Review: By Their Rules by Roger A Price (4/5)

A new, ruthless and implacable mastermind from Africa has surfaced in gangland, carrying out his darkest deeds in the murky grey shadows of London's back streets. But, following the multiple slaughter of a large number of policemen by this monster, and his intention to commit further atrocious crimes, the challenge has to be met. The result is that this reign of terror is likely to have catastrophic consequences so emergency action is imperative.

Together, Lee and Burrows form a talented, resourceful, athletic team of experienced investigators who become dedicated to the eradication of this evil, yet powerful killer. But Cabilla's awesome control of his murderous gang who torture victims to death, and his totally ruthless plans still appear to be gaining ground throughout the City...

First of all I must apologise to Roger for the time it has taken me to review this book! I received it not long after starting the blog but my TBR got out of control and I'm still trying to get it under control. That said this book has given me a couple of sleepless nights recently in my haste to get it finished so perhaps the apology should come from Roger(!)

I was drawn to this book because of Roger's police experience. I'm definitely a book snob in that I very rarely read books from unknown authors that aren't from major publishers. Crime fiction is hugely overcrowded and I've found that books written from ex-police tend to actually be pretty good. Drawing on their own experiences the author can add authenticity and perhaps a few insider secrets that other authors can't. So I didn't hesitate to request to read and review this book. The only thing I didn't like was the cover, yes it's the story that is the most important thing but you have to be drawn to pick up a book in the first place to read its story.

Incredibly realistic characters alongside a gripping storyline at times this was like an episode of The Bill, only better and a lot more ambitious. The story focuses on some of the most heinous of crimes: the murder of police officers, sex trafficking, drug smuggling making for an excellent read. John Burrows and Jane Lee are given the job of taking down Cabilo, a crime lord with fingers in many pies and certainly one of the more evil of characters I've read about recently. With plenty of action along the way its a hard one to put down and perhaps those like me that are usually unwilling to take a chance on an unknown author should do so with this one, as Roger is an author who has written a story that could compete with some of the biggest crime authors.