Final Term

By Leigh Russell

What it’s about:

THE 19TH INSTALMENT IN THE DI GERALDINE STEEL SERIES

When a pupil accuses a teacher of molesting her, his career and marriage are threatened…

The girl’s corpse is discovered in the woods, and the teacher becomes a suspect in a murder enquiry.

The victim’s best friend is then murdered so she cannot reveal the killer’s identity.

The investigating team are satisfied the teacher is guilty, apart from Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel, who believes the wrong man has been arrested.All of her colleagues disagree… but if she is right, the real killer remains at large.

What I think:

School student Cassie Jackson makes an allegation about a male member of staff. While he is suspended pending investigation, her body is found in some local woods.

Teacher, Paul Moore, is the obvious suspect. But he adamantly maintains his innocence and denies having anything to do with Cassie.

When Cassies best friend is also found dead, and Moore’s alibi is flimsy, it seems as though this case has been easily solved. But DI Geraldine Steel isn’t completely convinced.

With lots of uncooperative witnesses, it’s possible that mistakes have been made. As Geraldine relies on her instincts, she soon finds herself in danger with a killer still in the loose.

This is a fast-paced thriller with lots of potential suspects to keep the reader guessing.

Some of the chapters are written from the killer’s point of view, giving the reader an insight into the workings of their mind but still withholding the key information.

This is the 19th book in a long-running and popular series, but it definitely works as a standalone. Steel’s working relationships are well established, so the characters work well together.

I’ll definitely pick up more of the past books in the future. Overall, this was a quick, easy read with enough to keep me guessing.

About the author:

Leigh Russell is the author of the Geraldine Steel series, which has sold over a million copies worldwide. Her books have been shortlisted for the CWA Dagger Awards, reached #1 on Amazon Kindle and iTunes and selected as finalists for The People’s Book Prize.

Leigh is chair of the CWA’s Debut Dagger 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.

Thank you to No Exit Press for my gifted copy of Final Term and Anne Cater from Random Things Tours for inviting me to be a part of this blog tour.