Product Description

HARD LIVES. HARD LESSONS. IT’S MURDER ON THE STREETS.

Danielle Crosby had a body to die for. A body she sold to the highest bidder. But she ended up paying for it with her life.  

When a prostitute’s body is found lifeless, mutilated and brutally raped, DCI Annie Carr has never seen anything like it and never wants to again. Kate Burrows, retired DCI now consultant, has plenty of experience when it comes to murder – after all she caught the Grantley Ripper and broke the biggest paedophile ring in the South East. She is determined to help put the killer behind bars. But whoever it is won’t be easily caught. And when another girl’s body is found, even more horrifically disfigured than the last, it’s clear the killer is just warming up...

In a ruthless world where everyone’s out for themselves, Annie and Kate must dig deep if they hope to catch a callous serial killer who knows no limits and makes no mistakes. For some, prostitution is seriously big business. But how many people will pay the ultimate price?

Utterly compelling, HARD GIRLS is a gripping and disturbing thriller that will have you hooked until the very last page.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #67 in Books
• Published on: 2009-10-29
• Released on: 2009-10-29
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 448 pages

Amazon.co.uk Review
Martina Cole is not so much a publishing phenomenon (although she is certainly that) as a something of a force of nature. Though the sales of her tough East End-set novels are the envy of many a writer, and despite her punishing work regime (from the regularity of her publication schedule, it doesn't appear that she ever takes a holiday), the standard of her writing is always consistent: direct and no-nonsense. She writes about men and women who are prepared to bend the rules in the most uncompromising fashion, and it's clear that this technique strikes a chord in many a reader; we may lead law-abiding lives, but we can't deny that those who step outside the strictures of society hold a grim fascination. She has an unerring ear for dialogue and everyday speech, and it is this (as much of her in-your-face storytelling) that gives her books such an impact. Since her debut novel Dangerous Lady in 1992, there has been a steady stream of equally forceful books, of which the latest is Hard Girls

The murdered body of a prostitute is discovered, grotesquely mutilated and sexually assaulted. The condition of the body is a shock even to DCI Annie Carr -- a woman who has no illusions about life. Kate Burrows once held down the same job as Annie, but is now retired and acting as consultant. Kate is a woman who has plenty of experience when it comes to capturing murderers (the Grantley Ripper was one of those she tracked down), and took on a paedophile ring in the southeast. Kate takes on the task of helping to catch a sadistic killer, and working with Annie Carr, the two women realise that they will have to move into different territory -- territory that will be a challenge even to these two experienced police women.

Fans of Martina Cole (and they are legion) know exactly what to expect from her, and she delivers here as unswervingly as ever. And if you’re the kind of reader who is made uncomfortable by being forced to sympathise (or at least understand) protagonists who are on the wrong side of the law, Hard Girls is a book for you, with its two powerfully realised female copper heroines. Don't be surprised if (as in the recent TV adaptation of The Take) filmmakers come calling at Ms. Cole’s door over this one: this is a book which is simply crying out to be filmed. --Barry Forshaw

Review
Packed full of suspense and twists, HARD GIRLS keeps you questioning whodunnit right to the end... Impossible to put down.
--London Lite, 29th October, 2009

'Just when you think you've got the measure of Martina Cole, currently the nation's most popular adult fiction writer, she ups the tempo, changes tack and thumps your lights out once again...compelling'
--MIRROR

About the Author
Martina Cole was born and brought up in Essex. She is the bestselling author of fifteen novels set in London's gangland, and her most recent three paperbacks have gone straight to No. 1 in the Sunday Times on first publication. Total sales of Martina's novels stand at nearly ten million copies.

Customer Reviews

Gritty crime novel, minus the grit
As an amazon `vine voice` reviewer I read a lot of thriller novels. This one was a huge let down, and as the previous reviewers have mentioned, it is tepid, watered down, and has no teeth. The harsh reallity of the subject matter does not cut through the plot, and as such is very weak, and unbelievable. Martina Cole is a writing machine, and as such every story will not please everyone. If real life crime thrillers are your bag, try The Child Taker (Soft Target Series). I have recently read the proof copy of this for a review, and this is incredible, heart stopping and brutally real. Michael Connelley`s new one is well worth a read too, but `Hard Girls` didnt do it for me.

awful
This book is awful compared to martina coles usual standards! It is like reading a watered down version of her old material! I dont know whats gone on with her! The book doesnt contain Martinas usual bad language and knowledge of the underworld! The relationship with kate and patrick is totally unbelieveable, it really is just a watered down version of her usual material. I read martinas books in a day as I get so hooked but with this book I have had to really force myself to read it - awful! Wouldnt recommend this and please dont waste the money on getting the hardback - get it from the library if you really want to read it!!!!!!!

Very disappointed....
I have just finished reading this book and was really keen to see if Martina had recaptured some of her old magic sadly lost in The Take, the abismal Faces and The Business, which I didn't even read the reviews were so bad.
Unfortunately either Martina doesn't pay any attention to the opinions of her loyal fans of she has just become complacent and believes she can sell us any old rubbish.
The plot was very weak with a very obvious "twist" at the end that any idiot could see coming from page one. There was no pace and very little depth of character. Like other readers I was disappointed that the language had been cleaned up - Martina even felt the need to explain a lot of her underworld terminology which was very frustrating as anyone who reads a Martina Cole novel doesn't need it explaining and it really slowed the already very minimal action down. Like Faces and The Take, Hard Girls was very repetitive, with sentences being repeated only with a few words presumably "thesaurus"-ed and changed around. The worst thing for me though apart from the weak storyline, unsympathetic characters and lack of real grittiness was the unbelievable dialogue. It didn't sound like the kind of language you would expect between east end gangsters and prostitutes, especially not when you compare it to her earlier books and lacked any real punch. I couldn't believe in what the characters were saying and therefore I couldn't really believe in them and I wasn't actually that bothered what happened to them. Not one of them was particularly likeable and she seemed to change major aspects of a characters personality whenever it suited her.
Overall I was really disappointed; it's as if she has become lazy and can rest on her laurels knowing that stores will still stock her new books based on her earlier bestsellers. I hoped that she would be making more effort now that she had written a few stinkers but it looks like her TV committments have taken over and she doesn't have the time or the inclination to write with the same passion and realism that she used to.
A real shame actually.