Great book cover but unfortunately this one struggled to hold my attention and wasn't for me

A dark and gritty read this was absolutely compelling. A myriad of characters I felt sure I'd lose track of were so well written and simplistic that it was easy to follow them throughout.
Gangland Manchester at its dirtiest, a story of kill or be killed, where murder was the only way out of this dirty life.
Two rival gangs znd their masters going head to head in a battle for turf, revenge killings, sex workers, drugs and gun crime are rife but there's an underside to this story that comes out slowly.
I thoroughly enjoyed this, compelling from beginning to end. I have the feeling that it's not over yet for our Gang Lords

A powerful, gritty novel set in the criminal underworld of Manchester from bestselling author Marnie Riches.

Manchester’s criminal underworld is shaken to the core when gang leader Paddy O’Brien is found bleeding by the poolside of his sprawling Bramshott mansion. So begins a fierce battle for the South Side, with the leading Manchester gangsters taking the law into their own hands – even when they have to play dirty to win…

This is a brand new crime series from the bestselling Marnie Riches; a fast-paced, gritty and darkly comic novel that brings the grime of Manchester to life…

This book is full of great characters with the main character being Paddy O'Brien the King crime lord of North Manchester, with his wife Sheila, his junk head brother Frank, the devote sister Katrina who is a nun, his popular DJ nephew Jack and his loss adjuster Corky !!

Then you have the warring other side with Johnny and Tariq the South Manchester crime lords and their hired assassin The Fish Man, their drug dealer.

As the story unfolds even more characters appear, which gives this book so many layers of gritty crime and different story-lines that become an explosive story with many twists and turns.

I will look forward to reading book 2 in the series!!!

This is the equivalent of being grabbed by the throat in the pouring rain and trying to struggle out of a headlock whilst your feet flay about and your arms wave for help that will never come....If you want a dark view of Manchester, but a gritty, tripping one all the same this is the book for you. Of course it's not exactly something the Tourist Board are going to get excited about but the overall feel of this book is gritty realism of the gangster world. Some books of this nature are overly graphic or even a little bit 'play acting',a bit Eastenders if you will, but this felt raw and real and down right dirty at the same time.
Despite this being a whole new world to what I'm used to, it was a nail knuckle of a ride and I could feel that damp rain on my back the entire time. The entire atmosphere was one of morbid despair - Marnie's writing shines through however and the tongue in cheek humour bring humanity and emotion to the bleak landscape.

i have read marnie other books but i loved this one like gangsters and crime so a cant book down book i hope there will be more of these story line was brilliant my review will be on good reads and amazon

This started off well but got boring and I only got as far as the first chapter.

Well written with detailed characters and a fairly decent plot, unfortunately just not for me.

At first this book seemed as though it was going to be just another quick read, with a fast plot. But it develops into a deeper story, with characters that are so well drawn and believable, I felt sympathy for some who may have been 'baddies'. Some of the writing is very well done, with some excellent descriptions. It gives a good sense of place, set in gritty Manxhester. It is not the genre I would usually read, yet I heartily recommend this book.

Just the dedication alone had me intrigued and filled with enough anticipation to start the book off with great enthusiasm.

Great writing, an intriguing plot, and more than enough action made for a great read. I must admit that there were a lot of times in the book that I wished that I had a character that I could fully get behind, that I could emotionally invest in. And I suppose I did root for different characters at different times, but I always had this feeling that no-one really deserved having someone in their corner. That did change near the end though, which made the read a little more of a complete package for me.

Great ending!
There is definitely no fulfilling the yearn for complete power, other then through death. I suppose you reap what you sew. Well unless you embrace the second chance that even the worst sinner deserves, but does anyone in the shady underworld of Manchester do that?

Thank you to NetGalley and Avon Books UK for an opportunity to review this book.

At first, i wasn't sure if i was going to enjoy this novel. Crime drama is very much my thing, but gangland battles for supremacy don't generally appeal. Added to this, there is not one 'innocent' character in the entire story; each one has practiced or condoned some awful crime, from drug dealing to assault, murder to trafficking of young girls to the sex trade.

