Stop Dead (DI Geraldine Steel)

CRITICAL ACCLAIM for Cut Short
     
    ‘Cut Short is a stylish, top-of-the-line crime tale, a seamless blending of psychological sophistication and gritty police procedure. And you're just plain going to love DI Geraldine Steel’
– Jeffery Deaver

     
    ‘Russell paints a careful and intriguing portrait of a small British community while developing a compassionate and complex heroine who’s sure to win fans’
– Publishers Weekly

     
    ‘an excellent debut’
- Mark Campbell , Crime Time

     
    ‘It’s an easy read with the strength of the story at its core…….If you want to be swept along with the story above all else, Cut Short is certainly a novel for you’
– crimeficreader , itsacrime.typepad.com

     
    ‘Simply awesome! This debut novel by Leigh Russell will take your breath away’
– Amanda C M Gillies , eurocrime.co.uk

     
    ‘an excellent book…Truly a great start for new mystery author Leigh Russell‘
– Michael Lipkin , New York Journal of Books

     
    Cut Short is a book I had to read in one sitting… excellent new series’
– Beth , Murder by Type

     
    ‘a surefire hit - a taut, slick, easy to read thriller ’
– Melanie Dakin , Watford Observer

     
    ‘a pretty fine police procedural, with a convincing if disconcerting feel of contemporary Britain’
- PPO Kane , The Compulsive Reader

     
    ‘Cut Short featured in one of Eurocrime’s reviewers’ Top Reads for 2009’
– Amanda Gillies , Eurocrime

     
    ‘ Cut Short is not a comfortable read, but it is a compelling and important one. Highly recommended’
– Radmila May , Mystery Women

     
    ‘well written debut psychological thriller’
– stopyourekillingme.com

     
    ‘gritty and totally addictive debut novel’
- Sam Millar , New York Journal of Books

     
    ‘If you’re a real fan of police procedurals, you’ll probably enjoy this read’
– Claudette C. Smith , Sacramento Book Review

     
    ‘’I found Cut Short to be a fantastic read, taking me only days to finish. I thought it to be well-written and well-paced, with a fresh batch of intriguing characters to go along with a fresh tight plot’
– James Garcia Jr ., Dance on Fire

     
    ‘Leigh Russell may look like your everyday school teacher, but unlike most other English tutors she is also a bestselling crime writer’
– Tori Giglio , Bushey News

     
    ‘an excellent story, skilfully built and well told’
– Sue Magee , www.thebookbag.co.uk

     
    ‘intelligently written, gripping crime fiction’
– Helen M. Hunt , Bookersatz Blogspot

     
    ‘I look forward to the second book in the series’
– Nayu’s Reading Corner

     
    ‘a very excellent book!’
– The Book Buff Blog

     
    ‘a wonderful series’
– Clarissa Draper , clarissadraper.blogspot.com

     
    ‘difficult to put down’
– Calum , The Secret Writer

Also by Leigh Russell
     

     
    Cut Short
    Road Closed
    Dead End
    Death Bed

 

Dedicated to,
Michael, Jo and Phill

Acknowledgements
     
    I would like to thank Dr Leonard Russell for his expert medical help, my brilliant editor Keshini, my advisors on the Metropolitan Police for their time and consideration, and all the wonderful team at No Exit Press.

Glossary of acronyms
     
     
DCI
 – 
    Detective Chief Inspector (senior officer on case)
DI
 – 
    Detective Inspector
DS
 – 
    Detective Sergeant
SOCO
 – 
    Scene of Crime Officer (collects forensic evidence at scene)
PM
 – 
    Post-Mortem or Autopsy (examination of dead
    body to establish cause of death)
CCTV
 – 
    Closed Circuit Television (security cameras)

Prologue
     
    S he dashed across the cold kitchen floor. The sound of his feet pounded in her ears as he raced down the stairs. It wouldn’t be long before he caught up with her. Her thoughts spun wildly. She had to get away. Hide somewhere. Anywhere. As the back door swung shut behind her, the evening air felt cool on her tears. She stared around in terror at the darkness, searching for somewhere to hide. The garden was overgrown with scratchy brambles. Frantically she ran across the weedy lawn, the dry grass prickly beneath her bare feet, forcing her muscles to keep going, faster and faster. Any second now he would emerge through the door behind her.

     
    She darted into the shed. Bent almost double, she struggled to catch her breath. Her chest was burning. Her lungs felt as though they would burst. She was drowning. As her breathing slowed, she became