The Return of Martina Cole

After a break in 2018, which was unprecedented for the hard-working Queen of the Gangland Thriller; Martina Cole returned with a bang publishing “No Mercy” last week via her longstanding publishers Headline. She has worked with the same publishing team, the same literary agency and the same PR agency since she debuted with Dangerous Lady.

Martina was one of the guests at the Inaugural Capital Crime, held earlier this month – Click HERE about that extraordinary event from The Crime Readers Association, and HERE from The Rap Sheet.

Below she is on TV’s Loose Women talking about the challenges she and many women face –

So what were our thoughts as to Cole’s return after 2017’s Damaged?

There is a great deal of death in this novel, violent death as little is as it seems. Beneath the surface gloss the veneer is thin, like ice on a thawing lake. Thankfully, Cole’s dark humour and witty one-liners make the reader smirk, even if at times it feels inappropriate. Horror and humour (as emotions) are the yin and the yang that help make this novel flow, until the conclusion is reached and then we think, and we ponder.

No Mercy is an insightful look under the shadow world that lies millimetres from the one we normally perceive. It is a welcome addition to the work of Martina Cole, further cementing her reputation as one the World’s toughest crime writers.

But a warning. 

No Mercy as a title is eponymous, for it reveals that many of the characters contained in the narrative receive no quarter, as family bonds can be shattered, and when they are, there will be plenty of claret flowing.

Read the full review of “NO MERCY” from Shots Magazine HERE

The launch of a Martina Cole novel has become arguably one the most celebrated literary events that celebrates crime writing, as these links indicate –

The Business 2008, and Here, 2014’s The Good Life, 2013’s REVENGE, 2016’s Betrayal, and of course 2017’s Damaged.

To celebrate Martina Cole’s return, the Shots Team of Mike Stotter, Ayo Onatade, Mike Ripley and I joined an eclectic gathering in London, where a colourful party had been organised for the launch of NO MERCY.

We were welcomed by Headline Publishing –

There were far too many guests to name, so we have included an array of photographs which may indicate the amusing nature of the gathering.

And Barry Ryan’s video THE MAKING OF DANGEROUS LADY is an amusing introduction to the work of Martina Cole –

Photos © 2019 A Karim (and T Mearns), cover art © 2019 Headline Publishing.

Don’t forget that Martina Cole will be appearing in November 2019 at Murder One in Dublin, Ireland where she will be in conversation with Steve Cavanagh – More Information HERE

More information about the work of Martina Cole, click HERE

A Tale of Two Thrillers

With London sweltering under a heatwave, many of us are pondering about our summer vacations; with the crucial question of what to pack in terms of our reading.

Carrying a few crime and thriller novels in our hand luggage is useful for managing the usual hassles of mass transit, as well as a distraction for the mind in these times of geopolitical and economic worries.

So the Shots Team were delighted to recently celebrate the launch of two such thrillers, tense novels that not only provide distractions from reality, but also provoke thought and make us question what we see as the reality presented to us from the various media sources.

Firstly Mike Stotter and I were invited to celebrate the launch of K J Howe’s nerve-shredding thriller Skyjack, which follows up the adventures of Hostage Negotiator Thea Paris from the ITW Best Debut novel of 2017 The Freedom Broker.

Kim Howe was in London to launch Skyjack, who with her Publishers Headline, invited several journalists / literary commentators and book reviewers to tell us a little about what is in store for Thea Paris and her team.

And a few photos from the event, as we recommend this highly energetic thriller.

Later I joined Ayo Onatade and several fellow Journalists to celebrate the launch of 

Catherine Steadman’s Something in the Water, the NY Times bestseller.

I was amused to bump into Crime Writer Ross Armstrong at the launch, being unaware that Catherine Steadman is his wife – which amused this fellow actor / novelist.

Soon it was time for Catherine and her publisher Simon and Schuster to welcome the guests to the launch party for SOMETHING IN THE WATER

We present a few photos from the event, and recommend this engaging and dark thriller, with one of the most surreal openings I’ve read in some time.

Martina Cole launches REVENGE in London

 We have a special celebration as Martina Cole, one of Britain’s biggest selling crime-writers launches REVENGE, her twentieth published thriller which finds its way onto bookshelves and eReaders on Thursday 24^th October 2013. Many of us can not believe that she has been a published novelist for 20 years; and for Headline Publishing and her huge readership - she is a workhorse, a book a year, and each one a tough, tough gem.

