The Graft
by Martina Cole
On This Page
Description
Looking back, Nick Leary couldn't say exactly what kept him awake that night. He'd had a lot on his mind; perhaps he'd been thinking about the 'respectable' Essex business that he ran, or about his two young sons sleeping in the room next door. Or was it simply the sound of his beautiful wife's steady breathing beside him . . . Whatever it was, he was awake when he heard someone's footsteps downstairs, and Nick's instinct was to fight. It had always been that way, to protect the things he show more treasured most: his family, his privacy, his reputation. He'd grafted for these things all his life and no one was going to jeopardise them now. Unless, of course, Nick's instinct is wrong, and what happens this time is the start of something even he cannot stop . . . show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
Member Reviews
This book was sitting on my shelves for a while before I got around to reading it. I bought it by mistake one day - thinking the title said The CRAFT, not Graft lol. Someone else described it as a brutal story and I have to agree but it is a SLIMY brutal story too. The back streets of the London crime scene (described often in their terminology which I had problems understanding at times). Rent boys, drugs, beatings, murder - it has it all. Not the most comfortable read but I did see it through to the end - found myself fascinated to see what was coming next. So the whole concept was "OK" but it jolted me out of my usual sci-fi/fantasy world and it was an interesting read, hence 3 stars instead of 2 :)
Martina Cole is a big name in the crime thriller genre had she misfires here, with an unnecessarily lengthy story about a burglar murdered in a rich man's house. There is great potential from such a strong start, however it is quickly bogged down with the introduction of a myriad of characters, every one of them unlikeable. Each character has there own vice and the Cole ensures the reader gets to share their misery; The Graft is pretty bleak. The downside is there are far too few opportunities for hope and eventually it becomes a grind, a persistent narrative of drugs, sex and perversion. Without the glitz, or possibly a better writer, it becomes dull. There is a good enough story in there, with some interesting twists, however the show more total void of decent folk make this a bit of a downer. show less
Die britische Bestseller-Königin Martina Cole erzählt eine erschütternde Geschichte von Schuld und Sühne: Ein erfolgreicher Geschäftsmann erschlägt einen jungen Einbrecher. Zu seinem Entsetzen stellt er fest, dass dieser ihm einst sehr nahe stand.
Nov 16, 2011German
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Author Information
44+ Works 4,770 Members
Martina Cole was born Eilidh Martina Cole, in March 1959 in Essex. She is a British crime writer and businesswoman. As of 2009 she has released seventeen novels about crime some of which examine London's gangster underworld. Most of her novels feature a female protagonist or antihero, and some take place within the Irish community in and around show more London. In 2010 the novel Two Women was adapted for the stage. This is the first time one of Martina Cole's novels has been adapted for the theatre. Cole's novel, The Faithless, was released in 2011 and it has already appeared on the Sunday Times Bestseller list. Four of her novels, Dangerous Lady, The Jump, The Take and The Runaway have been adapted into high-rating television dramas. She has achieved sales of over ten million in the UK alone, and her tenth novel, The Know, spent seven weeks on The Sunday Times's hardback bestsellers list. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Common Knowledge
- Original publication date
- 2004
- First words
- It was so hot in the room, like an oven.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 268
- Popularity
- 120,167
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.21)
- Languages
- 7 — Bulgarian, Dutch, English, German, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian
- Media
- Paper, Audiobook, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 19
- ASINs
- 7
