CRIMINALLY Good... (The Ladykiller - Martina Cole)

Member Name: rachels_ratty

Product:	The Ladykiller - Martina Cole
Date:	02/05/03 (101 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Excellent characterisation, Compulsive reading

Disadvantages: Couldnt put it down!

George Markham, to the outside world is an unassuming sort of person. At first glance he seems like just another ordinary guy; hes quiet, has a good job, a nice car and lives with his wife in suburbia. Look a little deeper and you will find a man who is more than a bit hen-pecked and nagged by his wife and thought of by his work colleagues as a bit of a loser, even a bit "sad". He has no real friends, he doesnt seem to belong. Some would even go so far as to think of him as "creepy". If only this was all there was to Mr Markham!

Appearances can be deceptive. Very deceptive indeed in the case of this particular gentleman. He likes domination and bondage magazines, hardly surprising given his wifes nature and not exactly perverse; but that is the very least of his hidden traits. George Markham is a misogynist and seemingly no woman is safe from his twisted way of thinking. He has a secret smile, the one that if you knew what it meant would have you running… You see he also hides a secret and indeed he hides it well. He is a murderer, a serial killer. Women are being viciously attacked, murdered then raped. The press in the small town where he lives have dubbed him the Grantley Ripper.

The Detective Inspector in charge of the hunt to find this sadist is Kate Burrows. Shes divorced with one teenage daughter and is working in a male dominated and often-sexist police station. She is under great pressure from those higher than her, her own colleagues, the press and the public to solve this case before the victim list grows further. The public are scared, naturally so, but DI Burrows is really struggling to make any kind of breakthrough whatsoever; the Grantley Ripper is a clever bugger and leaves no clues. She also has to deal with certain people within the Force who dont see her as being up to the job as well as a prat of an ex-husband!

Now lets throw into the mix Londons most feared hard-man, one Patrick Kelly. A wid
ower who dotes on his only child Mandy he skates just the right side of the Law with his various businesses, which include Massage Parlours, and he is the Souths most feared Repo man. If someones got something of yours and you want it back, call in Mr Kelly; he will get it back one way or another with maybe with the odd threat or two thrown in for good measure! So when the Ripper kills Mandy, the only thing he has left in the world to live for, lets just say Mr Kelly is not impressed. He has connections worldwide and nothing is going to stand in his way to revenge the murder…

He isnt all he seems though; again appearances can be wrong. He has a heart of gold and as the story progresses we see how his developing relationship with DI Burrows changes both of their lives, forever. The scene is set, a huge manhunt is being undertaken and the race is on to identify Mr Markham as the killer, but who will get to him first; DI Burrows or Patrick Kelly?


This book is typical Martina Cole, she has a great talent for mixing gritty realism with fast paced drama and this novel is no exception. All of her books are set in and around London and show life both within the Law and beyond it. She has a gift for making her books believable; again this one is perfectly crafted to make you think "what if"?

She writes each character extremely well and puts plenty of flesh onto each persons bare bones. Granted sometimes some of the flesh is a little rancid and festering, but flesh it undoubtedly is! I love a book that whilst you are reading you get so absorbed into it you can picture each character in your minds eye and this does just that. You can see each person she is describing clearly throughout the story and I found myself willing the Police and even Mr Kelly on to find the Ripper! George Markhams character had the ability through the written word alone to make my skin crawl and Im not someone to be scared easily.

Sometimes some
books leave me with the "but that wouldnt happen" feeling, or the "but that person wouldnt have done that" opinion. This book does neither, all characterisations stay true to the very end, all emotions are explored in depth so you feel like you know the people she is writing about. Martina Cole writes in a very clear manner, if the character is from the rougher end of town then the language they use is appropriate and sometimes very harsh. This is the same for those with a better upbringing, and the heady mixture of the two is interwoven with perfection. The interactions between all of the characters are executed with aplomb and always in a very realistic fashion.

Throughout the book we get some pretty deep insights into George Markham and his family which does go quite a way to explaining why he is the way he is, although as in all of these types of situation there is of course the unknown and unexplainable; after all not everyone treated like he was as a child goes on to do what he does. Its a fine line to walk for Ms Cole as she does it well and the book jumps from present day to the past with ease and without disrupting either the story as a whole or the reading pleasure. Please dont get me wrong here. I do not believe for one second that Ms Cole wrote all the chapters on George Markhams upbringing to illicit any sympathy with him and his situation, just to simply explain who he is and where he came from. After all, serial killers dont usually just fall from the sky one day!

Please dont be mistaken, this isnt all a sombre read, at times I found myself laughing out loud with one thing or another that one of the characters had said. That said, the mood throughout the book is ideal, Ms Cole never allows it to become too "black" and forbidding but on the other hand it doesnt become too humorous which for the subject matter would be entirely inappropriate. The hope that the killer will be captured is brilliantly conv
eyed and gives a nice lift to the whole story.

I found this a compulsive read; I had great trouble putting it down as the story unfolded with each turn of the page. In this book Martina Cole has created a world that I just didnt want to leave until the last page and the story certainly twists and turns until a conclusion that; well lets just say you probably wont guess until you get there. I know I certainly couldnt tell how things eventually concluded which made a refreshing change for me. The ending isnt typical of books of this ilk and its always good if you cant guess how the nasty little villain will get his comeuppance!!


This book is no short read, at 629 pages split into 32 well-defined chapters it does take even the most avid reader like myself a good few reading sessions to get through; although the subject matter may suggest otherwise, it isnt that heavier a read although it is substantial. It was published in 1993 by Headline Book Publishing, and is available in both paperback and hardback.

ISBN number: 0-7472-4085-X

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