Thin Blue Lies: A Scottish Crime Thriller

by John Carson

DCI James Craig is back. And this time, he’s working with DCI Harry McNeil.

SOME LIES STAY BURIED. SOME COME BACK TO KILL.


A killer is targeting detectives—and DCI James Craig could be next.
When Craig is called in to assist DCI Harry McNeil on a brutal case, he steps into a deadly game. A respected officer is barely clinging to life, and former members of an elite police unit are being eliminated with chilling precision.
Working alongside DI Craig Benini, the detectives uncover a grim someone with an intimate knowledge of police procedure is hunting them down. Each crime scene is more meticulous than the last. Each victim is tied to a past someone will kill to keep buried.
As the body count rises, Craig and McNeil must confront a secret from the force’s past—one that connects the victims and threatens to destroy them all.
With time running out and all three detectives marked for death, Craig must expose the truth—before silence proves fatal.

A gripping British detective thriller packed with twists, secrets, and deadly consequences.

Perfect for fans of Andrew Raymond, JD Kirk and David J Gatward

402 pages, Kindle Edition

Published August 31, 2025

About the author

John Carson is the author of the DI Frank Miller detective series. He was born in Edinburgh, Scotland and lived there most of his life. In 2006, he emigrated to New York State with his American wife and two daughters. They now live in a small town in the Hudson Valley where his wife was brought up, with a German Shepherd, a Beagle mix and four cats.

Reviews

[Mrs B Proud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great story but needed proof reading.

Again, John has given us readers a very entertaining story. Great to include DCI Harry McNeill and his wife Alex who are familiar characters from previous stories. Book 7 of this fabulous series, the detectives are faced with finding a very clever villain who is murdering the people who were involved in a past case some 15 years previously. My only gripe involved how could one hostage be held in a basement one moment and then next the same day be found in a the living room!! A simple mistake is why I only have this a 4 star. Will look forward to book 8 when available, thanks John. BP Sheffield.

[Mrs Maureen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book.... not only do we have DCI James Craig, but DCI Harry Mcneil and teams from Fife, Edinburgh and Glasgow. They are presented with killings of former detectives, who all were connected with professional standards and particularly a Police corruption case that ended the careers of some detectives... we're led across the capital and Fife while they try to make sense of the murders, and why they seem to be one step behind all the time.... it all finishes in a spectacular (and an unexpected) showdown in the Highlands for James Craig.... a 5🌟 read once again from John Carson

[Jennine Oldis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Having read the previous Craig books, this was an interesting take on mixing characters from his other books together. I was unsure where it was going in the middle and it had a bit of a pause moment where I thought the plot had stalled and then it turned a corner and got more complex. Great book for those that like character development and understanding the complexities of professional standards.

[Beth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another Winner!

Any book by John Carson is worth reading. DCI Craig is no exception. He was working with DCI McNeil in this one. They make a formidable team. They had to hunt down a serial killer who was targeting retired police officers. I thought I had figured it out but boy was I wrong! I highly recommend this book. Beth P.

[Susan Greene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick Read that Keeps You Guessing

This book brings together several of Mr. Carson's characters. It is a bit difficult to follow at times, however, due a need for better copy editing.

[Mrs Sue Leaver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Follow Johns books all the time and look forward to the next in each series
This book had so many twists and turns to the plot, combined with the emerging background personal stories, that it was hard to put down

[Rachel Hester · Rating 5 out of 5]

Couldn’t Put it Down

This was a very engaging mystery that kept me guessing until the end. We got to meet some new characters, but many beloved, familiar ones were present as well. And it has a really cool dog!

[Marktroth · Rating 4 out of 5]

THIN BLUE LINES

Took me a while too get back into this 7th in the dci James Craig series but when I did I throughly enjoyed it waited too long and now I see the next one is December so that’s not too bad

[Lora King · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the best in the series....someone is taking out former professional standards members from an old case and DCI Craig could be targeted...he will help DCI Harry McNeil to find the rat still in the police force feeding info to the culprit.

[Jill Gibbs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Think Blue Line

I have,really enjoyed the James Craig series but before James I was a massive Harry McNeil fan so have loved the collaboration between the two DCI . Hope to see more in the future

[Margaret E. Hinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth waiting for!

I wait patiently for all of John Carson's books to be released. He never diappoints. Hopefully he will continue writing far in to the future.

[Irene Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Clever book

[Mary Ann Olsztyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

Truly enjoyed the characters and the story. I had never read this author before but I will surely check out the rest of his tales.