Deep Cover
Page 28
It was Sunday morning, and Ian lay in bed checking the news on his iPad while Geraldine went to the kitchen. He heard her clattering about and soon after the smell of bacon and toast and fresh coffee wafted out to him, making his mouth water, while he waited impatiently to be summoned to the table. As he scrolled through the news, his eye was caught by a report about an overnight bust of an established drug gang which had been operating in London. An unnamed drug squad officer was quoted in the article, praising the efforts of his undercover team.
‘Without their heroic efforts and sacrifices this wouldn’t have been possible,’ the anonymous officer said. ‘Now there are fewer evil parasites pushing drugs on the streets and in the clubs, ruining young lives for their own profit. Many of my officers worked undercover in dangerous circumstances, often risking their own lives. Thanks to their fearless efforts, London is a safer place today than it was yesterday. We’re fighting an ongoing war, but we have won a major battle today, and the officers involved in this operation did a magnificent job helping to inflict this blow against the criminal gangs seeking to flood our streets with Class A drugs. Our team endured adversity and danger with silent fortitude. We owe them a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. For their own safety their identities remain protected, but wherever they are, they should feel justly proud of their contribution to the health and safety of our nation.’
Ian wondered if Jack hoped he would read the tribute, but it didn’t matter. He wasn’t even angry with Jack any more. He was back where he belonged, in York, working with Geraldine Steel. He was home.
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank Dr Leonard Russell for his medical advice.
My thanks also go to the team at No Exit Press: Clare Quinlivan for so smoothly organising the online contract signing, Elsa Mathern for her brilliant cover design, Hollie McDevitt and Lisa Gooding for their invaluable marketing and PR, Jayne Lewis for an excellent copy-edit and Steven Mair for his eagle-eyed proofreading, Sarah Stewart-Smith for her efficient bookshop liaison and Andy Webb for his tireless work at Turnaround, and above all to Ion Mills and Claire Watts. I am really fortunate to be working with them and thrilled that there are more books to come in the series.
Geraldine and I have been together for a long time, in the company of my editor, who has been with us from the very beginning. We couldn’t have come this far without you, Keshini!
My thanks go to all the wonderful bloggers who have supported Geraldine Steel, and to everyone who has taken the time to review my books. Your support means a lot to me.
Above all, I am grateful to my readers. Thank you for your interest in following Geraldine’s career. To those of you who write to me to ask when the next book is out, I can assure you that it is already on its way. Book 17 is currently being edited. I have just started writing Book 18, and there are more to come after that. So I hope you continue to enjoy reading about Geraldine Steel.
Finally, my thanks go to Michael, who is my rock.
Also by Leigh Russell
Geraldine Steel Mysteries
Cut Short
Road Closed
Dead End
Death Bed
Stop Dead
Fatal Act
Killer Plan
Murder Ring
Deadly Alibi
Class Murder
Death Rope
Rogue Killer
Deathly Affair
Deadly Revenge
Evil Impulse
Ian Peterson Murder Investigations
Cold Sacrifice
Race to Death
Blood Axe
Lucy Hall Mysteries
Journey to Death
Girl in Danger
The Wrong Suspect
A Letter from Leigh
I hope you enjoyed reading this book in my Geraldine Steel series. Readers are the key to the writing process, so I’m thrilled that you’ve joined me on my writing journey.
You might not want to meet some of my characters on a dark night – I know I wouldn’t! – but hopefully you want to read about Geraldine’s other investigations. Her work is always her priority because she cares deeply about justice, but she also has her own life. Many readers care about what happens to her. I hope you join them, and become a fan of Geraldine Steel, and her colleague Ian Peterson.
If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter, you’ll know that I love to hear from readers. I always respond to comments from fans, and hope you will follow me on @LeighRussell and fb.me/leigh.russell.50 or drop me an email via my website www.leighrussell.co.uk.
That way you can be sure to get news of the latest offers on my books. You might also like to sign up for my newsletter on www.leighrussell.co.uk/news to make sure you’re one of the first to know when a new book is coming out. We’ll be running competitions, and I’ll also notify you of any events where I’ll be appearing.
Finally, if you enjoyed this story, I’d be really grateful if you would post a brief review on Amazon or Goodreads. A few sentences to say you enjoyed the book would be wonderful. And of course it would be brilliant if you would consider recommending my books to anyone who is a fan of crime fiction.
I hope to meet you at a literary festival or a book signing soon!
Thank you again for choosing to read my book.
With very best wishes,
Leigh
noexit.co.uk/leighrussell
About the author
Leigh Russell is the author of the internationally bestselling Geraldine Steel series: Cut Short, Road Closed, Dead End, Death Bed, Stop Dead, Fatal Act, Killer Plan, Murder Ring, Deadly Alibi, Class Murder, Death Rope, Rogue Killer, Deathly Affair, Deadly Revenge, Evil Impulse and Deep Cover. The series has sold over a million copies worldwide. Cut Short was shortlisted for the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) John Creasey New Blood Dagger Award, and Leigh has been longlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library Award. Her books have been #1 on Amazon Kindle and iTunes with Stop Dead and Murder Ring selected as finalists for The People’s Book Prize. Leigh is chair of the CWA’s Debut Dagger Award judging panel and is a Royal Literary Fellow. Leigh studied at the University of Kent, gaining a Masters degree in English and American Literature. She is married with two daughters and a granddaughter, and lives in London.
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Copyright
This ebook edition first published in 2021
by No Exit Press
an imprint of Oldcastle Books
Harpenden, UK
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All rights reserved
© Leigh Russell 2021
The right of Leigh Russell to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly.
ISBN
978-0-85730-464-3 (Print)
978-0-85730-465-0 (Epub)
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