I read this pretty much straight after Framed, the first in series. One thing I did notice between the two books is that this one is a lot lighter on the language so if that did put you off reading on with this series then maybe this information will put your mind at rest. If you haven't yet read Framed and can stomach a bit of bad language then I would recommend reading that first, normal series rules re character background and development applying.
So, Frankie is ticking along quite nicely these days. The club is doing well, assisted by England also doing well in the football, thus helping his takings when showing matches. All this well being is thrown into disarray when he receives a postcard that he thinks might be from his mother. The mother who abandoned the family years ago. Then he gets another spanner thrown his way, the favour that was done for him in book one needs repaid. Gang lord Tommy Riley's niece has gone missing, presumed run away and Tommy wants Frankie to go find her and bring her back. Problem is, Frankie has worked hard to escape that world. But then he has no choice. Fortunately, word on the street is that the place the niece is rumoured to be in is not a million miles away from where the postcard came from. Can Frankie kill two birds with one stone? And more importantly, stay alive whilst trying to do it?
Well, I raced through this book just like I did the first. The couple of misgivings I had left over from Framed were addressed very well in this sequel. The language has already been mentioned and the other thing is the level of Frankie's actions and expertise. I found him to be a much more credible character in this book. Other characters are also equally well described, again, more than for Framed as the author relies less on the language element to define them and so has to find other ways to get their demeanours across.
Plotting was also well worked out, especially the story of Frankie's mother. I won't go into any more detail here as it would include spoilers. The other main story regarding the missing niece was also credible but, to me, was secondary. I think the reasoning behind this was that I was able to connect better emotionally with the mother story.
These two main story lines were complete within this book to my satisfaction, but there were a few loose threads left at the end that are obviously going to be picked up in book three and beyond. Not cliffhangers I hasted to add and nothing to feel cheated over. Just a few things that you know aren't quite resolved... yet. Personally I am really looking forward to book three and finding out.
My thanks go to the Publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book.