Dangerous Lady - Martina Cole

INTRODUCTION Though I haven’t written a review for a while, those of you that recognise me will know that I’m a big fan of Martina Cole. A few months ago I moved from London to Peterborough and was delighted to find that a first rate, well stocked library was located just a couple of minutes walk from my flat! During my daily commute I have the opportunity to do lots of reading but this is the first time in months that I’ve been motivated enough to produce a review. I’ve just finished reading Martina Cole’s first novel – Dangerous Lady – a reasonable, if somewhat epic effort for a first novel. With hindsight, I’d quite like to see Cole go back to ...  Read the complete review

So, how does a self-confessed internet addict cope, when faced with two weeks computer-less? She reads. A lot. Hence finishing two Martina Cole books (of around 600 pages each) in just a few days! Dangerous Lady was the author’s first novel, published back in 1992. I own the 10th anniversary edition with a foreword by Cole herself. Having read several of her books before, I knew what to expect – crime, murder, violence and seedy sex – but with a huge portion of strong family connections, wonderfully described characters and decades of their lives evolving over the pages. Before Martina Cole, I had always shied away from these kinds of ...  Read the complete review

Review of 'Dangerous Lady', a novel by Martina Cole. I am reviewing the paperback version of the book, published by Headline Books. 563 pages, ISBN 9-9999-8458-4, cover price £6.99. **The novel** A compelling London gangland novel from the pen of popular crime writer, Martina Cole, Dangerous Lady draws the reader into the London gangland sub culture, a violent and sometimes uncomfortable place. The novel's plot covers the Ryan family, a rough, tough bunch of six boys and their only sister, Maura. The story begins in May 1950, with the birth of Maura Ryan. The Ryans are well known in their district, their father Benjamin is a ...  Read the complete review

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Another one of Martina Cole's best offerings this a truly fantastic book. I believe it was her first book and she certainly entered the literary world with a real corker. It follows the life of Maura Ryan from her childhood to her rise to head of the powerful Ryan crime family with control of the London Underworld. The characters are real and believable and through the way Cole writes from a character's own perspective you feel yourself feeling empathy for even the most violent of Maura's brothers. It tells the story of love and betrayal, when Maura is abandoned by her boyfriend at 17 after he finds out who her brothers are, and her subsequent botched abortion which robs ...  Read the complete review