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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.
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.
512 pages, Hardcover
First published October 4, 2007
144 people are currently reading
1001 people want to read
About the author
Martina Cole
112 books1,746 followersMartina 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.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
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January 8, 2016
I think it's safe to say that I'm not a Martina Cole fan nor will I ever be. She can put full stops in the right place, and the words are used in the correct manner, but her style isn't my thing. Too many sections, too many repetitions, too many characters and just too much too much. Not a huge fan of the plots or characters. Can't say I didn't try.
October 18, 2012
I (like many other reviewers on here) have read all of Martina Cole's books and would consider myself a big fan. I didn't really enjoy her last book much but felt that it probably was a `blip' in an otherwise fantastic writing career. I was left disappointed with her latest effort. The story follows Danny Cadogan through his hard life from the age of 14. As always, the story spreads over many years and you get a really great feel for the characters. The most annoying thing about this book was the repetition. Everything you read is repeated at least twice elsewhere in the book but in slightly different words. I also felt that the characters were very stereotyped and that the ending was predictable. Saying all this, I did enjoy the story but it was definitely the worst book she has written. Sad.
September 1, 2009
This book was interesting at first but by the end of the second or third chapter, I felt as if I was being bludgeoned by the vicious folks in the story. If you really, really want to feel bad about parenthood, this is the book for you! The Irish Cadogans are vicious, self-centered, addicted, miserable people and Ms. Cole will tell you that over and over until you can hardly wait until all of them from Danny Boy to his parents and siblings are all dead. They take a lot of others with them, too, so this book is full of mayhem. Somewhere in all of this are snippets of information about gangs in England - how they recruit, where they operate and who they employ but mostly, this book is a long lament: "The sins of the fathers shall be visited on the sons." - And mothers and daughters and readers too.
January 22, 2009
I found this one hard work compared to all her others, i found it could have probably been half the size, there was a lot of repeats. he's a face, with him being a face, yes i get the pictures its called faces, we know he's a face, we didn't need telling on every other page
October 13, 2019
Cole??
Who is this person. She not only describes London as I remember it from my youth. But also the people.
She speaks to me with great feeling and truth. It's like I'm reliving my childhood.
Cole is most definitely in a category all of her own.
Excellent book.
Who is this person. She not only describes London as I remember it from my youth. But also the people.
She speaks to me with great feeling and truth. It's like I'm reliving my childhood.
Cole is most definitely in a category all of her own.
Excellent book.
April 7, 2008
I'm only half way through and I find this book very boring. It's a shame as it's a very good story line with explicit violence, but Martina repeats the same thing from one page to another.
We already know this about a certain character... It's like she's forgotten she's already told us.
I'm going to stick with it, even though I've started skipping pages.
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Well, I finished the book and was very disappointed. Faces has some great characters in it and could have been a good book if it was written well.
We authors are taught to show and not tell. Martina TELLS.
If Faces can become a best-seller, there's hope for us little people.
We already know this about a certain character... It's like she's forgotten she's already told us.
I'm going to stick with it, even though I've started skipping pages.
---------------------------------------------------------------
Well, I finished the book and was very disappointed. Faces has some great characters in it and could have been a good book if it was written well.
We authors are taught to show and not tell. Martina TELLS.
If Faces can become a best-seller, there's hope for us little people.
April 6, 2024
I really liked this book. Martina cole delivers another gritty read and I was gripped by it.
October 11, 2019
200 pages too long !! Kept repeating the same thing most of the way through the book.
September 13, 2009
To be honest I only read 119 pages of this book. I wanted to give it a chance but from the beginning chapter you know that the main character's wife and best friend are plotting to kill him due to his despicable behavior. It then flashes back to his youth and at first you feel sorry for this kid but that quickly changes when he rapes a young girl and then in anger kills her. I put the book down and then after a day said maybe there is some redemption but when I started again he was gouging out a man's eyes. There was too much gory detail and I couldn't read another 400 pages of the same.
October 13, 2013
If you want to go to sleep thinking about cruelty, violence, rape and broken people then this is the book for you. Bloody awful.
January 12, 2015
On Audible!
Gripping from start to finish!
