What do you think?
Rate this book
DI Geraldine Steel #5
Stop Dead
BOOK 5 in DI Geraldine Steel Series Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel returns in an exhilarating case of grisly murder in London. When a successful businessman is brutally murdered, the police suspect his glamorous wife and her young lover. Then the victimOCOs business partner suffers the same gruesome fate and when yet another body is discovered, seemingly unrelated to the first two, the police are baffled. The only clue is DNA that leads them to two one dead, the other in prison. With a steady stream of bodies arriving at the morgue, can D.I. Geraldine Steel find the killer before the killer stages another deadly attack?"
448 pages, ebook
First published December 1, 2012
103 people are currently reading
354 people want to read
About the author
Leigh Russell
70 books335 followersLeigh Russell has sold over a million books in her Geraldine Steel series of crime novels. Published in English and in translation throughout Europe and in China, the Geraldine Steel titles have appeared on many bestseller lists, including #1 on kindle. Leigh's work has been nominated for several major awards, including the CWA New Blood Dagger and CWA Dagger in the Library.
Leigh has also written a trilogy featuring Lucy Hall, set in the Seychelles, Paris and Rome, and two standalone psychological thrillers.
Leigh serves on the board of the Crime Writers Association and chairs the judges for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award.
She is represented by Bill Goodall.
Leigh has also written a trilogy featuring Lucy Hall, set in the Seychelles, Paris and Rome, and two standalone psychological thrillers.
Leigh serves on the board of the Crime Writers Association and chairs the judges for the prestigious CWA Debut Dagger Award.
She is represented by Bill Goodall.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews
July 29, 2016
There's a killer on the lose among men in London. From the rich to the poor, they get what is coming to them as gruesomely as possible. The murderer gets away by even dodging a DNA sample! Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel has just been transferred from Kent to North London's Homicide and Serious Crime Command six weeks prior and need to stop this killer as quickly as possible. For her there is also new friends to be made, personal history to be sorted out and past events to be resolved, but the busy criminals do not leave much time for that, especially when two murderers use the same modus operandi!
Stop Dead forms part of the Geraldine Steel series of psychological crime thrillers. The characters are realistic. However, the story line is predictable, technically correct, the prose flat, too repetitive, superficial, without substance, and the chic lit element too obvious. I haven't read the other books in the serious, which might influence my impression of this one as a stand alone. It did not work as such. Nevertheless, it was okay and still worth reading as a whodunit, but it needs some work though if it wants to compete with the masters in this genre.
This is an uncorrected e-proof in the Witness Impulse stall by HarperCollins Publishers. It was made available by http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com/ for review.
Stop Dead forms part of the Geraldine Steel series of psychological crime thrillers. The characters are realistic. However, the story line is predictable, technically correct, the prose flat, too repetitive, superficial, without substance, and the chic lit element too obvious. I haven't read the other books in the serious, which might influence my impression of this one as a stand alone. It did not work as such. Nevertheless, it was okay and still worth reading as a whodunit, but it needs some work though if it wants to compete with the masters in this genre.
This is an uncorrected e-proof in the Witness Impulse stall by HarperCollins Publishers. It was made available by http://edelweiss.abovethetreeline.com/ for review.
July 5, 2016
Another of those cop v serial killer books whose title seems to bear little relation to what’s inside. Why is it called ‘Stop Dead’? What does that mean in the context of this story? Are the publishers just pulling these names out of hat?
We’re in London this time for what’s actually a fairly smart police procedural with some work-place soap opera wound in. The mystery is suitably gruesome, there are all kinds of herrings of a scarlet hue and the whole thing does end up making sense – which is more than can be said of some of its ilk. Even the soap opera parts – normally the most irritating parts if you’re just a casual reader dipping in – actually did make me care somewhat.
A restaurateur, with a younger trophy wife (who herself has a lover) is murdered. This seems to be a crime of passion, but then his business partner is murdered. However, as the police start zoning in on their business and their relationship, a third completely unrelated victim shows up. Cases don’t come much more complicated for super-efficient detective inspector, Geraldine Steel.
Okay, I may have spotted instantly who the killer was, but these books are like a game and some you lose and some you win.
We’re in London this time for what’s actually a fairly smart police procedural with some work-place soap opera wound in. The mystery is suitably gruesome, there are all kinds of herrings of a scarlet hue and the whole thing does end up making sense – which is more than can be said of some of its ilk. Even the soap opera parts – normally the most irritating parts if you’re just a casual reader dipping in – actually did make me care somewhat.