The Shots team of Mike Stotter, Ayo Onatade, Mike Ripley and I headed to London’s West End to attend the launch party for her 20^th novel Revenge, courtesy of Headline Publishing and Martina Cole. We all know how excellent her literary parties are, so we dressed appropriately for the occasion [well I brought my Heisenberg Pork Pie Hat]. Joining us were several writer / critics including Chris Simmons, Maxim Jakubowski and his charming wife Dolores - and many others including her agent Darley Anderson. There was the Headline Editorial team, her Film and TV colleagues including independent producer / director Barry Ryan and his team, her close family and friends.

I love to celebrate great writing, though like Stephen King, there can be some snobbery when it comes to success, but I can assure you that when it comes to portraying the criminal underworld, few do it with such panache as Martina Cole. Though it’s her readers that count, and they are a loyal breed.

Her latest work REVENGE is no exception –

Michael Flynn is untouchable in a world of power, money and violence. He fights for what he wants and he takes it, whatever the cost. He learns the rules of the Life from the best and when his mentor, legendary Face Patrick Costello, is taken out, no one questions that Michael Flynn is his natural successor. For Michael, loyalty - and crime - pay.

Michael rises to heights beyond anything the criminal underworld has seen. He owns everyone and he rules his empire with an even but fierce hand. No one would dare challenge him.

Then the unthinkable happens.

Perhaps Michael Flynn is not so untouchable after all, and he must learn that...

WITHOUT THE SHEDDING OF BLOOD THERE CAN BE NO FORGIVENESS OF SINS.

Apart from her novels, she has several of them adapted for TV as well for the theatre and even presents, true crime on TV .

The clip below is an interview with the Guardian’s Erwin James

Martina talks about Patrick Prior’s production of Dangerous Lady at Theatre Royal Stratford, East London

The launch party for REVENGE was held at the CAFÉ ROYAL’S  POMPADOUR SUITE with a balcony that overlooked Regent Street – in the heart of London’s West End, a far cry from Martina’s humble beginnings. The room was heaving, and everyone in great from celebrating a wonderful and generous writer. Jane Morpeth, Headline Publishing’s Managing Director welcomed us all to the Café Royal and gave a warm and heartfelt introduction to Martina Cole. Jane explained the help she gives new writers starting out, the work with women in the prison system, and that on Thursday, she will be involved with the ITV-3 / CWA Daggers Hall of Fame. Jane also indicated Martina is 2013’s Reading Agency’s Advocate – as she is passionate about reading as it helped her get out of the tough world she found herself in – which she discusses below 

As ever, there was a long round of applause as Martina was asked to come to the microphone, and in her modest style, she had a very short speech which was basically a thank you to her publisher Headline and her agent Darley Anderson – both who she is strongly loyal to – and of course her family and friends and her readers who she treats as friends. 

I managed to record her speech in gonzo-style. It’s less than 60 seconds, and if you wait to the end, you’ll see the gathering who came to celebrate the launch of REVENGE at London’s Café Royal.

One thing I admire about Martina Cole is her unpretentious approach to crime writing, and how despite the fame and profile she has attained; she remains the same woman I met so many years ago. 

She also epitomizes an observation I have found in my many years of interviewing and reviewing the writers that make up the darkest edges of the genre. The darker the imagination, the more generous and amusing, as well as modest [and grounded] is the writer, in my experience.

So with the gathering raising their glasses to Martina Cole, it was hard to spot her as she was rarely in one place at any one time, as she wanted to welcome everyone, and thank them from coming to see her.

So if you’re new to the work of Martina Cole, Shots eZine have organized a competition to coincide with the release of REVENGE on Thursday 24^th October 2013, in which we are giving away a signed copy of REVENGE to one lucky reader.

All you have to do is answer the following question –

Martina Cole’s debut novel DANGEROUS LADY was recently staged at the Theatre Royal, Stratford East London, can you name Maura Ryan’s brothers?

[A] Walter and Jessie

[B] Geoffrey and Anthony

[C] Bill and Ben

[D] John and James

If you need a hint – click here

All you have to do is email the answer together with your name and postal address to shotscomp@yahoo.co.uk and ensure you place ‘MARTINA COLE REVENGE’ in the subject line of your email.

Terms and conditions for the Martina Cole competition

• Closing date for entries is Sunday 3rd November 2013 12:00:00 AM

• All correct entries will be entered into a prize draw and the first correct answer picked at random on 3/11/2013 will be declared the winner of the signed book

• The winner will be notified by email within 14 days of the promotion closing date and is required to accept their prize by email or phone call within 14 days of notification.

• In the event of non-acceptance within the specified period, the promoter reserves the right to reallocate the prize to the next randomly drawn correct and valid entry.

