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Product Description
Product Description
Gerard Gallacher served as a police officer in Glasgow from the 1980s and three decades onwards. It was the time when drugs seized hold of the city and a new set of ruthless criminals were threatening to take control. There was still the usual violence of the city to deal with, including domestic violence, gang warfare and robbery but it was the huge increase in drug use that defined the times and led to many of the most notorious incidents in the city's criminal past. And Gerard Gallacher was in the thick of the action. As a detective, Gallacher knew and dealt with all the major criminals of the times; including Arthur Thompson and his son Arthur Jnr, Tam McGraw, Paul Ferris, Joe Hanlon and Bobby Glover. He gave evidence at Ferris' murder trial, reveals how he discovered that Arthur Thomson was a Security Services asset and was the first detective on the scene when Hanlon and Glover were murdered. He delivered the police warning to notorious criminal Frank McPhie to tell him that his life was in danger, a warning that went unheeded. Gallacher was also involved in countless other high profile investigations including the notorious drugs feud between former friends Tony McGovern and James Stevenson which ended in assassination. This is compelling account of a police career at the sharp end of the action by a detective who wouldn't toe the line. And as well as giving his forthright views on the less than exemplary conduct of some senior officers, Gallacher now reveals what really happened behind the scenes in some of the country's most high profile cases.
About the Author
Gerard Gallacher played football professionally for several Scottish Clubs. As a he child lived and attended school in Hollywood for a year, then as an adult he lived abroad and played football in Las Vegas and then Sweden. He has worked in menswear retail, construction and even a slaughterhouse. This all pales in comparison to his time with the Strathclyde Police with whom he was appointed as a detective with only two and a half years police service experience where he worked numerous high profile inquiries.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Gangsters, Killers and Me was a book which I couldn't put down and I would thoroughly recommend it to others. I was drawn in from the first few pages and couldn't stop until I'd read it cover to cover. It's a book I'll definitely read again.
The detail which Gerry Gallacher provides as he lays out each chapter, gives the reader a sense that they know the people within and can picture the events from the perspctive of a Police Officer. The book doesn't sensationalise any of the incidents, but gives a matter of fact account which is made all the easier to read by Gerry clearly being on the 'right side'. He gives absolute respect and empathy to those who deserve it and describes the underbelly of criminals in Glasgow as they should be described.........but I'll leave that to him, as he doesn't mince his words! Our Police should never be afraid to stand up and be counted for what is absolutely right and wrong, and Gerry certainly wasn't, I hope that there are plenty of others still out there with the same tenacity. There's no time wasted in this book making excuses as to why the criminal fraternity perpetrate their crimes, the author just describes getting down to the business of unpicking the evidence and then piecing the jigsaw together to try to ensure that they pay the price.
Gerry clearly deserved the handle of 'Pit Bull' as once he got his teeth into something, he just didn't let go! He looks exactly like a detective should, and his approach to his job was exemplary, the public were in safe hands when Gerry was on shift and you're guaranteed a good read if you choose this book!
The detail which Gerry Gallacher provides as he lays out each chapter, gives the reader a sense that they know the people within and can picture the events from the perspctive of a Police Officer. The book doesn't sensationalise any of the incidents, but gives a matter of fact account which is made all the easier to read by Gerry clearly being on the 'right side'. He gives absolute respect and empathy to those who deserve it and describes the underbelly of criminals in Glasgow as they should be described.........but I'll leave that to him, as he doesn't mince his words! Our Police should never be afraid to stand up and be counted for what is absolutely right and wrong, and Gerry certainly wasn't, I hope that there are plenty of others still out there with the same tenacity. There's no time wasted in this book making excuses as to why the criminal fraternity perpetrate their crimes, the author just describes getting down to the business of unpicking the evidence and then piecing the jigsaw together to try to ensure that they pay the price.
Gerry clearly deserved the handle of 'Pit Bull' as once he got his teeth into something, he just didn't let go! He looks exactly like a detective should, and his approach to his job was exemplary, the public were in safe hands when Gerry was on shift and you're guaranteed a good read if you choose this book!
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Gerry,captures the entire flavor of a constant struggle with the powers of evil and the power of those within the service who sought not to serve but be served.
A detective driven by the honourable code of right v wrong.
Among the finest of detectives,surrounded on occasion by those who should have understood and knew better ,what he was and why we need so desperately to rely on the "Gerry,s"
That moment when scum think they can take it all at any given time and perpetrate the most heinous of crimes the great equalizer is there,if only we would support that!
Well done Ger proud to have served with you and so proud to say "my friend wrote this book" A great read
God Bless and good health in your retirement! You truly made a difference!
