What do you think?
Rate this book
The Front: What do they have to hide?
'One of the bad girls of gritty crime' Daily MirrorWhen four old school friends decide to make some easy money, they pick the wrong target.Very wrong.Robbing a small supermarket on a Manchester estate looks easy - but with one of them wounded and a dead body on their hands, things can't get worse. But they do. The supermarket is merely the front for something bigger.The friends are small fish who have unwittingly plunged into a very big pond and they are now swimming with the great white sharks of the criminal underworld.'A cracking read that will chill you to the bone' Sun on Two-Faced'Mandasue has played a real blinder with this fantastic novel' Martina Cole on Forget-Me-Not
420 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 1, 2002
59 people are currently reading
453 people want to read
About the author
Mandasue Heller
35 books447 followersMandasue was born in Cheshire and moved to Manchester in 1982. She spent ten years living in the notorious Hulme Crescents which have since become the background to her novels. Not only is she a talented writer, but she has also sung in cabaret and rock groups, seventies soul cover bands and blues jam bands.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
June 22, 2011
Great book, take a look at my full review here: http://littlebookaddict.wordpress.com/
Well worth the read, it's well paced and well written. You get a real feeling of empathy with the female characters, and the way Heller uses local dialect is superb.
Well worth the read, it's well paced and well written. You get a real feeling of empathy with the female characters, and the way Heller uses local dialect is superb.
June 9, 2016
This was a really good book with a great story. I haven't read a Mandasue Heller book for years and had forgotton how fantastic she is in her writing. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and look forward to reading more of this authors books.
June 20, 2018
Entertaining small time Manchester gangster story, where a supermarket heist goes wrong, and the aftermath turns into a comedy of errors.
With the brainless drugged up villains, and their teenage groupie girlfriends making all the wrong decisions, they have no idea that they have robbed Mr Big of his hard earned drug money.
“Great story almost a comedy with some of the stupidest criminals in print beating up their girlfriends and abusing them with a whole dictionary of swear words while Mr Big and his not very clever gang try to find out who nicked his money”!
With the brainless drugged up villains, and their teenage groupie girlfriends making all the wrong decisions, they have no idea that they have robbed Mr Big of his hard earned drug money.
“Great story almost a comedy with some of the stupidest criminals in print beating up their girlfriends and abusing them with a whole dictionary of swear words while Mr Big and his not very clever gang try to find out who nicked his money”!
January 21, 2016
Love this author writes gritty books great character's worth reading.
June 4, 2021
Having read and loved Kimberley Chambers, I was recommended to read Mandasue Heller. I chose this book randomly and I’m very happy to have gone with the recommendation. The author guides you through the story of a group of chancers cross paths with an organisation of criminals. Their paths don’t just cross, they repeatedly criss cross. Only when the young copper has another chance meeting with two nurses do the three groups converge for the dramatic finale.
Well written and gripping from page one. I’ll certainly be buying more books from this author.
Well written and gripping from page one. I’ll certainly be buying more books from this author.
June 5, 2022
Good illustration of the inners of a British junkies scene, including the innocent and immoral female perspective within it. The author interchanges nicely between the three separate sub-stories to the crime plot, leading to the taking down of tha bombaclots.
Fun, easy read, couldn’t find the book for a while.
Fun, easy read, couldn’t find the book for a while.
December 16, 2022
Good read
I've read her books before and enjoyed them and I did enjoy this one but the ending left me with so many questions. Is there a part 2?? Or is this deliberate?? There is no indication of either....... All in all the book is good and typical of her writing but the end spoilt it for me.
I've read her books before and enjoyed them and I did enjoy this one but the ending left me with so many questions. Is there a part 2?? Or is this deliberate?? There is no indication of either....... All in all the book is good and typical of her writing but the end spoilt it for me.
May 30, 2017
The first book from this author that I've read. I thought it was brilliantly written, loved the storyline and flew through it. The characters were excellent. Will definitely read more of Mandasue Heller's books.
November 19, 2017
Not one of her best books
I have loved the other Heller books that I have read, but really struggled with this one. It took ages for me to read, somehow I just could not get interested in the story. I feel relieved now I have finished it.
I have loved the other Heller books that I have read, but really struggled with this one. It took ages for me to read, somehow I just could not get interested in the story. I feel relieved now I have finished it.
April 3, 2022
This book was so frustrating. I was really enjoying it and the build up towards the end was great but then it ended how it did and I was so disappointed with it. It so could have been a 4 star but that ending just wasn’t what I expected.
January 17, 2018
The Front
Great read......mandasue never let's you down with thick plots and great twists!! If u like Martina u will love mandasue also
Great read......mandasue never let's you down with thick plots and great twists!! If u like Martina u will love mandasue also
February 11, 2018
Brilliant
Hooked from the beginning couldn't put it down if you love gangster you'll love this book,never fails to deliver brilliant.
