Close

by Martina Cole

The #1 bestselling novelist in the UK makes her U.S. debut with a hard-hitting story that combines the brutality and deep family ties of The Sopranos with an unparalleled look at the underbelly of London's gang land.

Patrick Brodie is on the way up. He is a risk-taker like his alcoholic father, and knows exactly how far he is prepared to go to get what he wants. Before long, Patrick has ruthlessly taken out the old guard of the criminal underworld and become a legend in his own lifetime.

The kind of women he is normally attracted to have no foolish dreams of marriage, children, or, God help them, love. But Lily Diamond is different. There's something about her that has gotten under Patrick's skin, and all he can think about is making her happy and keeping her safe.

Eventually they settle down and have a family, and grow determined that their children will not have to face the same kind of lives they did. But then, the unthinkable happens, and everything is suddenly, irreversibly changed.

Spanning over forty years in the underbelly of crime, Close is powerful, shocking, unsettling, and utterly addictive.

Genres: Crime, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, British Literature, Audiobook, Drama

656 pages, Paperback

First published October 19, 2006

About the author

Martina Cole was born and brought up in Essex. She is the bestselling author of fourteen novels set in London's gangland, and her most recent three paperbacks have gone straight to No. 1 in the Sunday Times on first publication. Total sales of Martina's novels stand at over eight million copies.

Reviews

[Baba · Rating 2 out of 5]

From post Second World War through to the 1990s - Cole charts the ups and downs of three generations of a 'close' London gangster family held together by the matriarchal Lil. A typical Cole read with lots of 'good old London' banter and stereotypes alongside a cacophony of scheming, betrayal, abuse, violence and more, which is always entertaining and very readable for this London born and bred reader. 5 out of 12.

[K. Britt-Badman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a fan of Martina Cole. I've have read quite a few of her books in the past and enjoyed all of them. I didn't enjoy this one quite so much. The book is divided into three books. For me, book one dragged a little. I found my interest increased as soon as I reached book two and then I found myself wanting to read to the end. Up until this point, I could take it or leave it. Overall, it's a good book and well worth a read.

[Theweebarrell · Rating 1 out of 5]

I love all martina cole books and this was no different, although a bit slow to start with i got into it as much as i did her others. I would recommend this book and Martina Cole as a author to try

[Andreia Silva · Rating 1 out of 5]

Como é possível que este livro tenha sido escrito pela mesma autora do maravilhoso Hard Girls? Estão a ver água e vinho? É exactamente como estes dois livros são. Não têm nada a ver. Estava à espera de um policial puro e duro. Daqueles com mortes inexplicáveis e provas escondidas dentro de chinelos.E o que foi que encontrei? Simplesmente o conceito de inimigo, vingança e família. O livro segue Patrick Brodie, que é daqueles homens de toda a gente no mundo do crime tem medo e é respeitado porque é brutamontes. E depois dele, seguem-se os filhos que vão pelo mesmo caminho e o livro corre e corre e corre e nada de relevante acontece. Chega a ser chato quando a autora se põe a descrever os antepassados dos criminosos. Mas não vou desistir da autora. Espero que este livro tenha sido apenas um lapso.

[Susan Davidson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not one of her best. The first 2/3rds dragged and there were too many people and sub plots introduced which added nothing.

[Sarah Stocks · Rating 3 out of 5]

I do love Martina Cole’s books but this one did not grip me as much as the others. It did tend to drag on and could have been a lot shorter and tighter….. spider and jimmy seemed to disappear which was a shame as they were interesting characters…..still would recommend though.

[Mary Pimbblet · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very slow and repetitive.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my favourite by this author but still loved it. Have a feeling I read it years ago

[Rae Louise · Rating 5 out of 5]

The first Martina Cole book I picked up, and the best I've read so far. Upon reading the synopsis and other reviews, I was skeptical about whether following the same family over a number of decades would hold my interest. I was immediately hooked by the Brodie family and Patrick's devotion to his wife; therefore, when the 'unthinkable' happened (very graphically) it came as a huge punch to the gut. I had to keep on reading to see how the family would survive and, more importantly, would vengeance be served? I later came across an article in which the author mentioned that a lot of fans were enamoured of the charming Patrick, and one lady even asked her where she could find a man like that of her own. Coincidentally, since reading this book I've often asked myself the same thing!