A restaurateur, with a younger trophy wife (who herself has a lover) is murdered. This seems to be a crime of passion, but then his business partner is murdered. However, as the police start zoning in on their business and their relationship, a third completely unrelated victim shows up. Cases don’t come much more complicated for super-efficient detective inspector, Geraldine Steel.
Okay, I may have spotted instantly who the killer was, but these books are like a game and some you lose and some you win.
October 12, 2018
The book opens with a prologue recounting a woman being assaulted and hitting out at the man with a hammer.
Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel is still new in the Met and has barely unpacked her belongings before her second murder case begins to unfold with the discovery of the body of Patrick Henshaw in his car abandoned before some garages in a side road. He had been battered with a hammer and had his genitals smashed. This is closely followed by further murders all killed in a similar fashion. Meanwhile a DNA sample appears to come from Linda Harrison, who has been in a secure prison for the last twenty years.
Geraldine and her Sergeant Sam, are becoming increasingly aware that the leads are running out when a break through is made bringing the case to a dramatic conclusion. All this and there are threads with her adoption and the man she knew as father inviting her to a birthday party in Ireland. Will she go or not and what is the relationship with her previous Sergeant Ian Peterson?
Characters are realistic and the everyday life of the station is quite believable to make this a good read and the writing style is more fluid than previous novels in this series.
Worth 4 stars for me.
Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel is still new in the Met and has barely unpacked her belongings before her second murder case begins to unfold with the discovery of the body of Patrick Henshaw in his car abandoned before some garages in a side road. He had been battered with a hammer and had his genitals smashed. This is closely followed by further murders all killed in a similar fashion. Meanwhile a DNA sample appears to come from Linda Harrison, who has been in a secure prison for the last twenty years.
Geraldine and her Sergeant Sam, are becoming increasingly aware that the leads are running out when a break through is made bringing the case to a dramatic conclusion. All this and there are threads with her adoption and the man she knew as father inviting her to a birthday party in Ireland. Will she go or not and what is the relationship with her previous Sergeant Ian Peterson?
Characters are realistic and the everyday life of the station is quite believable to make this a good read and the writing style is more fluid than previous novels in this series.
Worth 4 stars for me.
January 30, 2019
Another great thriller. The only qualm I have with these books, and this may be my fault for reading them all in such quick succession, but they all seem to follow the exact same formula... That’s not to say it’s not a good formula and still very enjoyable, but changing it up a bit wouldn’t hurt either.
November 30, 2019
"A mixed bag"
I'm beginning to see a pattern with several thriller series that I'm catching up with. I didn't come to this one when it first appeared and was keen to see what I'd missed. Others I've read featuring Geraldine Steel have been well-written and an easy read, even if some characters don't grab me and demand to be life-long chums. This third title felt over long with extraneous detail and some of the forensics didn't convince.
The common thread I'm finding by digging back through earlier series by successful authors is that they can be inconsistent. Every title isn't a blockbuster that is gripping and a must read. Yet the publicity machine behind them attaches the same headline names to the blurb for each book. This encourages the reader to believe that every book has the same merit as the one they may have sampled.
I've no doubt that as with other series that I've read, the next more modern Geraldine Steel offering will be back to the sparkling level of the first book.
I'm beginning to see a pattern with several thriller series that I'm catching up with. I didn't come to this one when it first appeared and was keen to see what I'd missed. Others I've read featuring Geraldine Steel have been well-written and an easy read, even if some characters don't grab me and demand to be life-long chums. This third title felt over long with extraneous detail and some of the forensics didn't convince.
The common thread I'm finding by digging back through earlier series by successful authors is that they can be inconsistent. Every title isn't a blockbuster that is gripping and a must read. Yet the publicity machine behind them attaches the same headline names to the blurb for each book. This encourages the reader to believe that every book has the same merit as the one they may have sampled.
I've no doubt that as with other series that I've read, the next more modern Geraldine Steel offering will be back to the sparkling level of the first book.
February 19, 2021
Thrilling
April 25, 2013
Stop Dead is the first Leigh Russell book I have read and overall I found it not great, but acceptable. I was wary coming in at book 5 in a series, but it works as a stand-alone read as well. There were, of course, the obligatory hints as to past cases and characters and relationships but not enough to annoy me.
I will put my hands up and say this is not my usual type of crime fiction read. I am more a sick and twisted crime reader: early James Patterson, Val McDermid; Karin Slaughter and any and all Scandi-Crime I can come across. The more twisted the better, the more forensics and investigative detail the better. This is not that kind of book.
