Deep Cover: How I took down Britain’s most dangerous gangsters

Written by:
Shay Doyle , Scott Hesketh
Narrated by:
Christopher Coghill

Unabridged Audiobook

Ratings
Book
14
Narrator
12
Release Date
March 2022
Duration
6 hours 26 minutes
Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.

Shortlisted for the Book of the Year and Audiobook of the Year at the 2023 True Crime Awards.

Street kid turned undercover cop.

'This time he wasn't getting up. Neither were the two young women he'd just murdered. The two unarmed young police officers he cut down in a hail of 32 bullets and the fragments of a grenade, ending their promising lives so savagely, so senselessly. I felt empty. Cold. How had it come to this?'

Shay grew up on a tough Manchester council estate where drugs and gangs were rife. A life of crime would have been an easy path to take. So it went against everything that was expected of him when he joined the police.

It wouldn't be long before Shay's prodigious talent caught the attention of the top. Then came the call that changed his life: an offer to join the secret Level 1 undercover unit known as Omega. And it was easy to see why they wanted him; he wouldn't have to stray too far from what he already knew. He had all the attributes of a professional criminal - the athletic physique of a cage fighter, the talk, the walk. Streetwise and fearless, he'd be a match for the most hardened villain. He was given a new identity, his DNA and fingerprints were removed from the national database, and so began the life of Mikey O'Brien.

In a distinguished covert career spanning 17 years, former solider Shay infiltrated Moss Side gangs, was part of a hand-picked team hunting Dale Cregan and was brought in to break up a gang war wall of silence after the murder of Salford 'Mr Big' Paul Massey. But there would be a heavy price to pay for a life in the shadows, where any mistake could have lethal consequences...

© Shay Doyle 2022 (P) Penguin Audio 2022
Reviews
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Jamie L.

Had me gripped from start to finish, brilliant insight into Level 1 Undercover Police Work.

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Emma B.

Brilliant. Laugh out loud moments

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David C.

Best audio book I've ever listened to, brilliant true story and using a well known Manchester actor in Chris coghill to narrate the story is brilliant, gives you the feeling of being sat there in a room with Shay Doyle listening to the man himself, pulls no punches this book tells it you how it is, and also the good and unfortunately bad side of policing .. takes you on a ride through Manchester you never knew existed

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Anonymous

Fortunately this book was available perfectly narrated in Audio so I could misunderstood the big words in spoken word instead of trying to struggle through with my Biff & Chip Level 2 reading. All joking aside this was a truly mesmerising insight into the world of covert policing even for somebody with a knowledge of covert operations this book was eye opening, insightful, funny and harrowing all at once. A truly addictive listen that made you almost feel friends or aquatinted with Author. An eye opener to Police practices that should be more widely deployed by skilled operators but also an insight into the short callings and lack of duty of care for the men or in the case man on the ground. If anything this book does I hope it gives some awareness to mental health issues of front line police officers and let’s the public know that as few and far between as they are, they’re are still tough men with a strong moral compass willing to do bad things for good people to live peacefully on the streets of the U.K.

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Anonymous

Narrator is brilliant for this book, really fits the character perfectly Book is a good ‘read’, didn’t want to stop listening Well done to all those involved !

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Jason C.

Fantastic book brilliantly narrated, could do with more police officers like this and less of the woolly liberals who seem to be taking over. This guy worked some of the most dangerous, high profile cases of modern times and was let down badly by certain members of his hierarchy. A must read.

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Anonymous

brilliant book , this guy was not your average policeman !!!! great story , narrator , loved it !

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Anonymous

Fantastic book i have read and listened to this well done to everyone involved in this great book. Loved it. and now its time to look after the men and women that go out of there way to make this country safe for each and every one of us.

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