Joined in 2023 
82 
63 About this deal
There are a lot of emotions flying round in the book, from the young boy mourning his friend and regretting what he is all caught up in, to the single mother juggling home and work, I was well able to connect to the majority along the way and this made for a better read for me. The two investigations overlap with conflicting interests and needs, which presents a genuine and well-delineated problem for the protagonists.
I have not read the other books in the series (there are two I believe), so the characters were new to me. I think this book is more character orientated, the plot is intriguing, but the character’s thoughts and their lives are more absorbing than the plot itself. He is on the verge of a major coup and has no intention of letting the stabbing of a juvenile become the obstacle that will collapse his case.Spencer was just fifteen years old when he stepped out into a London Street and asked a complete stranger for help, begging him not to let him die. Kate London’s cast of detectives all share the very human quality of fallibility and mistakes of judgement and oversights are present throughout the story, however arrogance in the case of DI Shaw and the frosty demeanour of DI Collins make it difficult to sympathise with either. Yes, I know they do it but it makes me irrationally angry so seeing either (or both) term cropping up every few pages grated. The subject matter couldn’t have been more timely or relevant, as night after night we hear of another stabbing, of another, often young person in our cities. The pressures of her job were evident, but having been on the receiving end of having to deal with ill children in childcare, some of it didn’t ring true.
Told from multiple perspectives, we see the impact a murder has on the different characters, and each of said characters is developed well and interesting. This is a book about the gangland warfare in London and how young people and drug users are influenced by these thugs who roam the streets, picking out vulnerable folk for their own gratification. London understands the real, personal cost of holding the thin blue line and she brings that understanding to her characters. I won’t say more but he and others caught up in this life come across as very real and complex characters rather than one dimensional stereotypes. A gritty, police procedural set in London, this is a very realistic and up to date modern story with true to life characters and events.That isn’t so surprising given the author was an officer with the Metropolitan Police but I have read other novels by retired officers that don’t have the same gritty realism. As loyalties collide, a chain of events is triggered that threatens everyone with a connection to Gallowstree Lane. Kate London worked for the Metropolitan Police and if she brings the atmosphere on the streets to life, she's even better about the rivalries within the police service. Fortunately the story swaps between the police and the members of the Eardsley Bluds that are being investigated for 3 crimes that all somehow link.
Other characters, such as DI Kieran Shaw who is heading up Operation Perseus, seem to tread a finer line and I suspect offer a more realistic view of the attitudes of many fighting the perpetrators of inner city knife crime. Who knew that the death of one boy could bring out and test so much of the good sides, the bad sides, the vengeful sides and even the ambitious sides of the people that got involved in his case? Kate London is a former murder detective, having worked with the Major Investigation Team of the Metropolitan Police Service’s Homicide Command, which I feel gives this novel an edge. DI Kieran Shaw is part of Operation Perseus, undercover to finally get the evidence needed to arrest and charge Shakiel, to bring an end to his reign and stop guns getting on the streets.This is a gritty crime procedural novel that’s investigating the murder of a teenage boy with gang connections. I found It perfectly understandable as a stand-alone, and the author explains a lot of things from previous books, but I think, to understand Sarah and Lizzie properly, it is better to read the previous books before starting this one. There is some attempt at the psychology of crime in the character of Ryan, maybe even some hints of how radicalisation can occur in the vulnerable. Gallowstree Lane’ is a police procedural which tackles a very real and prevalent issue without undermining it, and using it as a platform. Following on from the second book in that series, Death Message, which dealt with issues of domestic violence, London is back on the beat, exploring the world of gangs, drugs and gun violence in Gallowstree Lane.
Sarah and Lizzie have gripping and heart-breaking stories too, as the drama of Portland Tower comes full circle. The author is brave to challenge our perceptions of the characters by clearly stating that the main narrators just don’t like each other. The trail leads to a gang leader who is the subject of a major organized crime investigation led by Detective Inspector Kieran Shaw.
It’s an extremely authentic and gripping police procedural where gangs, organised and knife crime merge and blur posing infinite demands on the overburdened shoulders of our main police protagonists. I really liked the writing style of this book, the whole book feels gloomy and intense, but at the same time, it is a very pleasant read. And, reading this book, it was hard to believe that Lizzie and Kieran had ever even liked each other, let alone had an affair!
Great Deal 
New Comment