Book 9 in the Geraldine Steele series. A series I had fallen so far behind on but i am now making up for it. It's great to be back in Geraldine's world.
As much as I find these books really interesting and gripping I also find them to be quite easy reads, maybe it's because I enjoy them and I love the character that is Geraldine.
Get ready for a rollercoaster of a ride, not just through the cases that are dealt with but Leigh Russell always manages to throw something in there that you just wasn't expecting. Very well written.

I'm sad to say that this book just didn't work for me. Storywise was it just not above average when it comes to crime novels and the characters felt flat. So, I decided to not to finish the book.

Deadly Alibi

By Leigh Russel

4 Stars

Engaging Read

This is the seventh book in a series featuring Detective Geraldine Steel.

The book works well as a stand alone book, although it makes you want to go back and find the others in the series, to invest in the character.

An excellent read.

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I have read the first few books in this series so I am familiar with the character of Geraldine. I enjoyed the previous books and really liked this one too. I thought the plot of the story was brilliant and it was an easy, enjoyable read. Will now have to go back and catch up on the rest of the series.

A solid one-sitting read with a solid plot and good pace. Doesn't knock your socks off but does satisfy that thriller-itch.

This was another Leigh Russell that did not disappoint! I can't wait for the next offering of the day in the life of Geraldine, so please hurry up! Thanks for the opportunity to have read this entertaining book.

Leigh Russell just gets better and better. DI Geraldine Steel finds herself in the middle of another unusual case when she is called to a body found in a wheelie bin in a charity shop. Geraldine is at her birth mothers funeral and has just found out she has a twin sister but she has no time to speak to her as the murder comes first. To all intent and purpose it seems the husband was the murderer but Geraldine is not convinced and when his alibi is then found dead before she can confirm it for him it seems just too cut and dried. She is being pressed to solve the case though and as her personal life seems to be getting in the way she once again compromises herself but how far will she go? I loved this book and even though I am a fan of the Geraldine Steel books it would be easy to read this as a stand alone. I was gripped from start to finish and once again the ending took me a bit by surprise. I loved every minute of it.
Thank you o NetGalley for a copy of the book.

Detective Inspector Geraldine Steele only met her birth mother shortly before her death. It is a surprise to learn she has a twin sister Helena, an addict struggling through life. After meeting for the first time at the funeral Geraldine is initially hesitant about allowing Helena into her life. She does not want to jeopardize her career in the police force. Her strong sense of justice makes her a good officer and also throws her into conflict as she attempts to build a relationship with her sister.
When two bodies are found (one of them squashed into a wheelie bin) police are quick to take a suspect into custody. Geraldine’s investigative instincts tell her they have the wrong person and a simple piece of equipment will lead police to the real killer.
This is the ninth book in the DI Steele series and the first I have read. Geraldine became my favourite character for two main reasons. Firstly she didn’t seem like a fictitious person and I could relate to her and the way she dealt with different events in her life. Secondly I admired how she managed to salvage her career despite making a mistake and paying the price.
In my opinion the author did a great job of providing clues and several suspects without making it easy for the reader to anticipate the ending and the unexpected twist that went with it.
This crime thriller has plenty of punch and will easily hold your interest.
A copy of the digital version was kindly provided by the publisher via Netgalley and this review is solely mine.

Deadly Alibi is a brilliant book full of twists and turns a real roller coaster of a ride .This book had me hooked at the very beginning a really gripping story about two murders .I loved the character of Geraldine Steel .she has just lost her Mum and then she finds she has a twin sister she didn't know she had ,this story is also thrown into the mix .If I could give more than 5 stars I would I look forward to reading the next book .

For those of you that know me I am a massive fan of Leigh Russell. Who has written a variety of books which include DS Ian Peterson,Lucy Hall mystery and of course the Geraldine Steel series. Which I have to say is my favourite out of them all. The series started with Short Cut back in 2012 and now we catch up with Geraldine in book nine who is back with a bang.
The story starts off with a very intriguing prologue that will leave you wanting more. Then the author takes us on a roller coaster ride, with the Cremation of Geraldine's mother she is called to an investigation where a body has been found in a wheelie bin. Having to deal with that she is plunged into a double murder investigation. Then on top of all that she finds out she has a twin sister called Helena who turns up.
I really did feel for Geraldine having lost her mom and still having to carry on life. Having been there myself I can totally relate to this. And The author has written some damn good scenes, where you get a sense the characters feelings throughout her writing. Everyone handles loss differently but Geraldine is a strong character and just gets on with it.
Wowsers what a gripping story I devoured this in one day. The author certainly knows how to keep the reader's attention. Deadly Alibi is full of twists and turns and will keep you guessing until the end.
This can be read has a standalone,with plenty of character information. So you don't need to start from the beginning. But it is a series to good to missed.
There is nothing not to like about this book which I highly recommend giving it 4.5 stars.

