Loyalty: The brand new novel from the bestselling author

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Excels at school but instead of academics, Aiden is taken under the wing of his mother's boyfriend Tony and is introduced to Eric Palmer a legend in East and South London and a reputation not to mess with. The best way to describe it is this story felt very cookie-cutted. The story, the characters, the situations, they were all cookie-cutted. All very tried and tested. While I don't think that this is a bad thing in some books and series, it felt out of place here. And for an author like Martina Cole to use this formula is off. I hated everything about this book. The characters, several generations of an Essex crime family, are all deeply unpleasant and carry out one atrocity after another. They're superficially glossy and care more about flashy cars and designer kitchens than about anything else. They're gangsters who are considered all right as, whatever else they do, they love their old Mum.

This is only the second book I have read by this author and already I am a huge fan and want to read more. Her writing is amazing and I am intrigued by what her other work has to offer. Reeva O'Hara has to fight for everything.....she had her first child at 14 and by the time she hits her early twenties she has already produce a further 4 children. This is all such a shame from such a well respected author and I have read Martina Cole books previously and enjoyed them.A serial killer is in town and the race is on for DCI Kate Burrows. Stop the killer before more innocent girls die... I loved Cole's earlier books, particularly Burrows and the whole taboo of a copper hooking up with a criminal. Now Burrows is out of the police business and Pat is mostly retired things are going well when Pat has a chap claiming to be his son. Pat is shrewd and suspicious of course but the idea of a family brings it's own happiness and problems. As with Cole’s previous books, the chapters are fairly short and the style and flow of writing is easy to follow but it’s really just the same old stories and characters.

Although I can appreciate the true nature of the plot and darker side of gang life I didn’t like the writing style. I found Coles writing extremely repetitive and predictable. When the bodies of missing schoolgirls start turning up, former DCI Kate Burrows is dragged out of retirement.I am in agreement with some other reviewers on here. How anyone can read this book and give it 5 stars is beyond me. I like a good thriller/crime story and this is none of the above. I am going to admit this: I am in two minds over Betrayal. I enjoyed the story and kept listening to the audiobook, but at the same time, I can't help but think that I had read this story before... I really can't think why anyone would want to read this, unless it's for the vicarious thrill of observing violent and unpleasant people. I opened this book expecting to be pleasantly surprised by this "family" - like perhaps all my preconceptions of what the book would be about would be debunked. But all my predictions were correct, and even then I was disappointed by the writing. The plot was too simple for a suspense/thriller novel. There were so many little off-shoots that the plot could have taken that would have been mildly interesting and suspenseful. Unfortunately, the author took none of these and we were left with the unfulfilled hope that the story would become complex and live up to what it was marketed as.

Ultimately you believe the story is about that fierce loyalty of family but sometimes pride and jealously can be the strongest emotion. finally, i’d just like to point out that the author (a white woman) used a racial slur for no visible reason, where it could be easily omitted.Short, snappy chapters keep the pace of the story moving so not to get bored. This wasn’t an issue for me - I prefer shorter chapters. I find that I retain more of the story that way and don’t get bogged down with unnecessary content. Of course because the chapters are so short, you're not to expect much in terms of content, and the impact of key events in the novel is often lost. Nevertheless, the characters and the story are what hook the reader, and see them through to what is a very interesting and effective ending, the author achieving the desired crescendo in an otherwise slow paced story.

There are trigger points that deal with chid abuse, sexual and physical, rape, violence towards women, drug taking and if you flinch at the C word be prepared to flinch a lot Aiden O'Hara has always looked out for his family, ever since he was a wee laddie. His mother has something of a reputation and many children to different fathers. Aiden is fiercely protective and soon makes himself a name with the local face. Drugs, prostitution and murder are all things Aiden finds himself caught up in but it pays the bills and keeps his family safe. However as Aiden's reputation grows his arrogance and unpredictability grows with it turning Aiden from protector to a possible danger to his family and business. And yet as the author is so so good at doing it shows friendship and how it can get people through any situation and it shows sacrifice and love I feel annoyed that I wasted my time and money on this apology for crime fiction. Oh the temptation of the station bookshop with a long train journey ahead.BETRAYAL is the second book of Martina’s I have read (I read THE TAKE early last year) and I cannot wait to devour more of her titles. There’s something about the raw, grittiness of the worlds she creates that pulls you in and pops you right in the middle of it. Mám rada príbehy z mafiánskeho prostredia. Ten svet ma niečím fascinuje. A Martina Cole mi jeden taký priniesla, i keď nebolo to celkom to, čo som očakávala. Príbeh bol totiž viac zameraný na rodinné vzťahy ako tie mafiánske, našťastie v ňom ale nechýbali rôzne mafiánske praktiky. I took ages getting to this book as it has taken a fair amount of slating on many book clubs, for a while fans have commented on Cole's book just not being a shadow of her former works. I still enjoyed this one, it starts pretty much from the first chapter, each chapter is relatively short in length making perfect for dipping in and out of. It has elements of her previous books although I agree that with fierce competition from writers such as Chambers & Mitchell there does seem to be a spark missing. You have loyalty, violence, family, relationships, sex, swearing, murder, drugs, prostitution and warning, even child abuse within this one. Not for the easily offended and if you haven't read Cole before I would recommending starting with her earlier work. stars. This is the first Martina Cole book I’ve read through a recommendation so not my usual style. Before reading The Family I'd previously only read one of Martina Cole's books, Faceless, which I hated (but it was a giveaway with a newspaper). When I recently won a copy of The Family I thought I'd give it a go as it couldn't possibly be worse than Faceless - well, it could and it was.