When Mary Dooley's husband is killed in the night's events, she knows she must graft to keep the family afloat. And graft she does, becoming a name in her own right. But she still has to watch her daughter's life spiral into a vicious, hate-fuelled cycle of drugs and prostitution. I was once again reminded of why i love martina cole's books. If it wasn't for me feeling the actual book, then I would think i am in reality. She writes real life and there are so many scenes that i can relate to. I cannot figure Martina Cole out as an author. I don't know who her target audience is and I can't figure out what it is she's trying to say to them. view: A dark and gripping crime epic, in one of my favourite stories by Cole, sees a seemingly accidental murder being investigated by the father of the victim, lead to uncovering some really dark untenable secrets within the underbelly of London. 8 out of 12

The Know by Martina Cole | Waterstones The Know by Martina Cole | Waterstones

Part of the vernacular is rather coarse, which some readers may find offensive, but it captures the environment in which the story is set. The dead boy's father wants to find out what happened, but the mother is a junkie on 'brown' of heroin and only wants her next fix. I won't give the story away, but the twist I was hoping for was that it would all have been for Michael. Read it and you will know what I mean, but brace yourself, it is a mighty tome!

I liked the characters quite a bit. They all had a lot of depth to them, and the themes explored here are different from what I'm used to reading. I liked the emphasis on familial love, and how different groups of people will view morality very differently (although this book hits on one issue we can all agree is disgusting, criminal or not). The characters may have been rough around the edges, but they lived hard lives, and I thought it was really interesting to have a look into their world. Well, I finished the book and was very disappointed. Faces has some great characters in it and could have been a good book if it was written well. Joanie… mother of 3 will do anything to protect her children. But who wouldn’t? Her daughter was raped and murdered and the family are now on the hunt to find out who did it! Kira is a young schoolgirl and youngest of three children of Joanie Brewer, a prostitute who has known a lot of sadness and hardship in her life. Kira is educationally challenged, blonde, very pretty and loved by everyone. Then, one day, tragedy strikes.

The Take by Martina Cole | Goodreads The Take by Martina Cole | Goodreads

So when her beautiful teenage daughter is raped and murdered, only one thing will stop Joanie's pain - seeing her daughter's killer brought to justice. Joanie knows who he is and she'll do whatever it takes to nail him . . . This is not so much of a "story", It's just a sequence of unpleasant characters doing terrible things. There's not one redeeming character - NOT ONE! I was convinced that at some point some moral high-ground would be taken and the plot might turn around to produce a happy ending or at least a lesson of morals but it never arrives. Themes of drug use, violence, prostitution, murder etc. are valid themes to explore in a work of fiction, but I was hoping for the author to set an example of what's right and wrong. Martina Cole just shrugs at everything and tries to justify her abhorrent characters committing evil acts one after the other without any consequences.There's a wonderful gritty realism to Cole's books, the language used is very crude but effectively plants that East London twang into the readers head. Hmm...this book is difficult for me to rate. The Business was my first introduction to Martina Cole and one of those impulse buys while doing a weekly shop. Danny Boy, his character was one dimensional throughout and he had no redeeming features at all. He was constantly referred to as large, handsome and mental. Mike his second in command had a better, much fuller character and was more believable. The story leads the reader from the initial crime through a network of drugs, burglary, violence and rent boys. We're told the consequences of the choices the characters make and come to our own conclusions as to who's right and who's wrong. There are also a few grey areas.

Faces by Martina Cole | Goodreads Faces by Martina Cole | Goodreads

Jon Jon, Jeanette and Kira all have different father's, none of whom Joanie can remember, as they're three of many clients. As you can tell from my 3 stars, I wasn't that impressed. It wasn't the story itself that I didn't enjoy, although it did seem to end rather abruptly (and without the twist I was hoping for), it was the sheer amount of padding in the novel.Jon Jon, Joanie's oldest at seventeen/eighteen, tries to find out what's going on. Jon Jon works closely with Paulie Martin, a local pimp. I always devour Cole's novels, so when I found this one in a book sale, I snapped it up and inhaled it.