[Jane Shambler · Rating 5 out of 5]

O.M.G.

I'm sitting here writing this review and crying my eyes out. Just a few minutes ago I was saying to myself you go girl, her mother deserved everything she said. But that is Cole for you. One minute you're laughing, next you're spitting feathers because you're so angry and next you're breaking down in tears.
If that doesn't make you read this book nothing will.
Enjoy!

[Cocaine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some years ago whilst helping establish a business in South East London I met a number of people who, colloquially speaking, were connected. That is they were either family of or friends to gangsters. I met 18Mad Frankie Frasers ex-wife Lilly, Victoria his sister-in-law and Sue (I think) his niece. I met a woman who was mates with the Foreman 19s (one a hit man the other a thief) and also a chap who knew the Richardson 19s (Great Train Robbery.) Mixed in among these were friends and family of the Cray 19s, the Arif 19s and a modern day family who I shall not name. It was an eye opening exercise in how grim reality is. They were nice enough people but coarse with a wicked sense of humour.
Martina Cole knows her stuff. She has come from this background and writes with authority. 18Close 19 is a crime fiction that concentrates on East End gang members family life. It is 18real 19 as a fiction can possibly be. It portrays London 19s underworld in brutal relief. It shows that fraternity as being psychotic, violent and ruthless.
The only criticism I have is that cockney 19s seldom complete their rhyming slang. You hardly ever hear, for example, someone say 18apples and pears 19 for stairs. They say 18up the apples 19 A 18raspberry ripple, is simply 18a raspberry 19 and your arse is your 18Aris; Cole choses to use the full rhyme. No doubt this is done for commercial reasons as it make it easier for an American audience to work out the meaning.
I cannot fault the story or the authors talent. Sadly though, this book is not my 18cuppa char. 19

[Rebecca Halton · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’ve read quite a few of Martina Cole’s books but this may be the last.
On a positive note, generally the books are a good yarn, but now they’re getting samey.
The negatives. Where do I start? Why are these books published seemingly with no editing whatsoever? Repetitive description and language, generally with a few expletives, I don’t object to a bit a swearing but this is just gratuitous.
Every cliched simile there is: “sporting bags under his eyes large enough to fetch her shopping in.”
Her use of Cockney rhyming slang, and used in full so “boracic lint”, “boat race”, “loaf of bread”. It’s just cringe making.
Sloppy editing
“Cain was unaware just how angry Patrick Brodie was with him, or that he had stepped on someone else's toes. He didn't yet understand that it was only because of his brother he was being given a Get Out Of Jail Free card.
Cain was shrewd enough to know that he had dropped a serious bollock and he was only interested in talking himself out of any kind of aggravation.”

Was Cain unaware or was he shrewd? This is the same paragraph for heavens sake.

And finally her habit of just slipping in a diatribe about something, schooling, prisons, welfare benefits, whatever.

Just awful writing. I swear the books read as if she dictates into a voice recorder, then types out exactly what she’s written.

[Zoe Hall · Rating 3 out of 5]

I suppose you could refer to me as a somewhat haphazard Martina Cole fan, as I have 'found' Martina around three quarters of the way through her career. As a result, I am reading her earlier books as and when I come across them!

I am 100% certain that if this was the first Martina book I'd read I'd give it 5 stars, but as it stands, there are more compelling (and violent) Martina books out there (in my opinion of course!).

I enjoyed the book. The characters are as horrendously interesting as ever, and the story as its heart is intensely gripping.

Violence, death, murder, family and love are rife. Keep your friends close and your enemies closer...

[Plum-crazy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think this is the fourth Martina Cole book I've read & I thin k it will be the last. It follows the same format as all the others...vicious, unlikeable characters with no redeeming features & with most of them coming to a bad end.