LOVING THESE MARTINA COLE BOOKS,
All NARRATED PERFECTLY BY ANNIE ALDINGTON
Gripping from start to finish!
LOVING THESE MARTINA COLE BOOKS,
All NARRATED PERFECTLY BY ANNIE ALDINGTON
October 8, 2018
Have read Faces before but really enjoyed rereading it. Great book.
January 20, 2021
If you're a fan of Martina Cole then this book promises everything you've come to expect. An Irish Catholic family struggling with alcoholism, poverty and prejudice, who pull themselves up by their bootstraps and succeed. It has all the Cole trademarks, rags to riches, fruity language and grit. But sadly, with Faces, that's where it ends.
Divided into four books it starts out set in 1969 when 14 year old old Danny Boy Cadogan takes over his father's job as head of the family. Book two moves to the 1980 but sadly there's nothing to tell the reader that this is the era. No societal references to the period apart from a passing comment about someone dressed in pop star fashion alluding to early Spandau/Duran. Book three was as disappointing as two and the pace picked up again with book four.
The two major problems with this book apart from the weak storyline were:
Danny Boy, his character was one dimensional throughout and he had no redeeming features at all. He was constantly referred to as large, handsome and mental. Mike his second in command had a better, much fuller character and was more believable.
The repetition. It was relentless. We are told on almost every page of book's one and two that Danny Boy had had his father crippled or he'd only been 14 when he'd taken control. This repetition was applied to everyone of the Cadogan family and made the text flat and plodding. It seemed that Cole felt the need to reiterate almost every sentence no matter how inconsequential. E.G. page 291. 'He borrowed money from her, and used her when he needed anything, and he resented her for that, for her generosity. Instead of feeling thankful that he had a sister who loved him and was more than willing to help him out he resented her for her generosity.'
Book two and three could have easily been condensed into one smaller section thus saving around 200 pages of what we already knew and then this would have moved the story along at a better more manageable pace. I enjoy this author's work but sadly this one failed to hit the mark, not one of Ms Cole's best.
Divided into four books it starts out set in 1969 when 14 year old old Danny Boy Cadogan takes over his father's job as head of the family. Book two moves to the 1980 but sadly there's nothing to tell the reader that this is the era. No societal references to the period apart from a passing comment about someone dressed in pop star fashion alluding to early Spandau/Duran. Book three was as disappointing as two and the pace picked up again with book four.
The two major problems with this book apart from the weak storyline were:
Danny Boy, his character was one dimensional throughout and he had no redeeming features at all. He was constantly referred to as large, handsome and mental. Mike his second in command had a better, much fuller character and was more believable.
The repetition. It was relentless. We are told on almost every page of book's one and two that Danny Boy had had his father crippled or he'd only been 14 when he'd taken control. This repetition was applied to everyone of the Cadogan family and made the text flat and plodding. It seemed that Cole felt the need to reiterate almost every sentence no matter how inconsequential. E.G. page 291. 'He borrowed money from her, and used her when he needed anything, and he resented her for that, for her generosity. Instead of feeling thankful that he had a sister who loved him and was more than willing to help him out he resented her for her generosity.'
Book two and three could have easily been condensed into one smaller section thus saving around 200 pages of what we already knew and then this would have moved the story along at a better more manageable pace. I enjoy this author's work but sadly this one failed to hit the mark, not one of Ms Cole's best.
March 30, 2019
It's been a very long time since I've read a Martina Cole novel. I used to love her books and so when I was rearranging my bookshelves, as is needed when you've bought more, I found one that I hadn't read and decided to dive right in.
As you can tell from my 3 stars, I wasn't that impressed. It wasn't the story itself that I didn't enjoy, although it did seem to end rather abruptly (and without the twist I was hoping for), it was the sheer amount of padding in the novel.
I read the paperback copy and it stretched to 666 (my favourite number) pages; it could easily have been half that. When I say padding, I mean repetition of the same thing over and over again. If I read that 'Danny Boy's life had been ruined the day his father lost £600 in a bet' once, I read it umpteen times. It was tedious, it was boring, and it annoyed the hell out of me. For such a well respected writer to do this, disappoints me no end.
I don't remember the other novels I read being like this, but it has been two decades since I've read one so...
