Going Underground

Detective Roper and Hooley Mysteries #1

by Michael Leese

The alternate cover edition of this book can be found here.

BIG CITIES HIDE THE DIRTIEST SECRETS
Poking around in dark corners can be bad for your health. But Jonathan Roper has never let that sort of thing get in the way, and once he’s got the bit between his teeth there’s no stopping him - even when his own safety comes under threat. It makes him a wonderful detective and an impossible colleague.
Roper is autistic and finds it really hard to make friends, but he can pull together the oddest clues to make sense of the most complicated crimes. If one man can be said to understand him it’s Detective Chief Inspector, Brian Hooley, a veteran of Scotland Yard. Years on the job have given him a near bullet-proof armour-plating, and he’s going to need it. Working with Roper means he will have to withstand a barrage of bracingly direct personal comments. Despite this, the DCI is his biggest supporter because he knows Roper is the man you turn to when everyone else gives up.
"Going Underground is a page turning thriller that will keep you awake at night with its twists and turns that make it impossible to put down, and the richly observed characters will stay with you long after you finish." "Their remarkable relationship is highlighted by compelling dialogue and laugh out loud moments, making this more than just another cop story."

Genres: Mystery, Thriller, Fiction, Crime, Amazon, Detective, Procedural

323 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 16, 2017

About the author

Michael Leese was a senior news executive who had a ringside seat for the most extra-ordinary stories that happened during a twenty-five-year career as a British national newspaper journalist.
From the death of Princess Diana and two Gulf wars to the fall of the Berlin Wall and 9/11 he was leading the teams bringing the first news to a wider public. Most of his career was spent at the London Evening Standard. His time in journalism has left him with an indelible passion for news and current affairs and he tries to replicate that in his crime thriller series, Jonathan Roper investigates.
His son is profoundly autistic. It was thinking about him and how he fits into this complicated world was the inspiration for the Roper character. Who is highly intelligent, passionate, hard-working and autistic which can make him a bit hazy about social boundaries.
Leese reasoned that Roper gave him a great way to challenge perceptions, but also show some of the humour that can arise from the inevitable misunderstandings when someone on the autistic spectrum hits the world at full steam.
He was brought up in the West Midlands and can reveal a major celebrity connection, both he and Prince Williams are Aston Villa fans, although they have never met or discussed their personal affinity.
Growing up he had an ambition to be an elite athlete but gave that up by the age of nine on the grounds of having no talent. He often speculates that it is just as well as he enjoys creating characters for his books and probably wouldn’t have survived long in the corporate world.
He lives in Dorset with his wife Maria.
If you would like to contact Michael, you can either send him an email at hello@michael-leese.com or through his Facebook Page Jonathan Roper Investigates.

Reviews

[Alex ♈ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting suspense, unusual setting, engaging writing.

Two main characters: Brian Hooley, a Detective Chief Inspector, who leads the case; and Jonathan Roper, an autistic investigator with bright intellect, whose logic helps the police to investigate and solve the cases.

No romance, pure crime mystery.

3.5 stars

[Ann Lou · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book had me at Autistic Investigator.  Something different from my usual crime/thriller books. 

Jonathan is definitely unique.  I love him with his quirky ways and brilliant mind.  This book started with him being suspended in his last case but when an old billionaire goes missing and some body parts are found.  They need his help in solving the case.

Turns out, there's more to it than murder.  There's human trafficking, crazy ex military, science experiments, kidnapping and more.

[Dasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plotting is good. The characters are good. The punctuation and syntax, however, are horrible! I hope Mr. Leese continues to write and continues this series, but he desperately needs a good editor -- or even just a decent proofreader! Sentence fragments, unnecessarily hyphenated words, misplaced or missing commas, commas where they shouldn't be, and quotation marks run amok -- someone help this man!

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a 4.5 star read.

[Linda Strong · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please note this was previously published as Going Underground.

Billionaire Sir James Taylor has been missing for three weeks. When his headless torso shows up in an abandoned warehouse, CI Brian Hooley is called in to investigate. Hooley knows his Special Investigations Unit needs help ... and there's only one man Hooley wants. The problem will be getting his supervisor to go along with his wants.

Jonathan Roper, one of Scotland Yard's finest, is exceptionally clever and doggedly determined. His autism means he sees the world differently, and he’s always spotting things that no one else can.

It's jonathan that provides a break in the case. He finds a gruesome snuff video. Shortly after, Roper is found severely bloodied and beaten.

Hooley and Roper have moved closer to solving this case ... but someone will do whatever it takes to keep their secrets hidden from the light of day.

It's fast and furious, with twists and turns that just don't quit until the unexpected conclusion. Many suspects with varied motives keep eyes glued to each and every page. I really enjoyed the relationship between the two main characters. With Roper's diagnosis of autism and his unique ability that outshines most other detectives, Hooley seems to be the only one he can connect with.

Many thanks to the author / Joffe Books / Books n All Book Promotions for the digital copy of this mystery/crime fiction. Read and reviewed voluntarily, opinions expressed here are unbiased and entirely my own.

[Coco.V]

💝 FREE on Amazon today (2/7/2018)! 💝

[Carolyn Walsh · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars.
This was the first book in what is now a series of 4 books featuring autistic detective Jonathan Roper. It includes a series of crimes, murder, SAS force, mercenaries and unethical scientists. I thought it was a good police procedural despite my low rating. I was engaged in the plot which I thought convoluted, but lost my focus and feeling of suspense towards its conclusion.

The addition of an autistic investigator, Roper, to the police force was a welcome one. The author must have a better understanding of autism than most readers, being the father of an autistic son. Roper was not entirely believable to me. In my limited experience he exhibited all the symptoms of someone who functions at the upper end of the autism spectrum, but in addition was given some ‘superpowers’ which I did not find realistic. For instance, his ability to meditate on a problem and lowering his heart rate to the point of falling unconscious. Also, his memory where he could unfold a scenario likes DVD movie, pause, zoom in and observe the scene from various angles. This would make Balducci’s Memory Man proud and envious. Hooley’s insistence to bring him back to the police force after he was dismissed for a misdemeanour is felt essential in solving a series of seemingly unrelated crimes.

I loved the relationship between Roper and his boss, Brian Hooley. Although many police officers dislike Roper for his lack of social skills and awkwardness, Hooley is his mentor, friend and strongest defender. Hooley , an older accomplished detective regards a Roper as a surrogate son. He knows he needs Roper’s unique ability to to see clues that others miss and make connections. The dialogue between the two is informative and entertaining as Hooley reminds the younger man the ‘normal’ behaviour in social situations and to curb his direct, truthful and often insulting conversations. The older detective is at a loss when Roper tries to explain his own crime solving thought processes.

I thought all the characters were well developed, and will try another book in the series. Roper’s solution to a final clue related to ‘Going Underground’ which concluded the case seemed far fetched.

[Kathi Defranc · Rating 5 out of 5]

I very much enjoyed this story of detectives working a very interesting murder case with ties to new cancer treatment, extension of life and lab research into these areas. The main officers are Brian Hooley, an older officer who leads the case; and the detective he feels is a 'surrogate' son, Jonathan Roper, a young autistic man who's special intellect sees things differently but is able to use this to solve cases quickly. We are there to see first hand the troubles and triumphs realistically and learn a little of that which people slightly different from the norm are treated and how they feel. Very happy to hear this is the start to a series and look forward to reading more with these incredible characters!
I received a download of this book from Storycartel, from which I am able to write my thoughts and I genuinely thank them.

[Melinda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh.
I wanted to like this book. I tried hard. And I did, in fact, enjoy some of it. My spouse is on the autism spectrum, and I'm always excited to find books that deal with autistic adults as most autistic characters are children and people tend to forget that autistic children turn into autistic adults. I was especially excited to see that the author states that he is the father of an autistic child and so I thought: "Yay! He's going to get it right. He will portray this man in a way that shows a depth of character and how beautifully complex the autistic mind is."

Sigh. What I found was a character full of every cliched characteristic that anyone doing a google search about autism can find. And I don't mean just a few, that's inevitable--they are cliches (pardon my lack of accent marks, I don't know how to add those in Goodreads.) for a reason, but I mean every single one. The guy was socially awkward, couldn't read others facial expressions, was brilliant, could think spacially, was into computers and technology, was unable to lie, didn't understand most humor, he stemmed and rocked when agitated and became overwhelmed quickly and didn't understand social boundaries, etc., etc. etc. The problem is that just like any other group of people, no two autistic people are exactly alike. They each have strengths and weaknesses just like anyone else. So it doesn't work to make a cardboard cutout character of an autistic person any more than it does for a neurotypical character. I finished the book, but by the end, I was so disgusted by the way the main character is portrayed that I wasn't even paying attention to the plot any longer and I was just glad to be finished.

