-| Reviewing… Geraldine by John Mead |- @JohnMeadAuthor @rararesources #blogtour

So, today is the first day of the blog tour for Geraldine by John Mead, you may remember that I reviewed The Fourth Victim back at the beginning of September also by this author, if you missed the review catch it here.

A big thank you to the author John as well as Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for providing me with the copy of this book and inviting me to review it.

Let’s get started…

Hatred is such a nasty thing – we all deplore it in others but do not necessarily recognise it in ourselves. At what point does resentment, jealousy, betrayal or humiliation turn into anger and then grow to an all consuming hatred? Hatred can be slow, taking years to fester, or can explode in seconds – it can linger for a lifetime or wither in seconds of its conception.
Inspector Matthew Merry and Sergeant Julie Lukula have to deal with the consequences of violence and murder on a daily basis and in the case of Gerry Driver they both see that hatred is the prime motive. But is it, as Julie thinks, one of a series of hate crimes that has led to this killing? Or, is Matthew right in saying, ‘Driver’s death is undoubtedly a hate filled crime but I’m just not convinced that there are sufficient links to suggest it is part of a pattern of hate crimes.’
Only time and their investigation, which takes as many twists and turns as the Thames does along it course through London and past Wapping Old Stairs, will tell.

We are back again with DI Matthew Merry and DS Julie Lukula ready to solve another case, this time a body has been found in the River Thames, they are not yet aware of the journey that they are about to be taken on.
The author has an ability to create unlikable and flawed characters, even though Matthew is our male protagonist I really do not like him. Every woman he meets is pretty much just a sexual object to him, he has even received a sexual harassment complaint from a suspects mother. He’s also not a very good husband either, something happens later on in the book which I obviously won’t say, but he doesn’t respond to it the way you would expect him too, especially with him being a detective! I think his character let’s this book down for me personally.

I do however applaud the author as he definitely gives us unusual cases. We are introduced to a world of London clubs with cabaret and drag shows, where brutal attacks are happening to those who who identify themselves within the LGBTQ+ community. The author portrays very well the way that society, view female impersonators and the gay men.
The case itself includes a whole bunch of interesting characters with many of them having motive for both the attacks fuelled by hate and the murder of Geraldine Driver.

I really wish I could give this book a higher rating, however Matthew Merry’s actions just repeatedly took me out of the story which hindered my enjoyment. Overall though the case is brilliant and really highlights the struggles that are faced by female impersonators and the men who fall in love with them.

So who is John Mead?

John was born in the mid-fifties in East London, on part of the largest council estate ever built, and was the first pupil from his local secondary modern school to attend university. He has now taken early retirement to write, having spent the first part of his life working in education and the public sector. He was the director of a college, a senior school inspector for a local authority, and was head of a unit for young people with physical and mental health needs.
He has travelled extensively, from America to Tibet, and he enjoys visiting the theatre, reading and going to the pub. It is, perhaps, no surprise that he is an avid ‘people watcher’ and loves to find out about people, their lives, culture and history. When he is not travelling, going to the theatre or the pub; he writes.
Many of the occurrences recounted and the characters found in his novels are based on real incidents and people he has come across. Although he has allowed himself a wide degree of poetic licence in writing about the main characters, their motivations and the killings that are depicted.
John is currently working on a series of novels set in modern day London. These police procedurals examine the darker side of modern life in the East End of the city.

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Giveaway to Win 3 x Paperback copies of Geraldine by John Mead (UK Only)
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