The Dirty Dozen by Lynda La Plante

Carrying on the #TeamTennison tour, we have my review for book five of the series "The Dirty Dozen" enjoy.

The Dirty Dozen by Lynda La Plante
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out as able over a week

Pages - 490

Publisher - Zaffre

Source - Review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

April 1980 and Jane is the first female detective to be posted to the Met’s renowned Flying Squad, commonly known as the ‘Sweeney’. Based at Rigg Approach in East London, they investigate armed robberies on banks, cash in transit and other business premises.

Jane thinks her transfer is on merit and is surprised to discover she is actually part of a short-term internal experiment, intended to have a calming influence on a team that likes to dub themselves as the ‘Dirty Dozen’.

The men on the squad don’t think a woman is up to the dangers they face when dealing with some of London’s most ruthless armed criminals, who think the only ‘good cop’ is a dead cop. Determined to prove she’s as good as the men, Jane discovers from a reliable witness that a gang is going to carry out a massive robbery involving millions of pounds.

But she doesn’t know who they are, or where and when they will strike...


My Review

Book five in the Tennison series, Jane is doing well and now made it onto the Mets Flying Squad, the first female to do so. It is the 1980s so be ready for sexist, racist, chauvinistic, offensive language from the police and the bad guys. A gang are committing robberies, scoring big and the team are investigating. Jane is quite confident in her abilities and why she got onto the team, through her hard work, merit and record. She finds herself met with hostility both with some of her new team mates and the only other female in the office (not an officer).

The thing I like about Jane is she is almost always counted out and she brings it although admittedly she does have a few lapses in judgement at times. The other thing I really like is when they palm her off with nonsense or what they think is insubstantial she treats every job with the same level of efficiency - usually to her advantage.

As well as the investigation we get a bit as usual from Jane's private life, her family this time, a bit of office shenanigans, a rough estate and some shady characters/behaviours. Threats, violence, murder and all the things we have come to know/love and expect in the Tennison series, page turner, shocking turns of events and enough variety to keep it fresh even though we are five books into the series, here is to number six, 4.5/5.

View all my reviews

Make of Break by Catherine Bennetto

Make or Break by Catherine Bennetto
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 2 days

Pages - 496

Publisher - Simon & Schuster

Source - Gifted/comp

Blurb from Goodreads

Jess, a 29-year-old Londoner with a Kate Beckett fringe and a tendency for dramatics, gets taken on a surprise trip by her long-term boyfriend, Pete, to attend her best friend’s last-minute wedding in South Africa. Jess imagines sun, sand, wine and safaris. And returning to London with an ethically mined diamond on her left hand...

But this holiday isn’t set to be quite the fairy tale Jess has planned... Suddenly she finds her world tilting on its axis, and things are only set to get worse when Jess returns home…

When the truth comes out, will it be... Make or Break?



My Review

Finally a holiday for Jess & Pete - her whole life revolves around her job and helping out her sister and kids. Could this be the holiday he finally proposes then everything will be great, her job (music industry) is fab, her sisters kids are the nucleus of the family, what could possibly go wrong? Well the holiday (Cape Town, South Africa) is beautiful but things don't go great early on - they are there for their friends wedding and that is the only thing they really have scheduled together. Soon is seems they aren't spending much time together and drama galore unfolds.

There is a lot of banter, jokes, crassness/vulgarity (there's a word), she has so much anxiety I think will wind some readers up yet others will find her super relatable to. Family orientated but an absolute riot at times we go on a bit of a rollercoaster with her. Friendship, relationships, family, choas - Cape Town sounds lovely, It isn't a location I have ever thought of but after reading this I would like to see it.

Some of the book made me laugh out loud, some gave me the boke, I cringed, I was mortified, I was annoyed by Jess, I wanted to slap her, I wanted to hug her. This was my first time reading Bennetto, I would read her again. Poolside reading although it touches on a fair few issues and as long as bad language and sex themes doesn't bother you I think you will get a kick out of this, 3/5 for me.

View all my reviews

The Feud by Kimberley Chambers

The Feud by Kimberley Chambers
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - on and off for 2 days

Pages - 480

Publisher - Preface Publishing

Blurb from Amazon

On one side are the Mitchells, a notorious underworld mob from East London's Canning Town. They have an iron in every fire and will resort to intimidation and violence to get what they want. When Stanley Smith's lovely young daughter, Jessica, announces that she is to marry Eddie, the son of mob boss Harry Mitchell, Stanley is horrified, but too afraid to stand in their way.

On the other side are the O'Haras. The Mitchells' biggest rivals are a travelling family who live in nearby Stratford. They compete with the Mitchells for pub protection and the two families hate each other.

Caught between these two families at war, are two innocent children, who will grow up to love the wrong people and spark the last terrible act in the long-running feud. 1988 was a happy year in many people's lives. Some called it The Rave Year, others The Second Summer of Love. For Eddie Mitchell and his family it is neither. 1988 is the year in which his whole dangerous, violent world explodes around him.


My Review

The first book in a trilogy of the Mitchell's and the O'Hara's, when Jimmy O'Hara slashes Eddie, Eddie retaliates by beating Jimmy half to death with a baseball bat, there in is born a feud that lasts a life time. Both have kids and go their separate ways however fate brings both families together in a way neither could imagine with life changing consequences.

Oooooh what a kick to a new series, the main focus starts with the Mitchell's, their kids, growing empires and family, close and extended. The O'Hara's come in via their son Jed, a cocky young chappy with the looks and chat to snare any female that comes into his path. Forbidden love often draws people together and in the land of gangsters it is no different, a love kicks off a chain of events no one could foresee.

As well as the usual Chambers is well known for, gritty crime, bad language, murders and sex this one has a representative of the times. Set in the 80's we see homophobia and racism raise its ugly head so most assuredly not for the easily offended. I was delighted to find I hadn't read this series and have the other two to batter through, I would have read this in one sitting had work and Christmas prep not got in the way. Definitely in my top 2016 reads, 5/5 for me this time, I am a huge Chambers fan and can't wait to get into the next installment!

View all my reviews

The Caller by M A Comley & Tara Lyons

The Caller by M.A. Comley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - < 1 day

Pages - 198

Publisher - Jeamel Publishing Limited

Blurb from Goodreads


When The Caller rings... what would you do?

The Organised Crime Team is a newly-formed unit with one of the toughest tasks in London. Led by DI Angie North, their first investigation is a cold case that has foxed several officers in the Met for months.
After Angie holds a TV appeal regarding the case, a number of similar aggressive attacks are brought to her attention. The team call on their contacts on the street for help. Their interest is sparked when several local names surface.
To bring the criminals to justice a member of the Organised Crime Team is asked to risk their life in a dangerous covert operation.


My Review

Meet DI Angie North, leading member of the Organised Crime Team, tasked with solving a cold case and bringing the new team together. More attacks come to light and the clock is ticking for Angie and her team to capture the culprits and save the unsuspecting public from another attack.

This tale is two fold, one is the team relationship and how they come together, bond, react to each other and the second is the criminal aspect of the story. The hierarchy of the gang members, the dynamics of their group and how loyalties are tested. As well as examining police procedures, pulling an investigating team together and the inner workings of a gang and gang mentalities we see the difficulties police have to endure during this type of operation/investigation.

The prologue sets the reader straight on the theme of the book, brutal, graphic, sexual violence, murder and that is just the opening! The theme is fast paced and jumps between the bad guys and the police officers trying to catch them. The chapters are relatively short in length which is something I personally like in a book. There are some dark themes that some readers may struggle with, violence, murder, sexual abuse, torture, drugs and of course some bad language all of which you would expect when gangs are involved.

This is my first time reading these authors, although I have some of their independent work on my tbr, and I really enjoyed it. A tale that is both dark and deep, if you like thrillers or crime then this is a book for you, 4/5 for me. Thanks so much to the authors for providing me an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

View all my reviews