This is the first book I’ve read by Kate London and I really enjoyed it.
The story involves DI Sarah Collins, DC Lizzie Griffiths and DI Kieran Shaw.
The story starts with the stabbing of 15 year old Spencer Cardoso and his death causes ripples around the Met and also in the criminal underworld.
Ryan Harris, witnesses his friend’s murder and is left reeling by his death and panics when he’s arrested for a fight he got into, a few days before.
Once Ryan is released interest in him intensifies as he could be involved in something much bigger. DI Kieran Shaw is also soon interested but he has to work out his link to Operation Perseus, his two year old investigation into gun running investigation.
We also learn that Lizzie is a single mother bringing up Kieran’s son and they also have history with Sarah from a previous incident.
I really liked this book and will definitely read more of the series.
Thanks to Corvus and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book.

Tense and thrilling. Shows the undercover and secret world of policing. Also showed there is despair in the world.

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.

Thank you to Atlantic Books/Corvus for this eARC via NetGalley of ‘Gallowstree Lane’, due to be published on 7th February.

The novel opens with a teenage boy approaching a stranger in Gallowstree Lane, North London as his blood flows out onto the street. The stranger tries to help Spencer while his friend, Ryan, calls 999 with a borrowed phone and then flees. Both lads are low-level members of the Eardsley Bluds, a local street gang involved in a violent turf war with another gang.

D.I. Kieran Shaw is heading up a two-year covert investigation, code name Operation Perseus, into the Bluds that is nearing completion. However, the D.I. Sarah Collins’ investigation into Spencer’s murder is threatening to derail Perseus. Clearly there’s bad blood between them. D.C. Lizzie Griffiths, who has a complicated history with both of them, is caught in the middle. Plenty of inter-departmental politics complicate things as well..

Ryan, the 15-year old boy, who witnesses his friends stabbing emerges as a tragic figure. 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..

I wasn’t aware until I started reading that this was the third in Kate London’s series of London-based police procedurals but expected as with other series that it would likely work as a stand-alone apart from some aspects of character development.

It became quickly clear that there was tension between several of the main characters that had been established in the earlier books. I just flowed with this and plan to read them so that I can understand their backgrounds as well as reading two more excellent police procedurals from Kate London.

It was no great surprise to read that Kate London had worked for the Metropolitan Police and this novel (and presumably the series) feels very authentic in its depiction of police work. A very gritty, down-to-earth, and gripping police procedural that while fiction does address very real contemporary issues.

4.5 stars rounded up to 5.

My Thanks to NetGalley for an ARC of this book in return for an honest review. I requested it based on the description. It sounded like my sort of book. Only a short way in I realised that I’d probably made a big mistake. I was tempted to give it up several times, but I’d requested it so I persevered. I found that I was being given too much information. I was being asked to follow different parts of the story happening simultaneously and was feeling no empathy with any of the characters, although experience told me that it would probably all come together at the end. It was an unpleasant story in an unpleasant setting. Rival London gangs and casual fatal knifings is very much a story of today, but it doesn’t mean that I want to read a fictional account of it as well as listen to it on news items. I was beginning to wonder how I could even justify two stars for this book. All the characters, gang members and police, seemed selfish and unlikable. One of the main characters, Ryan should evoke our sympathy. He’s a member of a gang, used by them, with a father also a gang member who was murdered years before and a mother who is an addict. But we know there’s no hope for him. In fact, he was doomed before he was born. There seems little point in wasting sympathy on him. The story, the descriptive passages, the conversations all seemed sordid and depressing. There was just nothing to lift the spirit. But I reckon for a writer to induce any mood in a reader requires skill. Which at least was a positive thought. We were being given gritty reality and the author’s experience was starting to show through, but for me, it was just a bit too grim.

Then, wow!! At somewhere, about sixty per cent in all the disparate strands began to come together and I found I just had to keep reading. The two different police investigation came to a head as the arms deal was about to be carried out and evidence is hardening on other crimes. How Kate London managed to weave together all these hitherto separate parts of the story and keep them running in real time, I don’t know. It required huge skill. I now felt that I was reading a five-star novel. I’m so glad that I persevered. Would I recommend it to anyone? I’m not sure. If you are looking for some uplifting escapism, this isn’t for you. But if you want a fictional account of the reality of gang life in an inner city today written in a gritty style by an author who knows her stuff, this could be your sort of book.

If you are looking for a fast paced detective thriller then this is the book for you. It had me gripped from the first page. This is a gritty and very realistic crime thriller. The story is about an under cover high profile case into the sale of fire arms but this book is so much more. Full of action, tension and had me turning the pages faster and faster. I really did not want this book to end. This is a detective crime thriller par excellence. I loved it and would definitely like to read more from this author. Highly recommended.

I really enjoyed this book, but did think it was slow in parts and a tad too long. However, I see that there are 3 other books in the series before this one, so maybe, if I’d have had time I should have read them first. Saying that, it was a good stand alone novel.

The story is a sad one, especially in today’s climate in London, with the gangs, drugs and knife crime and the general despair of the youngsters.

The police procedural was brilliant and you can always tell if an author has previous experience in the force.

My thanks to Netgalley, the Publishers and the author for the ARC.

