The task of repopulating the senior library has been an exciting and daunting task aS in a boarding school our aim is to encourage all members of the community to read. Because of this, I have been searching down a wide and diverse range of books to read that will entice a wide cross-section of the school to come in, browse and find books that they love.
Books like this will ensure that the senior students in the school see the library as a diverse, modern and exciting place with books that speak to them and they want to recommend to their friends, classmates, teachers and tutors.
It is an engrossing and exciting read with fully-formed characters and a plot that ensures that it's hard to look away. It is as far from formulaic as it is possible to be and kept me up far too late in order to finish it. I immediately wanted to read all of this writer's other books as I loved their voice and found that it really drew me into the story and made me think about it even when I'd stepped away from this tale.
This is a thought-provoking read which I'm sure will be a popular and well-read addition to our new library; I'm grateful to have had the opportunity to read it and I know that the students are going to absolutely love it too!

The topic of this novel was knife crime and gang warfare which is an incredibly sad issue in modern Britain. However, I struggled with the story and had to give up.

I had not realised that Gallowstree Lane was the third in Kate London's series featuring Collins and Griffiths when I was granted this book to read and review. I wish I had, as I do like to read series in order, however as I had already began I continued and as a stand alone book it was a great read.

I found this to be a well-written novel with believable characters. It is a strong gritty, police procedural set in London. The story is modern and very current. I was impressed with the plot and am now planning on getting the first book so I can read them in order and understand the character backgrounds in more detail.

My sincere thanks to Atlantic Books / Corvus and NetGalley for an advanced readers copy of ‘Gallowstree Lane’ by Kate London. All opinions are my own and not biased in anyway. All my reviews can be found on my blog momobookdiary . com

Imagine a spider spinning its web, the strands are numerous, until finally they all fit neatly together, ready to catch its prey. This is exactly how I viewed Kate London’s Gallowstree Lane. It didn’t matter that it happened to be book three of a series, as it stood up so well as a standalone, even if there were a few bits that I perhaps, needed to catch up on.

The subject matter couldn’t have been more timely or relevant, as night after night we hear of another stabbing, of another, often young person in our cities. What does it mean for all those involved, wether they be the victim, the friends, the family, the gangs that run the streets or the detectives who have to solve the crime. London put me right in the middle of the action, from the chilling and horrifying first scene of young Spencer bleeding out on the street as his friend Ryan looked helplessly on to the frustration and danger encountered by the investigating detectives.

For me, it wasn’t so much about the investigation but the gang culture, their use of vulnerable young teens desperate for money, but most of all admiration and attention. Her characterisation of Ryan was superb, a young lad with no strong family behind him, no-one to put him right. His vulnerability and confusion screamed at me from the pages, my frustration with the police and authorities screamed even louder, as I read. It was almost like watching a car crash in slow motion.

The ruthless pursuit of territory, of superiority by the rival gangs the Bluds and the Soldiers was not pleasant to read, yet London’s real experience as a detective gave it an all too horrifying reality.

London was equally brilliant at her portrayal of the investigation and I was pleased that it wasn’t cold or unfeeling.

I loved Lizzie’s vulnerability as a single Mum, desperately trying to be a good mum to her toddler as well as a good police officer. I admired her tenacity and determination to put everything on the line to prove a point, that she could do it all no matter what. She was testament to how much harder it was to be woman in a mans world, which is not to say that is what I thought London was trying to achieve but my own personal thoughts.

Sarah was equally tenacious and determined, with a stubborn streak that saw her get results.

Lizzie and Sarah may have been polar opposites but they cared, they wanted to protect Ryan and they prevented the novel from being cold and hard, they gave it the emotion it needed. Now don’t get me wrong, I know men have feelings but London only gave me glimpses as Kieran fought to save all his hardwork of the past two years, they gave the novel balance with their harder, more pragmatic approach.

London handled her characters beautifully, her complex plot with ease, laying down layer upon layer of background, delicious intrigue and the London streets that held so much menace and danger.

If you want an honest, realistic portrait of the prevalent gang culture on the modern streets of our cities then i suggest you grab yourself a copy of this superb novel.

Gallowstree Lane was an excellent read. The police officers were all excellently drawn and completely credible. I particularly enjoyed the relationship between Kieran and Lizzie. The gang culture described was very real and very frightening, the way the young boys admired the gang leaders was brilliantly executed. The action moved so briskly that at some stages I found myself going back and re-reading sections, to ensure I didn't miss out on anything. A very enjoyable and satisfactory read that I highly recommend. I'll definitely be looking out for more by Kate London.

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this book nd found the story very relevant to modern times. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this genre.

A police procedural novel that will appeal to any crime book lover. Its a dark, deadly mystery set on the streets of a dark deadly city London. Following a trail to find a knife killer as it threatens to derail an operation to bring down organised crime. Its focus being how loyalties can collide and opinions can be divided about what's the most important crime to follow. Quite on target given the knife crime seen on the streets of large cities. It lays out how the police approach said crime and bring about justice.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for allowing me to review this book.
A very good story and well told. A look into life on all sides of life, some good, some bad as is the real thing.

