a perverse attraction to getting photos of the victims of the crime scenes he visits. Look, I get weird things can fuel a persons career but I really don't think having this guy keep his favourite photos on a wall of favourites and have his 'shutter finger itch for the next shot' did anything other than make him MORE CREEPY than the MURDERER keeping actual mementos of his kills. For God's sake.
Literally all the other characters were cardboard cut outs.
The writing was painful as well - granted this is an editing problem, but I got really sick of having to insert words into sentences for them to make sense. And, no, I'm not talking about those scenes with an accent in them, I'm talking about the bog standard, bad fan fiction-esque overly descriptive paragraphs. There wasn't even a consistent take on swearing - one scene it was 'fuck this, bollocks that, you're a dick' and the next it was 'pain in the bum' as though the editors were worried about bothering readers with the word arse.
This book should have been so much better. The blurb looked amazing, the reviews were great and there are several in the series. A guy at work was reading this book and complaining it was so bad - wanting praise when he came in saying he'd read 'another couple of paragraphs last night' as he was determined to finish it. I laughed, told him it couldn't be that bad. So, when he was done he left it on my desk. The only thing that made me finish this book was not wanting to give my teammate the satisfaction of knowing he had been so right I didn't even finish it. (AGAIN with the weird murder books from my team lending library - I am genuinely worried about them a a group).
I think the only saving grace of this book - the only bit that seems written with any truth or warmth - was the scenes regarding Alan Narey's Alzheimers. His daughter's reopening of his last remaining unsolved case, her heartbreak as he flitted in and out of the present time and her desperation to give him some peace by solving it were the only parts of this novel that seemed to have been written with any real thought.
And, for the love of all that is holy, you DO NOT need to constantly change whether you are referring to someone in the first name or surname in the same conversation in order to try and underline how cool you think your character's surname is. WE GET IT - his name is Winter, like the season, ahahahaha.
Tony Winter is the main problem - stop explaining the guy is constantly too warm (as he can deal with the cold as his namesake suggests) and then on the next page have him pacing around trying to get warm. JUST STOP THAT. It was really annoying. Next, stop over explaining cameras to people. We get it, he is a crime scene photographer. 99% of your reading audience in the selfie-obsessed world understands a) how to take a fucking photo and b) that they can't do it very well. Ugh. Then, this guy has a perverse attraction to getting photos of the victims of the crime scenes he visits. Look, I get weird things can fuel a persons career but I really don't think having this guy keep his favourite photos on a wall of favourites and have his 'shutter finger itch for the next shot' did anything other than make him MORE CREEPY than the MURDERER keeping actual mementos of his kills. For God's sake.
Literally all the other characters were cardboard cut outs.
The writing was painful as well - granted this is an editing problem, but I got really sick of having to insert words into sentences for them to make sense. And, no, I'm not talking about those scenes with an accent in them, I'm talking about the bog standard, bad fan fiction-esque overly descriptive paragraphs. There wasn't even a consistent take on swearing - one scene it was 'fuck this, bollocks that, you're a dick' and the next it was 'pain in the bum' as though the editors were worried about bothering readers with the word arse.
This book should have been so much better. The blurb looked amazing, the reviews were great and there are several in the series. A guy at work was reading this book and complaining it was so bad - wanting praise when he came in saying he'd read 'another couple of paragraphs last night' as he was determined to finish it. I laughed, told him it couldn't be that bad. So, when he was done he left it on my desk. The only thing that made me finish this book was not wanting to give my teammate the satisfaction of knowing he had been so right I didn't even finish it. (AGAIN with the weird murder books from my team lending library - I am genuinely worried about them a a group).
I think the only saving grace of this book - the only bit that seems written with any truth or warmth - was the scenes regarding Alan Narey's Alzheimers. His daughter's reopening of his last remaining unsolved case, her heartbreak as he flitted in and out of the present time and her desperation to give him some peace by solving it were the only parts of this novel that seemed to have been written with any real thought.
