Short story set immediately after the end of Making Trouble and some indeterminate time before the start of Battle Ground, As with all the books in Rachel's series, she invites you to look at the other side of the story, the 'why' of how the line between right and wrong is set differently for us all. The issue of undercover policing in the UK is a sensitive one, with the Met in particular currently being accused of overzealous investigations, and in the continuing farce that is the UK government, they are of course continuing to head in the direction of Rachel's books rather than heed their warnings - by passing more laws allowing undercover officers to commit crimes. But Rachel still manages to make you feel sympathetic for Stephen who was only doing his job as best he could to protect his country and be in for a chance of promotion. The group were criminals, and he never meant to become so involved. Stephen now looks at himself in the mirror, and realises redemption is within his grasp if he can cross a line again.

I'm a big fan of short stories, in the right time an place, and the best make you think, hard. This one adds some backstory to one of the missing voices in Battle Ground - Charlie - and how and why she came to be where she was able to help Bex. Probably not the best place to start reading the whole series, but will make sense with Making Trouble, and cue up the rest of the series. ( )