The opening pages had me gripped, I can’t deny it, and I found the pace quite speedy. I was curious and intrigued for the first two thirds – the plot was developing and the police work was interesting (sadly only minimal description). But there was no real depth to the story, character development was excruciatingly slow, only a couple of scenes gave an insight into the killer’s mind and frankly I found some of the characters either extremely annoying or totally pointless. And I wasn’t interested in Geraldine’s family woes – she is not a great main character – she has little charisma and, in truth, is not damaged enough to be a great detective.
Overall the style of writing was simplistic; the non-investigative scenes jarred and were 2-dimensional. The plot sped along and then slowly petered out and then it just stopped. Killer was caught, a formulaic and trite explanation was given as to why they were a bit screwed up and only tenuous reasoning was set out as to why the victims were victims.
This didn’t stop me reading to the end - I wanted confirmation that I was right about the murderer. And I was.
I will put my hands up and say this is not my usual type of crime fiction read. I am more a sick and twisted crime reader: early James Patterson, Val McDermid; Karin Slaughter and any and all Scandi-Crime I can come across. The more twisted the better, the more forensics and investigative detail the better. This is not that kind of book.
The opening pages had me gripped, I can’t deny it, and I found the pace quite speedy. I was curious and intrigued for the first two thirds – the plot was developing and the police work was interesting (sadly only minimal description). But there was no real depth to the story, character development was excruciatingly slow, only a couple of scenes gave an insight into the killer’s mind and frankly I found some of the characters either extremely annoying or totally pointless. And I wasn’t interested in Geraldine’s family woes – she is not a great main character – she has little charisma and, in truth, is not damaged enough to be a great detective.
Overall the style of writing was simplistic; the non-investigative scenes jarred and were 2-dimensional. The plot sped along and then slowly petered out and then it just stopped. Killer was caught, a formulaic and trite explanation was given as to why they were a bit screwed up and only tenuous reasoning was set out as to why the victims were victims.
This didn’t stop me reading to the end - I wanted confirmation that I was right about the murderer. And I was.
April 19, 2013
Stop Dead – Leigh Russell
I was unfamiliar with this writer so when my Real Readers copy of this book burst through my letterbox I was excited. There’s nothing I like better than a good crime novel. But this is not a good crime novel. Maybe that’s a little too harsh. The plot is pretty tight and well constructed for the most part but I did realise who the killer was. Take away the crime plot and what you have left is …… more or less……chick lit.
For me a good crime novel uses words with economy and meaning. All the language is important and relevant to the crime but here there is too much unnecessary leit motive description. All too often we hear about Guy’s bulk and his muscles, but why? It played no part in the plot. At first I thought it was to suggest he was capable of the crime but it quickly became clear that wasn’t so. There are domestic exchanges about things like filling the dishwasher that do nothing to further the plot or develop the characters.
Geraldine Steel is not an unlikeable character but whether she can stay the test of time and take her place along side Miss Gladden, Miss Marple, V I Warshawski, Sharon McCone, Carol Jordan etc only time will tell. My guess is not, there just isn’t enough substance.
But how about if I’ve missed the ultimate intention of the writer? Maybe she intended to fuse crime and chick lit? Open the front doors of a new genre to a whole new audience through a side window?
If that’s the case then this book succeeds admirably.
I was unfamiliar with this writer so when my Real Readers copy of this book burst through my letterbox I was excited. There’s nothing I like better than a good crime novel. But this is not a good crime novel. Maybe that’s a little too harsh. The plot is pretty tight and well constructed for the most part but I did realise who the killer was. Take away the crime plot and what you have left is …… more or less……chick lit.
For me a good crime novel uses words with economy and meaning. All the language is important and relevant to the crime but here there is too much unnecessary leit motive description. All too often we hear about Guy’s bulk and his muscles, but why? It played no part in the plot. At first I thought it was to suggest he was capable of the crime but it quickly became clear that wasn’t so. There are domestic exchanges about things like filling the dishwasher that do nothing to further the plot or develop the characters.
Geraldine Steel is not an unlikeable character but whether she can stay the test of time and take her place along side Miss Gladden, Miss Marple, V I Warshawski, Sharon McCone, Carol Jordan etc only time will tell. My guess is not, there just isn’t enough substance.
But how about if I’ve missed the ultimate intention of the writer? Maybe she intended to fuse crime and chick lit? Open the front doors of a new genre to a whole new audience through a side window?