And, for the love of all that is holy, you DO NOT need to constantly change whether you are referring to someone in the first name or surname in the same conversation in order to try and underline how cool you think your character's surname is. WE GET IT - his name is Winter, like the season, ahahahaha.
December 1, 2024
Interesting angle for this story.. cold case investigated but never solved by Rachel’s Dad, Alan, as his last major case and now that he is in a home suffering with Alzheimer’s one that Rachel decides to tackle to give him closure.
A young girl is found dead, no ID and no chance to ID as the injuries at that time were too bad. Nobody comes forward to identify the missing person so she’s named Lily and buried…
Years go by. Rachel puts an ad in the papers asking for information and visits the area to try to reopen and find out the perpetrator… she gets a hostile reception. She has her “ boyfriend” Tony, the forensic photographer with her but doesn’t initially tell him what she’s up to.
The two revisit the island. They interview previous suspects and mysteriously those who were on the list of possibles have accidents or commit suicide… Local bobbies are none too pleased at an outsider on their patch so this adds to the tension.
There are plenty of red herrings and clues that lead to nothing but Rachel believes she can ID the girl and solve the mystery. New techniques allow a reconstruction and an ID can finally be made…and the murderer brought to justice.
Characters are well presented. The sense of time constraint around the need to solve the murder before Rachel’s Dad no longer knows this has happened and this fuels the way the story unfolds. Alzheimer’s disease and its progression are sympathetically expressed.
The ending is not one that can be spotted early in the story and is very cleverly put together.
Overall a good book.
A young girl is found dead, no ID and no chance to ID as the injuries at that time were too bad. Nobody comes forward to identify the missing person so she’s named Lily and buried…
Years go by. Rachel puts an ad in the papers asking for information and visits the area to try to reopen and find out the perpetrator… she gets a hostile reception. She has her “ boyfriend” Tony, the forensic photographer with her but doesn’t initially tell him what she’s up to.
The two revisit the island. They interview previous suspects and mysteriously those who were on the list of possibles have accidents or commit suicide… Local bobbies are none too pleased at an outsider on their patch so this adds to the tension.
There are plenty of red herrings and clues that lead to nothing but Rachel believes she can ID the girl and solve the mystery. New techniques allow a reconstruction and an ID can finally be made…and the murderer brought to justice.
Characters are well presented. The sense of time constraint around the need to solve the murder before Rachel’s Dad no longer knows this has happened and this fuels the way the story unfolds. Alzheimer’s disease and its progression are sympathetically expressed.
The ending is not one that can be spotted early in the story and is very cleverly put together.
Overall a good book.
April 29, 2020
Another good, & at times rather gory tale (just how I like 'em) featuring the likeable pairing of DS Rachel Narey & police photographer Tony Winter, whose interest in capturing blood washed crime scenes ought to be of some concern!
Despite the one or two gruesome passages, on the whole this is a slower paced story than I recall the previous two being. Narey has taken it upon herself to investigate a cold case her dad had been involved in & roping in Winter & his uncle Danny - whose character I particularly love - to give her a hand.
It's a good story that moves steadily along until the latter part where the tension cranks up a notch leading to the final scenes. Sadly this was the only part of the book that disappointed me. Without spoiling the story all I can really say is what would be classed as the climax was let down by being rather unconvincing & the way everything was wrapped up left me feeling a bit cheated...but hey, that's only my thoughts & it's certainly won't put me off re-visiting this series in the future, in fact I'm looking forward to the next instalment.
Despite the one or two gruesome passages, on the whole this is a slower paced story than I recall the previous two being. Narey has taken it upon herself to investigate a cold case her dad had been involved in & roping in Winter & his uncle Danny - whose character I particularly love - to give her a hand.
