Another fantastic book written by Leigh Russell. I really like the character Geraldine Steel, a believable person with good morals, when others dismissed the deaths of the homeless as less important than others she didn’t.
This is well written, I could not put it down.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for letting me read this in exchange for a review. I will be putting this review on Amazon.

5 Stars from me

Although there is clearly a hell of a back story here that I am missing (I only say that as it is book 13 in a series), I truly feel that A Deathly Affair worked well as a standalone book. Actually, I'm pretty stunned that it is book 13 as it really is gripping and doesn't smack at all of 'just the next one in the series as I've got deadlines to meet'.

I greatly enjoyed the relationships within this book. The husband/wife, the affair that isn't quite what it seemed and also the dynamics within the police force were all very engaging.

I liked the police procedural elements and the methodology behind the investigative routes.

I also really like how the story highlights the plight of the homeless - something which I feel is all too easily ignored, yet most of us are only a few steps away from it at any time. A wrong decision, a loss of income, a relationship breakdown, an addiction, a twist of fate or circumstance can all very quickly lead to homelessness.

Synopsis: Four dead bodies. But who is guilty in this deadly web of secrecy and lies?

When two homeless men are strangled to death, Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel is caught off guard by the cold-blooded nature of the crimes. However, her suspicions are raised as two more bodies are found, forcing her to question the motivation behind the murders.

Plagued by countless red-herrings, the investigation drags Geraldine into the lives of three people caught in a toxic triangle of love and dishonesty. Is this a crime of passion, or is there more to this case than meets the eye? 

http://readandrated.com/2019/09/28/a-deathly-affair-by-leigh-russell/

I voluntarily read this for an honest review - all thoughts and opinions are mine


I really enjoyed this

Well written, great characters and story

I've not read any of the others in this series but will now be watching out for them

A great read on an autumn day

The death of a local homeless man, murdered as he slept, sends shockwaves through his already traumatised community in the centre of York. Detective Geraldine Steel has to deal with the feelings of mistrust from his friends and apathy from some of her colleagues as she tries to solve what becomes a complex and bewildering hunt for a serial killer.

At the same time the private lives of three other York residents come under scrutiny as they go about their business which includes love, lies, and the fear of discovery as murder comes close to and then shatters their carefully constructed illusions of lives well led.

This is the thirteenth outing for Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel but only the third set in York and deals far more with the underside of a busy tourist destination than the one its residents and officials would like to be shown.

Unfortunately, apart from one family unaware of the tragedy they are involved in, there is a cast of suspects who move quickly in and out of the spotlight in a realistic but ultimately disappointing way. It was difficult to get a feeling for any of them or to hope they would be found to be innocent. This is obviously a hugely successful series of books but I felt no connection to any of them and wouldn't rush to catch up with those books I haven't yet read.

I was able to read an advanced copy of this book thanks to NetGalley and the publishers in exchange for an unbiased review and would recommend it to anyone already waiting anxiously for the next instalment.

I have read all of Leigh Russell's books so was delighted to receive this as an advance reader's copy from NetGalley.
As always the storyline is intense and thoroughly thought out by the author. As in the previous novel, Geraldine Steele is working in York where after demotion from her job in London due to inappropriate actions to protect her sister she is working under her previous protégé sergeant, now people to DI, Ian Peterson. I find some of the actions a little unlikely in particular in relation to her recently emerged twin sister. I think future work should have less detail about this as it detracts from the main story. There is some unnecessary repetition too which might be helpful to a first time reader but it's irritating to today who have followed the series. The story is ostensibly about the murder of homeless people in York and this theme is well told.
I enjoyed the book, but it was 4 not 5 stars.

An excellent story with lots of twists and turns that lead you hither and thither. Definitely recommended to those readers who enjoy reading this type of book.

This is a really good fast paced thriller. This is the first book that I have read in this series. I am definitely going to read more. The characters in this book are strong and I was gripped from the start. This is a really well written book and I would recommend it.

Thank you to Netgalley for my copy.

I really enjoyed the subplots in this story.

The characters relationships were interesting and believable and i enjoyed seeing how they changed throughout.

The truth will always out and I found it interesting that it did.

Russell’s next instalment of the Geraldine Steel series is a very mixed bag but does make for somewhat interesting reading. It does have its problems but it did keep my interest.

The characters are a mix bag and we are left with some odd developments which left the characters feeling not fully realised. We have Ann, Ian, Geraldine, David and then Molly who appears as a special guest star before disappearing with the page. This felt a bit like someone inputted into a situation to address homelessness and as a plot device.

The plot moves forward and I was interested enough to finish the book but there was an odd disconnect with the narrative. Characters flowed in and out; we are left with some red herrings which were apparent from the first suggestion. We also had a police force that seems to lack with good policing and reacting through gut decisions. This gave us a police department that is fumbling with everyone behaving unprofessionally whilst the main character is all knowing and most successful though she has been demoted. This is one of the problems with this novel.