This is book 9 in the DI Geraldine Steel series. In this installment, Geraldine is on the hunt for a murderer who left his victim in a trash bin outside a charity shop. The husband is the immediate suspect, but when his mistress disappears, Geraldine is not so sure that the obvious choice is the right answer. In the midst of this, her birth mother has died and Geraldine finds out she has a twin sister who is very needy. Trying to balance all this proves to be a great challenge.

I haven’t read any of the previous books in this series but I did not, while reading, have the sensation of having missed out on the backstory. The parts of the previous stories that you needed to understand this one were definitely there. I liked Geraldine as a detective but wasn’t quite as impressed with her as a person. She makes some choices in this story that felt out of character to me and made the story a little hard for me to believe. I’m sure that fans of this series will enjoy this episode but overall I didn’t find anything in this story that “wow-ed” me.

Deadly Alibi
<http://freshfiction.com/review.php?id=62828>

Deadly Alibi, though the sixth novel in the DI Geraldine Steel series, is the first I've read by Leigh Russell. I found that this didn't hamper my enjoyment, though, and by the end I realised I'd found a brilliant, new (to me) crime series which - even better! - I now have five other novels to catch up on!

The characters are great - Geraldine herself is a strong, confident and very intelligent woman who seems to be a great Detective. Like many in this genre, she has her quirks and can be pretty impulsive at times, landing her in hot water at some points, whilst many others on her team are likeable and capable too. I really liked Sam, who seems loyal and a great partner, and Ian - I want to read previous novels to figure out exactly what has happened between them!

In terms of narrative, the investigation is interesting and moves along at a good pace - I never got bored or impatient. I quite liked that there was a sort of side story to the main investigation, with Geraldine's twin sister Helena being introduced into the story (not a likeable person at all but a great catalyst for some trouble and strife for Geraldine, and definitely an interesting character to read about!). The story definitely kept me hooked and I could have devoured this book in one sitting if it wasn't for work!

I really enjoyed Deadly Alibi and will certainly be reading others in the series. I didn't find that it mattered that I hadn't started from book 1 but those in the know seem to state in their reviews that it's best to start at the beginning, which makes sense, so I think I will do that and work my way through - because, as a newbie to this series, there could be lots of extra hints and info that I won't have even realised I missed in this novel!

Deadly Alibi is a great read, keeping me gripped from page one right until its satisfying conclusion!

This was my first time reading a book from Leigh Russell and consequently the thrilling adventures of Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel. I’ll definitely take a look at the previous novels though because this was one amazing and memorable read.

Geraldine is going through hard times. When she finally had her feet on the ground, her twin sister Helena enters her life and proves that the relationship between siblings can be very complicated. As if that wasn’t enough, the Detective Inspector has to find the responsible for the murder of a young woman found in a trash bin before he strikes again. Will she be able to manage her professional and personal life without losing her career and her life?

Even though I didn’t read the previous novels, I still got a good grip of the story and the characters, so I can say that it can be read as a stand-alone.

The story-line of the novel is very solid and very well developed. The murder story is very well structured and it builds up very nicely. One of the things I love the most in this type of story is how in the end everything comes together, like a puzzle. It’s very satisfactory!

The combination between the personal life of Geraldine and the murder investigation was the “cherry on the cake”: the two realities give depth to her character and it’s impossible not to sympathise with her, her internal conflicts and the way she tries to deal with her problematic sister. The effort she puts into coordinate everything is both tiring and admirable and it serves as a reminder that members of the criminal justice system have their own problems and sometimes difficult choices to make.

I will definitely be reading more of Leigh Russell and I’m very curious to see what comes next in the life of Geraldine Steel.

