The first detective story I had to force myself to read till the end. Finished it and not happy with it :( The story develops in short parts - description of a person that is going to be murdered, inner feelings of the female detective and her ex-boyfriend, and the crime scene. It looks like the ...
The Ladykiller was the first and best book I have read by Martina Cole. Nothing of hers has come close since reading it in the 90's. With Martina's books you know pretty much what you're going to get each time - hard hitting stories about the London underworld - and after reading quite a few over...
After reading this latest novel by Martina Cole I really feel that she is just rehashing previous stories. There is so much repetition in her books these days that I rapidly lose patience with the story. I also repeatedly am feeling that I have read all of this before in previous Cole books.The s...
Two Women Two Women had been on my wishlist for several years and when I found a cheap copy on sale a few weeks ago I thought it was high time I actually read the damn thing. Although crime-mysteries aren't usually my thing, I've been reading quite a few of them lately, and this one particularly...
PROTAGONIST: The Brodie familySETTING: East end of LondonRATING: 2.0Martina Cole is a best-selling author in the UK, and Close is the first of her books to be published in the United States. Perhaps the fact that it is reminiscent of the TV show, The Sopranos, made it seem that the book would app...
When Cathy Connor and Eamonn Docherty are thrown together as children in the sleazy streets of London's east End their fate is sealed.Cathy's miserable life as a prostitute's child leads to a terrifying ordeal that leaves her with no choice . . . Entering the world of Soho as a runaway, she is re...
I am reviewing the gangster thriller Maura's Game by Martina Cole which is a very good novel which I bought from a car boot sale. This is the sequel to Dangerous Lady which I haven't read yet. Apparently she was queen of the underworld and robbed some money and was living on the proceeds. In this...
George Markham has a nasty little hobby, one that erupts into an orgy of vicious sexual depravity. Patrick Kelly is a hard man. His one soft spot is his daughter, and when she falls victim to the Grantley Ripper, Kelly wants revenge. The DI in charge of the case is Kate Burrows. She feels for K...
No one thinks a seventeen-year-old girl can take on the hard men of London's gangland, but it's a mistake to underestimate Maura Ryan: she's tough, clever and beautiful —and she's determined that nothing will stand in her way. Which makes her one very dangerous lady. Together, she and her brother...
A tour-de-force thriller of corruption and violence. In the sixties, Briony Cavanagh ran a string of the most notorious brothels in London. Only Briony knew what went on behind those doors, and she never opened her mouth - unless she stood to benefit. Only Briony knew the painful road she'd trav...
Yet again a Cole novel set in the East End of London among villains, gangsters and prostitutes and yet Cole has the knack of bringing the characters alive to the point where you not only sympathise with their plight, but actually relate to the characters and see yourself (if life had been differe...
Set in London during the mid 80s, this novel spans 3 decades.The story centres around young sociopathic Freddie Jackson, who has just served his time in prison, but while in there he was taken under the wing of mega infamous gangster Ozzy. It is unlikely Ozzy will ever get out so he needs someon...
Donna Brunos worships her husband and is devastated when he is jailed for armed robbery. Georgio swears he's been set up and persuades Donna to help him escape.Implementing 'the jump' takes Donna into a twilight world she never believed existed - a world of brutal sex and casual violence. Finally...
Just before Danny Cadogan's fourteenth birthday, his father, Big Dan, leaves his wife and children to face the wrath of the men sent to collect his gambling debt. Determined to protect his mother, brother and sister, overnight Danny becomes set on making his way in a violent and dangerous world. ...
Little Cherie Celeste Mary Tailor entered the world screaming, and it was a sound that her mother cherished from the first moment. She was a big lusty child with thick blond hair and the Callahan blue eyes. She was adorable, and Gabby fell instantly in love with her, as did her great-nana and gra...
‘I am telling you now, boy, you get rid of that Lucy and you get rid of her soon. How I have stood the shame and degradation of the neighbours knowing she’s living here, I don’t know!’Mickey Watson was caught between a rock and a hard place. As much as he loved Lucy, his mother was such a strong ...
He recognised all the signs - when things went too smoothly Phillip wanted out. He needed to prove that he didn't need anyone. He very quickly gravitated from having a new friend and business partner to convincing himself that the same person was out to take what was his. It was a pattern that re...
They were told there would never be another child because Jenny was too badly damaged from the internal injuries caused by the beating. But little Cain thrived from his first breath, and Jenny Riley fell madly in love for the second time in her life. Cain looked down at his son’s mother and felt ...
He was a good man, of that Peter was confident. Over the last ten years, he had watched his lads grow into strong, trustworthy men, and he had been proud to be a part of their lives. Petey and Liam had both become close to him. After what happened with Jack they all understood the importance of f...
Actually gulped her wine would have been more like it. But if he could at least get her round to his way of thinking then at seventy quid a throw the bottle would have been worth it. This was an expensive and select restaurant and only Nick could have got the prime table here at such short notice...
It was late, and he knew his wife was going to give him grief for weeks, but he didn’t give a toss. It was worth it. This little beauty was a real find; she was game for anything, as long as he supplied her with a good drink and a few lines. She was very young – younger than she let on – and he d...
The high that she had been enjoying so much until now had turned into a paranoid nightmare within seconds of her recognition of the man who had nearly killed her, and who had taken great pleasure in it. She had not held a grudge as such, she had taken her punishment and accepted that the general ...
Turning, he pulled a sleeping Kate into his arms. She nestled into his body and he looked down at her face. Kate was everything to him. He adored her. Just looking at her lying beside him gave him a feeling of immense peace. She slipped one slender arm across his body and nestled against him, and...