[Kathy · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first book of a self-published author who created a uniquely different investigative team with the inclusion of Roper, a young man with autism. He performs beautifully in this fast paced police procedural. The team is up against well-oiled criminals working on cure for cancer and longevity treatments that could be worth billions but at what cost?
The characters were developed well and the action believable and engaging. I intend to read the next book soon.
Kindle Unlimited
Yes...there are editing lapses, but nothing major to stop the reader from enjoying the action.

[Joan]

I really struggled with this book. The main character, Roper, just didn't work for me. There were two real quibbles: 1. the fact that he was a high-ranking officer in the Met (and yes, I know autism isn't a barrier to a career in the police force, but he seemed to lack the qualities needed), and 2. he lived in some ultra-modern hideously expensive apartment WAY beyond the salary of a policeman.

I didn't like the way he always seemed to be smiling (or beaming) It made him appear foolish and childlike and didn't sit well with me.

I like crime novels with 'vulnerable' policeman as the MC, but I am afraid that Roper annoyed more than intrigued me and I wont be reading any more 'Roper' novels.

Not rating at this current moment in time.

[Bragi Valsson · Rating 2 out of 5]

While the plot and characters are both interesting enough, it’s very difficult to focus on reading while plodding through probably the worst-spelled (or rather spelt, as the author is British) book I have ever read, and that from an author who works as a journalist. Besides the “your” vs “you’re” mistakes and others like them and the incredible inconsistensies in spelling (is it lap top or lap-top? Just decide, man!), it seems that the author has invented a completely new comma system, one that I have never seen before and hope to never see again. It baffles me that he wouldn’t notice how confusing it is to read a sentence like “What about your wife Brian?”.

Although I would have liked to read more about the characters, I will not be buying his 2nd book, as I have to assume that it is equally full of mistakes and also not proof-read at all.

[Bob · Rating 4 out of 5]

The crime plot itself is terrific, but the star here is autistic investigator Jonathan Roper who is not just a brilliant crime solver but also adds great humor to the story. Two more in the series and I’m hooked.

I highly recommend this to Peg, Molli and Robert.

Free on Kindle Unlimited.

[Dell Taylor · Rating 2 out of 5]

My rating: 2.5. I can see why this was self-published! It really did need an editor -- the spelling, punctuation and grammar were in serious need of an editor. The story relied on too many plot tricks and we, as the reader, had no idea what was going on -- many of the plot devices were just sprung on us -- not what I want or expect in a mystery or police procedural. Roper's autism really didn't work for me ... it just seemed like a device and very stereotypical. Too much emphasis on uninteresting details and not enough plot development. I won't be reading any more in this series and read this for book club!

[Pat Camalliere · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love police procedurals and English mysteries and heard this was a good series with interesting main characters. I was disappointed. Jonathan Roper does have some interesting peculiarities and talents, and could be a good character, but I didn’t think the writer did a good job of creating a compelling character. I found Brian Hooley okay, but very similar to other English “coppers.” The story slogged along scene after scene without really letting the reader in on any real policework, just Roper’s vague “rainbow spectrum” that took the place of any real reasoning. But my real objection to the book was that it was so poorly edited, filled with typos, punctuation, and grammatical errors every couple of pages. It was very distracting and kept me from getting into the story. My description is a bit unfair, because it isn’t a BAD book, just not a really good one. It was entertaining to some degree, but not enough to make me want to read more. Sorry. I wanted to like it.

[Pratibha Pandey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovable characters !

First , not just the lead character is different from the usual ones , but also the author has done a fantastic job to keep his autism as a part of his character but not too glaring excuse for every action. The other cast is a good support and there is plenty of humor in the book. The mystery part is good and the end was a little loose I feel but overall I really enjoyed this.

[Zappster · Rating 2 out of 5]

After the murder of billionaire Sir James Taylor goes unsolved for a number of weeks, his powerful friends put pressure on certain individuals for the case to be handed over to the Special Investigations Unit run by Detective Assistant Commissioner Julie Mayweather and lead by DCI Brian Hooley. Hooley wants to reinstate Jonathan Roper, an autistic investigator suspended for his actions on a previous case. The two work together to solve Sir James’ murder which runs the gamut from kidnapping, human trafficking, crazy ex-SAS operatives, groundbreaking medical experiments and more.

