Great book, quick to get into and finished in only a couple of days. One thing that spoilt it, and I've found this on a few Netgalley books before, was that there was no chapter markings so I would be reading about Leif and Shell in the caravan and the next line would be about an undercover operation in London. This meant I needed to backtrack on a number of occasions.
Great read though.

A sequel to the London-based Met Police ‘The Tower’ trilogy. A desperate mother reports her vulnerable teenage son ‘Leif’ missing. Unfortunately, he’s been drawn into the murky world of County Lines and drug gangs in the countryside. Can he be saved before it’s too late? A sharp and insightful crime thriller.

I read half of this book but so many stories were going on that I got confused and couldn't keep up. I had to admit defeat, which Is very rare.

I enjoyed this book but it did take a while to get into, I have not read the other books in the series and found I was very lost with the court case at the start. When I got to the point of the missing boy it really started to flow well and I felt it was a very engaging storyline. I will be going back to the start of this series as I feel I would of enjoyed it a lot more having some back ground on the characters and be able to easily follow the plot

The Misper by Kate London
Publisher: Corvus
Publication Date 3/11/23

⭐️ ⭐️⭐️⭐️ ⭐️

Finely crafted police thriller with a timely plot regarding County Lines which was truly eye opening for me. I’ve read Kate Londons previous books and enjoyed the attention to procedural detail and the true to life characters. I look forward to reading the next one and recommend this to all lovers of crime fiction. .
Thanks to the author, publisher and netgalley for providing me with this advance digital copy in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

My thanks to Atlantic Books Corvus for an eARC via NetGalley of ‘The MisPer’ by Kate London.

This is Book 4 in London’s series of crime thrillers featuring DI Sarah Collins and DC Lizzie Griffiths.

In 2019 I had read ‘Gallowstree Lane’, Book 3 in the series, and found it a powerful police drama. When I began reading ‘The Misper’ I didn’t initially make the connection that it was part of the same series. While it can be read as a standalone, reading in order does allow for an appreciation of its characters’ development.

A number of plot threads are woven together and not wishing to enter spoiler territory, I won’t say too much. Ryan Kennedy, who had been a key character in ‘Gallowstree Lane’, is imprisoned for the murder of a police officer. He is only fifteen and is well aware that he needs to keep his mouth shut, his head down, and serve his time. Given his youth and other circumstances, he knows that sentence is likely to be short.

DI Sarah Collins has left the Met for a quieter life in the countryside. Yet when the mother of a missing teenager begs her for help, she finds herself drawn into a much bigger investigation, one that leads her right back to London and her ex-colleagues, including DC Lizzy Griffiths, who now works in Missing Persons, and DC Steve Bradshaw. No further details to avoid spoilers.

Kate London had worked for the Metropolitan Police for eight years before leaving to pursue a writing career. Her novels draw upon this experience to bring an authenticity in her depiction of police work. It’s certainly not glamorous.

The focus of ‘The Misper’ is upon the devastation that organised drug-running gangs can wreak on young lives. It is undoubtedly a dark and gritty novel. Given this, it makes for harrowing reading in parts given the levels of violence and sense of despair. There clearly are no quick fixes or easy answers.

Overall, I found ‘The Misper’ a gripping crime thriller and certainly one that I would recommend to those who seek realistic police procedurals that address contemporary social issues.

A most unusual cop story that dwells on what is to be a serving officer. It dwells on the life and times of two teams, one to catch the drug dealing mastermind and the other on closing down the teen age drug runners that distribute the drugs. How the demands of the work affect their family, fellow colloquies and friends and in the urgency of a situations having to take risks due to lack of resources. A story or self sacrifice death and salvation.

Ryan Kennedy killed a police officer: there's no doubt about that. He was the fifteen-year-old holding the gun and pointing it at DI Kieran Shaw. He pulled the trigger but due to the vagaries of the jury system he was found not guilty of both the murder and the manslaughter of the officer. And so lives must go on. For DI Sarah Collins that means leaving the capital and hoping for a quieter life in the countryside but when a missing teenager is found on her territory she's drawn into a wider investigation - and back into the orbit of Ryan Kennedy.

