#Blogtour The Misper by Kate London

It's my turn on the Blogtour The Misper by Kate London.

About the Author

Kate London graduated from Cambridge University and worked in theatre until 2006 when she joined the Metropolitan Police Service. She finished her career working as part of a Major Investigation Team on the Metropolitan Police Service's Homicide Command. She has since written four novels in The Tower series, which is now a major ITV drama, starring Gemma Whelan. She is on Twitter @K8London. 

About the book

There's more than one way to go missing... 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 missing 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 a cop.

This powerful novel from a former Met detective explores the devastation that organized drug-running gangs can wreak on young lives. It asks who deserves to be saved - and whether saving them is even possible...

Review

At first the story is a little bit like being in a glass funhouse and the reader has difficulty finding the right path. It's a bit choppy, but intentionally so, and what's really interesting is the way the main plot travels full circle and brings us back to where we think everything started.

The story begins with Ryan who kills and is convinced to stay quiet about certain details - a bit of prison time is worth it in exchange for being safe, right? His story leads us in a convoluted way to the disappearance of another young person, but what could the two things have to do with each other?

I like the fact the author has chosen a criminal element and scheme that is targeting the most vulnerable and youngest in our society. Easy pickings when it comes to influencing children and teens, reeling them in with things they might want and then moving the friendly relationship into a coercive one.

When you take the vulnerability of the victims into consideration, it's harder to define the lines between perpetrator and victim when they themselves commit a crime. It's a sophisticated scheme that keeps the big fish safe while the little fish in the pond do the crime and punishment. A never-ending wheel of criminal productivity churns consistently with a constant supply of young people.

It's an intriguing dive into modern organised crime, county lines is a crime everyone should be aware of, and this read gives a great glimpse at how complex it really is.

Buy The Misper at Amazon Uk or go to Goodreads for any other retailer. Publisher ‏: ‎Corvus; pub date 3 Aug. 2023. Hardback · £14.99, e-book also available. Buy at Amazon com.