My Review for The Rutland Connection by Michael Dane

What an amazing read this was! The Rutland Connection was absolutely brilliant and so cleverly written. I loved it from start to finish. It is predominantly told from three viewpoints, that of John Pyke - the dodgy drug dealer, and Bernard and Michael, grandfather and grandson.

A Customs and Excise team are in the throes of investigating John Pyke as a drug runner, along with his two idiot sidekicks who haven’t got a clue, and Pyke isn’t that much more savvy himself! Bernard and Michael decide that Pyke needs a bit of undercover help, but Frank McBride, head of the Customs and Excise team, is now flummoxed as to just how and why Pyke has suddenly become so professional.

Once the scene was set, I was hooked. I know they were essentially part of a drugs team, but I loved Michael and Bernard from the beginning. Bernard was clever and wily, and I definitely wanted to be a part of his gang! Dane wrote about his characters with passion and clarity and I was left in no doubt who was actually in charge!

I can’t tell you too much about the ending, but I guarantee that you won’t see it coming and that it will make you smile and want Bernard as your grandfather!

I thoroughly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a crime-type thriller with lots going on. I can’t wait for the next book in the Frank McBride series.

Thank you to The Book Guild Ltd and Rachel’s Random Resources for the opportunity to read and review The Rutland Connection by Michael Dane.

About the Book

Lincoln 1997. Veteran customs investigator Frank McBride has been targeting gangs of drugs smugglers for decades. Taking out John Pyke’s team of Lincoln-based criminals is just another operation until suddenly things become interesting.

Why has Pyke’s team suddenly become so professional? How has it become so adept at evading surveillance? And who is the mysterious figure who is pulling the strings? McBride relishes having found a worthy opponent. But who is he? And what game is he playing?

Michael Butcher wants to know why his grandfather, a retired brigadier living in a tiny Rutland village, has decided to become an international trafficker in narcotics. Involving him in an elaborate game where the price of losing is life in prison.

McBride and the Brigadier become enmeshed in a private duel, but only one of them knows the rules of the game.

About Michael

Michael Dane spent over ten years as an officer in the Customs and Excise National Investigation Service investigating drug trafficking, VAT fraud and smuggling of all kinds. He later retrained as a lawyer and joined the private sector where he investigated fraud and corruption all over the world. He is retired and lives in the Vale of Belvoir.

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