For DC Lizzie Griffiths, it's more complicated. She's still with the Met - and she's the mother of Kieran's Shaw's toddler son, Connor. If you've been reading Kate London's Metropolitan Police series you'll be familiar with the background to this book - and here's a conundrum. If you haven't read at least one of the earlier books in this excellent series, then you're going to have to work hard to get the depth of what's happened in the past, to link up the various plot strands - and you're also going to know exactly what happens if you do choose to read the earlier books. If you have read the earlier books, then you'll appreciate the subtlety of this story.

And it is subtle and well-plotted. At its heart is the story of two fifteen-year-old boys who become involved in drug running - county lines. One boy, Leif, has a mother who is deeply committed to saving her son, to getting him back on the right tracks. It's a disturbing read because the desperation of the characters bleeds from the page and the reader feels that there's little in the way of hope for any of them. What makes it feel more authentic is the fact that Kate London is a former Metropolitan police officer: you sense that this is how it really is.

At first, I struggled to understand why I found this book so disturbing and so depressing and finally concluded that it's the first book where the mother of a child involved in country lines plays such a prominent part. It brought home to me very vividly how I would have felt in the same situation. I'd still like to thank the publishers for making a copy available to the Bookbag.

We can recommend that you start with the first book in this series - we doubt that you'll regret it!

I've not read any of the other books in the series so not sure if that was a help or a hindrance with this one. The first bit of the book (the trial) seemed irrelevant to this one (or to me it did!) and it was only then when it moved onto the missing person that it then matched the title of the book.

The style of the book made it very hard to follow. One sentence you are reading about X, next sentence it is onto Y which really didn't help you get into the book. The storyline was gripping enough to make you keep on reading until the end.

This was a gripping book involving young people pulled into county lines and the destruction it causes. This book is part of a series but I read it as a stand alone and prior knowledge of the characters would have helped - I didn’t feel there was much depth to them but if I had read the other books I wouldn’t have needed the background I felt was lacking.

Good book, lots of action and well worth a read.

I did read gallowstree lane, but have to admit I dont remember a lot about it, so this felt a little like starting a new series. It was certainly fast paced and contemporary and reinforced the issues around county line drug running. It is so difficult for me, and I imagine many others, to think of the Met police or any force in a positive light at present, and this did help to remind the reader that many officers really do care about the victims of crime and following the Law.
Thank you to netgalley and atlantic books for an advance copy of this book

I found this book quite hard to get into and to also follow the story. I did read it to the end and quite enjoyed it but didn't find it amazing

Very gritty, very disturbing and really good characters that make interesting reading. Drug running, county lines, violence are all here but there is also hope for some and compassion

I remember when I read book three that I fessed up that I hadn't already read the first two in this series and that I would play catch-up before book 4... Well, I did. And I also managed to refresh my memory further by watching the TV adaptation of book one, which I though was well done. I am halfway through series 2 as I write this review and that is also looking good too so far.
Anyway... we are now at book 4 in this series and the author has delivered another stonkingly good read.
Ryan Kennedy is a small fish. A tiddler. But one that knows his place. He was imprisoned for the death of a cop - events depicted in Gallowstone Lane so read that one first - and knows that the best way forward is to put his head down, say nothing, and ride it out. Meanwhile DI Sarah Collins is fed up of the high pace of life the Met had given her and has relocated to the countryside for a quieter life... hmm... we can all guess how well that will go for her... and we are not long waiting for that as she is soon embroiled in what starts off as a misper but which leads her back to, not only London, but also to the aforementioned Ryan Kennedy...
What makes this book so hard hitting is that the crime featured within - and this is true for the series as a whole - is quite prevalent and also affects quite a few people. It's also delivered in what I would suggest feels very real as it is not all linear and the Police have to go round the houses and suffer many dead ends and new lines of enquiry before eventually getting there! Much as I would suspect the real cops have to endure... but in a way that doesn't slow down the action, or make it drag.
It's all interconnected with DCs Lizzie Griffiths and Steve Bradshaw playing integral parts in the action. All cracking characters - so well drawn and also real as they all have certain flaws... And they all play their parts very well indeed!
The misper element of things is also quite hard hitting as it involves a young teen who has succumbed to the glamour and potential money earning of the gangs but who soon finds out that the grass is very much not greener... It is the anguish and frustration of his mother that really hits home. But she also doesn't help the situation somewhat.
It's all too real and very convincing and sadly contains scenarios that play out in many many places every single day. Shocking...
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.