I wouldn't say "enjoyed" is the right word for how I felt about this book, it was compelling enough to have made me want to finish it but it's virtually a carbon copy of others...same basic tale with a change of names for the characters.....still if that's what people want...

[Neil Mudde · Rating 2 out of 5]

This has to be one of the most horrific stories I have ever read, the descriptions of murder are unbelievable,and to think that this was written by a woman.......
Why did I finish reading this?, I simply wanted to know if there were any redemptive qualities with any of the characters and I will leave it up to you to find out for yourself

[Grace · Rating 3 out of 5]

3½ stars

This is the 2nd time I've read this book. It starts off slowly but gradually picks up pace. It's not my favourite Martina Cole book but it's definitely worth reading. The story is built around a formidable woman who lived a hard life before she married Patrick Brodie. It documents the tragedies she endures in her life and how she bounces back.

[Kev · Rating 4 out of 5]

I struggled with the first half of this book. I found too many characters that I couldn’t always place. Something big happens midway through that story which shocked me and the pacing really started to work better. The build up to the final act had me gripped and by the end I was in tears, a first for me with Martina’s storytelling.

[Geraldine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best books that I have read this year. It spans 40 years of the Brodie family who are "close". They are faces/criminals. I loved Lil, Patrick both Sr and Jr. It was an eye operner regarding crime in UK.

[Brenda at MyShelf · Rating 3 out of 5]

british mobster. extreme content. {whew}

[Marjorie E McEvoy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Close

Good read as usual from this authress. Can't wait to read the next book by Martina Cole. Very true to life

[Bookaholic · Rating 4 out of 5]

Finished on 10 November ok book

[Naomi · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bit of a slow burner, took me a while to really get invested in this story but once it going going I was there!

I felt sorry for Lance in the beginning, he was born ‘weird’ and that was Lil’s only reason for not taking to him. Of course, I could see where it was going from the moment the twins were born. It all comes out in the wash, but not until the very end so we spend most of the book questioning certain parental skills…

Reasons not to feel sorry for Lance:
1) he pushed a (6?) year old girl from a moving bus when he was just (8?) himself
2) he bullies the crap out of anyone he wants. He’s not fussed. Hey, you. Yeah, it’s your turn today pal.
3) he has a super creepy relationship with his nanna
4) seems overly interested in children
5) was up to dodgy dealings he didn’t want his family to find out about whilst Pat was doing bird
6) he’s a violent motherf*cker
7) he gets his little sister murdered

Alright. Enough about Lance. Let’s talk about Pat senior.
He was a family man. A family man who loved his wife and kids. A family man who regularly took up with other women and stayed away a lot. 🤔 seems…legit? I mean I could see it, when they were together he and Lil were in love with each other. But then he’s brutally murdered and you’re telling me he’s made no provisions, none whatsoever, to look after his wife and kids in case the worst ever happened? He was a f*cking face for craps sake! He was bound to be taken out at some point. And he was mega rich. Yet he leaves absolute shite for his so called beloved family? Makes no sense.

Anyway, give it a read, learn why feeling sorry for Lance is futile.

[Hari Brandl · Rating 3 out of 5]

One wonders how Martina Cole has become so familiar with the internal workings of the psychopathic mind, and also the minds of criminal wiseguys. She is very good at writing about them. This book is dark; you get a feeling of hopelessness in the first chapter, and the drama builds inexorably.
Her female characters are fascinating: strong and as evil as their men. But for the most part they are loving, caring mothers, even ferocious (if they have children, of course), even if they aren't able to protect their children in the end. As wives and girlfriends they can be victims , or powerful in the face of their partner's infidelities and other abuses: leaders of their families, successful entrepreneurs.
This book was quite a bit to long, and her storytelling repetitive, however. Disappointing. The movie adaptations I've seen of three of her books were captivating, especially "The Take" with the fabulous Tom Hardy (actually a mini series on British TV). Here's hoping others of her works are more tightly written, shorter.

