Title: The Life
Author: Martina Cole
ISBN: 978-0755375578
Publisher: Headline
First Published: September 2012 (Hardback)
No .of pages: 512
Rating: 4/5
Synopsis (from Amazon):
The most authentic novel of gangster family life ever written, from the No. 1 bestselling author.
The Bailey brothers are gangsters determined to make their mark in the world. Peter and Daniel are chalk and cheese in many ways – Peter’s calm exterior belies his ruthless nature, while Daniel’s penchant for spectacular violence is legendary – but together they are unstoppable. From the late seventies they rule London’s East End and, when their sons join the business, it seems that no one can touch the powerful Baileys. Although it’s never easy at the top; there is always someone waiting to take you down – sometimes even those closest to you… Lena Bailey is determined to shield her youngest child Tania from the Life. But when a terrible tragedy occurs, Tania’s eyes are opened to their world in a way that forces her to make an irrevocable choice that will determine her future.
Martina Cole’s gritty and gripping new novel is an unflinching portrait of a family torn apart by violence and betrayal, but ultimately bound by loyalty, by blood, and by a burning desire for revenge… It is a story of the Life, told as only Martina Cole can.
Review:
Martina Cole never fails to disappoint me with her books. I love her tales of the criminal underbelly and the way she brings generation after generation of families to life. You really get invested in them. These books are not to everyone’s taste as they can be quite graphic and violent but I find that this is balanced out completely in the way Cole creates her characters and sets the scene.
The Life has a very dominant and sinister undertone running through it due to the character of Daniel. His unpredictable bouts of violence are a constant threat through the story and you never know quite when he is going to lose his cool or what the consequences would be for his family. On the flip side is Peter, the calm and calculating side of the family. He spends a lot of his time running around fixing the trouble his brother has caused whilst trying to keep their family businesses running.
We follow both Daniel and Peter through their life, along with their wives, their children and the ever increasing family that they belong too. We grow with them; We love with them; We hate with them. But as things come to a head, with tragic consequences, we learn that blood will always be thicker than water.
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