An excellent well-written book, believable storyline, full of twists and turns, good ending. It's an intricate plot with a really good ending.

Thomas accidentally causes a woman’s death but then fails to call the police. One mistake after another. Geraldine is on the case while her partner Ian goes to London to work a different case.

Two different plot lines in one book. Read and enjoy finding out how they resolve.

I never repeat the blurb. I've read a few of this series and, really, I do so with no great enthusiasm. They're quite 'run of the mill' and this was particularly unconvincing on both sides of the plot, so I find myself doubting that I shall read another.

An excellent book, Leigh Russell’s novels never fail to deliver. Slightly different in that it focuses on Ian as much as Geraldine if not more. I would definitely recommend this to family and friends.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this book in exchange for a review. I will put this on Amazon once it’s published.

The 16th book in the DI Geraldine Steel series and I was looking forward to reading this. Although I’ve only read a couple of the previous books. As usual the book was well executed with all three parts to the story interweaving to some degree.

Briefly, there are three narrative strands to this book. Geraldine Steel’s police investigations in York, Ian’s storyline undercover in gangster London and Thomas the unlikely murderer. Geraldine is looking into the murders of a prostitute and another woman who is a gambler. Are the two connected? To the police there appears to be no connection. However, despite the problems in their personal relationship, Geraldine is worried about Ian who has gone undercover, officially to catch high level drug dealers, but he has his own agenda.

Geraldine and Ian will be well known to readers of the series but the characterisation of the new characters was interesting. Thomas is a rather weedy individual who will take no responsibility for his actions, very winey, he isn’t at all likeable. The gangster boss I found a little unbelievable in that he acted scared at times and gullible. Just felt unlikely for someone like him. Geraldine new work partner Matthew is a breath of sunshine and I hope he remains with the team. Overall it was a good read and I can understand why the series has a loyal following ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

My thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for an e-copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Deep Cover starts with such promise, a hook to get the bookworm's full attention. As the two stories progressed this baited hook left the worm drowning in boredom. The undercover operation was ridiculous and inept. The other thread was just dull. The author repeats herself on many occasions. Despite the popularity of the author and the praise given by Peter James, Lee Child et al, this novel didn't do it for me.

I've read all of the Geraldine Steel books to date and this was another great story. If you are looking for a good mystery with twists and turns then you will enjoy this.

Didn't find this book as enjoyable or as interesting as the previous ones in the series. Still a good read but fractured between the two stories.

I've read all of the Geraldine Steel books to date and this was good. I didn't quite enjoy it as much as usual with Ian being away and the stop-start relationship stalling. I enjoyed the fact that it is another link in the chain of the longer saga and there may be future repercussions, but I wasn't as engaged with Geraldine's investigation this time around. I will still look forward to the next installment.

This was the first time I had read a Leigh Russell novel so was not familiar with the characters and found the use of christen names throughout making the storyline sometimes difficult to follow. The story itself was fine but could have been made so much easier to read.

I’m told that this is the 16th book in the DI Geraldine Steel police series. Her partner, Ian, is working undercover and no one seems to know where he is or in fact that he is working undercover.

I really don’t like giving so few stars to a work that an Author has given a lot of attention to but this may well be because it’s part of a series and, since I haven’t read the other books, I may well have been at a disadvantage.

One of the things that put me off a little bit was knowing immediately who the murderer is, and I didn’t particularly like the two main protagonists, Steel and Peterson, and certainly didn’t feel a connection towards them but there again, that may well have been because I haven’t read the series.

The plot is a good one however the amount of repetition spoiled the good points and the fact that an officer with no experience in working undercover could gain the trust of a criminal so easily, was a little fragmented and put me off.

However, on the positives, having the killer, Thomas highlighted and playing a pivotal role in more ways than one was a nice twist.

Some of the storyline was a little too far-fetched but there again, I appreciate that some readers love this and perhaps it is just not for me.

Having said that, the book was well written and for fans of the genre and the Author, I could see why they would love it.

I received this book from the publishers via Netgalley for a review. Another top notch book from Leigh Russell with plenty of twists and turns to keep you reading all night

This was the first book by Leigh Russell I have read so I wasn't familiar with the characters. Unfortunately I found it hard to take to the main characters as I found them shallow and their behaviour in this book,especially by Ian when undercover, left me cold.
Not a book for me.