Roper displays incredible feats of recall including viewing scenes in his memories from different angles, pausing the scene, zooming in etc. Often his abilities verge on superpowers and at times seem a little too convenient allowing the author to propel the plot forward. Doing further reading it appears the author is depicting Roper as a savant. I’m not sure how believable those abilities are compared to real world examples but it wasn’t egregious enough to take me out of the story completely. Hooley seems to be there purely to shepherd Roper along. It makes you wonder how he reached such a high position as he doesn’t display much in the way of skills relevant to his position. Hooley is the Watson to Roper’s Holmes is the best way I can put it.

Despite the issues with Roper’s skill set mentioned above the mystery is the strongest part of the book. We know who has done the crime, the mystery comes from how the crimes are linked, what they’re involved in and eventually who is the mastermind behind it all. It’s a procedural at heart. Every so often we’ll get a section or chapter from the criminals’ POV.They serve to ratchet up the tension nicely. The book moves at a good pace with short chapters that get straight to the point.

Unfortunately the other elements of the book aren’t up to par. The writing is plain with no distinguishing flourishes. The dialogue is stiff and overly formal. It doesn’t feel like real people talking. The writer seems averse to using contractions in dialogue, which depending on the context can work. Just not when it happens all the time. The humour as a result also falls flat, often relying too much on Roper’s lack of awareness with social interactions and failure to grasp jokes. There is little chemistry between the two leads. The characterization is average. The book is also badly in need of an editor. There’s POV shifts mid-paragraph, typos and grammatical mistakes to name a few things.

Hard to recommend the book. There’s more worthwhile reads in the genre. I’m not dropping the series but it’s low on my list of priorities.

[Patty · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was definitely a one-star book for me. As an avid reader/writer, I found it to be poorly written with simplistic characterizations and dialog. The story was told, not shown. The entire book was structured to present a series of situations that showcase various autistic traits demonstrated by the main character Roper. The plot became mere window dressing.

As someone who is actually autistic, I found a collection of stereotypical male-presenting autistic traits, a neurotypical viewpoint that the goal for autistic people is to learn to modify their behavior in order to make the neurotypical people around them more comfortable, and the infantilization of Roper by his superiors in the police department, who seem to be cast as surrogate parents, even though Roper is a mentally competent adult who lives independently.

Sigh.

As both reader and autistic woman, this is such a disrespectful effort on the author's part that I can't recommend this book to anyone. If you are unfamiliar with autism and are interested, please spend the time you would invest in this book to do some reading of contemporary writing by actually autistic people. If you've read the book, please do not take this representation as an accurate picture of autism.

I listened to the audio version and while I have enjoyed other books narrated by Mr. Healy, this one, perhaps because of the writing, sounded as if he were reading to a group of children attending a library story hour.

Edited to add: Lest anyone feel I am being too harsh on a self-published author, Mr. Leese explains that Roper "cannot tell a lie" because his grandmother told him if he did, his nose would grow like Pinocchio's, and Roper took that to heart. I don't know if this was meant as serious representation or just a bid for cheap laughs, but it does nothing to serve the autistic community.

[Sheila Myers · Rating 5 out of 5]

In my normal way of rating books, I'd usually take off one point for books needing slightly more editing; however, I added back in that point for the fact Michael Leese created a completely unique character. I've read series by several authors who have created unique disabilities main characters have to overcome in order to do their jobs, but I was impressed by this one and the way Leese handled building the plot around the character. Thrilling and very interesting read.

[Greta Halliday · Rating 5 out of 5]

After a rather slow start, I really got engrossed in this complicated story which was very different from the usual Crime Fiction read. It was a brilliantly thought out plot which thoroughly deserves the maximum 5* . Thanks to the author and Joffe Books for giving me the opportunity to read this fabulous book.

[The Cats’ Mother · Rating 3 out of 5]

This freebie from Amazon is the start of a series about Jonathan Roper, a London Detective who is high-functioning autistic, and his friend and very experienced colleague DCI Brian Hooley. I have accumulated a LOT off free ebooks thanks to the weekly bookbub emails, but tend to prioritise books I have paid for, and more recently NetGalley titles. This stood out though, because I liked the sound of a rather different sounding hero.

We meet Roper as he is allowed back to work after an investigation which went wrong due to his over-enthusiasm at catching the baddie. He is not well liked by his colleagues due to his poor interpersonal skills and difficulties reading and understanding people, but Hooley knows that he actually means well and has a good heart, just an odd way of expressing himself. His unique way of seeing the world makes him very helpful to the police, so when the dismembered body of a billionaire philanthropist is discovered, Hooley persuades their boss to let them work together on the case.

