The Graft - Martina Cole

This was the first Martina Cole I have ever read, and it was very well written. This was the first book I had written that was not a true story, and I have read several of Martina's books since. Although, it was quite difficult to get in to, once you did it was brilliant. The gripping story line starts with Nick Leary shooting and killing a burgular, whom is seen to everyone as a villian with a drugged up Mam. However the stoy doesn't end there as Nick feel's uncontrolable guilt and know one can understand why. This story is filled with twist and turns that it just keeps you guessing throughout the book till the very end. I would ...  Read the complete review

Review of "The Graft" by Martina Cole The Graft is the eleventh novel from the pen of Essex girl Martina Cole. The novel follows Ms Cole's tried and tested formula of dysfunctional families, East End London and Essex 'hard men', drug dealing and violent crime. The book, in common with Martina's other works, touches on subject matters which are considered taboo by most people. Incest, child abuse, violence and prostitution all appear in the Graft. ==The Plot== I will try not to spoil the storyline for other readers here! Nick Leary lives in a large Essex farmhouse with his wife, Tammy, his mother Angela and his ...  Read the complete review

The Graft is another fantastic well researched novel from the writer that is Martina Cole. As I have said in other reviews I am a big fan of Martina Cole and this book is up there as one of her best I feel. I have never read a book with so many twists and turns, shocks and revelations. It is such a page turner, I couldn't put it down. First published in 2004 The Graft is another novel about the criminal world of London, however the big difference with this book is that the lead character is a male and not the heroic female we usually see in Martina Cole's books. Nick Leary is a successful business man, he has a beautiful wife, two young sons, a ...  Read the complete review

Self-made businessman Nick Leary hears a noise downstairs, late one night, in his luxurious secluded seven-acre mansion. His instincts to protect his wife, young sons and home, result in a confrontation with an armed intruder. The eventual death of whom sparks off a chain of events which will ultimately change the lives of all those involved. Nick was only protecting what was rightfully his, what he had grafted for all his life, or was he? Seen as a hero by many, including the police (for ridding the area of a known petty criminal), Nick's life begins to unravel as his guilt starts to eat away at him. Tyrell Hatcher, the father of the teenager involved, ...  Read the complete review

This was the first Martina Cole book i had ever read and i must say it was very gritty but a very gripping read. It was a bit slow to start with but a few chapters in and i could not put the book down. The story starts with a young boy being killed by the local gangster (Nick) for attempting to burgle his house. He gets hailed as the local hero for doing what anyone would have done. Nick struggles to come to terms with what he has done. Nick hurts and kills people in the course of his every day life, so why does he react like that to this killing? That is where the real story starts. I really enjoyed this book but having said that there was a lot ...  Read the complete review