Product Description

Adultery, murder and dangerous love collide in Jessie Keane's gritty debut thriller set in the London's East End. Perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante. For longer than she cares to remember Annie Bailey has lived in the shadow of her older sister Ruthie. Now Ruthie has her hands on Max Carter, the much feared head of the Carter family and a top class villain. Seducing Max wasn't a problem, but the guilt, shame and anger of rejection afterwards was. Thrown onto the streets Annie finds herself living with Celia, a wayward aunt with a shocking secret. As the months pass Annie's resourceful nature sees her mature and carve out a life for herself, albeit not legal. But if you play with fire, you can expect to get burned and her lavish new lifestyle and connections may be about to come crashing down around her. Annie has unwittingly placed herself between two rival gangs and upset too many people, and these kind of people don't forget. But as everyone knows, Annie Bailey is no ordinary woman.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2634 in Books
• Published on: 2008-09-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 560 pages

Mandasue Heller
`A cracking story from a great new writer.'

From the Author
When did you start writing?
As soon as I could crawl. I drew little figures with balloons floating above their heads, and stuffed the balloons full of words – mostly rubbish words, but it was a start. I then progressed to throwing big words I didn’t understand into any sentence I wrote – ‘mutation’ was a favorite. My English teacher concluded that I was either a talented writer, or slightly disturbed.

Where do you write?
At home, in a tiny corner under the eaves, or in the kitchen while cooking - anywhere the mood takes me, really. What are the pros and cons of being a writer? Pros – getting paid for something you are compelled to do and absolutely love to do. Cons – working-alone anxiety and driving yourself crazy over little details you think you’ve missed.

What writers have inspired you?
Shakespeare, Sue Townsend, Lynda La Plante, Dick Francis. How important is a sense of place in your writing? Extremely important. It sets the tone for the whole book. My first book Dirty Game is set in 1960’s East End London, my second Black Widow in 1970 in the same area. That strong sense of place (and time) is essential.

Do you spend a lot of time researching your novels?
Only after the first draft’s written. Then I go back and research and embellish until it’s perfect.

Do your characters ever surprise you?
Not too often. I’m the referee, they’re the players – I’m there to keep them in order.

How much of your life and the people around you do you put into your books?
Very little. I have a wildly vivid imagination!

How did it feel when you saw your book in print for the first time? Deeply weird, and very delightful. If you weren’t a writer, what would you be doing now? I’d either be in a proper job, or banged up, but I guarantee that I’d still be scribbling away and trying to get those scribbles published!

From the Back Cover
1960s East End London and the streets are ruled by the carters and the Delaneys. Prostitution and armed robbery are just the tools of the trade.

Annie Bailey has lived in the shadow of her perfect sister Ruthie for too long, but now the stakes are higher because Ruthie has something that Annie has always wanted, and that's local villain Max Carter.
Whether it's love or lust, Annie gets her man but soon realises being cast out on the streets is no substitute for family.
Homeless, she finds refuge at the only place she knows she can, an East End knocking shop run by her wayward Aunt Celia.
It's not too long before Annie's ruling the roost, but obsession and mixing with a `bad lot' can be a woman's downfall...

Customer Reviews

Fantastic new writer
I was so excited when I picked this up - it reminded me of Martina Cole in her early days. The book didn't disappoint, I couldn't put it down. There were lots of twists and it wasn't at all predictable. I thoroughly enjoyed it and can't wait for her next one. If you like Martina Cole, you'll like this.

brilliant
martina watch out another new kid on the block brill, the book reminds me of the books martina used to write at the beginning as she started out.

this one is really good. I bought it and it had a sticker on the front saying as good as martina cole or your money back. i dont think people will be sending this book back in a hurry.

wel done cant wait for your new one keep them coming.

Dirty Game - just fantastic
Wonderful, gripping, unputdownable. Twist and turns - non predictable.
Pick up this book and put everything else on hold.