The Con

by Karen Woods

A mother will do anything to protect her child… Love and hate are no match for a prison’s walls What would you do if your son was sent down? Any parent would want justice – but justice takes many forms. Would you take on his enemies, protect his reputation, fight his battles? What if you had no choice? Zara Makin tried to give her three boys everything – but they wanted more than any mother could give. They’ve been running their patch of the city on fear and ruthlessness but now the law has caught up with the eldest of the Makin boys. With Tyler, the eldest, banged up in Strangeways, can he hold onto his empire from the inside, keep the family afloat and protect his nearest and dearest? Or will Zara have to fight tougher and dirtier to save her family than ever before?

318 pages, Kindle Edition

Published June 22, 2023

Reviews

[Pol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Took a couple of chapters to get into but I stuck with it and really enjoyed this book
Be good if was a 2nd book to follow on, see how zara, and her Boys move forward
Worth reading The Con.

[Paul Adler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karen Woods was another new author to me. If all her other books are as good as this one, what a great find she is. This is the 1st time I have read a crime thriller with no police involved. This book was based on the gangs and criminals of Manchester. We follow Zara Makin and her 3 sons who are all criminals. Their life becomes a nightmare as other gangs target them for stolen money and drugs etc. Zara does have a bit of romance in her life, but does not really trust any man after years of disappointment. This is a good book and an excellent read for a winters night. I Shall be reading more oh her books.
VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

[John Roberts · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant book! I loved every page! Karen has done a great job with this and done her research. Tyler and his crew are brilliant! Brian the quiet one yet one of the most intelligent! I of course highly recommend this book.

[Mrs G Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

Definitely worth five stars.A good read nothing boring kept interested all the way through. An ending worth another book with same characters. Nothing to dislike just a great read

[judy · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Con

Almost gave up reading as it was a very slow start. I’m glad I kept going as it soon picked up pace. It’s’ not one of her best but disappointed with the ending as I was expecting something a bit more gripping and interesting.

[Debby Grindle · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I really did like reading this book. It's definitely worth a read if you like books like Martina Cole, etc. I'm definitely going to read more by this author. 10 out of 10.
Thank you 😊

[Tracey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable

A bit hard to get into but picks up and turns out to be a good read. Stick with it 🙂

[Susan Parker · Rating 5 out of 5]

A brilliant book that had me hooked from the first chapter

I enjoyed reading this book I couldn't wait to read the next chapter Karen woods is a brilliant author topmarks

[Gail · Rating 3 out of 5]

An ok gangland read. Would be interested to read some more by this author.

[Royce Gordon · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Con

Love Karen's style of writing. Her characters are so easy to get into - be them good or bad. No onto the next book!

[Nicola · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thrilling, didn't want it to end 📖

[Deborah Sinclair · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it!

Riveting - real rollercoaster of a read. A real contender for Martina Coles crown.

Great read - looking forward to reading more.

[Debra Blundell · Rating 5 out of 5]

fantastic

Wow what a book ,Brilliant from start to finish, couldn’t put it down the best I’ve read in a long time,definitely 5 stars xx

[joconcannonhotmail.co.uk · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping!

Loved every second of this book , the love of a mother and survival. Zara is a strong, loving mother ,like the Manchester link .

[CATHERINE WAY · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping

Read this over 2 days. Didn't expect the ending t all quite a twist.
Will be reading more from this author.

[gail frearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant

I could not put it down it didn't read as you would expect can't wait for the next book I really enjoyed. It .

[Nikita · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an enjoyable read - it had suspense, had a good narrative structure, characters with backgrounds and motivations that made you understand them and care about them.

The let down is the last few chapters where it felt like random events kept being thrown in out of the blue for no other purpose than shock value or to have a "twist" to the point that it became comical for me.

Overall, a solid read.