"Gallowstree Lane" is book three in a series but can be appreciated as a stand-alone read. It is set in London and portrayed the difficulties experienced in modern policing. The storyline encompassed knife crime, murder and arms smuggling. Underneath the focused policing lay the personal lives of the officers and how they were affected by their career choices.

This book made for excellent and intriguing reading. The narrative was fast-paced, believable and absolutely of its time. There were many diverse, well-rounded characters, expertly drawn by Kate London and a very realistic plot.

Overall, this was a solid police procedural which felt very current - I enjoyed this very much and I would read more from Kate London.

I received a complimentary digital copy of this novel, at my own request, from Corvus via NetGalley. This review is my own unbiased opinion.

A story based on a rundown council estate in London centring on a dysfunctional single parent family with a son who has no ambition in life except to gain credibly as a loyal member of the street gang that dominates his location. A tragic tale unfolds of the honour killings and turf wars of the gangs and the unending work of the police to bring the criminals to justice. The police are a parallel community with their own culture and objectives in trying to impose law and order and to bring down the gangs that become too much a threat to society. How the two sides interact and how the police manage to achieve their objectives with tragic consequences although with a silver lining makes a thoughtful and interesting story.

Although the 3rd in a series I thought it was a good stand alone read. An excellent exploration of gang ctime and the difficulties faced my law enforcement officers.

A great read, the story builds to a page turning frenzy by the end! I really liked this book, written well and I really could involve myself with the characters, it was something which you could imagine playing out very easily. I can also see it being picked up and made into a film!

This was a very complex police procedural story which highlighted the gang culture, the participants and the role of the police. Fascinating story which was very sad at times with an expected conclusion.

This is the series that just keeps giving.

When a youth is knifed to deal, what should be a straightforward murder investigation quickly twists into something much larger.

This is not your typical police procedural novel, as London handles the technical aspects with a deft, light touch. You become invested in all the characters and wish things could have been different - but this is how it is.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC without obligation.

London knife crime novel that gives the reader the differing perspectives from the police to the teenager who' witnesses his friend being killed. Strong novel worth reading.

A fabulously well-written riveting read. Gallowstree Lane hooks you from the beginning and doesn't let up till the end. I cannot recommend enough.

*** ARC provided by Netgalley via the publisher in exchange for an honest review. ***

When starting this book I hadn’t realised that it was the third in a series. Honestly, had I known this would have seriously put me off reading it. However, the book worked really well as a stand alone and I enjoyed the story. I imagine you’d get more out of reading it if you’d read the previous novels but I think this is so well done that I could see myself going back and revisiting the novels I’ve missed.

This book was brilliant!
Going into this book I was nervous because this book follows gang activity, and I have never read anything with the same subject matter and I don't think I would ever go out of my way to do so. But I am incredibly glad that I did pick this up.
I must admit that I have not read the books which come before this one, but from my experience I'm not sure you have to. The only thing I think I could've gotten from the earlier books which I would've liked more of in this one was that I think the characters needed more. Although this book was very character driven I didn't feel that any of the law-enforcement characters were distinguishable from one another, I know very little about them and there was nothing that really made them especially unique. There was also basically no character progression or development at all, they were exactly the same at the end as they had been when I met them which was slightly disappointing for a book which was so character driven. However, I still enjoyed this book very much. I liked the writing style and the story was told very well. I also really liked the story itself, and as I got further and further into the book I knew that it was building to something which was also done very well. The crescendo at the end had me on the edge of my seat and I couldn't look away.
This book was unlike anything I had read before because if I read a book that follows a set of people investigating something usually they are all on the same squad, and although they were all police, in some ways it felt that they were working against each other. It was fascinating how all of these people, each on a different team, each investigating a different crime were all connected by a 15 year old boy who had been caught in it all and was too far in to escape. Each character just wanted to get their job done but each character also felt that their investigation was more important than everyone else's and they each prevented each other from progressing and that aspect of the story really helped build up a climax toward the ending.
I enjoyed this book and I do want to read more from this author and see these characters again in a story I hope I enjoy as much as I did this one.

The first time I have read this author and it won't be the last. She has a clear understanding of life on the streets as a police officer and I found it a good ,gritty read. Top job.

When 15 year old Spencer is stabbed in the leg and left to die on a London street it is a revenge attack between two gangs. His friend Ryan vows revenge but his plans are coming into conflict with an undercover operation by the Met into organised gangs in north London specifically the Blues and the Soldiers. As one team of detectives try to solve Spencer's murder, another team are trying to catch bigger fish.
This is the latest tale in an ongoing series and I hadn't read the others. I'm not sure that would affect my review as I found this story rather formulaic so probably wouldn't have picked it up! There is a real attempt to try to make this story realistic and up to date with its tale of street gangs, petty theft, drugs and knife crime but it never caught fire for me and the complexity of not having a central character made it hard to follow.