This was a bit of a mixed bag for me I was invested in the premise and the plot as it's current and relevant but I found that I could not gel with the writing style of the author so struggled to fully engage with the story, to me it was disjointed and lacking in flow.

The most striking elements of this crime novel are the insightful characterisations and the realistic investigations. I read the previous book in this series, and this story continues the contemporary relevance, the sense of hopelessness and the constant battle against the evil that preys on the young. The characters are multi-layered and believably flawed. This crime noir reflects current issues in British society well, and the writing captures the characters and their situations in a resonating way. It's a challenging read as it explores disturbing issues but is compelling and intense. I like the insightful writing, the relatable characters and the menacing ethos this story delivers.
I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

D I Sarah Collins never thought after leaving the Met she would find herself drawn back into the dark and dangerous world of the drug gangs of London.
However when a missing teen turns up on her patch she cant help but get involved.
Lief`s mother has no idea where her son is or what he is involved in.
What unfolds is a realistic and compelling tale honing in on vulnerable young people and children that find themselves moving drugs out of cities in what is known as "County Lines"
The gangs use immense cruelty to keep these children in line, some of whom do not survive.
Totally relevant and believable, scarily so at times.
One not to miss!
So easy to recommend, definitely a stand out novel.
Many thanks to Netgalley and Atlantic books for the ARC I was lucky enough to be sent.

Former Met DI Sarah Collins, can’t help but get involved when a missing teen turns up on her patch.
As she gets involved in the investigation she is drawn back to the murky ganglands of London.
A gripping, rip-roaring drug lines thriller, that’s dark and gritty.
Authentically written by the author who knows what she’s talking about regarding police procedures.
Thanks @K8London @corvusbooks & @netgalley for the eARC

My head is reeling after finishing ‘The Misper’, it’s current, gritty and all-too-plausible. As the mother of teenagers, the feeling of not being able to keep your children safe is terrifying. Kate London shows all too well how difficult it can be to protect someone who is trying to prove their loyalty to someone else instead of you.

The County Lines storyline knocked me for six , it’s just a couple of steps away from anyone and what a frightening thought that is. It’s clear that the author’s professional experience comes into its own through her writing.

I haven’t read other books by Kate London before but I will certainly go back and read them now, she’s a voice that needs to be listened to.

When Ryan Kennedy is imprisoned after killing a police officer, he knows what he has to do. Keep his mouth shut about who he was working for, keep his head down and rely on his youth to keep his sentence short. when he gets out, he'll be looked after.

Following the death in the line of duty of a fellow detective, DI Sarah Collins has left the capital for a quieter life in the countryside. But when a teenager turns up on her patch, she finds herself drawn into a much bigger investigation - one that leads her right back to London, back to the Met and back to Ryan Kennedy, the kid who killed the cop.

I have not read any of the books in this series. The book follows on from the end of the previous book - Gallowstree Lane. The story starts at the trial of Ryan Kennedy who has killed a police officer, DI Sarah Collins is investigating the disappearance of a young woman. As she digs deeper, she uncovers a trail of deceit that takes her back to London and Ryan Kennedy. The story focuses on vulnerable children who are caught up in county line operations.

I quite enjoyed this fast-paced thriller. It's quite a tense read. I was pulled in after reading a couple of chapters. I also liked the authors writing style.

I would like to thank #NetGalley #AtlanticBooks and the author #KateLondon for my ARC of #TheMisper im exchange for an honest review.