Hand of the Wolf

DCI McNeill #3

by Jacqueline New

Crime on the streets, vengeance in the highlands. Mac’s out of his element but is he out of time?

In the heart of Edinburgh the grim discovery of two low-level drug dealers pulls Mac into the seedy world of organised crime. As he navigates the dangerous crossfire of rival crime lords and delves into the lives lost to the city’s drug trade, he uncovers a sinister plot reaching beyond mere territorial disputes.

Amidst the clash of criminal titans, a silent hunter emerges. The investigation takes a chilling turn with a macabre discovery in a wildlife park, unveiling a darker, more twisted motive. In a race against a shadowy adversary with nothing to lose, Mac must unravel a vendetta steeped in revenge and loss.

In this riveting tale of vengeance and retribution, Mac faces the ultimate test: can he outmaneuver a ghost hell-bent on delivering a final, devastating message?

Hand of the Wolf is the third DCI McNeill crime thriller.

248 pages, Kindle Edition

Published April 30, 2024

About the author

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Jacqueline New is the author of the popular DCI McNeill Scottish crime thrillers. A series featuring #1 books in the UK, USA, Canada and Australia.

Born in Yorkshire she worked in the world of art and design after qualifying as an interior designer.

Following ten-years writing historical and contemporary murder mysteries, in 2023 she introduced DCI McNeill of the Edinburgh Serious Crime Unit. Noir thrillers for readers who enjoy dark atmospheric police procedurals.

The series is now published by Vinci Books and both audio and foreign editions are currently in the works.

Having lived and worked in various parts of the UK and abroad, she now resides in her home town in Yorkshire.

Reviews

[Sierra| HooksxBooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hand of the Wolf is a slow burn. It definitely builds up not just the case that DCI Mac and his team are working on, but it also gives you an update on the corruption scandals and turf wars happening in the area.

The mess ran deep. I won’t lie, I was throughly surprised by this case. I wasn’t sure which way the case was going but I was definitely entertained by the plot twist.

Mac’s intuition + the loyalty and trust of his team is unmatched.

I enjoyed this book. Mac & his rogue’s grin.


I volunteered to read a copy of this ARC through BookSirens

[Mary Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first foray into the world of DCI McNeill (Mac) and it definitely won't be my last. It's the third in the series and thankfully for me, works perfectly well as a standalone.

Mac is sent to the Highlands when a gruesome discovery is made.This seems to be connected with gangland activities when some bodies are discovered and things start to escalate. I found it very easy to read and it was a real page-turner. Mac has some issues and is quite gung-ho but his heart and motives are pure. I loved the way certain information came to light which leads into future storylines , a nice little teaser for what is to come. I can't wait.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Kenzie Leckie ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book from Jacqueline New! I love how this was set in the highlands in comparison to the city life. It made for a change of scenery keeping me, the reader, interested to be in a new place.

I’m looking forward to seeing how Macs relationships progresses through the books and if it throws any spanner’s in the works. I also really enjoyed getting a glimpse of Clio again and having her outwith Edinburgh looking after herself.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Beverly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a highly suspenseful action packed read. One warning: Read on an empty stomach. It's best for all concerned! DCI McNeill is not a man for half measures. He's in all the way. He does whatever it takes to get the job done. He's like 007 in camo but better!!! Page turning , edge of your seat ,

nail biting, and breath holding unputdownable read. I voluntarily read a free copy of this book provided by book sirens and am giving an honest opinion.

[Kathleen Riggs · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Riveting Tale of Vengeance and Retribution
Jacqueline News 3rd book Hand of the Wolf is professionally written book with plenty of twists and turns. I was hooked from page one. It is the story of DCI McNeill, who is at the helm of Edinburgh’s Serious Crime Unit and his team. The book starts when McNeill and his team make a grim discovery of two low-level drug dealers which pulls Mac and his team into the seedy world of organised crime. As Mac navigates the dangerous crossfire of rival crime lords the investigation takes a chilling turn with a macabre discovery in a wildlife park of a finger with a ring on it found in a wolfs stomach. Then Mac and his team discover three women's bodies in a house.
It is an intricate plot that has plenty of twists and turns that are truly believable McNeill, and his team must race against the clock in a desperate bid to save their next victim as Mac faces the ultimate test to unravel a vendetta steeped in revenge and loss. Mac and his team must out manoeuvre a ghost hell-bent on delivering a final, devastating message?
I Really enjoyed this book the Character are believable, and I did not want to put this book down once I started reading it. It is a fast action-packed novel which is a real page turner. A must read, in my opinion!!! I Highly recommend this book to anyone who loves a good crime story. I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntary.

[Lynn Hall · Rating 4 out of 5]

A brisk, fun, action-packed read… and that's both a positive and a negative. We're now three books into the series, and I'm more than ready for the author to write a longer book that goes deeper into the characters. This book clocks in at just over 200 pages, which is really quite short for this kind of story… for comparison, I checked my shelf of Ian Rankins, and they are all right around 400 pages. 200 pages is appropriate for a cozy mystery or an old-fashioned pulp novel, but it's quite short for modern psychologically-oriented crime fiction.

