I was torn between 2 & 3 stars, as although I did reach the end of this quite short book (meaning I must have seen some merit in it) it did not really engage me.
I have to say though (above all else) that the author has been exceedingly brave in taking on what must have been a difficult project, not least in maintaining what must have been commonplace aspects of required confidentiality.
Autobiography is perhaps my favourite area of reading, the pleasure of which comes down (for me at least) to actually being able to "dwell" in the story-teller's skin. "Nothing But The Truth" was written in such a way that I'm afraid that I had no great insight into the author himself. Whilst the book represents a factual depictation of the man's working career, it is written in relatively short & dispassionate paragraphs, each detailing a whole police case or period in his career. The author's background is clear via his style of writing, much of which comes across almost as a police note book entry read aloud in court.
The book is interspersed with references to the author's family, and as the style of writing afforded me no emotional tie with him, the corresponding references to his family members (lovely as they all sound) left me feeling emptier still.
The author does have a good sense of humour, and his use of such in his writing added the odd moment I actually felt in touch with him. I think he himself would agree that he has been lucky in his career. I would hazzard the guess (having read the book) that he was a perfectly suited individual to his chosen pathway, and that a combination of hard work & good luck saw him to the top of his career-ladder. Although this career progression is clearly factual, the "yet another promotion" revelations do come across as a little cliched given time. I do usually love a tale of "rags to riches", but (as previously stated) the lack of connection I personally felt with the author lent me no joy as concerns his constant successes.
Please remember, that the initial attraction for me in this book was mostly the autobiographical nature of it (and not particularly the law-enforcement subject matter). On the basis of this (and in comparison to the other excellent reviews leaving me firmly in the minority) please give this a go should you have any interest in the subject matter whatsoever (had I had more interest my review score would be higher).
In conclusion, the author has done a brave job as concerns a difficult subject & is clearly more of a policeman than a writer. Despite this, I feel the only way I can grade it is in comparison to other autobiographies I have read (my last being by Stephen Fry).
I feel sure that I would be entranced by the personality of this author were I to meet him... I unfortunately find I know precious little of him via his autobiography, whilst also (personally) finding this short tale of his life neither exciting or particularly out of the ordinary.... On this basis, I could only really recommend this book for those having a specific interest in either policing in general, or the Metropolitan Police. Having said that, it is a brave attempt and I applaud it for that alone (I cringe when I visualise the author saying "see if you can do better"... as in truth, I agree that I couldn't).
Despite wishing to, I just cannot say fairer than 3 stars.
(NB: Review altered slightly from original).
