Her unique, powerful storytelling is acclaimed for its hard-hitting, true-to-life style - there is no one like Martina Cole. It makes no sense what is inferred from these and related aspects in the girls lives, the views (along with the language) were archaic and did not fit; useless in the present day and the present book. Pat is shrewd and suspicious of course but the idea of a family brings it's own happiness and problems. Aiden O'Hara is a Hard Man, head of his family, and in the running to take over his chosen business, which involves much illegal skulduggery. Whilst there’s plenty of drama surrounding this revelation it just didn’t seem necessary and never really seemed to go anywhere, it felt like it was just added in again for the nostalgic factor and just to fill the white space that would otherwise have been left.

Martina Cole | Goodreads Damaged by Martina Cole | Goodreads

In a way it is like historical royal families where they marry so that they can rule a piece of Spain or France.

If you like gritty estate gangster style books you will like this one, it has a bit of just about everything in it. Another novel written by her titled The Runaway was made into a television series that was telecast on Sky1 and Sky1 HD. This is all such a shame from such a well respected author and I have read Martina Cole books previously and enjoyed them. The vast majority of young women in this book are slated as disgusting wrongdoers who have made a huge mistake that will tarnish their name for the rest of their lives if, god forbid, they have consensual sexual involvement with a boy of the same age.

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This novel deals with the troubled lives of the main characters Freddie Jackson and his wife Jackie. Life for Kate and ex-gangster Patrick Kelly is thrown into chaos when his long lost son turns up out of the blue, bringing trouble with him. I don't remember MC's repetition of characters in her earlier books (which I could not put down) and suspect "More No 1 Original Fiction Bestsellers than any other author" stickers on MC's books does not apply to every book written by her. Byla tak bezmocná a ve všem na vás závisela - bylo to jediné období Reevinho života, kdy si připadala chtěná. The latest novel written by Cole features a new gangster character named Michael Flynn, who is considered to be a very dangerous criminal in the underworld.It was obvious from the beginning that someone in the family would kill Aiden and I thought it would be Jade Dixon. Women in this book are only written as respectable on the condition that they do not wear makeup, are not sexually active beyond a rigid set of perimeters, and definitely do not have a facebook account. Cole's knowledge and understanding of police behaviour when conducting enquiries and procedures also seems woefully inadequate. The characterisation was as good as ever with the feisty, mouthy ex good time girl Reeva mother of the O'Hara family who likes a drink but has a heart of gold and would do anything for her children. The 10 the novel that Cole wrote had featured in the hardback bestseller list of the Sunday Times for seven weeks continuously.

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This is a really, for want of a better word, gross scene, particularly because the detectives' profile of the killer at this point in the book is an adult male resembling a paedophile, however the fact that this interaction is not in the least bit appropriate is never acknowledged. Drugs, prostitution and murder are all things Aiden finds himself caught up in but it pays the bills and keeps his family safe. I have no idea why her editor didn't pull 100 pages from this as it could only have benefited the story. Four of the novels written by Cole have been made into television dramas which have received high ratings just like the novels themselves. She was expelled from her convent school aged 15 after allegedly being caught reading a Harold Robbins novel.

I am glad that in the end the family came together but I would have liked a much more shocking twist at the end.

The Life: A dark suspense thriller of crime and corruption

Not sure what anyone else has been reading, but there was no suspense, no drama, and anyone should be able to work out who the perpetrator is by about half way through the book. In the year 2008, Cole participated in a drama series in the form of a documentary as an author which was shown on ITV.The book is really split into three, the investigation such as it is, the dilemma of the new family showing up and the nightmare wife who comes with it and of course wee bits from the killer. the timeline was so confusing to me, one second a character was 15 years old, jump forward just a few pages, suddenly they are 21, jump forward around 50-100 more pages, the character is middle-aged. Ultimately you believe the story is about that fierce loyalty of family but sometimes pride and jealously can be the strongest emotion. Finally, the only other character who is specified to be black, is a young girl the protagonist finds in bed with one of the brothers.