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Frankie
Homeless, streetwise and running away from a past she would rather forget, Francesca Mills is just another face on the streets of London. When a violent encounter leads to a man’s death, however, she is forced to leave the harsh world that has become her home and forge a new life elsewhere. On the run, Frankie unknowingly stumbles across a dangerous secret, a secret so powerful that men will stop at nothing to protect it. She tries to build a new life, but you can only stay anonymous when no one wants to find you. Hunted by both the police and shadowy assailants with powerful connections, the odds are stacked against a woman who will do whatever it takes to protect herself – and those who mean most to her …
388 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 29, 1973
9 people are currently reading
93 people want to read
About the author
Kevin Lewis
11 books44 followersBorn in 1970 in Southeast London, Kevin's childhood years were spent in the city's rough council estates. The violent and depraved conditions that Kevin lived in are documented in his autobiographical books The Kid and The Kid Moves On. Today Kevin combines his creative skill with his knowledge of the inner cities to write novels with gritty realism. Kevin currently lives in Surrey with his wife and two children.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
October 12, 2011
I thoroughly enjoyed this book. I was so captivated from the beginning to end that I read this in just two days. My poor chores felt so neglected :-(. I highly recommend this novel.
April 4, 2016
At the starting the book was really slow and and it gains the pace towards the end. The book is not having a good plot but the way of storytelling overcomes these faults.
July 8, 2017
wow
2nd book I have read and I can't fault this author. Delivers brilliantly. Cant wait to read his other books.
2nd book I have read and I can't fault this author. Delivers brilliantly. Cant wait to read his other books.
October 10, 2017
This was the first book I ever read fully and one that I understood, in terms of language. I really enjoyed this story.
July 21, 2018
Brilliant.
Young girl gets mixed up in a crime.
Brutal, moving, sad and uplifting.
Young girl gets mixed up in a crime.
Brutal, moving, sad and uplifting.
December 26, 2018
Really enjoyed first read of this author
July 2, 2008
If "About the Author" in the press release is to be believed, then in FRANKIE, Kevin Lewis is writing about a world not that far from the one he grew up in.
On a cold London evening Frankie, a young woman with a sad past, now living on the streets, has no choice when a drug dealer, pimp and lowlife targets the very young Mary - a recent street kid, still pretty, still not drawn into addiction and degradation. Frankie fights for Mary and the pimp dies. Frankie is now not just on the streets with her own past to deal with, but she's running from the police, from the consequences of the fight.
In the process Frankie mugs another young woman - not realising that Rosemary has just broken into her bosses computer, and the necklace that Frankie grabbed contained the evidence that the Fraud Squad desperately need to keep Rosemary safe as well.
Frankie finds she can run, she can escape from her past and from the events of that night, but only for so long. Sometimes your actions come back to haunt you years later and in Frankie's case, the consequences are more dire when you actually have more to lose.
There's a lot to like in FRANKIE and there's a lot to feel a bit let down by. The direness and desperation of life on the streets is really well drawn in the early parts of the book, and the events that happen to send Frankie on the run tear along at a great pace with good tension and the reader's interest is firmly held. The consequences of what seems like a simple case of purse snatching by Frankie are a sobering twist and Mary's fate is no holds barred confrontational. Frankie is a good character in that she has guts and determination and a willingness to try again, despite everything that has happened and does happen to her.
Possibly that is the source of a feeling of being slightly let down, the events that sent Frankie to the streets were overly predictable - the characterisations of her mother and stepfather too formulaic; the sudden remembrance of evidence of her past too contrived. Frankie's rescue from poverty and despair was a little on the unbelievable side, and her achievement of everything a girl could possibly hope for mildly over-sentimental. The conclusion where everything she's built for herself is threatened and torn apart as a result of the actions of years before, on top of all of that build up just seemed a bit on the melodramatic side.
On a cold London evening Frankie, a young woman with a sad past, now living on the streets, has no choice when a drug dealer, pimp and lowlife targets the very young Mary - a recent street kid, still pretty, still not drawn into addiction and degradation. Frankie fights for Mary and the pimp dies. Frankie is now not just on the streets with her own past to deal with, but she's running from the police, from the consequences of the fight.
In the process Frankie mugs another young woman - not realising that Rosemary has just broken into her bosses computer, and the necklace that Frankie grabbed contained the evidence that the Fraud Squad desperately need to keep Rosemary safe as well.
Frankie finds she can run, she can escape from her past and from the events of that night, but only for so long. Sometimes your actions come back to haunt you years later and in Frankie's case, the consequences are more dire when you actually have more to lose.
There's a lot to like in FRANKIE and there's a lot to feel a bit let down by. The direness and desperation of life on the streets is really well drawn in the early parts of the book, and the events that happen to send Frankie on the run tear along at a great pace with good tension and the reader's interest is firmly held. The consequences of what seems like a simple case of purse snatching by Frankie are a sobering twist and Mary's fate is no holds barred confrontational. Frankie is a good character in that she has guts and determination and a willingness to try again, despite everything that has happened and does happen to her.
Possibly that is the source of a feeling of being slightly let down, the events that sent Frankie to the streets were overly predictable - the characterisations of her mother and stepfather too formulaic; the sudden remembrance of evidence of her past too contrived. Frankie's rescue from poverty and despair was a little on the unbelievable side, and her achievement of everything a girl could possibly hope for mildly over-sentimental. The conclusion where everything she's built for herself is threatened and torn apart as a result of the actions of years before, on top of all of that build up just seemed a bit on the melodramatic side.
January 20, 2013
So...I've got to admit that I loved this book..I barely read books that have to do with ordinary and every day things...I don't say that Frankie's life was ordinary but I prefer science fiction books and stuff like that.Frankie is an amazing and really brave character. I love the way she handles things and doesn't let anything break her.Alright,she actually broke in the end when they took Jasper but she was ready to give her life for her baby and that's amazing and really brave.I expected her to end up with Carter because I really liked him but we don't know what happens next.I assume from what he said in the last chapter that they weren't to end up together because he was a cop and Frankie hated cops. Her story was really realistic and the things she said and did during the book were thing that everyone who loves the only family he has..would've done. I hope so anyway.Best scene? Where she finally met her mother and cleared things.I was so nervous and stressed.It was like I was Frankie and wanted to say to my mother the things I hadn't said so long ago.I think Frankie was a bit mean with her mother but she had to be careful.You can't suddenly love the woman who turned her back on you and didn't believe what her own daughter said.What Frankie's stepfather did to her was really tragic.From the beggining her stepfather was relaxed for the whole thing...It was like he wanted Frankie behind bars so his actions stayed uncovered. I was also impressed by the way Frankie disguised herself and she had an inside power that gave her the courage to move on.I'd like to read The Kid from the same author. I think it will be just as amazing as this one. I read the description and I think the plot is somehow about the same thing.
January 27, 2011
This book surprised me. I picked it up for a couple of bucks at Borders and really wasn't expecting it to be as good as it was. It was well written, fast paced and had a great - and original - storyline.
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November 9, 2008i read this book and i enjoyed it from beginning to end, a must read
November 17, 2008
Read the first novel by Kevin Lewis called Kaitlyn and was looking forward to this one,and it didn't disapoint loved it
November 23, 2008
Fantastic book. I read it in two days flat.
February 24, 2014
Should be a special gift for all runaways
September 5, 2015
another good book by kevin lewis
June 10, 2016
Brilliant book, couldn't put it down. Really got behind the characters.
June 22, 2011
A story hard to put down. A fast storyline with a nice narration. Very exciting and entertaining.
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August 7, 2011Excellent
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews