Gallowstree Lane by Kate London #BlogTour #BookReview @kate_katelondon @CorvusBooks @annecater

Author: Kate London

Genre: Crime Thriller

Format: Paperback 384 pages

Release Date: 7 February 2019

Publisher: Corvus

My huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me to join in this Blog Tour and to the publisher for the copy of this book provided to me for review. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Synopsis

Please don’t let me die. Please don’t. The final words of teenager Spencer Cardoso as he bleeds out on a London street, his life cut short in a single moment of rage.

When a teenage boy steps out of the shadows of Gallowstree Lane and asks a passer-by for help, it’s already too late. His life is bleeding out on the London street.

The murder threatens to derail Operation Perseus, a cover police investigation into the Eardsley Bluds, an organised criminal network. Detective Kieran Shaw can’t and won’t allow that to happen. But fifteen-year-old Ryan has other ideas. He’s witnessed the death of his best friend, and now he wants someone to pay…

As loyalties collide, a chain of events is triggered that threatens everyone with a connection to Gallowstree Lane.

My Thoughts

Wow! What a book! If you have ever wondered what it’s like to work behind the scenes on a covert operation run by the Metropolitan police then look no further. This book gives a fantastic glimpse into the workings of what it’s like to be a police officer as we follow various officers in their roles within Operation Perseus.

There are a few lead characters in this book which the story follows. One character that particularly stood out for me was DC Lizzie Griffiths as she struggles to juggle the demands of a career in the police with being a single mother and trying to raise and look after her young son. I really felt for Lizzie as a career in the police is not one that operates 9 to 5 and neither do the demands of raising a young son.

This book is really detailed towards the police side of things but not so over the top that it becomes hard to follow. If anything I found it so interesting I didn’t want to put it down. As you would expect from an author who worked in a Major Investigation team within the Metropolitan Police, the detail is very accurate and gives the whole story great authenticity. The writing shows that this was written by someone who has first hand knowledge of the workings and goings on of the topics at hand.

This is police procedural fiction at it’s finest and I was gripped the whole way through. Yet again it made me feel great respect towards those that choose to go into policing and all they give up to do the career that sometimes can be a thankless job. I hope to read more from this author in the future.

About the Author

Kate London graduated from Cambridge University and moved to Paris where she trained in theatre. In 2006 Kate joined the Metropolitan Police Service. She finished her career working as part of a Major Investigation Team on SC&O1 – the Metropolitan Police Service’s Homicide Command. She resigned from the MPS in August 2014. Her debut novel Post Mortem was published by Corvus in 2015.

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