The crimes and addressing homelessness in the York area was interesting and what kept the story interesting though there were plenty of stereotyping to ensure that all generalised points are made. There are some interesting concepts delivered but the final third of book when crimes are being solved we are left thinking, where did these people and situations come from.

Overall, I read the book and kept me interested to reach the end but I am not quite sure if this book suffers from character fatigue as this series has been running for a while now. Plot is not too surprising with a crime when it is solved, leaves the reader rolling their eyes. Interesting subplots but not as clever as it thinks it is.

This is a decent, but not great, police procedural novel. As I hadn't read all the previous books in the series I wasn't up to date with the the lead detective's back story, but the book still reads well without this. Ultimately, the characters lack depth and the writing lacks realism for the book to be truely gripping.

Thoroughly enjoyed the previous books in this series & this latest book did not disappoint.
Bit of an unusual storyline to keep you intrigued with plenty of sub plots. Enjoyed the ongoing storyline of the main characters too.
Looking forward to the next instalment.

I have read all Geraldine Steel books and enjoy the premise. This was interesting subject matter and very twisty. I am however starting to feel the writing is repetitive. Each chapter page says the same things in different ways. After the cliffhanger at the end, I will continue to read the series as I have been loyal to it so far.

I hadn’t read all of the previous books in the series but that didn’t prevent me from engaging fully with the DS Geraldine Steel and with the story. Easy to follow story but with plenty of twists and turns. I didn’t guess the ending, which makes the story 5 stars for me.

York. Not London. Ian is the inspector, and Geraldine the sergeant. How times change....

A homeless man is found dead. Murdered. And another.

Unhappy wife Ann. Philanderer Mark. How are they connected?

When another body turns up, can Geraldine get to the truth?

Another fantastic read in this brilliant series which is now set in York where Geraldine is working with her old Sargeant Ian Peterson. The roles have been reversed as Geraldine has been demoted and this was her only chance of staying in the job. She did hope that they could slip back into their comfy way of working together but the last case made her think this was not to be and now he seems to be distancing himself even more, as they try to find the murderer of trap who was found dead on the streets of York. This is one of my favourite crime series and I can highly recommend all the other books.

Intriguing story with various sub plots, a young man with romantic involvement with various married women leads to a series of murders which is when the plot gets very exciting with a further murder seemingly connected which finally proves otherwise and leads to a different killer.

My thanks to NetGalley and publisher Oldcastle Books - No Exit, for the ARC.
I quite enjoyed this book, although I found some narrative passages a bit too heavy on detailed thoughts and musings, there is an interesting and complex story-line.
Set in York, where Geraldine Steel is now a DS having been demoted from DI and working in the Serious Crime Unit (previous books explain).
A homeless man is discovered murdered in an empty shop doorway. Geraldine is dismayed by colleagues' derogatory comments regarding rough sleepers being worthy of their time to investigate their deaths - but murder is murder, whoever you are, and she is determined to find the killer.
Working with DI Ian Peterson the investigative team is given extra resources to interview at homeless shelters and identify the victim, culminating in another homeless man confessing to this murder. However, a week later, another rough sleeper is discovered murdered in the same way. The person in custody couldn't have been telling the truth.
A third body is discovered in a stolen van abandoned in a car park. This too looks like a homeless person killing - until forensics give a different story. This body belongs to Mark Routledge, a young music teacher.
Mark is having an affair with Ann (32) who is married to David (52). Aimee, Ann and David's daughter is considering options for leaving home for university and David is scared that Ann will leave him then. David is boring; his wife is bored with him. He is controlling and possessive. Ann is obsessed with Mark but the novelty of the affair with an older woman has begun to wear-thin.

The novel is told through the points of view of the killer/watcher - approaching his first kill and planning the next; of Ann, David and Mark, interspersed with Geraldine's investigation to get to the truth.
There are lots of red-herrings, twists and turns to the plot-line and a good who-dun-it ending.

Someone is killing homeless men in York and DS Geraldine Steel is part of the team investigating the murders. But when another two “supposedly” homeless men are then discovered, the team needs to work out if they have more than one killer on their hands.

Another good instalment in this series. An easy and entertaining read.

13th book in this series and as fresh as the first. It’s a credit to the author that none of the staleness that sometimes creeps into long running series is here. Brilliant read, great plot, with a twist I never saw coming and oh the ending!

Despite being well into a series that I am not familiar with the author dealt with the back story in such a way that it did not impede my enjoyment of this book.
It did take me a while to get into it, maybe because of the different threads at the beginning but like all good books it pulled it together.
The main character is likeable and conscientious and works hard to solve a complex case.