The Villain's Daughter

by Roberta Kray

A gripping, hard-hitting tale of family and criminal ties  Sean O'Donnell, small-time villain and family man, walked out of his home 19 years ago and hasn’t been heard from since. Now his daughter, Iris, has returned to the East End in the hope of finding him again. However, she’s not the only one on his trail—the psychotic Street brothers are right on her heels, and they have good reason to want her father dead. With the help of the mysterious Guy Wilder, Iris slowly begins to unearth the horrors of the past, and it isn’t long before she comes to realize that some secrets are best left buried.

Genres: Crime, Fiction

570 pages, Paperback

First published June 24, 2010

Reviews

[Michelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I expected more if I'm honest, just purely because of whose daughter she is.

Just didn't live up to expectation or reputation.

Three stars.

[Tracey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I really struggled with this one. I found it a bit slow and just not one of my better choices

[James · Rating 3 out of 5]

Author Roberta Kray has an unusual insight into the way criminal minds work: she is the widow of Reggie Kray, one of the notorious Kray twins, who terrorised London in the 1960s. The publishers mentioned this fact twice in the blurb on the back, and it works: after all, that's why I decided to read it. In this book, Iris O'Donnell has returned to the East End in the hope of finding her father, who disappeared 19 years ago. During her search, she has to contend with the Street brothers (a thinly-veiled clone of the Krays) and their patriarch Terry, who has just been released from a long stretch in jail, as well as a host of colourful locals. She never knows who she can trust, and a number of clever plot twists make her question her motives and their loyalty even more. However, while Ms Kray's storytelling skills are competent, and the tale was interesting enough to keep the pages turning, sometimes it read too much like chick lit, with clumsy phrasing like "an ocean of awkwardness" or "smashed into a thousand pieces" and the characters examining their feelings on every page. Occasionally I forgot I was reading a crime story, and was wondering when they were all going to the local mall to gush at the shoes. It wasn't a great book, especially considering the author's special background, but it wasn't a bad one, either.

[JK · Rating 4 out of 5]

Iris returns to the East End to try and find her father, who disappeared when she was a young girl. Working in a local funeral parlour, she becomes entangled with the local crime family after hosting their wife and step-mother’s funeral. She soon begins to realise that the mystery of her father’s whereabouts is much closer to resolution than she’d first thought.

I really enjoyed this, and found the pace to be set perfectly. Kray engages us with her writing, but also with her clear knowledge of the London underworld. She drips new plot points, baffling clues, and subtle hints throughout the pages, and it truly keeps you engrossed as you obsessively try to understand who you can trust.

Although I worked things out pretty quickly, Kray didn’t quite allow me to be sure of myself, leaving the reader constantly guessing and second guessing. Things do become confusing and mysterious, which was very welcome to me, and despite my years of solving crime novels, this one didn’t follow the usual format.

None of the characters are likeable, all of them with flawed traits. I struggled with Iris who, despite attempting to be a strong independent woman, kept falling into the damsel in distress trope and relying on men to help her. Most of the others fell into typical caricatures of villains, although there were some moments of development which I felt deserved more attention and backstory.

An excellent mystery with a cast of characters desperate to be analysed; a great one for crime lovers, or those eager to crawl into the minds of criminals.

[Debbie Branch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really good this is new author had me gripped all way through

[Tammi Ashbee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another great read. I just love how Roberta interlinked all her book are located around the one place. So when you are reading and characters that aren't the main characters you already have insight on who they are.

[Christopher Candy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely wonderful, I couldn't put this book down!

[Sandra · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed reading this book about Iris and her search for her father,as it turns out she has been lied to by those closest to her.Luke her boyfriend dumps her and she falls for Guy Wilder(lizzie streets son)only to find out he used her,then comes the devistating death of uncle micheal and her world falla apart.Iris summons those who have hurt her to Tobias Grand for a few home truths.I can highly recomend this as a first rate book and worth 5*.

[David Perrett · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book really needed something extra. Knowing who the author is and at 500-plus pages, I was expecting something more gritty and powerful. The story was very lightweight and lacking in drama with no real twists or surprises, and when the drama finally came it was nothing sensational. Sorry, but I found this book very disappointing. However, I will still give another of Roberta's books a go. 3 stars.

[David Verney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent read

This is the second time I've read this book. The first was a few years ago. I remembered the storyline. This book is a great gangster thriller, but there are much fewer expletives in it than you will find in other thriller authors. Therefore, it deserves to be read.

[Catherine Johnstone · Rating 3 out of 5]

The plot of the book had a lot of potential however I feel as though the beginning was massively dragged out whilst the ending was very rushed.
A lot of the characters were very stereotypical, gullible and annoying and some relationships and storylines could have been left out without hindering the plot.
I did enjoy reading this book although it was largely predicable.

[christine leyvraz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic

Absolutely fantastic, every time I thought I had it Sussed it changed. Kept me guessing to the last page. Great characters and truly suspenseful story lines, thank you for a great read Roberta

[Cherie Semmons]

Great read and well written!!!

[Julie Crook · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read a few twists main character a bit annoying but overall enjoyable

[Alisa Dibben · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this book to be quite repetive and felt is could of been about 100 pages less, dragged on a bit

[Claire · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read

[Paul Shepherd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good read

[Debbie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really good , great twists but the end was a bit rushed. Iris did not have good experiences with men and I depised Guy by the end!

[Lesley Jenner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good on the edge of your seat read, couldn't put it down.

[Susan Shirley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Too much love stuff for my taste.

[JING · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story is very gripping. Plots are arranged in a good order. I tried to guess the plot as I read along but it often turned out to be completely different from what I was thinking. I didn't get bored at all throughout the whole book as surprises came one after another. It reminds me the storyline in Eastenders. East London is not that rough, is it?

[Zoe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fans of Martina Cole will certainly enjoy Roberta Kray however I found The Villains Daughter to be quite tame - I'm used to quite a lot of graphic writing with books like these and this was very mild in comparison to many I've read (Jessie Keane, Martina Cole etc). For me, this became a bit too 'fiddly' toward the end. A lot of leads and links to keep up with that very nearly lost me.

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I liked this book and kept me interested I thought there was something missing. This is the second book I have read of Roberta Krays Strong Women was the first which I thought was a better story. Will still read other books that she has written to see what I think of those.

[Carol · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but very long winded!!!

[Keely · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked book, as I didn't expect that kind of ending. It just took pretty much the whole book to get there

[Gillian · Rating 5 out of 5]

another good easy read i really enjoyed this book

[Amanda · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very gripping read which I couldn't put down, looking forward to starting next book.

[Tony · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another brilliant tale from Roberta Kray. Very enjoyable.

[~ Cariad ~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant!

[Ceri · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great read that could not put down. Did not see the end coming in this one and kept me gripped from the very beginning.