Close - Martina Cole

I am a very recent convert to the draw of Martina Cole novels. I think I read my first of her novels sometime last year, and since then I've worked my way through all her books from the earliest to the latest. "Close" is her thirteenth novel and most recent blockbuster, hitting the shelves sometime in mid October. The sort of genre she writes under could be loosely described as crime/thriller fiction, with a hard, gruesome edge. She tends to mainly write about East End villains, their wives and families. There is no exception to this pattern with "Close". Again, it's set in the East end of London and tells the tale of the rise and fall of a ...  Read the complete review

Martina Cole - Close Description: Author: Martina Cole / Genre: Fiction What's it all about? The story follows the lives of Patrick and Lil Brodie and their families. The story begins with Lil Diamond, who has been brought up with an abusive and neglectful mother and stepfather. As a result, she meets and marries Patrick Brodie at a young age and goes on to have a family with him. The story then details Patrick's life as a gangster (or "face" as it is called in the book) who grows more successful as their children are growing up. Lil's life is turned upside down when Patrick is murdered in front of her ...  Read the complete review

Martina Cole – Close I couldn’t wait to buy the new book from Martina Cole, Close and even though I cant stand to read hardback books, when I saw it in Tesco’s for a discounted price I snapped it up and rushed home with a big bar of chocolate to begin the read. Unlike most Cole books this particular one seemed to take me a little while to get into the plot. For those who have yet the pleasure of read a Cole classic I will tell you that all her books are about the crime and gangster world of the London streets. The books are often filled with plenty of violence and skulduggery. The main two characters of this book are Lilly ...  Read the complete review

I am a huge fan of Martina Cole so when a friend offered to lend me Close i could not say no. The story is about the lives and deaths of Patrick and Lil Brodie and the growing up of their children. The story starts by telling us that Lil was born into a poor household with indifferent and neglectful parents, Lil meets Patrick at the age of fifteen and is married to him by sixteen. Lil's status rises with Patrick's success in the underworld and she has 5 children with him but her life takes a turn for the worst and falls again upon his murder at the hands of rivals. Lil tries to work her way back up in life and had another 3 children along the ...  Read the complete review

Like other reviewers, I have only discovered Marina Cole books in the last two years and am currently working my way through her back catalogue. Close follows the lives of Patrick and Lily Brodie who as usual for characters of a Martina Cole book are from an Irish background and following their lives from childhood to death. It details their lives as part of London gangland and how they adjust to the trials that this throws at them. The characters are well developed, although, towards the end of the book, I felt that there could have been some more focus on Lily's younger children. The book is easy to read, however, in comparision to other books ...  Read the complete review