It's a good story that moves steadily along until the latter part where the tension cranks up a notch leading to the final scenes. Sadly this was the only part of the book that disappointed me. Without spoiling the story all I can really say is what would be classed as the climax was let down by being rather unconvincing & the way everything was wrapped up left me feeling a bit cheated...but hey, that's only my thoughts & it's certainly won't put me off re-visiting this series in the future, in fact I'm looking forward to the next instalment.
August 7, 2020
If you like reading about cold cases, then Cold Grave by Craig Robertson could be a good choice for you. The murder happened during the coldest winter of 1993 when the lake of Menteith in Scotland was frozen and safe to walk on to the island of Inchmahome. Although a young couple took a walk to the island, only the man returned back with blood on his hands.
Yet, it took a few months for the body to be discovered and even longer (20 years) for the detective Narey to reopen the case and find the killer. DS Rachel Narey is hoping to solve the case for her father, who has advanced dementia but seems to be still haunted by it. Although he didn't manage to catch the killer during his own career, there is a chance his daughter will.
The story has some interesting characters and good dialogues. But the pace of the novel seems to be dragging at times, and consequently, I was losing my interest. Though perhaps, if I had read the previous two books of the series and learn more about Rachel and her secret boyfriend Tony, I would have enjoyed it a bit more.
Yet, it took a few months for the body to be discovered and even longer (20 years) for the detective Narey to reopen the case and find the killer. DS Rachel Narey is hoping to solve the case for her father, who has advanced dementia but seems to be still haunted by it. Although he didn't manage to catch the killer during his own career, there is a chance his daughter will.
The story has some interesting characters and good dialogues. But the pace of the novel seems to be dragging at times, and consequently, I was losing my interest. Though perhaps, if I had read the previous two books of the series and learn more about Rachel and her secret boyfriend Tony, I would have enjoyed it a bit more.
February 24, 2019
This is the third book I've read in the series and I rather enjoyed it, i didn't give it 4 stars due to a few questions I had to ask about the plot.
The story revolves around a cold case in which all of a sudden the suspects start dropping dead, by accident or suicide.
The first question when one of the suspects falls down a set of stairs at a pub, was although the police had warned him his life was potentially in danger he still went to a pub that wasn't his local. Yet the police never asked him why he went 🤔.
The next question was although the eventual perp was not under suspicion, but under police protection, why did they not get him to see if he recognised the victim from the reconstruction model, to confirm the identity 🤔
Thirdly when he was again under police protection he managed to lure the final suspect to his house in a matter of minutes/hours to overpower him in the presence of the police.
All this ruined the story for me.
The story revolves around a cold case in which all of a sudden the suspects start dropping dead, by accident or suicide.
The first question when one of the suspects falls down a set of stairs at a pub, was although the police had warned him his life was potentially in danger he still went to a pub that wasn't his local. Yet the police never asked him why he went 🤔.
The next question was although the eventual perp was not under suspicion, but under police protection, why did they not get him to see if he recognised the victim from the reconstruction model, to confirm the identity 🤔
Thirdly when he was again under police protection he managed to lure the final suspect to his house in a matter of minutes/hours to overpower him in the presence of the police.
All this ruined the story for me.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 8, 2020
DS Rachel Narey and photographer Tony Winter return as they try and crack a cold case that haunts Narey's father after his retirement from the police force. The case centres around the unidentified remains of a young girl on a remote Scottish island and with little to start with, Narey is forced to go out on a limb to get answers.
It's an unusual slow burner from this author as the clues build up and the case starts to form and its also a race against time with Narey senior suffering from Alzheimer's which in itself is sensitively handled.
A really enjoyable whodunnit and a great addition to the series.
It's an unusual slow burner from this author as the clues build up and the case starts to form and its also a race against time with Narey senior suffering from Alzheimer's which in itself is sensitively handled.
A really enjoyable whodunnit and a great addition to the series.
April 8, 2021
A good detective story with an excellent twist, but difficult to get into at the start.
It was no detriment that I have not read Neary & Winter #1 or #2, the story and characters were easy to like and understand.
