Product Description

Remember the Ryans...? Ducking and diving is a way of life down Lancaster Road; all the Ryans are at it. But Michael, the eldest, has ambitions way beyond petty crime. At first, his little sister Maura, turns a blind eye to her beloved brother's misdeeds. Then Maura decides to join the family 'firm'.

No one thinks a seventeen-year-old girl can take on the hard men of London’s gangland, but it’s a mistake to underestimate Maura Ryan: she’s tough, clever and beautiful - which makes her one very dangerous lady.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #26393 in Books
• Published on: 1992-08-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 576 pages

Synopsis
Remember the Ryans...? Ducking and diving is a way of life down Lancaster Road; all the Ryans are at it. But Michael, the eldest, has ambitions way beyond petty crime. At first, his little sister Maura, turns a blind eye to her beloved brother's misdeeds. Then Maura decides to join the family 'firm'.No one thinks a seventeen-year-old girl can take on the hard men of London's gangland, but it's a mistake to underestimate Maura Ryan: she's tough, clever and beautiful - which makes her one very dangerous lady.

About the Author
No. 1 bestselling author Martina Cole was born and brought up in Essex. She is the bestselling author of eleven novels set in London's gangland, and her most recent three novels have gone straight to No. 1 in the Sunday Times bestseller lists. DANGEROUS LADY is her first novel. Not only was it a huge bestseller on first publication but it was also adapted into a highly successful TV drama series.

Customer Reviews

Change the record, Martina
This is the fourth Martina Cole novel I've read, and it's becoming a major chore. Having already read three of her books, the formulaic nature of them and the repetativeness is becoming more and more annoying. In fact, I doubt I shall bother to finish this one. As usual the book is packed with anachronisms and lazy research. The characters are the same in every book - the female lead who is stunning but doesn't know it; the male lead who is over six feet tall even at times in history when the average male height in tis country was about 5 foot 7; they have dazzling white, perfect teeth; as usual, there is the hard-working and wise Irish mother; yet again, we have the "hardest man in London" as the main male character... and so the list goes on. Okay, so this was Cole's's first novel, but why have all the others been exactly the same? Enough is enough - reading the same book over and over is a waste of my time, especially when there are far better on my shelves.

Gritty..
This was such a good read..Maura was dragged up along with her brothers in the midst of poverty, grime and violence..this added the grit to the character, as I am sure is true in reality..
She proves herself at a young age when she is put in charge of her brothers businesses, earning the respect of the thugs of the underworld..

Martina uses rhyming slang which adds to the authenticity..She uses it so well that one has to wonder if she moves amongst them even now! (joke)

Read it, you will like it......

Fantastic!
I previously read the Jump by Martina Cole, and was disapointed with it. This however restored my faith in the Cole, and I really enjoyed it and could not put it down. All that is good about Martina Coles stories are in this book.

Would recomend to anyone who likes to read this sort of thing, very much addictive!