Review: Gallowstree Lane

Gallowstree Lane by Kate London
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

This is number 3 in the Collins and Griffiths series by Kate London, but can easily be read as a stand-alone.

It’s set in 2016 London and covers gang culture, crime and the knife crime prevalent at the moment amongst young men. Gallowstree Lane is a grim place, which just bristles with unseen tensions.....not a place to walk alone.

One evening 15 year old Spencer is fatally stabbed, his friend, Ryan is distraught and turns to The Bluds leader, Shakiel for help. Shaks is an old family friend as he knew Ryan’s dad before his untimely death and exacted revenge on the person responsible. Ryan wants him to do the same for Spence......he’s told it will happen but there’s other things to do first.....and here’s where the tension begins.

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. Not a particularly nice guy, but good at the job he does.

Lizzie is a likeable young cop, she has a son, Connor after an affair with Kieran and she is assigned to Perseus and is integral to the investigation due to her ability to link different pieces of intelligence together.

DI Sarah Collins, is investigating Ryan’s murder and while doing this her operation mixes with the undercover Perseus and there is further tension as neither want the others to jeopardise either investigation.

Kate London has written a police procedural but with a difference, it has a realistic feel, totally believable with a human touch. It shows the emotional pressures and stress the police officers are under all the time, the mention of dealing with a rail crash it so real.....I know from experience, the ringing of unanswered mobile phones amidst the devastation brought many officers nightmares. This also has the story of the young men involved in these gang and knife crimes, and while I appreciate they are violent and lawless, I felt such sympathy for the clearly troubled Ryan and this is a credit to Kate London’s brilliant, creative, and emotional writing. I loved every heart thumping moment.....

I would like to thanks to The Pigeonhole, Netgalley, the author Kate London and the Publisher for the opportunity to read this ebook for free in exchange for a fair and honest review. (I do also have a hardback copy of my own)

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