A really good gritty and real story. This story feels so real. The characters and their actions are really well written and easy to imagine. This is definitely a page turner I would recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I hadn’t realised this book was part of a series so some parts and characters were a touch confusing however I think it could (just) be read without reading previous book(s). I didn’t really like any of the characters and was quite frustrated with some of them and their stupidity- however this stupidity was what moved the story on so was possibly a writing/plot device. I felt the story didn’t really hang together or go anywhere. Not one of my favourite police procedural books - sorry

Ryan is loved by his Mom but she cannot protect him from life around Gallowstree Lane. Lissie loves her son but struggles with life as a single Mom and a ranking police officer. Their lives intersect and we see how sometimes you have no control about life and the path you are led down. Excellent read throughout where you really care about these characters, enjoy.

What sort of a review can you give a book when you're trying to recover after reading it until four o'clock in the morning?

Obviously it's not a book one can easily put down.

As detective thrillers go it's up there with the best. It has all the qualities: pace, back stories, action, rivalries and a gripping plot. Plus it gives the reader an insight in to the endless cycle of why young men get caught up in crime.

Now, I feel a little flat, a bit like a surfer who has run out of wave, until of course Kate London creates another great thriller.

Really enjoyed this book. The characters are strong, not always likeable, but totally believable.
When a teenage boy is murdered on Gallowstree Lane in front of his best friend Ryan the police have to find out not just who killed him but why. While one team investigates this murder another team lead by Detective Kieran Shaw is working on the top secret Operation Perseus to track and catch a gang of illegal arms smugglers. At first there seems to be no connection between the murdered boy and Perseus but the team investigating his death start to uncover connections that could have repercussions for Perseus. Kieran Shaw will not allow anything to derail his operation.
Ryan is determined to get retribution for his friend but how far will he go and who can he really trust?

In "Gallowstree Lane", London has crafted a ripper police procedural which kept me flicking the pages quickly.
It begins and ends with the death of a young man, bleeding to death beside his mate, Ryan. The reader is swept quickly into turf warfare in yhe UK and a larger crime in the making.
The lives of the police, Ryan and the girls ln the street are sketched sufficiently beside a tautly drawn plot of a multi-threaded criminal investigation.
The characters are believable enough to support the action and yet not detract from a fascinating case. It felt real; real enough for me to re-read sections to clarify the specific action and to feel a little sad as I turned the last page.

Gallowstree lane is a fast paced detective story that I really enjoyed. It had a good balance of police action and insight into the personal lives of the characters. The story centres around an ongoing high profile undercover investigation into the sale of forearms. This investigation becomes embroiled in another case of murder. The two separate investigations are then followed to conclusions. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys contemporary detective stories.

An excellent detective thriller. I enjoyed the setting and the sense that the main characters weren't in control of events. It was well written and it felt realistic and something that could happen the way it was told. Recommended for readers of this type of novel.

Initially I didn't think I'd like this book, I'm not a fan of gang based dramas. I couldn't have been more wrong: I loved the police procedural aspect of the book, genuinely liked the realistic characters (both police officers and the criminals), and was absolutely blown a away by the ending. I can't remember the last time I felt so moved by a crime novel. This book is truely brilliant.

I enjoyed this book, I did feel it was a bit of a shame I hadn't realised it was part of a series and read that one first, as some of the story refers back to it and so you can't get a complete feel for the characters. Having said that, the background wasn't needed to understand the story which was well written, gritty and engaging.

This really is a story for our times not only dealing with gang culture but also the problems of crime for communities plus issues relating to undercover policing. At times this book made me angry and then terribly sad. Despite this, I did enjoy the book especially the various characters; some you dislike and some you feel such sympathy for. There's also the dynamic between Kate and Kieran (who I didn't personally like!) which adds to the tension. A very interesting and enjoyable book which was that bit different.

4.5 stars, rounded up.
Oops, I appear to have committed the most heinous crime of diving in mid-series. Oh well, I don't think it marred my enjoyment of this book at all though so I think I've got away with it. I am intending to restore balance to my world and have already purchased the previous two books to sneak in sometime.
This book hit the ground running for me and didn't let up until the very end. We start with a stabbing which turns out fatal and then, as more and more layers of this crime is uncovered, we see that actually, this incident is the very small tip of a very big iceberg with multiple interconnected crimes and perpetrators. And, as these crimes vastly differ in nature, different police departments are all vying for information, all keeping things close to their chest and actually not really playing nice with each other, almost as if they aren't even on the same side at all. After all, the investigation into death of a single person from a knife wound can't possibly be able to undermine a two year investigation into much more far reaching crimes... That was the bit that piqued my interest the most in this book. Especially when the author added the extra bit of relationship intrigue between two of the opposing Police factions! What also scared me a little was that the story being told felt so real. With knife crime and gang warfare on the up, especially in London, this book does reflect that culture very well.
Characterisation was excellent and each person came across as completely real. 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.
Plot development was also good and the pacing fitted the action all the way. There was enough character development included to progress them towards their next outing without being too intrusive to the story - basically what you'd expect from a series book.
All in all a cracking read that I do not hesitate to recommend to lovers of police procedurals, especially those that want a little something extra than the norm. My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

A modern murder detective novel set around gang-killings, this is quite topical for present day society.
The story is told from the viewpoint of the main Detective who inevitably has to battle her own private problems whilst solving the murder. Of course we should dislike the victim's friend, Ryan, as he walks from the scene and is involved with undesirable gang leaders, but London tells this in such a way as to also make us feel that perhaps he isn't such a bad person underneath and it is only circumstances that make him what he is.
The twists this contains keep the reader engaged and the ending is perhaps not quite the expected easy conclusion you hope for.

Thank you to NetGalley and Atlantic Books Corvus for this copy in exchange for an honest review.