Despite this being predominantly a crime novel, I loved the way that the family saga was wound and weaved into the story. Headed and dominated by their oldest brother, who is also unashamedly gay, their family cuts a swathe through London as their reach and power grows.

The police are determined to put Maura away once and for all —and not everyone in the family thinks that's such a bad idea. All finished an I've got to say that I have never related to anything as much as I had to the main character, Maura. If you fail to comply with this obligation, we may have a right of action against you for compensation.This first book of Cole's also has some great quotes from working class humour to challenging the way society judges and treats criminals of the ruler classes. The saga spans 30 years and contains all the elements of a typical mobster family: Protection rackets, sleazy Soho nightclubs, gold bullion heists, violent criminals and bloody and brutal exterminations. This is as much about sibling loyalty and rivalry as it is about crime, and it's all very well done. For me it was far too much romance and ‘Eastenders like drama’ for it to be classed as crime fiction.

Anyway one day when she was at work I snuck into her room to read about it and came across my first F-Bomb in print which makes me laugh when I think about it today and the amount of bad language we see these days in print and on TV. Although initially shielded from the going ons of the Ryan brothers, she enters into the family business as they attempt to rule the East End. I will read one of Cole's recent novels to see whether her youth when writing Dangerous Lady explains some of the weaknesses - I am just amazed (based on reading Dangerous Lady) how massively successful Cole's novels are.

You can change your choices at any time by visiting Cookie preferences, as described in the Cookie notice. It starts by telling us about Sarah Ryan and her circumstances and then we learn about the rest of her children. He knew nothing of 'his' baby she was carrying and then had a horrific abortion which lead to her being hospitalized and no longer being able to have kids.