Freddie Jackson thinks he owns the underworld when he gets out of prison. His wife Jackie just wants her husband home, but she's forgotten the rows, the violence, and the girls Freddie can't leave alone. Bitter, resentful, and increasingly unstable, Jackie watches her life crumble while her little sister Maggie's star rises. In love with Freddie's cousin Jimmy, Maggie is determined not to end up like her sister. Families should stick together, but behind closed doors, jealousy and betrayal can fester.
Joanie Brewer’s children mean the world to her. She’d do anything to make sure they’re fed and clothed – even if it means going on the game – and she lives in constant fear that one of them will be taken from her. Eighteen-year-old Jon Jon is knee-deep in crime, and Jeanette, only fourteen, knows more than is good for her. But it’s Kira who really scares her, for in a world where no one is to be trusted, her eleven-year-old angel is the most vulnerable to danger.
Eleven years ago Marie Carter was convicted of killing her two best friends. And she's paid the price. Now she is being released from prison. It's time to go home. But time has stood still for Marie, and she has nowhere to go. Her parents have disowned her; her friends have abandoned her; even her kids don't want to know. But some people out there do care - particularly when they know that Marie Carter is out for revenge...
Highly acclaimed for her hard-hitting, uncompromising and compelling writing, as well as her phenomenal Number 1 success, Martina Cole is the only author who dares to tell it like it is. After the recent runaway success of "The Take", Martina's new novel, "Close", is the story of the women who are left behind. Set in London's dark and violent gangland, this novel tells the tale of a gutsy mother and her two sons, and their lives in and out of jail. With her characteristically haunting writing and visceral subject matter, Martina Cole, has written yet another yet another compulsive bestseller.
Just before Danny Cadogan's fourteenth birthday, his father leaves. Having drunkenly run up a gambling debt he cannot pay, Big Dan Cadogan takes the easy way out. Leaving behind his wife and children to face the wrath of the men sent to collect the debt. Determined to protect his mother, brother and sister, something changes in Danny and, overnight, he turns into a young man set on making his way in a violent and dangerous world. He becomes a Face. Not just a Face, but the most feared Face in the Smoke. Out for all he can get. At any cost.
