Martina Cole

Author

Martina Cole is one of the UK's bestselling crime fiction authors, with over seventeen million copies sold. She is the undisputed queen of the British gangland thriller — her novels explore the world of organised crime, violence, family loyalty, and betrayal with a raw, unflinching authenticity that has earned her a readership unlike any... other in British fiction. Born in Aveley, Essex in 1959, Cole grew up in a working-class environment and has spoken about her intimate knowledge of the communities she writes about. She worked in various jobs before publishing her first novel, Dangerous Lady, in 1992. The book — about a woman who rises to the top of the criminal underworld in London — was an immediate bestseller and established the template for Cole's career: strong female characters navigating worlds of extreme violence and criminal power. Her subsequent novels — including The Ladykiller, Goodnight Lady, The Jump, The Know, Betrayal, and Get Even — have consistently topped the bestseller lists. She was the first female British author to have a debut novel go straight to number one and has repeatedly broken sales records. Her books are characterised by their visceral depiction of criminal life, their complex family dynamics, and their refusal to glamorise or sanitise the violence they portray. Cole's particular strength is her portrayal of women within criminal families — the mothers, wives, daughters, and rivals who wield power in ways that are both different from and complementary to the men around them. Her female characters are as tough, complex, and morally ambiguous as any in crime fiction. Her work has been adapted for television, including productions of The Take and Martina Cole's The Runaway, and she has also written non-fiction about notorious women criminals. The audiobook editions of Cole's novels are powerfully performed, with narrators capturing the gritty atmosphere and raw emotion of her storytelling. The audiobooks bring an added intensity to her already compelling narratives. Martina Cole lives in Kent. Her books and audiobooks are essential for anyone who wants crime fiction with no pretence and no compromise — stories that take you deep into a world most people never see, told by a writer who understands it like no one else. Read more Show less