Fast paced gangster thriller set in Manchester. It is darkly gritty with an undercurrent of humour. Funny and violent in turn written by someone who can describe the backstreets of Manchester with ease.

Excellent read. Fast paced, punchy, full of sharp humour.
Loved this one. Born Bad by Marnie Richies - 5 stars.

Totally gripping, gritty crime drama set in Manchester. With strong female characters standing up to male crime bosses this is a great read.

When I started reading the book, my first thought was, OMG, this isn’t a part of #TheGirlWho Series? I was quiet surprised. It was hard for me to get into the story and the characters at the beginning, but as the story continued, I was hooked. The plot is centered around Manchester gang leader Paddy O’Brien and his family and his partners and enemies. The boss has been stabbed and ends up in hospital and the criminal kingdom is shaken. He wants to rule, his wife wants to rule, the enemies want to rule. Everyone wants the largest piece of the pie.

Paddy is a lousy husband and father, a man who beats his wife, a gang boss who kills people without a blink. After the murder of his brother Jack, who is not an angel, he starts a series of killings in order to find his brother’s murderer. His wife, Sheila, wants the power as a revenge for every slap she takes. She is a beaten wife, but she doesn’t leave, being Paddy’s wife has some privileges. Lev is another character, someone who does the dirty job, but behind the fearful facade there is a very concerned father whose little son is dying of brain tumor and he needs money for a very expensive surgery in USA. There are plenty other characters, but these three somehow stuck till the end.

Marnie Riches gets you into the criminal underworld where you can trust no one. Yesterday’s partners are today’s enemies. She shows the good and the bad side of each one of the characters, because there is always a reason for certain behavior. There isn’t classical plot, so it is quiet different from the other thrillers I’ve read. It took me some time to get into the story, but then I was hooked. I liked the storytelling, the plot and the way the characters evolved.

I am still Marnie Riches hard core fan!

Born Bad is actually the first book that I have read by Marnie Riches and certainly won't be my last and I am sitting here thinking OMG where have I been...I enjoyed it that much.

The author takes us to the criminal underworld of Manchester...hell yeah.Those of you that follow me know I do love a gangland novel. And what I especially like about this one is that it is told from different characters POV. Where I found myself racing through the pages to find out what was going to happen next.

It is full of characters that you will like and dislike it wouldn't be a gangland if it didn't have any baddies in it. Paddy is certainly one of those he got my back up. I am looking forward to reading the next one in the series now and finding out what is in store for next.

This is a gripping, gritty intense engaging read telling the story of two different gangs go to war. A perfect fan for fans of Kimberly Chambers and Martina cole which I highly recommend giving it 4 stars.

Not my usual read but I can see it would really appeal to the Roberta Kray/ Martina Cole fans of which there are many. I found it all too gritty but enjoyed some of the humour and liked the Manchester setting. I found the twists a bit unbelievable, the characters rather one-dimensional but I can see it is a page turner that will have great appeal.

Marnie Riches has established herself with the "The Girl ..." series and does not disappoint with another brilliant crime fiction offering. She plays with the bad guys throughout the book, making the reader want more and more of them. Recommended for anyone that loves a brilliant crime series.

Excellent read.
Looking forward to more books from this author.

What do you do when you don't want to run a gang any more? Sell up and escape to Thailand? Only if you can get the money your patch is really worth and only if you can get away alive!

This is a quite graphic description of gang warfare in the North West of England but funnily enough it's a really engaging read. Although the behaviour of the people as a whole is really awful, there are some really touching moments and some really interesting characters; Leviticus Bell being my absolute favourite.

In this way, Marnie Riches has written a really clever novel and one which does make you think about the lengths to which some people really have to go. Don't get too attached to anyone though, there's plenty of people who don't make it to the end...

This is a fast-paced book which was a little confusing at first, lots of characters to get your head round but it does get easier.

Great storyline which is set in Manchester, and follows the dark world of gang warfare. It's action-packed from the very start of the book. Not a light-read by any stretch of the imagination.

4 stars from me for this one.

An exciting, well written dose of Manchester Noir. I'm always on the lookout for new crime series and this one is a winner. Lots of characters, all with their own individual voice and the city comes alive as a gritty gangland died develops.

Recommended.

Gritty, contemporary crime drama set in Manchester, two rival gangs with plenty of villains and violence galore. Told by multi voices, but you soon get used to all the different characters as things swiftly fall into place. Who will end up being "king" of South Manchester - get a copy of this book and find out! Loved the style and tempo of this and it was hard to put down as the hard hitting story progressed. My first book by this author but definitely not my last!

Not a Georgina McKenzie-series book, but a gritty and compelling stand-alone about gangsters in Manchester and how a butterfly-effect type event can unleash an out-and-out war between rival groups. Both amusing and horrific, it kept me happily entertained and was well worth reading.

I love stories like this because it brings together so many 'bad guys' who end up fighting amongst themselves to be the best. It also showcases strong female characters who will stop at nothing to succeed and get exactly what they want. The style of writing, and content, reminds me very much of Martina Cole books.

The story jumps about a lot, and it took me a little while to get into the flow of things. Once I did, I thoroughly enjoyed the journey the author took me on. There is almost constant action, a lot of gruesome deaths, and more than a few twists along the way.

The ending left me desperate for me and I will be desperately waiting for the next part of the saga. Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing a copy.

I found sorting out the characters and remembering who they were was confusing. This stopped me from enjoying the book as much as I should have done. I also thought it was overlong. Having said that. The plot is good and the twist at the end was excellent.

This is my first Marnie Richie's book and I enjoyed the relatively short chapters to move the plot along. I liked the first person story telling from the point of view of all the main characters.... but might suggest there were quite a lot of 'key' characters and personally I would have enjoyed less. On occasion you might have to suspend disbelief as there appears to be little consequence for some of the plot points and Manchester appears to be more like Chicacago than the Northern City I live quite close to. I imagine anyone who likes Martina Cole books will lap this up and I may try this author again in the future.

I had heard a lot about this author so looked forward to reading it when it came up on Netgalley. I didn't read the blurb but was expecting some sort of psychological thriller with maybe a serial killer. What I got instead was a gritty, complex gangland warfare plot which had me hooked from the start. It's not a genre I would normally read, although I've seen plenty of films, but I thoroughly enjoyed it. Marnie Riches is one I'll be looking out for in future.
My thanks to Netgalley, the author and publisher for this copy.

Opted for this after reading and enjoying a few of the Georgia McKenzie series, but afraid to say this didn't grab me in quite the same way. I found myself buying into some of the supporting cast over and above the main characters - the "Fish Man" and Conky for example, and just struggled to connect enough with Paddy, Tariq and Jonny to give it those extra stars. It did pick up pace in the last quarter or so, and enjoyed seeing how it came together at the end

Marnie Riches does very effective job of capturing the gritty setting and murky world that her gangsters inhabit though, and this will be perfect for fans of Kimberley Chambers and Martina Cole.

A real page turner, even missed TVs programs to carry on reading as I needed to find out what happened next. An easy read and well written, even though the characters were very clever getting their own way not quite clever enough it seems.the ending was an ending ......but!! I do hope there is a next one,

Set in gangland Manchester, Paddy O'brien, a gang leader is stabbed in his brothers nightclub, This book follows the rivalry of the gangs and the ensuing war. The criminal underworld is shaken and the O'Brien family must decide what to do with their control area of the city.

It is a gripping and fast paced read. The characters are driven by money power and control. A great crime thriller.