The story itself was good, typical Cole, in that it revolved around the gangland lifestyle. Danny Boy Cadogan is the oldest of three and is forced to grow up in the worst way when his father leaves them high and dry after losing £600 in a bet to the notorious Murray Brothers. Danny Boy not only sees off the Murrays, but also learns to enjoy it, thus cementing his image as a bully and a tyrant, an image that applied to everyone in his life, even his wife.
The novel follows the progression of Danny Boy's career from child 'hero' to feared 'Face' and it highlights how arrogance and over-confidence can certainly become your downfall, no matter how scary you are.
I won't give the story away, but the twist I was hoping for was that it would all have been for Michael. Read it and you will know what I mean, but brace yourself, it is a mighty tome!
In the end, there was no twist, no real end to be honest.
As you can tell from my 3 stars, I wasn't that impressed. It wasn't the story itself that I didn't enjoy, although it did seem to end rather abruptly (and without the twist I was hoping for), it was the sheer amount of padding in the novel.
I read the paperback copy and it stretched to 666 (my favourite number) pages; it could easily have been half that. When I say padding, I mean repetition of the same thing over and over again. If I read that 'Danny Boy's life had been ruined the day his father lost £600 in a bet' once, I read it umpteen times. It was tedious, it was boring, and it annoyed the hell out of me. For such a well respected writer to do this, disappoints me no end.
I don't remember the other novels I read being like this, but it has been two decades since I've read one so...
The story itself was good, typical Cole, in that it revolved around the gangland lifestyle. Danny Boy Cadogan is the oldest of three and is forced to grow up in the worst way when his father leaves them high and dry after losing £600 in a bet to the notorious Murray Brothers. Danny Boy not only sees off the Murrays, but also learns to enjoy it, thus cementing his image as a bully and a tyrant, an image that applied to everyone in his life, even his wife.
The novel follows the progression of Danny Boy's career from child 'hero' to feared 'Face' and it highlights how arrogance and over-confidence can certainly become your downfall, no matter how scary you are.
I won't give the story away, but the twist I was hoping for was that it would all have been for Michael. Read it and you will know what I mean, but brace yourself, it is a mighty tome!
In the end, there was no twist, no real end to be honest.
Read
August 29, 2021I said I wasn’t going to read another Martina Cole book but I did and to save everyone the slog of reading hundreds of pages here’s my summary:
Danny Boy is very big, handsome and mean, He had a rubbish childhood because his dad, Big Danny gambled. Danny Boy had to take on the local thugs. Danny Boy hated his dad and hated his mum for taking Big Danny back, so he beat up his dad and crippled them. Danny Boy hates everyone except his best friend Nice Michael. Danny Boy wants to be a Face. A Face is a hard man that everyone looks up to. Everyone looks up to a Face, a Face is someone that everyone looks up to, and a Face is what Danny Boy wants to be. Did I tell you that Danny Boy wants to be a Face? I’ll tell you again, Danny Boy wants to be A Face because that’s the title of the book.
Danny Boy goes to church a lot and thinks he’s like Jesus.
Danny Boy marries Nice Michael’s sister but he’s mean to her as well and she drinks.
Danny Boy kills a few people, not sure why and couldn’t be bothered to look back. It’s probably something to do with him wanting to be a Face.
Nice Michael and his friend realise Big Danny is a grass and kill him.
The End
There’s a lot of her usual rambling on how things weren’t the same as they used to be. Lads who rob little old ladies get sent to holiday camps. And hilarious rhyming slang, personal favourite was “Can you make us a cup of Rosie Lee and a bit of Holy Ghost”
Danny Boy is very big, handsome and mean, He had a rubbish childhood because his dad, Big Danny gambled. Danny Boy had to take on the local thugs. Danny Boy hated his dad and hated his mum for taking Big Danny back, so he beat up his dad and crippled them. Danny Boy hates everyone except his best friend Nice Michael. Danny Boy wants to be a Face. A Face is a hard man that everyone looks up to. Everyone looks up to a Face, a Face is someone that everyone looks up to, and a Face is what Danny Boy wants to be. Did I tell you that Danny Boy wants to be a Face? I’ll tell you again, Danny Boy wants to be A Face because that’s the title of the book.