If that’s the case then this book succeeds admirably.
July 4, 2018
Amy is married to a voilent husband. But Amy is seeing another man much younger than her. They both know if her husband finds out that Amy is seeing Guy, he will kill Guy. One night Amy has a visit by police to say her husband Patrick has been murdered. I have a full review on this book and more on ireadnovels wordpress com. I hope all readers enjoy what book you are today.
August 22, 2025
3.5 Stars
Stop Dead is the fifth book in the DI Geraldine Steel series by Leigh Russell. This series is a gripping collection of crime fiction novels that masterfully blends crime & investigation, detective/police procedure, suspense, and thought-provoking themes. With dynamic storytelling and intriguing characters, I was hooked from the get-go.
We follow Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel, who is a fiercely intelligent and deeply empathetic investigator. She is a cleverly crafted and fully realised individual with her own unique quirks and flaws. Ms. Russell beautifully balances Geraldine’s professional brilliance with some vulnerability and personal struggles, making her entirely ‘real’ and ‘relatable’. As the series progresses, we are further drawn into her world, where she pursues justice with unwavering determination, even as she grapples with her own burdens.
Each book in the series could be read as a standalone if you wanted, as each instalment presents a new, chilling case, often delving into the darker corners of human nature. But, having said that, I highly recommend reading the entire series from the beginning, as each instalment helps build a bigger picture of Geraldine Steel’s character, development, backstories, etc. And knowing all of that will definitely enhance your overall reading experience.
f you love stories with the perfect blend of psychological depth, thrilling mysteries, and emotional resonance, then this is definitely a series you will want to dive into.
Happy Reading…
Stop Dead is the fifth book in the DI Geraldine Steel series by Leigh Russell. This series is a gripping collection of crime fiction novels that masterfully blends crime & investigation, detective/police procedure, suspense, and thought-provoking themes. With dynamic storytelling and intriguing characters, I was hooked from the get-go.
We follow Detective Inspector Geraldine Steel, who is a fiercely intelligent and deeply empathetic investigator. She is a cleverly crafted and fully realised individual with her own unique quirks and flaws. Ms. Russell beautifully balances Geraldine’s professional brilliance with some vulnerability and personal struggles, making her entirely ‘real’ and ‘relatable’. As the series progresses, we are further drawn into her world, where she pursues justice with unwavering determination, even as she grapples with her own burdens.
Each book in the series could be read as a standalone if you wanted, as each instalment presents a new, chilling case, often delving into the darker corners of human nature. But, having said that, I highly recommend reading the entire series from the beginning, as each instalment helps build a bigger picture of Geraldine Steel’s character, development, backstories, etc. And knowing all of that will definitely enhance your overall reading experience.
f you love stories with the perfect blend of psychological depth, thrilling mysteries, and emotional resonance, then this is definitely a series you will want to dive into.
Happy Reading…
July 11, 2018
I wanted so much more from the book. The plot was all over the place, just too many twists and turns with no logic. The police officers were badly drawn especially Sam who behaved like a spoiled child rather than a intelligent police officer. Some of the forensic didn’t seem logical as I’m sure they would be able to tell the difference between hair from a living person and hair from a wig made of natural hair but long dead hair as the hair would have started to break down. There was lots of repetition i.e. description of the likenesses between the killing, characters repeating themselves etc. Lots of cliches.
I’m sorry to say I was expecting so much more 😢
I’m sorry to say I was expecting so much more 😢
June 2, 2024
Book five in the Geraldine Steele series and my favourite so far! It begins with the murder of a local businessman and instantly the focus turns to his wife and her younger lover, however when they both blame each other and another body turns up with the same level of violence inflicted, Steele and her team have to look further afield.
A quick warning that the descriptions are fairly graphic in this (especially for men!!) but it's a fast paced, interesting storyline which keeps the reader guessing all along. There are no complicated sub-plots and no excessive use of too many characters, leading to a neat, compact police procedure book which I would recommend.
A quick warning that the descriptions are fairly graphic in this (especially for men!!) but it's a fast paced, interesting storyline which keeps the reader guessing all along. There are no complicated sub-plots and no excessive use of too many characters, leading to a neat, compact police procedure book which I would recommend.
