A Mother's Revenge by Alex Kane

A Mother's Revenge by Alex Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Pages - 358

Publisher - Hera

Source - Review copy & bought

Blurb from Goodreads

A mother will stop at nothing to protect her family

Cheryl Davidson was happy with husband Leo, watching her beloved son, Dean, grow into a handsome young man, dreaming of the paths his life would take, the grandchildren he would bring home.

Until the day that Dean was murdered, his body dumped in an isolated scrapyard with a bullet in his head, and Cheryl’s world exploded.

Discovering that Dean had been mixed up in the underworld of the Glasgow crime world, and worst of all, that Leo had brought him in, means that Cheryl’s sanity is hanging by a thread.

Overwhelmed by grief and with no one left to trust, Cheryl plans to take deadly retribution on the family that caused her son to be killed, vowing that they should suffer her same pain.

Cheryl might be up against the formidable Janey Hallahan, the woman who runs Glasgow gangland with guns and fear, but Janey and the Hallahans might discover that a grieving mother with nothing to lose might be the most dangerous opponent of all…

A heart-stopping, gritty gangland thriller that fans of Kimberley Chambers and Jacqui Rose won't be able to put down.



My Review

This is marked as a standalone BUT it does feature characters from the previous book, you can read this as a standalone but I absolutely recommend reading "Two Sisters". Cheryl Davidson is a woman on a mission, her son has been murdered, she blames her husband and his boss, if it wasn't for him/them Dean would still be alive. She doesn't just blame them, she blames Janey and her grand daughter Molly Rose and they are the full focus for her revenge. How do you get close to a female gangster type? Cheryl has a plan in place and she will get her revenge and take all of Janey's family down.

Guys this one, like the previous has some really shady ugly awful characters, there is people trafficking and all the abuse that goes with it, drugs, violence, murder, it is a full bag! Janey is reeling and still trying to recover after being run off the road, the love of her life is in a coma, one daughter gone, another in rehab and Molly Rose it trying to get back to normal. A new threat is coming, they are looking over their shoulder constantly trying to figure out who is after them.

The book is quite fast paced, there is always something going on, some skulduggery, revenge plan. In amongst that and themes of recovery we have Cheryl who is slowly falling apart, torn up by her grief and driven by her rage and thirst for revenge we follow her as she pursues justice for her son.

The depths of depravity, people using and abusing others for profit and getting their kicks, despite it being fiction I think because you know stuff like this goes on in parts of the world, you are hoping for retribution, 4/5.

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Two Sisters by Alex Kane

Two Sisters by Alex Kane
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - in and out as able

Pages -

Publisher - Hera

Source - Bought/review copy

Blurb from Goodreads

Time taken to read - in and out as able over 5 days

Pages - 353

Publisher - Bookouture

Source - Bought

My Review

They tried to forget their past. Now it’s the only thing that can save them.

Ever since being adopted as babies, twins Sinead and Orla have been the only family they’ve ever known. But as adults, their lives have taken different paths. Orla’s got the big house in Glasgow, the supportive husband and teenage daughter, Molly Rose, while Sinead’s struggle with drugs and alcohol has taken her to some very dark places.

But all of that changes when Sinead receives a call from the woman who gave them up at birth. Their mother, Janey, is back in their lives. But she’s far from what they expected and when the siblings discover their mum is the head of a dangerous gangland firm, their lives are turned upside down.

In a firm like Janey’s, you have to watch your back. And when someone from her past targets her new found family, Sinead, Orla and Molly Rose find themselves pawns in a dangerous game, against someone who will stop at nothing to take his revenge on Janey. But when Molly Rose is kidnapped, it’s time for the sisters to show this family will do anything to protect one of their own.

A hard-hitting, action-packed Scottish gangland thriller that fans of Jacqui Rose, Kimberly Chambers and Mandasue Heller won’t be able to put down.



My Review

So apparently this is book two in a series, I didn't know and started here, I will be going back and buying the first book now though. That said you can absolutely read as a standalone, that's what I done and we have brief throwbacks to Janey when she was younger so I don't feel we missed out starting here.

Janey is top of her game in the criminal world and the book flips between Orla, Sinead and Millie Rose, Janey's estranged family. Orla and Sinead are twins, given up at birth and now grown women, Sinead is addicted to substances and does what she needs to on the streets to fund her habit. Orla couldn't be more different, mum to teenager Molly Rose, owner of legitimate businesses. Janey has reached out to Orla who shuns her however when Janey's past impacts on them and putting them in danger Orla has no choice but to let Janey in, they will all do what it takes to protect Molly Rose but is it too late?

Not for the faint hearted, it covers topics of abuse, addiction, prostitution, abandonment, SA, trafficking (is touched upon), family, drugs, secrets and more. Set in Glasgow, we see just how far ripples have from the past/decisions to present and consequences of those. Family is at the heart of this one but with the long reach/affects of skulduggery and shady dealings that go on from living "the life" even if you aren't a direct part of it, 4/5 from me and I will be getting book one and looking forward to the next!

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Afraid by Mandasue Heller

Afraid by Mandasue Heller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Time taken to read - 1 day

Publisher - Hodder & Stoughton

Pages - 344

Blurb from Goodreads

Mandasue Heller's thrilling novel is set on the gritty streets of Manchester.
When fifteen-year-old Skye's mother finally does something so shocking that it can't be hushed up, the police turn her over to the social workers - and that's when the nightmare begins.
She doesn't know if her father is alive or dead; the woman who is supposed to be helping her dumps her in a terrifying 'home' that's more like a jail. But she still has one friend to turn to: the sympathetic girl she's met in an internet chat room, the one who seems to have a home life as unhappy as Skye's. And Jade offers her a safe place to stay . . .
Alone in Manchester, nearly penniless, Skye is willing to trust Jade. Even when it isn't Jade who turns up at the rendezvous, but a grown-up man who says he's Jade's brother . . .


My Review

Set in Manchester, Skye Benson is fifteen years old living with her mum and dad, bullied at school, parents fighting and mum has some mental health issues. After a particularly horrific physical fight between her parents, Skye ends up in a children's home with more bullies. Feeling trapped, unable to find out what is going on with her parents, Skye reaches out to a friend she met on the internet, Jade. Jade can help out, she has the same issues with parents, is the same age and understands Jade completely. When Skye meets Jade it is her older brother who shows up, Skye has no reason not to trust him and gets in the car.

Oooooh this book is a doozy, it has some really dark gritty themes which can be really hard going to read, however the story pulls you in and you have to find out how it plays out. The stories jump between what is happening with Skye and then back to her father where the police, one officer in particular has a vendetta against Jeff Benson. Now his daughter is missing he has the perfect excuse to hound Jeff as his life is falling apart. Skye on the other hand is finding out that Jade's brother Tom is willing to help her anyway he can, now that the police are "after her".

What follows is a stomach turning, well executed plan to get Skye into his way of thinking and whilst the police are pre occupied with Skye's dad, Tom has all the time in the world with her. This story will have the hair on your neck standing up, makes you realize how quickly someone can ruin your life and an insight into Stockholm syndrome and the conditions required to evoke this psychological phenomenon.

The book is fast paced, harrowing, covers many themes including childing exploitation, rape, pedophilia, murder, family violence and relationships to name just a few. It is not an easy read due to the subject content however it is done well enough that you know exactly what is transpiring without focusing purely on the stomach turning details. Due to the story line there does need to be some detail on some of the sexual content and for that I would warn readers before picking up the book. I think Heller has done very well in how she has handled it and it does not deflect or detract from the actual story line.

I think this is one of those books that will stay with you for a long time after putting it down. This is a great author, I can't recommend her high enough. I was a big apprehensive picking this one up as I haven't been enjoying books so much lately, I am glad I did though. 5/5 for me this time and thanks to the publicist over at Hodder & Stoughton for giving me an advanced reading copy. This book came out yesterday so you can grab your own copy now!

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