Danny Boy goes to church a lot and thinks he’s like Jesus.
Danny Boy marries Nice Michael’s sister but he’s mean to her as well and she drinks.
Danny Boy kills a few people, not sure why and couldn’t be bothered to look back. It’s probably something to do with him wanting to be a Face.
Nice Michael and his friend realise Big Danny is a grass and kill him.
The End
There’s a lot of her usual rambling on how things weren’t the same as they used to be. Lads who rob little old ladies get sent to holiday camps. And hilarious rhyming slang, personal favourite was “Can you make us a cup of Rosie Lee and a bit of Holy Ghost”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
August 29, 2020I was once again reminded of why i love martina cole's books. If it wasn't for me feeling the actual book, then I would think i am in reality. She writes real life and there are so many scenes that i can relate to.
Dan is blaming his dad for the way he turned out. 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. He becomes a crazy lunatic, abusing his wife for years and even being the cause for her having two miscarriages. He rules everyone and everything with an Iron fist and becomes one of the Faces of gangland. Not just a Face but one to fear.
And the way the gang world works - One has to fall, so that the next generation can take the realm...
However, the book is a bit too long winded. Still, i have more of her books lined up.
Dan is blaming his dad for the way he turned out. 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. He becomes a crazy lunatic, abusing his wife for years and even being the cause for her having two miscarriages. He rules everyone and everything with an Iron fist and becomes one of the Faces of gangland. Not just a Face but one to fear.
And the way the gang world works - One has to fall, so that the next generation can take the realm...
However, the book is a bit too long winded. Still, i have more of her books lined up.
October 14, 2021
I’m at a total loss with this book. If someone told me that this book was not written by Martina Cole and indeed it was an imposter, I would believe them. It’s difficult to think Martina could release this book after all the brilliant novels she has released up to when this one was first released. It’s definitely a case of quantity over quality. The story could be told over 300 pages and not the 666 we were given. I can’t believe how repetitive it is, almost like Martina thinks the reader has forgotten part of the story, over and over. In the words of Martina herself, the repetition here is of Olympic standards. Thankfully, I’ve loved all her books, up to this one and I’m more than confident I will continue to enjoy her books.
June 19, 2020
I really need to learn how to not finish books, as this was an incredible painful experience. At points this book is physically sickening, at others immensely boring and repetitive. I wouldn't says it's ever interesting, at any point of the over 600 pages of this.
The author seemed to have no idea who her characters were, they completely change every couple of pages. One second someone will be a loving mother trying her hardest, the next she's always hated her children, then suddenly she's back to being lovely again. It's completely impossible to keep track.
I am really glad to have finished this and not have to endure it any longer.
The author seemed to have no idea who her characters were, they completely change every couple of pages. One second someone will be a loving mother trying her hardest, the next she's always hated her children, then suddenly she's back to being lovely again. It's completely impossible to keep track.
I am really glad to have finished this and not have to endure it any longer.
January 11, 2023
How this book was a new no.1 best seller in year 2007 shocks me. I’ve never read a Martina Cole book before. “Faces” started off interesting. But it took me ages to get into it. Didn’t like the exploitation language about young girls. Not the ideal thing to read when you’re eating. Story is about young lad called Danny Boy, he doesn’t have a good relationship with his dad, Big Danny. Danny Boy becomes the new “face” of the underground.
“Faces like Michael, Danny Boy and even him, we’re relics that harked back to the olden days when men were men, and their women were glad of it. Those days were gone, and they would never return..”
“Faces like Michael, Danny Boy and even him, we’re relics that harked back to the olden days when men were men, and their women were glad of it. Those days were gone, and they would never return..”
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2017
A wild ride to the depths of drugs, family love and hated, greed, murder and sacrifice.
You owe it to yourself to read one of Martina Cole's books if you haven't because she will take you places you don't want to go but can't ignore. This book is a great example of the power of a novel by her.
You will remember this one for a long time.
This novel is a lot of pages, but is easy to read. You will willing fly through it to the very last page.
You owe it to yourself to read one of Martina Cole's books if you haven't because she will take you places you don't want to go but can't ignore. This book is a great example of the power of a novel by her.
You will remember this one for a long time.
This novel is a lot of pages, but is easy to read. You will willing fly through it to the very last page.