Many thanks to the publishers for an advance copy of this novel.
Although this is the latest novel in a long series and the first I have read I do have some familiarity with the main characters as my wife has read most of the previous novels and was able to give me some background,
Even with that information, I feel it would have been better had I read the previous books myself. Like many books in a series, it will stand alone to a certain extent but does not give the reader full involvement with the characters compared to someone who has read the whole series. There are two main themes to the book each involving one of the characters and linked by their personal connections. I was not entirely convinced by the storylines but I did enjoy the book and will be reading more starting at Book 1 in my wife's collection
This book will I think appeal to fans of the series but is not a good starting point for new readers.

I don't often give 2 stars to a book but on this occasion I really can't give any more. The plot isn't bad and I have read other books in the series so know the characters but the amount of repetition completely spoiled any enjoyment I might have had. This is a short book and could have been reduced by at least another third if all the padding was cut out. Every character goes through the same thought processes again and again. It's almost like the author doesn't believe the reader is capable of understanding what is going on unless she explains it over and over.
Then there is the London thread of the story. I really find it hard to believe that an officer with no experience in under cover work could gain the trust of a criminal so easily and quickly.
I know that this series is very popular but I'm afraid that this installment just wasn't for me.

Really enjoyable read, with Geraldine Steel and Ian Patterson following different crimes in different locations. The book flips seamlessly between each of the cases, with the introduction of some new work colleagues. Very readable as ever

This is the first Geraldine Steel I have read. A sex worker is found dead and the circumstances are suspicious. The pace on this investigation is slow going. From the outset we know who the killer is and he has his own story to tell. Her partner Ian has disappeared, we know to go undercover to bring to book the drug baron responsible for her twin sister having to go into hiding. I confess I am not a huge fan of gangland/undercover stories so I wasn't keen on the Ian thread. Geraldine's thread took a long time to get going and I started to lose interest. The killer was a good thread, very believable and you could really imaging their thought processes as they ended up killing a second victim. Plausibility was a bit of an issue but then it could be argued that I know little of undercover police work. A good solid read that made me think I should go back to book 1 and try the series
3.5/5 stars

My only regret about this book is that I've come in at the end of a long series about Detective Geraldine Steel. I now have a lot of catching up to do! Realistic and gritty telling of the story showing the greyer - but arguably necessary - side of police work. Fast-paced and with a growing sense of danger.

Competent police procedural. D I Geraldine Steel is investigating the suspicious death of a sex worker. Her ex boyfriend tries to make amends for causing a split between her and her sister by going underground in a criminal organisation. Geraldine's investigation is difficult, due to lack of evidence.
For me the book stretches plausibility somewhat, but I was compelled to keep reading. Not her best, but still highly readable.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Oldcastle Books for an advance copy of Deep Cover, the sixteenth novel to feature DI Geraldine Steel of the York Police.

Geraldine is investigating the murder of a sex worker, found dead in local woods but with little to go on the investigation stalls until a second body is found. Unbeknown to her Ian Peterson, her former partner, is in London working undercover for the drugs unit on a mission of his own.

I struggled to get through Deep Cover as it didn’t hold my attention. I really enjoyed the early novels in this series but I have found the later ones a bit hit and miss and this is a definite miss for me.

The novel is split into three main narrative strands, Ian and his adventures in London, Geraldine and her investigation in York and Thomas, the killer. I actually think that Thomas has the most believable of the three narratives. He’s full of self justification and it wasn’t my fault talk, which seems plausible to me. Geraldine is too distracted by her regrets about splitting with Ian to focus the novel in the early and mid stages, so by the time she gets her act together I didn’t care. As for Ian, I don’t like most undercover novels as I don’t think that they come close to describing the danger, seediness and corruption involved, but this is a fantasy I couldn’t take seriously, even for entertainment purposes.

Despite my reservations about the content, the plot is well executed with the murder investigation grinding through the gears of disappointments and false trails until they get their man. Ian’s story gradually builds to a result too, with a strategic change of voice at tense moments leaving cliffhangers and the reader wondering and Thomas does his best to avoid detection while whining about his situation. There is plenty there for a reader willing to engage, just not me.