January 27, 2021
I can't quite accept any book that uses mental illness as an excuse for murder. These are harmful stereotypes and I'm fed up with seeing it in books. I had hoped it wasn't going to go that way but it was misplaced and I'm left feeling angry and disappointed. Shouldn't have wasted my time with it. I tried and was somewhat succeeding to get past the poor layout and writing because the story had been somewhat interesting to begin with. The characters were unlikeable and miserable. All in all it was a relief to be done with it. Won't be investing in the rest of the series.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 18, 2025
Not read the other books in the series. But this worked as a standalone.
The first few chapters were fantastic and I really thought this was going to be a classic thriller. In those first few chapters my mind was in overdrive with all the permutations that were possible.
However about 3/4 of the way through the storyline fell of a cliff . The conclusion seemed to be very 'off the shelf' and was sort of fudged and not worthy of the pages that had gone before. I honestly think it would have been better if one of the early theories had resurfaced for the finale.
The first few chapters were fantastic and I really thought this was going to be a classic thriller. In those first few chapters my mind was in overdrive with all the permutations that were possible.
However about 3/4 of the way through the storyline fell of a cliff . The conclusion seemed to be very 'off the shelf' and was sort of fudged and not worthy of the pages that had gone before. I honestly think it would have been better if one of the early theories had resurfaced for the finale.
August 4, 2019
A decent police procedural. But I was puzzled as to why the police insisted on believing the perpetrator was male, despite the presence of female DNA. There are some other issues with how DNA is used in this book. A wig made of human hair would not contain DNA, unless the hairs had been pulled out with the follicle. And aunt/niece DNA would not be sufficiently similar to identify a close match.
March 20, 2021
I'm never sure how to score these books. As normal, the plot is quite good and keeps the reader interested but ( also as normal for Russell) there's frequent continuity mistakes - at one point a scene set on Friday evening has "yesterday" as being Wednesday, and at the bottom of pg 280 Geoff suddenly becomes George , to point only two examples. If she could avoid these kind of mistakes, her books would deserve a higher score - as it is , they're readable but probably only once.
March 3, 2025
By no means perfect but this is a vast improvement on the previous four. Glaring mistakes aside this is an interesting plot and the short chapters give it a decent pace. Geraldine is starting to develop a personality and the other characters are all likeable in some form. It’s an easy read and does lack some depth in the procedural side but all in all there is enough in this series for me to want to continue. 3.5⭐️
November 26, 2016
Somewhat disappointing. First two books, bang on. Now she's given up the taut present tense and gone in for a rather slack third person past. Writing fast, losing the vigour and consideration of the earlier works, coasting I would say. And for the first time, the use of that horrible cliche "in companionable silence".
May 11, 2018
Leigh Russel always seems to write a book that keeps you guessing who the bad guys are with many red herrings thrown in for good measure!
DI Geraldine Steel is a strong character with a strong instinct but her personal life always causes her issues. This is a complex case that has far reaching consequences of muder
DI Geraldine Steel is a strong character with a strong instinct but her personal life always causes her issues. This is a complex case that has far reaching consequences of muder
November 8, 2019
Murder in London always seems more violent since Jack the Ripper prowled the streets of White Chapel. There are plenty of suspects for London murders. I'll read more in this series because I'd like to see the characters developed more.
April 15, 2020
This really surprised me I thought I'd picked out the killer in the first few chapters then right at the end - no I was wrong - and I loved it.
Great book, one you keep want to reading another chapter and another and another.
Great book, one you keep want to reading another chapter and another and another.
February 20, 2021
Really enjoyed this book. Short chapters and easy to follow. Painted the scene very well and felt like I was immersed in the story! Picked up this book from a selection and after reading, I ordered the first 6 in the GS series from Leigh!
June 27, 2017
Not as gripping as previous books. Apologies for not updating sooner.
March 15, 2018
It was a well written crime novel that took some twists. It had good characters and kept me on the edge of my seat. I definitely enjoyed it and would read more from Leigh Russell.
June 14, 2018
Good book hard to out down 😀👍
September 9, 2018
I love Leigh Russell's "Geraldine Steel" books. She is a very down to earth detective and certainly gets the job done. I am eager to read the next installment.
January 13, 2019
I really enjoyed this book, it was the first time I’d read a Leigh Russell book but it’s inspired me to purchase her earlier Geraldine Steel books and indeed look into her other books.
March 4, 2019
Love Geraldine Steel couldn't put it down
July 17, 2019
Another excellent book in the DI Geraldine Steel series. Love the character and looking forward to see what more we learn about her as the books progress.
November 20, 2019
Another great read. Next book waiting
Displaying 1 - 30 of 59 reviews