September 1, 2018
Interesting, but dear god, did she need an editor to cut 20%-30% of it! There's way too much repetition - especially when talking about how anyone's motivation or inner monologue. We get it! Mary's sad, Danny had to grow up too fast because of his father and he's angry at his mom for taking his dad back - are you really going to repeat it another 50 times?
Other than that, a fascinating book - Godfather in England.
Other than that, a fascinating book - Godfather in England.
April 8, 2019
I can honestly say this felt like a film that went on for far too long. It probably could have ended a few chapters before and felt repetitive throughout. "Danny Boy Cadogan is big, and his sheer strength etc", ok we get it! I didn't think it had the natural East End charm and sinister underworld tone Martina Cole usually writes so well. It took me a few weeks of what felt like hard work to finally say, I've read it! I also didn't want to give up on it because I wanted it to get better.....
April 9, 2019
Read a couple of her books before and remembered to have enjoyed them. So tried this one. Needless to say it was a waste of time. I ended up skim-reading half of it just so I could get it over and done with. It felt like it was written as a short series which someone put together into a book without bothering to edit any part of it. Information repeated over and over in every shapes and form, or sometimes not even that. Possibly one of the worst books I’ve read for a long while.
June 9, 2020
This could have been a hundred pages shorter and all the better for it. Too much repetition. He( the main character) is big and handsome, we are told dozens of times, sometimes different words are used, large and good looking, tall and attractive.. it’s been said, I’ve understood, move on with the story.
The book is still ok. I did manage to finish it, despite my boredom towards the last third of the book.
The book is still ok. I did manage to finish it, despite my boredom towards the last third of the book.
March 5, 2021
This was my first Martina Cole. I'd always brushed past her name, believing she wrote Romance. How wrong could I have been? I got this in a job lot of books on a local Facebook bookswap page and decided to give it a go. I am pleased I did.
A gritty, no punches pulled story based around London's criminal underworld from the late 60's into the 90's.
I now have all her back catalogue on my to-read list.
A gritty, no punches pulled story based around London's criminal underworld from the late 60's into the 90's.
I now have all her back catalogue on my to-read list.
January 24, 2018
When I got this book, I was really happy.
Even before I started reading it, I started recommending it to friends.... who knew I would be disappointed?
The book seemed really promising, amazing plot, but Martina kept repeating the same thing over and over again.
I got really tired of the book.
A book of 500+ pages could have been cut down to 200+
Even before I started reading it, I started recommending it to friends.... who knew I would be disappointed?
The book seemed really promising, amazing plot, but Martina kept repeating the same thing over and over again.
I got really tired of the book.
A book of 500+ pages could have been cut down to 200+
January 25, 2022
I honestly think I've reached the point where I'm done with Martina Cole. I used to love her books but now I'm seeing the same plot point in every book right down to "I can feel pain in my arm, one of my children is about to die." Whatever happened to originality?
The ending was such a non-ending too but I definitely don't want more pages after dragging myself through the last 666 of them.
The ending was such a non-ending too but I definitely don't want more pages after dragging myself through the last 666 of them.
August 27, 2018
Read two chapters and that was it......sooooo repetitive. I enjoyed her earlier books but she seems to have gone off the boil. Every book seems to be the same story with just the characters names changed.....
January 22, 2019
Brilliant
As always a brilliant story by Martina Cole, highly recommend theses books 📚 , some parts I found hard to read but this story has it all the loyalty and the betrayal that goes on in family,s 10/10 and 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 nobody tells it like Martina Cole
As always a brilliant story by Martina Cole, highly recommend theses books 📚 , some parts I found hard to read but this story has it all the loyalty and the betrayal that goes on in family,s 10/10 and 5 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 nobody tells it like Martina Cole
January 26, 2020
Crime lords ‘faces’
Danny Cadigan takes over when his father leaves his home & family - he is only 14 but he fills the role becoming a Face
He is ruthless he is the top of his game BUT
Martina Cole is fabulous telling these stories
Danny Cadigan takes over when his father leaves his home & family - he is only 14 but he fills the role becoming a Face
He is ruthless he is the top of his game BUT
Martina Cole is fabulous telling these stories
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews