| Product: |
Maura's Game - Martina Cole |
| Date: |
07/12/02 (102 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: not too taxing on the brain, gets you hooked
Disadvantages: leading lady characters are getting a bit "worn"
Martina Cole has been one of my favourite british authors since stumbling across them after a recommendation by a friend when I was off work for a while. Wow this author has knocked my socks off. OK shes not up there with Sharespeare, Keats, Browning the list goes on. But Martina writes what she knows about and those of you who have read her books will know they are not for the fainthearted, so the review; well heregoes my first book review.
Maura's Game is a sequel to her book Dangerous Lady, and although it may be a little useful to have read that one first it is not a pre-requisite.
Martina has a writing style that keeps you gripped and has a turn and twist in every chapter.
The books starts with someone very close to her been blown up in a car bombing and follows on with the leading lady Maura the head of the powerful london Ryan family trying to get behind who would want her dead (turns out later in the book it was meant for her).
I dont want to spoil the book too much for you but the plot mainly revolves around a mad ex associate trying to get his revenge on the ryan family for "allegedly" killing his wife and ordering a hit on him whilst he was in prison, and this is where the skulduggery and treachery starts.
There are some particularly violent parts in the book which had even me feeling a little shaken, but what Martina Cole tries to do is show it how it is.
What I do find odd though is that in everyone of her books she has a leading lady as the main charachter and comes through adversity no matter what and in the majority of her books (bar one but i wont spoil it for you if youre planning to read her books).
The ryan family are very close knit run by a matriachal type woman who, at the beginning of the book, hates her daughter and then for no seemingly apparant reason forgives her for all the terrible crimes she has committed, ah well thats family for you.
Although Thi
s book is mainly dark and depressing and openingly shocking at times, Martina has the ability to bring in humour and at times although shocked at the stuff I was reading I actually laughed out loud at times.
There are some very colourful characters in this book (as in all of her books) one of them being her "one paving stone short of a patio" nephew Benny Ryan who has a penchant for gluing peoples eyes together with airfix glue and carrying a cattle prod around at all times, and her treahcerous niece carla whom I wont give too much away on so as not to spoil your reading.
Overall Martina Cole books in general can be read in a day and a half, Maura's Game being a 405 page offering. Very easy reading you can put it down and then pick it up a week later and still have the gist of whats going on.
She has a ggod writing style that doesnt cause you to tax your brain too much, always a bonus as books are primarily for enjoyment, she has a knack of drawing you into her characters and even feel sympathy them even though they have carried out heinous crimes. A truly talented writer, and most of her books have made it into the bestsellers list in this country she is a writer that I personally hope will be around for a few years to come.
As I said this is my first book review so im sure there will be criticisms, but all constructive criticism will be welcomed greatly. Thank you for the time you have taken to read this.
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