Normally I would expect this to be filled with a sense of camaraderie between officers (think Lynda La Plante or Carol Wylie) but there is none of that here. Neighbours, Mark and Deb Berman, have been so supportive as she moves on in life: teaching at the local school and even dating. 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. This death casts a shadow over the story to follow which starts a month before on Gallowstree Lane, a known strip for prostitution and drug deals. Imagine a spider spinning its web, the strands are numerous, until finally they all fit neatly together, ready to catch its prey.

With knife crime and gang warfare on the up, especially in London, this book does reflect that culture very well. Gallowstree Lane’ is a police procedural which tackles a very real and prevalent issue without undermining it, and using it as a platform.So, a little about the characters, Lizzie is a single mother, who got pregnant after the affair with a fellow detective, who was married. I think if I knew Kate London I would deny her access to the outdoors until she wrote sufficient words for the day haha. 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.

He’s witnessed the death of his best friend, and now he wants someone to pay …As loyalties collide, a chain of events is triggered that threatens everyone with a connection to Gallowstree Lane. This is a gritty crime procedural novel that’s investigating the murder of a teenage boy with gang connections. What was really intriguing was the depiction of how different police investigations and priorities can trip all over each other.About the author: Kate graduated from Cambridge University and moved to Paris where she trained in theatre. 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. 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.

Lizzie Griffiths and Sarah Collins, two members of the force, are both also involved in this case but coming at it from very different angles. Both lads are low-level members of the Eardsley Bluds, a local street gang involved in a violent turf war with another gang. Going too much into the details and the thoughts and explanations and losing track of the fact that this is supposed to be fiction.I found the plot convincing and very relevant, given the current soaring level of knife crime in London. I thoroughly enjoyed Gallowstree Lane which examines the aftermath and ramifications of a straightforward crime, if murder can be regarded as straightforward. So when a low-level Bluds member is stabbed to death on Gallowstree Lane, Shaw's priority is to protect his operation. 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.