I am still not sure if i actually enjoyed it, to be honest, but I read it cover to cover in a very short time-frame, keen to know just how this collection of disparate, dysfunctional souls came to the ends they deserved. It was, I admit, entertaining and very, very readable. A dark humour pervades the novel, revealing the truth that no man is all saint or sinner and for many, the first step is an easy one onto a greasy downward slope to depravity and shame.

It seems that this is but the first in a series of stories revolving around the same character list and it will be interesting to see how Riches develops each one, giving greater depth and backstory. With a rich vein of stories from Manchester's darkest corners to tap into and a natural, engaging writing style, this author is one i shall certainly investigate further.

Thank you NetGalley and the Publisher. This was a brilliant story set in Manchester and I thoroughly enjoyed this book but wish I had read the first two books in the series (which I have now ordered). This book reminded me of quite a few authors who write similar stories.

Born Bad Marnie Riches

Manchester has its own Mario Puzo

This book is stunning.

Say hello to the gangland of Manchester.

The O’Brien family run one half of the City. The Boddlington Gang runs the other.

There has to be conflict and, bloody hell is there conflict, very bloody conflict

The head of the O’Brien family, Paddy, is a ruthless gangster that treats those close to him as badly as he treats his enemies; but his family love him.

His brother Frank runs one of Manchester’s top night clubs, at which his son is a celebrity DJ

His enforcer, or Loss Adjuster, ss he calls himself, is Conky McFadden.

Conky is a fascinating character. A man that thinks nothing of beating people to a pulp or carrying out revenge shootings, yet he is into the classics and thinks deeply. He reminds me of Colin Dexter’s Morse gone rogue.

Then there’s Paddy’s wife Sheila. His punch bag and sex toy, when he’s not using younger versions in Franks club. Sheila runs her own cleaning company, a semi legit business she’s quite proud of.

On the other side of the City Tariq Khan and Jonny Margulies run The Boddlington Gang, an operation every bit as nasty as the O’Briens. They traffic young girls and force them into prostitution, make and distribute drugs, run guns, and destroy everything that comes into their path.

Just like the O’Briens, the Boddlingtons are all about family, but unlike Paddy Tariq and Jonny treat their families like human beings, and keep them in the dark about how they actually earn their money. So somebody’s in for a shock.

Just like the O’Briens, the Boddlingtons have an enforcer, Smolensky, The Fish Man. Why is he called the fish man, because he runs a fish mongers, and also because he guts and displays his victims like a dressed salmon, what a character, he even leaves sliced cucumber along the side of bodies.

After a conflict in Franks club, with a young drug dealer from the Boddlingtons, that leaves Paddy in hospital following a heart attack, the last thing I expected was that Paddy would say enough is enough and decide to retire to Thialand, but he does.

And that’s when the problems start, Paddy decides to sell up and he wants to do business with Jonny and Tariq. It is never going to be easy and somebody really doesn’t want him to sell up.

What ensues is a gangland battle that affects both gangs. Both enforcers are chasing around the city trying to find out who carried out the latest attacks, and carrying out revenge attacks of their own.

Paddy’s family is torn apart, so are the families of Tariq and Jonny.

Meanwhile Sheila is suffering in silence, with an admirer who can’t do anything about his feelings for her. Conky, the misfit of an enforcer hates, the way Paddy treats Sheila but his loyalty is to his boss.

There are subplots in this book that will have the reader loving a character on one page, and hating them the next. There are moralistic twists and turns which will see the reader empathising, and having disdain, with a person all at the same time.

The interwoven lives of the gang members earning illicit money through drugs, prostitution, and violence, should make the reader hate them all. But they are human, they have problems and you just can’t help liking them at times.

The book starts of really well, and right up to the very last page, just keeps getting better and better.

Somebody has to make this book into a film. Guy Ritchie, or Danny Boyle this story should be your next blockbuster, just don’t change anything its perfect as it is.

Brilliant story of gangland Manchester. Wonderfully encompassing its grey skies, depressing apartment blocks and the seedy side of the nightclubs. Anyone from or who has visited Manchester will be able to envision this in all its glory. Im a big fan of the girl who series and this did not let me down. Its proper class innit Marnie. 😊