Book Review: Blue: A Memoir – Keeping The Peace And Falling To Pieces by John Sutherland

Sutherland’s first memoir reveals the man behind the uniform as it charts the ups and downs of his 25-year Metropolitan Police career.

From brushes with shoplifting as a keen-to-impress teen with a questionable haircut, to stand-out police recruit handed the Baton of Honour at Hendon, Sutherland then steadily moves up through the ranks: a nervous first posting as a PC, eventually turning into a stint as borough commander of “one of the most challenging operational postings in the country”.

But as he rises, the black dog lurks in the shadows, trauma upon trauma pile up and he slides into a depressive paralysis. “And it all just keeps coming”, he says, exhausted by the onslaught of responsibility.

While surprisingly few pages are given to his inevitable breakdown, the challenges he faces – from negotiating with hostage-takers, to responding to a catalogue of stabbings, murders and shootings – prove compelling in their own right.

Locard’s principle, “Every contact leaves a trace”, saturates the memoir and it is clear that, by the end, Sutherland is a marked man.

An honest look at the vulnerability that comes with bravery – and the sacrifices it takes to keep the peace.