I quite enjoyed this, particularly the relationship between Roper and Hooley. It was a fairly standard conspiracy thriller, complete with sociopathic baddies and an evil mastermind, some violence but nothing too gruesome. The writing was average, and could do with better editing, particularly of the dialogue. I’m not sure how true to life Roper’s autism was, in the authors note he says he created the character because his young son is autistic, but that doesn’t mean he necessarily knows what adults with the condition are like. I would consider continuing the series if it were free, or at least very cheap, because I have way too many other books already to be buying more just now.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

A pleasant surprise! I found the book through the Prime Reading program on Amazon. I'd actually borrowed it some time ago and it took a while to actually get to it. I am often somewhat disappointed in books that are in the program, though they tend to be, on average, better than ones that are purely Kindle Unlimited titles. The Prime Reading program is, at least, somewhat curated. Still, it can be a bit of a risk.

In this case, it paid off. Sure, there were some editing errors -- mostly commas in weird (and wrong) places and some sentence fragments, but there weren't enough to make me nuts. And the story is very good. There's a DCI on the London Police Force Special Investigations and he calls in a young friend of his, Jonathan Roper, who is savant-like in his investigative ability. He is on the autism spectrum, and so doesn't always get along with neurotypical folks who mostly don't try very hard to understand him. And he's sort of persona-non-grata because actions of his in a previous investigation nearly ruined everything. BUT, he's had some counseling since then and the DCI feels he can be a real help and is ready to return.

The investigation begins with the discovery of a male torso, quickly determined to be that of Sir James Taylor a prominent and rich citizen who'd been missing for a few weeks. Pretty quickly, Jonathan begins to find links to the criminal underworld, dog fighting rings, and biotechnology research due to his fantastic memory and intuition. The plot is well thought out and well told and the conclusion is reasonable and satisfying. I'll definitely be checking out the rest of the series.

[Holly · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book interesting from the start. You’re introduced to the mystery of the story right away, and watch it slowly unfold throughout. By chapter 9, I realised that Roper and Hooley would be an excellent duo to work with. Roper’s intelligence and out-of-the-box thinking combined with Hooley’s humour would never allow for a dull day in the office. You can tell straight away that this isn’t a simple murder mystery, with twists and turns appearing with each chapter. I struggled to put it down as I got further through. As the storyline progressed, I was fascinated with how Roper could come up with the links so quickly. It was heart warming to see his bond with Hooley develop throughout, forming a father-son type of relationship. With a plot twist I didn’t see coming, I was thoroughly impressed with this book. I definitely look forward to reading more by Michael Leese.

[Elaine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fast-paced and exciting murder mystery that kept my interest. The character of Roper and the insights into his thinking and the influence of autism in his reasoning was fun and intriguing. But I thought sometimes his deductions were not realistic. There were many characters and bad guys to keep track of in this story and the plot was innovative but complex. There were supposedly other detectives in this Special Cases force in the background but the whole story revolved around just the DCI and Roper. The other detectives did not enter into the investigation but were in the background. I thought that was unrealistic. The story focused a lot on what the main characters ate too. What's with that. Overall it was an interesting story but flawed.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Superb Character Development!

Yes: a thriller in its own right.Very well-written. But more than that, I have in the course of 400 pages developed affinity, admiration and affection for Jonathan Roper. The plot admirably highlights his field of savant brilliance and the invaluable contribution he makes to investigations by colleagues who think he's odd. The author's own tribute to his son finds life and expression here - and I am thrilled to have joined the Roper brigade and will definitely be back for more! Bravo!

[gemma keylock · Rating 4 out of 5]

An enjoyable resd

I enjoyed reading this novel, the slightly aloof Roper was perfectly offset by his partner, and together proved a force for which you were rooting for.
A thoroughly easy read, and I don't say that in a negative way, perfect for absorbing yourself into and forgetting the world for a few hours. Hey, we all need a bit of that at times.

[Genine Franklin-Clark · Rating 3 out of 5]

Annoying grammatical/spelling errors, rather good story. The writing will get better, I think?

[Glo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Suspenseful

Good writing. Kept me guessing until the end. Also gave me some insight into autism.

This is the second Roper novel I’ve read and look forward t reading more.

[Jilrene · Rating 1 out of 5]

DNF @ 28% I am so bored. Far too many books on my kindle to keep reading one I don't like.

[Marian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid crime mystery; original and quirky (Roper) and likable (Hooley) protagonists. Thanks for the recommendation, Ann!