I really like the noir-y, neurodivergent-ish detective character and the well-described Scotland setting. The plots are cleverly constructed. But without going deeper, the series is in some danger of devolving into a kind of Scottish Dirty Harry.

I also have to note that I found several typos and other evidence of sloppy copy editing in this manuscript, which also makes me wonder if it's being rushed into publication. The 3 books in this series have popped out one right after the other.

Overall, I still really like the series, but all the nonstop action, sex and violence gets exhausting if the characters don't evolve.

Full disclosure: I received an advance review copy of this book for free. I'm leaving this review entirely voluntarily, and all opinions expressed here are ,y own.

[Daryl P Goodwin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Misleading title for convoluted plot.

This is the third book in a series featuring the flawed male detective facing internal as well as external conflicts. I think it would have been better to read the previous two before this as although there were allusions to panic attacks and troubled childhood as well as more recent clashes within police departments, I would be better acquainted with the main character.

The title is misleading as although we learn of the connection to a wolf in the prologue, it is inside the wolf and not belonging to it or an appendage.

Several portential suspects emerge with a variety of motives and the setting in an enclosure for wolf rewilding lends a novel background to the crimes. The main character has to judge who can be trusted, both inside the police and outside.

I felt there was a plot hole in the set-up and that the main detective was very lucky in discovering clues which took the plot in a different direction.

I was also irritated that despite it being set firmly in Scotland some US English spellings crept in and broke the narrative spell.

Although I have pointed out some flaws, it was a compelling read and well paced.

I received a free advance review copy, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Tom · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the third novel by Jacqueline New to feature Edinburgh based DCI McNeill and although it really isn't necessary to have read the previous two I would recommend it to best understand the various relationships between characters.

Mac, as he is generally known, is told to hand over his teams double murder investigation to another team dealing with organised crime groups. Instead he is sent to the Highlands where a grisly finding at a wildlife park leads on to an expanding case load which Mac believes ties in to the earlier cases. Internal rivalries threaten to derail Mac's investigation.

An enjoyable series I'm happy to recommend. As this is my favourite of the three it seems like each one gets better and I'm looking forward to the next.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this independent review entirely voluntarily.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

HAND OF THE WOLF BY JACQUELINE NEW

Hand of the Wolf, written by Jacqueline New, is the third book in a series about the personal and professional life of DCI McNeill.

Hand of the Wolf takes you alongside Mac in his role of solving murders, whilst navigating gangsters, corruption, and the possibility of opening his heart.

This story has twists and turns that lead to an ending that was a total surprise. Along the way, it shares the intricacies of the relationships within professional teams, managing gangsters whilst trying to keep the community safe, and corruption and hierarchy.

This book was a great read and it was wonderful to have another snapshot of DCI McNeill’s complex life.

I would recommend this book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[June · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my first book by this author and I found that I could easily read this one, as a standalone . I enjoyed it so much, I have downloaded the previous two books in the series.

It is one of those books, in which you are captured from beginning to end, and you are reluctant to put down for one second

It has a gripping, fast paced, well written storyline and plot, with revelations and many a twist.

There are very strong characters, my favourite being Mac(DCI McNeil) I love his nothing will stand in his way of solving a case, attitude.

The descriptive side is lovely and so good

you can see in your minds eye the places, characters, and the scenery ect.

This is a book, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend and I look forward to reading more of this author's books.

My thanks to Book Sirens, this is my honest and unbiased review

[Ruth Matheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This series is improving with each book. This story takes us to the Highlands of Scotland and so also takes DCI McNeill out of his city comfort zone. The scenery is well described along with the harshness of that area too and the author gives us a pack of wolves, which are trying to be reintroduced to this area, to contend with too. She takes the time to inform us what the natural behaviour of these animals are, i.e. they are not as predatory as people believe. Mac is also developing as a character and although book 3 may be read as a standalone, I would recommend reading the first two for insight into his behaviours at times.

Thanks to Booksirens for the ARC to review.

[Ali W · Rating 5 out of 5]

Hand of the Wolf is the third book in the DCI McNeill series by Jacqueline New.

Mac leaves the city of Edinburgh to investigate a gruesome find in the Highlands in a wildlife park. Unfortunately for Mac one gruesome discovery leads to another, and he wonders whether this could be connected to some gangland activities back in the city. I found this to be an easy and enjoyable read which I read over a few days. . I really enjoyed this being set out of the city, and taking Mac out of his comfort zone. I can’t wait to read the next book.

I received an advance review copy for free, and I am leaving this review voluntarily.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book.

Having discovered Mac earlier in the year I was delighted when Book Sirens said there was a new book… and I was not at all disappointed.

The story has many threads within it, but they all work well together, and the plots move along at a good pace. Missed Cleo in this book, but there were plenty of other characters to enjoy.

I would thoroughly recommend this series, and am pleased to see there is a fourth book planned.

[Susan Milne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not the strongest of the series but enjoyed it. 4th DCI McNeill book recently published so off to try it.

[Anne Grzybowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

3rd in the series and did not disappoint.