Fighting Dirty

Daisy Lane #6

by June Hampson

Hampson, June

304 pages, Hardcover

First published March 17, 2011

About the author

June Hampson was born in Gosport, Hampshire, where she still lives. She has had a variety of jobs including waitress, fruit picker, barmaid, shop assistant and market trader selling second-hand books.

Reviews

[~ Cariad ~ · Rating 5 out of 5]

That has to be the fastest that I've ever listened to a series of audiobooks! Fanfuckingtastic series - God, I hope there's going to be more??!!

And if I haven't said it about 100 times already, ANNIE ALDINGTON you are unquestionably the best narrator in the business!! - I'm completely in awe of your work, you bring so much life to every story you narrate. Audiobooks - and us listeners - are so lucky to have you :)

[Lizzie Hayes · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Fighting Dirty’ by June Hampson
Published by Orion, 31st March 2011: ISBN 978-0-7528-9737-0

There is no doubt that June Hampson weaves a good story. This is the sixth book in the saga of Daisy Lane. Now in 1983 Daisy is still living in her beloved Gosport, having refused to move to London to live with gangland boss Roy Kemp, who has taken over where the Krays left off. Daisy is unsuccessfully trying to exercise some control over her wayward son Jamie, who has matured from a troublesome teen into a hardened criminal with no respect fro life, and is surprisingly the son of an Inspector in the police, given the circles in which Daisy moves. Her eldest son Eddie, whose father was the love of her life and is now dead, is soon to be released from prison where he is serving time for manslaughter. Yes Daisy does have her hands full.

There are many undercurrents and strands to the lives of Daisy, her family and extended family. Vera who runs an establishment called `Heavenly Bodies' is presented as Daisy's staunch friend and a person with a good heart. `Heavenly bodies' is a brothel, and from the tone of the story exists to provide a home and help for young women who have nowhere else to go.

The book is a mixture of violence and good deeds. It emphasises strongly that there is good in all of us even the most violent of cold-killers. Personally, I am not sure that being kind to animals or loving one person to distraction can in anyway be a justification for killing people who get in your way or don't see things the way you do. Yet, the lives of these colourful people suck you in making it one of those books you just have to keep reading.
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Lizzie Hayes

[Pol · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another great book by June Hampson

[Becky Chester-Watts · Rating 4 out of 5]

Is it the end??

I am guessing the end to this brilliant series. Not the best of the books felt a little rushed to tie up loose ends. Also a few unanswered questions. Hopefully there will be another one as has the characters to continue.

[yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great books

Read all in series didn't want them to end ,really well written ,I was gripped from the first book I couldn't wait to see what happened next

[Jody Wheeler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Yet another great book

This book was great this author is just amazing. I can't wait for the next instalment. I hope i don't have to wait to long

[Best Crime Books & More · Rating 5 out of 5]

June Hampson started the series of Daisy Lane books with her debut novel Trust Nobody in 2006. The book features Daisy Lane in the early nineteen sixties. June Hampson was born in Gosport and this is the setting for her books. When I first read the debut book I was blown away. It was a refreshing change to read this type of book set in the sixties. I was hooked and have read each and every book since then. This current book is release number 6 in the series. The series itself has remained pretty strong throughout. My last review of her previous novel wasn't as good as others. The beauty of this series of books is that we travel through the years following Daisy and her friends and family. In doing this each book is that bit further along and more and more things are happening in her life as she gets older.In her last book Jail Bait, I felt that the story was good but maybe Daisy Lane was slowing down and I really wanted to see more of her elder son Eddie Lane. I couldn't help but feel that some of the sparkle was missing from some of the characters that had shone through in her earlier books. With this latest release it seems my wishes came true. Daisy Lane and her good friend Vera are certainly back in the picture and they have their `mojo' back. They are indeed a major part of the storyline, but so too is Eddie, Daisy's eldest son who is now a young man. After a stretch in prison good guy Eddie wants to get back to work. The only problem is that people treat him differently because of Roy. Roy is Daisy's long time partner who also happens to be a top London gangster. Roy is like a father to Eddie and although Eddie has enormous respect for him, he wants to make it on his own. As Eddie is making his plans, Daisy and Vera notice a young runaway boy with some awful bruises. This along with rumours of a friend's lad arriving home with bruises makes them both suspicious. Daisy and Vera are determined to find out what is going on with these young lads and their bruised faces, but they don't realise just how dangerous it could be as well as the fact that the truth may well be more devastating than they could imagine.Vera, who in the first few books I took to my heart wasn't that much of herself in the last book. In this book she is back but with her own troubles and worries. It was nice to see her back to form but also with a big dose of reality on her plate too. The story is set around the family and their friends and we get to see each person's situation in the story which keeps it interesting right the way through. Daisy's youngest son (as I mentioned in my last review of Jail Bait) is like the devil child and in this book he is no different. He is a despicable creature who is quite frankly a horrible character. This book held my interest much more than the last as there are newer elements to the story along with characters such as Eddie's girlfriend Summer, as well as Eddie and Jamie's younger sister Gyp, whose father is none other than Roy. The young boys storyline was slightly different and maybe reminiscent of the era being the early eighties and it was quite nostalgic with the references to that period of time (makes me feel old!). The book flew by and I couldn't quite believe that it was finished and I have to wait for the next one. The story is a lot more fast paced than the last and the characters all seem to have their own brand of magic back. The ending wasn't maybe what I expected but is certainly another good opener for the next book. The beauty of this sort of series is that the author has made sure that she moves the characters along in time and introduces new elements which I loved. I finished this with a feeling of satisfaction and realised just why I liked June Hampson so much in the first place. June Hampson along with the likes of Mandasue Heller, Kimberley Chambers and Dreda Say Mitchell just show that our British women are first class at producing top notch crime fiction. Highly recommended although I would suggest you start at the beginning.

[Suzanne Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read all the series, very good story line throughout all the books

[Theweebarrell · Rating 5 out of 5]

enjoyed this as much as the other daisy lane books