This was informative and boring at the same time, but will appeal to security enthusiasts.

Thanks to the publisher for the ARC.

I found this book to be shocking, I wasnt a fan of the way things were done.
That said, I have admiration of the force and what they have to deal with every day.
I think the fact that it's a true account makes it difficult to read and get your head around what actually happens.

I cannot begin to say how much I loathe this book, with the author being everything wrong with the police service.

There are casual and continued uses of derogatory, homophobic language. A colleague using homophobia as a way of getting out of an assault when investigated, although admitting that it is all lies. Similarly casual use of sexist language - boys, man, lads (when referring to generic job roles) and outdated reference to ambulancemen and firemen. Casual sexist referrals reveal what a boar the author truly is ("before I opened the club to women". General and causal offensive language also demonstrates quite clearly what a prat he is ("as if he was in a permanent parade ground for the terminally deaf"). Ditto racism.

Shocking and casual attitude to drink-driving, even on duty. The author clearly shows that he, and police officers, are above the law and on the take. How they charge an innocent person, slightly inebriated, to prevent their own loss of face for a juvenile act, and be totally beyond caring of the consequences for that person. Similarly, shoving someone into a crowd, arresting a 'random' person, then falsifying criminal damage for court - to get overtime pay - shows the level of corrupt this person reached in their career for the sake of money.

If the author is an example of police officers of the time, no wonder there was a problem with the inbred culture issues. It wasn't acceptable and it adds absolutely nothing to the book, other than forcing down the bile of reading this total car-crash of a book. Unless this book is meant for the aged old-sweat retired copper, reminiscing about the "good old days", it is difficult to grasp who is meant to be the intended audience: it is in poor taste and offensive.

The author had a relationship with a victim of domestic violence, that he met in the course of his duties,, clearly abusing his position of authority as a constable, not to mention misconduct for wasting police resources and having sex whilst on duty. Shocking use of women to be used and cast aside like property.

The author admits further criminal offences by fraud through falsely claiming excess mileage, adding up to an extra £200 per month, actually going to a mechanic to have his milometer changed so that he didn't get caught.

And, finally, it isn't as though the book is well written. There are pithy and pointless comparisons found, probably just for the amusement of the author or to pad out the book. "He had also been in more tricky situations out in the field than my youngest daughter trying to take her first steps". I mean, seriously, what is the relevance of that in describing a two-bit character.

The author is an offensive, dishonest throw-back. The police service can only move on, when the likes of such outdated dinosaurs go. Hopefully this book will provide enough evidence for the author to be charges with the offences he has committed whilst in public office, and be punished for his crimes. The reason why these types of books are rare, is because only a narcissistic idiot would publish evidence of his own crimes, and then preen about it.

I HATE EVERYTHING ABOUT THIS BOOK AND IT SHOULD NOT BE PUBLISHED.

Very interesting though not my cup of tea. I'm not going to rate spoons because well, I feel like .. since this isn't something I usually read it's not fair to rate. Downloaded from Netgalley in exchange for free review full of my opinions. [rated here cos you have to]

Duncan MacLaughlin gives us an insight into the workings of the met and Scotland yard-a volatile, thought-provoking insight into the men & women who try to keep our country safe in the line of duty. Recommended for those with an interest into the workings of the police.

Duncan MacLaughlin, 40 years old and a police officer all his life, is one of the elite. SAS-trained for special missions, his expertise was in surveillance and undercover work that could have got him killed at any moment. The dangerous tightrope he walked included cases involving master criminal Kenneth Noye, kidnap victim Julie Dart and the slaying of PC Keith Blakelock. He also penetrated drug cartels and nailed the ruthless barons who control them. Filled with black humour, exotic slang and facinating investigative detail that only an ex-copper could reveal, Duncan's story provides an rinsight into the world of major crime.

My Thoughts :
4.5
Humorous at times as well as serious ,especially when he talks about the case that he worked on and about the people he worked with. With that said I would like to thank Netgalley for letting me read and review it in change for my honest opinion.

Gripping, thrilling and un-put-downable. Its quite amazing that this book has been allowed to be published. A real eye opener
We need more true stories like this.

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the review copy.

If you ever wanted to know the secret ps and the if, why and how Scotland Yard then this is the book for you. I was sucked in by the variety of knowledge that you read about and also what the author has seen and been through in the line of duty with the Met.
Thank you to both NetGalley and Thistle Publishing for giving me the opportunity to read ’The Filth’ in exchange for my honest unbiased revi .

It's always rather interesting to read about the real life of others but reading about the life of an undercover cop is definitely far more interesting than I thought it would be. It's definitely an entering book and was written well.

This is the first fact based book i have read in a long time and it really is an excellent read which i finished in 2 days.Based on the police life of Duncan MacLaughlin it starts with a look into his early family life and how he grew up which is at times quite funny.The second part of the book is based around his time in the police force from his beginnings to his rise up the ranks until his eventual departure.The book is very well written and gives you a fascinating insight to how the police work and also into some high profile cases that he worked on,it is at some times quite a funny book but also quite sad in other areas (Broadwater Farm riots) for one,all in all a great read that i really enjoyed.

A true eyeopener into the daily workings of men and women who risk their lives and limbs, and sometimes their minds to protect and serve, in the line of duty. As the name rightfully says the filth finally revealed in a brash and surreal way. This memoir had the facade of a crime thriller making it an interesting and entertaining read. I like the presentation of this book, I truly felt like I was reading a crime thriller. It grips your attention mesmerizing you with its finely tuned facts.

The Filth is a re-issued book from 2002 about the life and career of undercover cop Duncan MacLaughlin. Just as a few years ago it seemed that membership of the SAS came complete with a book deal on leaving there is currently a glut of books about undercover policing. of varying quality. The Filth is one of the better ones,it doesn't gloss over the rule-breaking and often law-breaking of a minority the boys in blue and their are tales of planted drugs, disappearing evidence and many other incidents of misdemeanours or outright criminal behaviour
The cover and the title would suggest a gung ho account of Maclaughlin's undercover role but it's basically his life story and a good insight into the reality of policing in the Met from the humble plod to the special forces training of the elite squads. "Mac" was brought up by an inspirational man and his early life was far from conventional and while others have criticised it taking up so much of the book I enjoyed it as much as the "police stuff".
A good story well told and plenty of snippets that were food for much speculation but the laws of libel obviously meant couldn't be mentioned specifically,who was the coked up TV weather-girl?.,the "household name" footballing drug dealers? ,and could Formula 1 really be being used a front for criminal behaviour by certain parties?
A great read and bearing in mind the original edition was published in 2002 it left me wondering if MacLaughlin was the inspiration for Stephen Leather's "Spider shepherd" ,who first appeared in print 2 years later and inhabits a very similar world to that of Maclaughlin's undercover days.

Big thanks to Netgalley and the publishers for the ARC copy in return for an unbiased review. All opinions expressed are mine,others are available.

I have had an interest in true crime and forensics for many years and even considered working in a crime lab when I was younger. That never came to fruition but my son is now a police officer and I love hearing all about the arrests he makes and the cases he's working on. After working at the department for a year he became officer of the month in June of this year. With my fascination with crimes it was only a natural I would read this book. Absolutely fascinating read.
In his more than two decades career, Duncan MacLaughlin worked his way up to the Central Drug Squad and the Regional Crime Squad - Britain's equivalent of the FBI. This man wasn't afraid to tell the inside story of what really went on in the departments and name names ? You better believe he did. I'm surprised he hasn't been knocked off with the information he has revealed . I know what my son went through in the academy and am familiar with the going on's of his work now so I am nodding my head yes as the author is describing what he went through. Fascinating book!
Pub Date 23 Aug 2018
I was given a complimentary copy of this book from Thistle Publishing through NetGalley. Thank you. All opinions expressed are my own

There's no explosive secrets here just a decent and informative tale of what some policemen do to catch the bad guys. Various cases are discussed in an easy to read tongue-in-cheek way.
Two things annoyed me. Firstly, the long section at the start which gave a biography of the author's father - who is probably worth his own book. Secondly the constant use of jargon followed by the usual non-policeman word.

This was a very enjoyable and informative read about a boy who grows up wanting to be a Metropolitan cop with an eye towards becoming an elite detective with Scotland Yard. It follows along his journey, first showing how his father was a shining example for him, being a medic and green beret in the royal marines who helped guide his path. He applied and was accepted at age 16 for training to be a Met cop. His only disappointment was that he had to spend an extra year doing schoolwork to take that path. He wasn’t all that fond of schoolwork and really wanted to get on with real life stuff, but if that’s what he had to do, he guessed he’d have to put up with it. He did well and became the youngest new copper. He was assigned an experienced partner to show him the ropes for 2 weeks, then he was on his own walking a beat. Plenty of drinking involved after work, it seems. He had the usual car accidents, treed cats, and other calls to attend, and more than does his part. Next he moves on to undercover work and this ends Part One.

Part Two is his big move up when he passes his exam and into the big time, CID also known as The Filth. This is when he becomes a detective and works on more serious cases such as murders, drugs, kidnappings. He also goes for more specialized types of training, working his way up the ladder at Scotland Yard. Overall, it’s an entertaining read about his time in their service, and I think most would find it enjoyable for this kind of book. I don’t think he gives away any earth-shattering insider info, as he wouldn’t be allowed to for security reasons, but it doesn’t take away from the readability of it :-) My thanks for the advance electronic copy provided by Netgalley, authors Duncan MacLaughlin & William Hall, and the publisher for a fair review.

Thistle Publishing
Pub: Aug 23rd, 2018

The title of the book (The Filth) is the term used to describe the CID (Scotland Yard) and the detectives who have reached this high point in their careers are mighty proud of this nickname. I’m As they should be because it’s not until about halfway through the book until Duncan gets there.

I think this was a good book. I felt like I was sitting in a pub chatting with Duncan over a few pints (actually it would have to be a lot because it’s a fairly long book). It begins with him as a young lad with touching stories of his mum and dad. Then onto his own story and his rise in the police force, and finally the elite squad. There are funny stories and sad stories but nothing really shocking and I think that’s more to do with the fact that we’ve become more desensitized to violence of any kind. All in all a good inside look at London’s police force.

A great read from childhood hero for Dad to becoming one as an adult. Tour de force story through the streets of London.. Highly recommended

Thanks to Netgalley for my copy.

This was not what I expected. I thought I would be reading an expose of being an undercover cop. What I got was the story of his childhood and his father's military service followed by his training and probationary period. Then eventually we get to some anecdotes from his undercover work. Not the exciting explosive story the blurb leads you to.

I gave up on this book. It was terrible.

Thank goodness I received a free ARC copy from NetGalley.

It was nothing like the book description for a start. It initially read as a biography of his father.

"Explosive Inside Story of Scotland Yard's Top Undercover Cop" it isn't.

Boring early chapters about his early police career. He reckons he patrolled the streets as an 18-year old cadet. I know the Met is a law unto itself but I doubt even they would permit such a callow youth on the streets of London even if he was accompanied by a senior Police Constable.

We are then told he was "appointed" (sworn in as a Constable) still at 18 years. Sorry, but that's not possible as 19 years is the minimum age for being sworn in.

That lead me to doubt some of the "tales" in this book and I soon got too bored to read any further.

I am amazed that the author has not been offed by a government hitman for the level of secrets he’s revealed in THE FILTH. Mesmerizing and unputdownable!

Thanks to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the advance copy, in exchange for my true review.

#TheFilth #NetGalley