• The winner will be notified within 28 days of the closing date. No responsibility can be accepted for lost or misplaced entries

• The prize is non-transferable and there is no cash alternative

• Only one entry per person

•Incorrect or illegible answers or entries received after the entry date will not be entered into the prize draw

• The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into

• No geographical restrictions apply

Good Luck, but if you don’t win, you should still explore the work of Martina Cole which can be purchased from the Shots Bookstore Here and we have a special offer with over 50% off the retail price of REVENGE by clicking here

Martina Cole Bibliography

Dangerous Lady [1992]

The Ladykiller [1993]

Goodnight Lady [1994]

The Jump [1995]

The Runaway [1997]

Two Women [1999]

Broken [2000]

Faceless [2001]

Maura's Game [2002]

The Know [2003]

The Graft [2004]

The Take [2005]

Close [2006]

Faces [2007]

The Business [2008]

Hard Girls [2009]

The Family [2010]

The Faithless [2011]

The Life [2012]

Revenge [2013]

Martina is on the road so if you’d want to get a book signed click here

More information available from www.martinacole.co.uk

Shots Ezine would like to thank Headline Publishing for the signed copy of REVENGE for the Shots / Martina Cole Competition, and as always thanks to Jane Morpeth, Darley Anderson and Martina Cole for their assistance in this article, and the invitation for the Shots Team to the launch of REVENGE, and what a swell party that was!

Photos © 2003 - 2013 A S Karim

The above photo of Martina Cole and the late Herbert Lom was taken at Crimescene 2003 and there is an amusing story behind this photo, click here to read it

Martina’s Dangerous Lady

It was thanks to Film Producer / Director Barry Ryan [Free@LastTV] and bestselling crime author Martina Cole of Two Queens Productions that I found myself at Stratford East’s Theatre Royal last week. I had been invited to view Patrick Pryor’s adaption of Martina Cole’s debut novel, the 1992 London Gangster saga that is ‘Dangerous Lady’. This was a risky venture for the playwright and the team he assembled at the East End’s renowned theatre in Stratford, now highlighted on the map as the epicenter of London 2012’s Olympic and Para-Olympic venue[s]. The other issue the Stratford team had to overcome is the knowledge that Dangerous Lady, was the novel that 20 years ago transformed single mother Martina Cole into one of the UK’s biggest selling crime writers. Cole is again riding high in the media’s zeitgeist with her 19^th novel THE LIFE in the bestsellers, as well as her various TV adaptations and real-life crime shows she fronts on Sky TV.

Martina was recently interviewed regarding the theatrical production of her debut novel -

The production of Dangerous Lady follows plot of Martina’s debut novel faithfully, but is [by necessity] a distillation of this dark cautionary tale. The theme is the allegiances and betrayal in a blue collar criminal family, set against the relationships between the corruption with the police and societies upper echelons. The process of paring down the narrative is done with the precision of surgeon’s scalpel as the play loses none of the novel’s grit, nor humor, an essential aspect of the narrative to keep this dark tale from tipping over the edge; because there is some real darkness below the surface of this tale of family moralities and the 1960’s London Underworld. It opens with the birth of Maura Ryan to Irish Matriarch Sarah Ryan. Maura, being Sarah’s only daughter to her sons Michael, Geoffrey and Anthony Ryan. When their father leaves Sarah and his brood penniless in post-war London; elder brother Michael Ryan takes it upon himself to provide for the family, but from the illegal black-market side of 1960’s London, building up a ruthless criminal network of vicious protection rackets, prostitution, strip-bars, drugs and petty [and not so] petty crime. 

Matriarch and firm Irish Catholic, Sarah Ryan tries to get the church involved in trying to put Michael and the brothers back into the law-abiding side of the street, only to find the local priest is a conduit for the IRA [and with an agenda that Michael Ryan can help with]. As wonderful as the cast are, some playing multiple roles, the real star of the show is the stage and production. We have extraordinary lighting, smoke, rear projections of the club-land’s neon strip-lighting, and the plate glass friezes of church-windows and evocative music that just makes the proceedings flow like wine down a thirsty gullet. The two-tier, moving-tracked stage is marvelous to watch as it allows the play to flow through the audience like deadly vignettes, that cut through the density of the narrative, distilling it to the core, without losing the richness and depth of the novel. The first act, closes on the pivotal scene that marks Maura Ryan’s future, and illustrates the moral corruption that religion can cast over people when used to forward an agenda. This scene is as graphic as I've seen in the theater  and though truly horrific to watch, such is the intensity in which it is offered to the audience who see the proceedings right in their faces. One can never state that it is a gratuitous scene, nor one that is titillating, far from it. This scene is as hypnotic as it is essential for the narrative - as this last scene, before the intermission is the key that turns in Maura Ryan’s lock transforming her from a sweet, naive young girl into something more akin to a hybrid of Tony Montana [‘Scarface’] and Larsson’s troubled protagonist - Lisabeth Salander.

