Usually when a book states on its cover "Exposes the secrets Scotland Yard never wanted revealed” or something similar, I find that it is just a ploy to get you to read/purchase it but here it really is true. Some of the secrets make me wonder how this is legal and I can certainly see why Scotland Yard would have an issue with it. Having read up a little on Mr MacLaughlin and being someone who does not readily trust institutions such as the police, I can also understand it from his point of view.

The title "The Filth" should give you some idea of MacLaughlin's opinion of his fellow officers and as a fan of true crime, I knew I had to give this a go. It did not disappoint! Now I do realise that some of you may think he is merely using the pejorative term or slang for police in the UK but there's no doubt in my mind after reading this that this is in fact MacLaughlin's opinion of his ex-colleagues.

There are sensational and really quite disturbing claims that officers from the Yard's Drugs Squad and the Regional Crime Squad stole drugs, paid phantom informants and fabricated evidence. That is just for starters. Some of it is shocking and I urge anyone who decides to read it to go in with a completely open mind.

An excellent and exciting read. Whether the information is true or not is up for debate. What I do know is that the police are certainly not whiter than white, as they would have us believe. Highly recommended.

Many thanks to Thistle Publishing for an ARC. I was not required to post a review and all thoughts and opinions expressed are my own.

Duncan MacLaughlin has truly seen London at it's worst. Starting as a young in the Metropolitan Police Cadet Corps (MPCC ) up the ladder to Scotland Yard, was an adventure, that we readers won't soon forget. When I think Scotland Yard, I think Jack the Ripper, but it is so much more. Hearing about all the cases, he worked was fascinating. With fellow officers, an informant with gold teeth and the animal cases (you have to read about it), make this a great book for all you police buffs. I loved reading about it. I received this book from Net Galley and Thistle publishing for an honest review and no compensation otherwise.

I should preface my review by stating outright I'm not a True Crime genre fan, that I prefer literary fiction, that this is Duncan MacLaughlin's first book and in it he is rather exuberantly non-politically correct (making fun of a gay corpse for example). I admit I laughed at learning that WOLO DICKY BIRD is UK police code for indecent exposure. I liked reading his true-life versions of bad guy catching wherein he ends each caper with a gleeful, "You're nicked!" and the level of the author's affection and esteem for his father is touching. But just as the father's military exploits undermined such institutions as the Hippocratic oath, the son goes on to seemingly disregard aspects of the Official Secrets Act. MacLaughlin uses this bombastic memoir platform to burn all his bridges, which made me feel uncomfortable throughout. Much like those online who offer step-by-step instructions to would-be bomb-builders and anorexia-masters I feel some secrets of Britain's Finest ought to be respectfully kept under wraps.