Maura's Game - Softcover

Cole, Martina

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0747267596 ISBN 13: 9780747267591

Publisher: Headline, 2003

Synopsis

Maura Ryan was the queen of the criminal underworld when she pulled off the most audacious gold bullion robbery of all time. Since then she's retired from a life of crime to be with the only man she's ever loved. But enemies from her past are closing in and they're about to learn that they should never cross Maura Ryan. The dangerous lady is back and she's as lethal as ever . . .

MAURA'S GAME is an explosive novel of East End violence and corruption from one of the most original voices in fiction.

About this title

Review:

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

Review:

The Guardian ran a piece in Inside Track (latest news from the publishing industry) on Martina Cole.
"With her second number 1 of 2002 she joins the small band of so called "mega" authors, in a particularly valuable category who produce at least one new book a year...Cole's success, like Rankin's, follows a steady build-up of a kind that is becoming rare in the book business, which prefers nowadays to produce such results instantly."

(Guardian)

'Pacy and dramatic' Woman's Own (Woman's Own)

'A violently realistic thriller of East End life, with Essex-born Cole once again proving adept at getting authentic language down on the page' Closer magazine (Closer magazine)

About this edition

• Publisher: Headline
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 0747267596
• ISBN 13: 9780747267591
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 640