A book filled with lots of plot twists and hints as to what the killer is thinking, but not who this killer just happens to be. This book had me hooked from the very beginning and did not let me go. The main suspect, Chris, who is the husband of the first murder victim, Jamie, spends most of his time during the book behind bars. He's adamant that he is innocent, however, the police do not believe him. They can find no other suspect and no one else has the connections Chris has to the murders. Freaky and thrilling, the real killer is very sneaky.

There is also another story wherein the main policewoman, Geraldine has just learned of her birth mother's death and that she has a twin sister. This part of the book is crazy, or maybe that's just Geraldine's twin. She has some serious problems. While, Geraldine has never met her birth mother, she had tried to get in contact with her, but she would never commit to seeing her. Then at her birth mother's funeral, she gets a letter from her stating that Geraldine has a twin sister, Helena. Geraldine's mother is asking that she find Helena and please take care of her. That is definitely easier said than done.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book and it was a first for me with this author, but it won't be my last. Geraldine Steel is one character I can't wait to read more about.

Thanks to Oldcastle Books for approving my request and to Net Galley for providing me with a free e-galley in exchange for an honest, unbiased review.

Unfortunately I found this quite wordy, and difficult to get immersed in.

Deadly Alibi by Leigh Russell.

This is the ninth book in the DI Geraldine Steel series but is the first that I have read. While there is obviously previous history as far the characters are concerned, Russell has written just enough so that the new reader soon picks up on the back story and is encouraged to read earlier books in the story.
The beginning of the story seems rushed. In the Prologue we meet the anonymous murder. In Chapter One we meet an anonymous female and her Dad. It is Chapter Two before we meet DI Steel, and Chapter Three when we switch back to the scene set in Chapter One but from dad’s perspective, we now learn that the girl was Beth, her Dad Daniel and her step-mother Veronica. In Chapter Four we meet Tom and his wife Louise and Chapter Five when the body is discovered.
Characters and names continue to pour forth and the reader can soon lose track of who is who. Once we become immersed in the story so our understanding is increased, and it becomes easier to follow the twists and turns of the investigation. There are sufficient clues along the way and one, so obvious, that we see it long before the penny drops with DI Steel. The dénouement is logical and Steel gets to the truth of the matter albeit there is a final twist that will no doubt feature in Book 10.
There is however one quite significant omission in an earlier part of the story, but if you knew that it would be quite a spoiler.
A very readable crime mystery but not, in my opinion, quite 5*. At the present Kindle price this is well worth the money and one you can buy with confidence if you like this genre.
Finally I want to than Netgalley for the opportunity to read this book for an unbiased and honest review.

DI Geraldine Steel is back! She takes on a double homicide ... two women who were abducted, tied up, strangled and then left where they could be found. SO far, nothing too old of the ordinary for Steel. However, it comes to light that one of the women was having an affair with the other one's husband. The two husbands become main suspects. Geraldine just has to unravel all the threads in order to actually point a finger at the guilty party.

Just when Geraldine's hands are all tied up with this case, her twin sister shows up. The sister is someone she has never met, she only met her birth mother a short time ago and she passed away before they could really connect. The sister is a drug addict and all of a sudden she thinks Geraldine is out to take care of her.

Geraldine isn't sure what kind of problems her sister presents... until she has to meet up with a known drug dealer.

Now, not only is Geraldine's life threatened by a killer... her job is on the line because of her sister.

I have read several book in this series and each one seems to get better than the last. However, I always recommend starting with Book 1 in a series. I have been privileged to watch Geraldine grow into the woman she is now. She has loved and lost and put away some of the most unique killers of all time.

The book is well written and works well as a stand alone. The characters are always solidly defined. If you like crime fiction, you need to give this series look. It's one of the better ones I've come across.

Many thanks to the author / Trafalgar Square Publishing / Oldcastle Books / Netgalley for the digital copy of DEADLY ALIBI. Opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

I have read all of Leigh Russell's Geraldine Steel series and enjoyed them. The characters have developed from one book to the next, and there are lots of other things going on as well as the main plot. The story keeps you involved and progresses at a good pace, Geraldine's family story is emerging as the series progresses and lots of additional information comes out in this book. I did guess who -done -it but was kept involved as the twists of the plot continued. There are a lot of police procedurals around just now and this one stands up well to the competition. There are some very original ideas on it and they are well developed.
The door is left open at the end of this book for a new location as the possibility of Geraldine moving to York to rejoin Ian, her former colleague is quite firmly suggested. Looking forward to the next chapter in the adventure of Geraldine's career.