Deep Cover by Leigh Russell
When a sex worker dies in suspicious circumstances in York, Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel struggles to remain focused on the murder investigation: she is distracted by her worries about her colleague and life partner, Ian Peterson, who has disappeared. As Geraldine becomes close to her new DS, Matthew, she is unaware that Ian is working undercover in London, trying to identify a criminal gang who have been targeting her.
As a second victim is discovered in York, and Ian's life is threatened by a psychopath the tension mounts. If he fails in his mission, both he and Geraldine may die...
Leigh Russell is the author of the internationally bestselling Geraldine Steel series: Cut Short, Road Closed, Dead End, Death Bed, Stop Dead, Fatal Act, Killer Plan, Murder Ring, Deadly Alibi, Class Murder, Death Rope, Rogue Killer, Deathly Affair, Deadly Revenge and the upcoming Evil Impulse. The series has sold over a million copies worldwide. Cut Short was shortlisted for the Crime Writers Association (CWA) John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award, and Leigh has been longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. Her books have been #1 on Amazon Kindle and iTunes with Stop Dead and Murder Ring selected as finalists for The People's Book Prize. Leigh is chair of the CWA's Debut Dagger Award judging panel and is a Royal Literary Fellow. Leigh studied at the University of Kent, gaining a Masters degree in English and American Literature. She is married with two daughters and a granddaughter, and lives in London.
Review
How have we got to book 16 in this series and the quality of them stay the same if not even better?! Once again this was a punchy book but the added plot point of undercover work made it even more exciting. It was a nail-biting read, full of treachery, taut plotlines and a compelling narrative. As I said, this is book 16 in the series but you can read it as a standalone as most of the backstory is mentioned in a concise and informative manner.
Geraldine and Ian are no longer together. Ian has taken an undercover role with the drug squad in London and hasn't even told Geraldine he has left. He is to infiltrate a known gang by putting himself forward as close protection for one of the high ups, Tod. It's his job to get as much information as possible so the police can smash the gang and stop large quantities of drugs from being brought into the UK. Meanwhile, a body of a sex worker has been found in York, but there are hardly any clues as to what has happened to her. Geraldine has a new colleague Matthew who has replaced Ian but she can hardly concentrate on the job as she thinking constantly of her failed relationship and whether she made the right decision.
I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book but what fascinated me was seeing the killer’s perspective from the start and how one small decision can cause a domino effect and suddenly you are in a bunch of trouble. Not all killers are ruthless and it was intriguing to see pathetic he was, especially after he sees the anonymous note. But yet, is there a monster deep within or is it all about self-preservation…
Ian’s section of the book was fast-paced, action-packed, high octane in energy and full of treachery and double-crosses. It certainly was a change of scene for this series and I loved it.
Deep Cover has intrigue, double crosses, is complex and dark in places and is action-packed! You don't want to miss it.
On a separate note I was quoted in this book! Some of my review for Leigh’s previous book I reviewed was used in the ‘praise of’ section at the the start of the book. I was super surprised when I saw as no one had told me. It was seriously a blogger milestone and I’m so honoured that they picked my review! My husband keeps stopping every day or so to go ‘I'm so proud of you!’ bless him! So thank you Leigh and No Exit Press!
