Close - Martina Cole

Martina Cole - Close

I couldn't wait to buy the new book from Martina Cole, Close and even though I cant stand to read hardback books, when I saw it in Tesco's for a discounted price I snapped it up and rushed home with a big bar of chocolate to begin the read.

Unlike most Cole books this particular one seemed to take me a little while to get into the plot. For those who have yet the pleasure of read a Cole classic I will tell you that all her books are about the crime and gangster world of the London streets. The books are often filled with plenty of violence and skulduggery.

The main two characters of this book are Lilly and Pat Brodie. You begin the book with them as a young couple just starting out in life and as the book progresses we follow their complicated lives through the tough world that is the London crime scene that Pat has somehow got Lilly wrapped up in.

After a few large chapters I was soon drawn into the whole story and began avidly following the complicated lives of the Brodie family. The style that Martina Cole writes in is really very easy to read and I am sure anyone who picked up one of her books would find themselves transported the a world so different from there own but one that seems as if it is happening around them.

To be brutally honest here I do however feel this book really does lack a good strong story line. The main plot really is based upon the whole lives of the family and the tragedies that they face but there really is not one strong thing to really set this book apart from all Cole's other novels. Yes I can really say that I did enjoy reading it and there was definitely the same Martina Cole pattern of crime and violence but the book for me truly lacked substance.

I will not go into the plot that much because for those who are planning to read this book when it comes to the shelves in paperback will be highly disappointed when I give away any sniff of the minimal amount of plot that are held within the pages.

This book cost me a whopping £10, which is actually half of the recommended retail price. I should have really waited for it to come out in paperback so it was easier to read and would of cost me a lot less to buy.

So all in all I would say that I really did enjoy this book as it was another great book from Martina Cole and the style that she writes in really is a pleasure to read. The fact the book was just based on the seedy lives of this one particular family was good to read but for me this book lacked much action which is what I think makes a book stand out from the rest.

I would say to all Martina Cole fans that yes this book is worth a read but I also would say to people who have not yet read a Cole book that this is not one of her best books to pick up first. Well worth a look if this is your sort of novel.