The second act relays the journey that Maura and her family traverse as she takes on the mantle of the family crime business, standing side by side with her older brother Michael Ryan. Naturally the shadow this casts over younger brothers Geoffrey and Anthony will have deadly consequences for Maura as well as her beloved Michael, as well as her relationship with her mother, the increasingly unhinged Sarah Ryan.

I did wonder how a theatrical production would tackle the tense bullion robbery that Cole placed at the centre of her novel; but I needn’t have fretted, as I was totally blown away by the way they managed to keep the audience on the edge of their seats. Loud staccato gunfire, light flashes and sirens tore through the theatre as the bullion raid was recreated to nerve-shredding effect. I found myself ducking for cover several times to ensure I was not hit by stray gun-fire that seemed to strafe the audience.

Then as the play reaches its climax, we see the consequences that Maura and the Ryan family face from the law, as well as the IRA, all due to the choices they have made, many of which they had little control over. There is a dark morality woven into the play, the self-same theme that the novel of Dangerous Lady carries as a striated motif – violence and evil often create their own violence and evil, cancelling out the original deeds in a form of equalization. Though there is much darkness in the proceedings, I was delighted to see some of the best and wittiest ‘one-liners’ from Martina’s debut make it onto the stage in East London. It is the suffusion of gallows humour, mainly via extraordinary dialogue that balances out, and makes the scary and visceral aspects bearable. The whole play zips by as fast as the gunfire that echoes in the auditorium. In fact the two acts of Dangerous Lady, move so fast, that one scarcely feels the movement of time, though the team from Stratford’s Theatre Royal are well versed in the distillation of Cole’s thematic novels, having previously cut their teeth on previous works by this bestselling writer of “Two Women” and “The Graft”.

One aspect that is rarely mentioned about Martina Cole and her work, is how much compassion there is in her stories, something that is not lost in this theatrical adaptation; like her refusal to be judgmental about the myriad aspects that make up human nature. Though she rarely talks about it, I would like to point out that Cole supports many charities as well being a patron of the arts. It was over a decade ago that I discovered that she works with women in prison [especially the desperate mothers] from Africa and South America coerced into being ‘drug mules’ to support their families, now incarcerated in British Jails. Whenever I ask her about this, she always changes the subject and blushes. Personally I am amused and perplexed by the dichotomy in the response to Martina’s work, because she is second only to J K Rowling in terms of sales in the UK but receives very little literary acclaim for her work. Perhaps there is some snobbery at play here, so to see her work set against a theatrical back-drop is a form of vindication. When it comes to assessing the literary talent in the work of Martina Cole, her popularity is built upon by her own hard blue-collar work ethic, her skill as a storyteller and her generosity to those less privileged – with her ability to remain as grounded as she was when I first met her. She tells it like it is, a phrase that seems made for this gritty novelist who reveals the inner workings of the dark-side of the blue-collar world, a world that she understands and relays with an unflinching eye.

I was delighted to see her literary agent, the legendary Darley Anderson [who discovered Cole’s talent] as well as Jane Morpeth Managing Director of Headline Publishing in attendance, and together we all managed to have a drink with Martina, during the intermission. We raised our glasses and passed a toast to the versatile and prolific actor Herbert Lom who passed away recently, and reminisced at how a decade ago we managed to talk to him, and get a photo taken with him at one of the Crimescene London Film and Literature Festivals managed by Maxim Jakubowski and Adrian Wooten at The National Film Theatre. One thing I admire about Martina Cole is her unpretentious approach to crime writing, and how despite the fame and profile she has attained; she remains the same woman I met so many years ago. She also epitomizes an observation I have found in my many years of interviewing and reviewing the writers that make up the darkest edges of the genre. The darker the imagination, the more generous and amusing, as well as modest [and grounded] is the writer, in my experience.

Dangerous Lady runs until Saturday 17^th November, and we’d urge you to make time for a visit, because it is a spectacular production, and one that will make you ‘think’. If you’ve not read Martina Cole, then ‘The Life’ is a good place to start, as her work reveals what lurks beneath the veneer that we call ‘society’; one that we only glimpse when we walk away, often to the muffled echo of gunshots, or a scream from behind us. Cole writes about the world that many of us pretend does not exist, but one that lurks a few microns below our own reality.

For more information on tickets click here and to uncover more about the world of Martina Cole click here 

Photos (c) 2002 - 2012 Ali Karim of Stratford East Theatre Royal, Herbert Lom, Martina Cole, Darley Anderson and Jane Morpeth of Headline Publishing