A detective driven by the honourable code of right v wrong.
Among the finest of detectives,surrounded on occasion by those who should have understood and knew better ,what he was and why we need so desperately to rely on the "Gerry,s"
That moment when scum think they can take it all at any given time and perpetrate the most heinous of crimes the great equalizer is there,if only we would support that!
Well done Ger proud to have served with you and so proud to say "my friend wrote this book" A great read
God Bless and good health in your retirement! You truly made a difference!
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I picked this book up along with another book on crime in Glasgow because I needed background research material for my novel in progress, which is also set in Glasgow and in that respect this book more than exceeded my expectations.
Gerard Gallacher was a police officer in Glasgow for over thirty years from the 1980s onwards and his inside story unravels much of the myths and legends of Glasgow's hard men, gangs and other unsavoury characters. The chapters are quite short and written more along the line of essays, which form a more or less chronological sequence, with some chapters strung together when covering a particular crime. Along the way he shines a light on the daily comings and goings of police in Glasgow, and in true Glaswegian style doesn't hold back, even unloading on some officers who didn't perform their duties. In that sense you get the feeling it's as much as a tell all about the state of policing in Scotland back then as it's an account of the crime figures and families who unleashed their own brand of terror upon each other and sometimes innocent civilians.
My only criticism would be that Gallacher does tend to wander a bit and go off on a tangent, some people will find this distracting but others will find his detours entertaining. But as a story teller Gallacher is first class, and as already mentioned it gives crime writers valuable inside knowledge about policing, and politics in Glasgow. Gallacher is a native Glaswegian and has a passion and a love for a city that suffers from a communal schizophrenia. On the one hand it's a city where people will actually go out of their way to walk a lost stranger to their destination, but on the other hand it's a city that has earned itself the dubious title of Murder Capital of Europe.
Definitely worth a read.
Written by Alastair Rosie
Gerard Gallacher was a police officer in Glasgow for over thirty years from the 1980s onwards and his inside story unravels much of the myths and legends of Glasgow's hard men, gangs and other unsavoury characters. The chapters are quite short and written more along the line of essays, which form a more or less chronological sequence, with some chapters strung together when covering a particular crime. Along the way he shines a light on the daily comings and goings of police in Glasgow, and in true Glaswegian style doesn't hold back, even unloading on some officers who didn't perform their duties. In that sense you get the feeling it's as much as a tell all about the state of policing in Scotland back then as it's an account of the crime figures and families who unleashed their own brand of terror upon each other and sometimes innocent civilians.
My only criticism would be that Gallacher does tend to wander a bit and go off on a tangent, some people will find this distracting but others will find his detours entertaining. But as a story teller Gallacher is first class, and as already mentioned it gives crime writers valuable inside knowledge about policing, and politics in Glasgow. Gallacher is a native Glaswegian and has a passion and a love for a city that suffers from a communal schizophrenia. On the one hand it's a city where people will actually go out of their way to walk a lost stranger to their destination, but on the other hand it's a city that has earned itself the dubious title of Murder Capital of Europe.
Definitely worth a read.
Written by Alastair Rosie
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Fantastic read - highly recommended.
I absolutely love this book! I got this from my local library. I loved every minute of this book and marvelled at how well it was written. Read more
Published 22 days ago by Chicklit
David
I bought this book hoping for something out of the ordinary. It certainly was, but the entire narrative came across as Gerry vs The Rest of the World. Read more
Published 1 month ago by David R
gangsters killers and me
I was expecting a lot more after reading the reviews, I found the book boring. Some of the stories are run of the mill crimes not the in depth gangster and killer stories as the... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Ruby
a policeman's lot
An interesting book relating some of the situations a policeman/detective has to face all in a day's, or a night's work. Read more
Published 7 months ago by jeanne
Gangsters killers and me
An excellent read giving an insight into Police work and everyday Glasgow housing scheme life - proving how human beings find it impossible to live in peace. Read more
Published 7 months ago by Kenny Macleod
Cracking read
The 1st thing I knew the author and served in the same division as Gerry for a few years.
Gerry was one of the most determined police officers I served with and should have... Read more
Gerry was one of the most determined police officers I served with and should have... Read more
Published 8 months ago by John Macdonald
Excellent & interesting read
Loved this book. I couldn't put it down. It was exciting, hilarious at times, tragic and definitely eye opening!
The way Mr Gallacher writes I felt i was there with him. Read more
The way Mr Gallacher writes I felt i was there with him. Read more
Published 8 months ago by Miss D
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