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Books : Fiction : Contemporary Fiction: 1970 Onwards : Authors A-Z : C : Cole, Martina
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Leading an investigation into the neglect and abandonment of a number of young Grantley children throws DI Kate Burrows into contact with the most vile and repugnant of criminals. As a mother herself, Kate finds their crimes almost incomprehensible. And with the case becoming ever more sinister, she knows she needs to find answers quickly.Emotionally drained by the rigours of the investigation, it's a real struggle for Kate to find the energy to deal with the complex problems unfolding in her domestic life. Despite assurances to the contrary it seems Patrick Kelly, hardman and love of DI Burrows' life, is still firmly entrenched in the East End underworld. When a body turns up in Patrick's seedy Soho club it seems he has finally got in over his head and the only person in a position to help him is Kate.
Set in familiar Cole territory of East End London, Broken is every bit as gritty and compelling as The Ladykiller. The story as it unfolds is gruesome, uncomfortable and peppered with violence but it is also carefully and thoroughly researched. Martina Cole knows what life in Grantley is and does not shy away from using the strong language of the street in addition to enough cockney rhyming slang to put any would-be pearly king to the test. A well-paced, gripping page-turner with strong, credible female characters, Broken definitely fits the unputdownable category. --Sarah Crawford
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The return of Cole's queen of the criminal underworld, Maura Ryan, in Maura's Game is welcome indeed. Since her first novel Dangerous Lady (which introduced Maura), Cole has broadened her appeal with such novels as Two Women, a grim picture of domestic abuse that coincided with a government initiative on the subject. The new book has no sociological concerns: it's just an extremely powerful journey through a dark underworld where life is cheap.Maura Ryan has left her life of crime behind her after a big score, and fondly imagines that she can settle down with the man she loves. But the life she has left behind is full of enemies who have plans to make things very tough for her, unless she can make things tough for them first. The proceeds from her last gold-bullion robbery can't help her: she needs all her wit and sinew to survive.
The queasy feeling that comes from being forced to identify with such a ruthless character is a carefully calculated part of Martina Cole's tactics, and works to unsettling effect in this hard-edged thriller. We are never comfortable reading Maura's Game, and that's exactly what the author had in mind. If your taste is for cosy, middle-class thrillers, this is most definitely not for you. But fans of Martina Cole will know exactly what to expect--and boy, does she deliver. --Barry Forshaw
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Is The Graft up to Martina Cole's usual standard? The unarguable success of her sizable tally of crime novels must be a source of envy to other practitioners. Almost from the beginning, she has gleaned praise for her gritty and pungent fiction. Even the very ordinary TV adaptations of such books as Dangerous Lady stripped no lustre from her reputation, when novels as good as The Know flowed from her pen. Her prose style is always pared down and vivid--which is, thankfully, still very much the case with The Graft.Nick Leary is having trouble sleeping, what with sultry heat and business and family problems weighing on his mind. His wife is sleeping beside him, when he hears a noise downstairs--and soon he has to decide how much violence he will use to defend his home and family. The decision he makes is to change his life forever. Nick and his wife are taken to the very extremes of human behaviour--and he is obliged to decide how high a price he will pay to keep what he values most.
As ever, Cole exerts an effortless grip throughout her unsettling narrative. We're used to her exuberantly characterised heroines, but the beleaguered Nick shows that's she's just as on-the-nail with her male characters. The edgy plotting has the kind of no-nonsense handling that is Cole's métier. Perhaps a touch more psychological strip-mining of her protagonists would have deepened her achievement, but what the hell--all the right buttons are pressed here.--Barry Forshaw
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