The book is set in wintertime Scotland and is cold case which seems to have no inroads to being solved. The plot is intriguing to start but seems to lose pace fairly soon with key suspects not really being brought to the story until the later stages.
The detail of the forensic photography was the most interesting point for me and the mental state of Winter. The cracking of the cold case is good, but not gripping.
It was no detriment that I have not read Neary & Winter #1 or #2, the story and characters were easy to like and understand.
The book is set in wintertime Scotland and is cold case which seems to have no inroads to being solved. The plot is intriguing to start but seems to lose pace fairly soon with key suspects not really being brought to the story until the later stages.
The detail of the forensic photography was the most interesting point for me and the mental state of Winter. The cracking of the cold case is good, but not gripping.
April 22, 2025
The third in this series which I really like, so much so that I bought the remaining books. Craig Robertson has a wonderful talent for writing in this gritty Scottish police procedural series. The leading characters are so well portrayed, Winter -fascinating and highly complex balanced brilliantly by the very driven Narey and the excellent Addison provides the humour. You never know what to expect in this series as each book throws up something different and this one sees Cold Grave giving us a twenty year old cold case. This has a good solid pace, a great setting and it’s well plotted finishing with a cracking twist. Another winner in this series
February 14, 2020
Rachel Narey is irritating with her pseudo US 'cop' character. Struggle to see her as a viable character who would keep her job in this book.
Tony Winter is also irritating with his obsession with gore and chip on his shoulder and his skiving off his actual work all the time.
Too much unnecessary waffle too that has no bearing on the story which is actually a really good tale. The non main characters were much better written than Narey and Winter.
Tony Winter is also irritating with his obsession with gore and chip on his shoulder and his skiving off his actual work all the time.
Too much unnecessary waffle too that has no bearing on the story which is actually a really good tale. The non main characters were much better written than Narey and Winter.
June 17, 2022
I like the idea behind the story, but the execution and payoff are really jarring. I just didn't feel this story from the start, the character of Winter is repulsive, some of the scenes are pointless and it's ending was terrible. I need to believe things from a good detective story could happen, but parts of this were so unbelievable I felt a GCSE student could have written it. How it got beyond idea stage baffles me.
April 29, 2024
i give this book 4.5 . this book was slow paced at the same time more intriguing. i couldn't keep the book down . the characters , plot , the whole story was amazing. craig has earned a new fan today. i didn't expect much from this book when i started reading it but dang it . it was so goooooooddddd.
definitely an amazing book and i would hundred percent recommend this book to everyone who's interested in thriller and crime.
definitely an amazing book and i would hundred percent recommend this book to everyone who's interested in thriller and crime.
November 19, 2024
Gripping story set in locations that I'm extremely familiar with which made the book extra enjoyable. Great pace of story and interesting characters. My only big criticism was the way the author switched between using the first name and surname of characters, often in the same paragraph. In my opinion he should have picked a name and stuck with it, especially given one of the surnames was Winter which is easy to confuse with a reference to the season.
June 10, 2019
When I saw this was set in Glasgow I was keen to read it, but for me at least, it was disappointing and tiresome. The main characters were one-dimensional and I just couldn't believe them. I lasted until page 50 and then gave up with a sigh of relief! This wasn't for me, but I see that others thought it was wonderful- I'm glad they enjoyed it.
April 25, 2020
Scottish thriller. I always enjoy books set in areas I know. I can imagine the characters wandering around doing their thing.
This book set the scene back in time and then jumped forward to now and an investigation with a personal connection
The book explored relationship, investigations. Murder, psychology and secrets!
I liked.
This book set the scene back in time and then jumped forward to now and an investigation with a personal connection
The book explored relationship, investigations. Murder, psychology and secrets!
I liked.
May 14, 2020
Truly enjoyed this book and would absolutely read another by this author. I like to think of myself as pretty good at guessing whodunnit, so I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong. Never a dull moment, I finished this in a day.
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