[Toshkis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Perskaičius tokį aprašymą iš knygos tikimasi labai daug, tačiau ji pasirodė silpnesnė. Šią knygą palyginciau su sunkvežimiu, kuris juda lėtai į kalną, bet įsibėgėjęs pasileidžia nuo jo ir nuneša viską pakeliui. Knyga padalinta į 3 dalis pasakojančias skirtingus gyvenimo etapus. Asmeniškai man knygos pradžia buvo labai ilga, kol priėjau tą vietą kuri labai įtraukė. Man pradžioje buvo per daug vyro reikalų. Knyga lyg ir turėtų būti apie moterį mafijos pasaulyje, todėl norejosi apie ją skaityti daugiau. Pirmos dalies pabaiga, kuri beja buvo beveik knygos viduryje ir buvo ta vieta nuo kurios mano sunkvežimis pradėjo riedėti nuo kalno ir atgaivino visą istoriją. Nuo šios vietos skaitėsi daug įdomiau ir greičiau. Pagrindinė herojė kuo toliau tuo labiau erzino, bet knygos pabaigoje buvo keli nenuspėjami įvykiai, o galiausiai viskas susidėjęs į bendrą vaizdą ir apmastant įvykius suvokiau veikėjų gyvenimo tragedijos daugiasluoksniskuma. Bendrai paėmus knyga nėra bloga, tik reikia nusiteikti, jog įdomumo teks palaukti

[Gill D. Anderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

I recently read 'The know' by this author and was intrigued from page one. So I randomly chose another of Cole's books which happened to be Close. I honestly could not believe how badly written this book was. It lacked professional editing, was extremely repetitive to the point of insulting the readers intelligence and there was absolutely no light to balance out the dark themes. It was gloomy from start to finish with no reprieve for any of the characters. There also was no real point to the story line, it was basically a narrative of the Brodie family and their cohorts and then a list of the tragedies they endured (which were never ending).

I haven't given up on Cole given that I loved 'The know' so much. Perhaps with being her 13th novel, she is just churning out stories that dont quite make the cut.

[Mrs J Ward · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring, repatative. I used to love Martina Cole books and thoroughly enjoyed her writing. I honestly can't believe the last 2 were written by the same person. She has taken to repeating phrases using them for different characters until you want to scream. The violence, foul language and descriptive writing was not to everyone's liking but it is what she was known for. She continues with the foul racist language on every page but the stories lack the punch to back it up.
I said after her last book that I wouldn't bother again. This one goes to prove I should have stuck to my guns and not bothered. Everything was described in the last few pages so if you buy it, skip to the end and save wasting your time. Very disappointed.

[Julie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really my kind of book. The language is very strong and the plot didn’t really make up for it. This is a very hard hitting novel of mob life - revenge, love and hate over a span of around 30 years. You start at the end and then go back to the beginning to see how things came about.
The story depicts a tough life and the characters that this life shapes. The violence is not particularly graphic thankfully, but you feel the menace. As I said, it’s not really my thing, but if you like a gritty thriller, this may be for you as long as the language won’t offend.

[The Cruciverbalistic Bookworm · Rating 2 out of 5]

What a mistake of a book...too much violence, profanity and vice...yet the writing was realistic. And the entire sadness of the wasted lives of all the characters. The author writes from the perspective of the criminals, the perpetual offenders and underdogs of society. One can either choose to pity them or ignore them completely. The book also drags quite a bit. The vocabulary was often repetitive, perhaps because its about shady characters (gangsters) of the underworld, their alternating poverty and materialism, and the far too many tragic consequences.

[Kevin · Rating 5 out of 5]

5*

This raises questions:

Family and people - Does personality develop through nature or nurture?

Is it possible to see abuse (incest) under your nose?

While the whole book is compulsive reading the questions raised above made me think about my own beliefs, and feel that they have to have a detailed, nuanced answer.

Within the book, the answers seemed to stem from people breaking away from the nurturing of unloved homes to bring shower their kids with love.

Great book

[Mary Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'll be perfectly honest in that I did not like all the swearing throughout the book - I know her books are like that and I don't really mind if they are used as emphasis but it was just too much. The story draws you in and there is no doubt that Martina can tell a good story so I can't say I did not like the book.