Hooked from the beginning couldn't put it down if you love gangster you'll love this book,never fails to deliver brilliant.
September 17, 2018
I have loved the other Heller books, but struggled with this one, I managed to finish it as it got better as I read on.
May 22, 2019
Small scale Manchester drug gang story very well written story seemed to drag in places tho but picked up towards the end which is why I’ve given it 4 stars
November 1, 2019
Brilliant
Another fantastic read by this author. I can't put her books down. A very special talent who creates realistic characters .
Another fantastic read by this author. I can't put her books down. A very special talent who creates realistic characters .
January 31, 2020
Ok
Good storyline but boring in some places story needed stretching with more information about the people in it. Worth reading
Good storyline but boring in some places story needed stretching with more information about the people in it. Worth reading
August 22, 2020
Nice one
October 12, 2020
I dislike crime thrillers but because I knew at the resolution there was going to be a learned lesson I waited and bang! The ending was how I expected it to be.
January 28, 2021
Was a decent read. The plot wasn't the best and character building could have been better but I didnt dnf it so wasn't the worst
January 2, 2022
Great read. I love a crime and Manadsue Heller is so good at writing them. One minute you despise a character the next you start to have some sympathy for them.
January 28, 2022
You never know where your next decision might take you. Robbing a small grocery store led these friends into big trouble
October 17, 2022
Did not finish. So much unnecessary waffle and irrelevant scene setting. Just get to the story!
October 30, 2022
I LOVED this book!! Different angle to most of the usual crime novels I read. It was refreshing.
January 10, 2023
Started off good then felt story dragged out then felt it rushed to end it
July 6, 2024
Worst one I’ve read of hers 😢 couldn’t get into it !
November 12, 2024
A to die for read - set in same style Mandasue is known for
March 2, 2025
It was an ok read. Interesting characters.
May 11, 2025
Be careful who you rob from. hehe. A cast you love to hate
May 12, 2011
This was the first of my 'holiday reading' books. It was one my mum had passed on after she'd read it. I'm surprised I hadn't heard of the author before as she writes books set in Manchester.
This is the story of a small group on the lower edges of the class system. One of whom has the bright idea of robbing the estate shop. His friends are daft enough to agree to his 'foolproof' plan. Unsurprisingly not all goes to plan or is as it seems.
As I began this book I found the way the speech was written a little off-putting. It was correctly written as it would be spoken but it took me a little while to stop noticing the style of speech before what was actually said. This isn't a fault of the book but a foible I have with any book written as such. I'm glad to say this wore off as I got further into it. It then added to the richness of the tale.
The strong point for me here were the characters. All (sadly) recognisable. The book is obviously set in the recent past as landmarks in the book no longer exist. I wonder how much the author experienced the area and the people in it as she writes it very well.
The story is really easy to read. I got through most of it on the flight. It's nice to have a tale written about the less glamourous side of society. Especially when it avoids criticism and just lays it on the table. I'm not totally sure about the end of the book and how realistic it is. It's a satisfying end though with things tied up neatly enough but not totally.
I will be looking up the author's other works but only when I shrink my 'To read tower'.
This is the story of a small group on the lower edges of the class system. One of whom has the bright idea of robbing the estate shop. His friends are daft enough to agree to his 'foolproof' plan. Unsurprisingly not all goes to plan or is as it seems.
As I began this book I found the way the speech was written a little off-putting. It was correctly written as it would be spoken but it took me a little while to stop noticing the style of speech before what was actually said. This isn't a fault of the book but a foible I have with any book written as such. I'm glad to say this wore off as I got further into it. It then added to the richness of the tale.
The strong point for me here were the characters. All (sadly) recognisable. The book is obviously set in the recent past as landmarks in the book no longer exist. I wonder how much the author experienced the area and the people in it as she writes it very well.
The story is really easy to read. I got through most of it on the flight. It's nice to have a tale written about the less glamourous side of society. Especially when it avoids criticism and just lays it on the table. I'm not totally sure about the end of the book and how realistic it is. It's a satisfying end though with things tied up neatly enough but not totally.
I will be looking up the author's other works but only when I shrink my 'To read tower'.
October 9, 2013
Not quite sure what I made of this book. I did read it in a short space of time and was quite intrigued to know which way it would turn, but I couldn't quite determine whether it was written tongue in cheek or whether it was deadly serious - In a similar way to films like "Snatch" treat hard subjects and possibly unlikable characters, but without the obvious funny lines. Do people like this actually exist in reality ? perhaps I have just led a sheltered life ? It also seemed a little dated with the terminology used - do people still use the phrase "batty boy" and did they ever ? (except for Ali G that is). Still it was relatively enjoyable as long as you are not expecting anything particularly thought provoking.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews