Faces

From international bestselling author Martina Cole comes a gritty, gripping, and utterly unforgettable new novel set in the heart of London's criminal gangland.


Just before Danny Cadogan's fourteenth birthday, his father leaves. Having drunkenly run up a gambling debt he cannot pay, Big Dan Cadogan takes the wrath of the men sent to collect the debt. Determined to protect his mother, brother and sister, something changes in Danny and, overnight, he turns into a young man set on making his way in a violent and dangerous world.

And so, with his childhood friend, Michael Miles, providing the brains behind the operation, Danny Cadogan becomes a Face. Not just a Face, but the most feared Face in the Smoke. Out for all he can get. At any cost.

But Danny's ruthlessness on the streets of London doesn't stop at his front door. He rules his wife, Mary, and children with an iron will — and his fists. But if Mary breaks her silence, it could shake Danny's criminal empire; right to the very core. And for a Face at the top of his game, there's only one way to go. Down. Because, after all, debts can be paid even without money.

Publishers Weekly

Cole's long-winded London gangland saga charts the rise to felonious fame and fortune of Danny Boy Cadogan, from the late '60s to the present. As an oversized 13-year-old, Danny beats up his father, a useless waster saddled with gambling debts, and becomes his family's primary breadwinner. Louie Stein, a crook impressed by Danny's spirit, mentors Danny as Danny and his best friend, Michael Miles, become the new rude boys. At age 15, Danny beats a young prostitute to death after raping her, and he kills again to shut up a squealer, cementing his reputation as a super thug. Later, Danny marries Michael's sister, Mary, who hopes for happiness, but soon finds she's just another person the unfaithful Danny wants to control. Danny's reign of terror becomes a thing of legend, but like all legends, there's always someone ready to knock the kingpin down. Cole (Close) skillfully shows just how the mighty can fall in this sordid, often depressing, crime novel. (July)