Get Even by Martina Cole

Val Penny ♦ January 22, 2016 ♦ Leave a comment

I went into the library and the most recent Martina Cole book, Get Even, had just come in. As I was at the desk at the right time, I got to borrow the book without waiting. What a lucky break! I have enjoyed most of the books by Martina Cole that I have read and when I had a chance to read this book ahead of the crowd, I was pleased. I met Martina Cole a few months previously at the Bloody Scotland Crime Writers’ Festival. She is a very down to earth, real person. Get Even had not been published then, so it was interesting to have a chance to read the book.

Martina Cole is a British crime writer and businesswoman who was born in Essex, England on March 30, 1959. As of 2015 she has released twenty two novels about crime, most of which examine London’s gangster underworld. Get Even is no exeption.

Sharon Conway and Lenny Scott are childhood sweethearts. Everyone says they are too young, but nothing can keep them apart.  Lenny Scott is a handsome man, big strong and an up and coming face in the underworld. Sharon is everything Lenny could ever want, after meeting at school they are inseparable and when Sharon finds out she is having a baby, they can bring their plans forward to be a real family. Sharon does not question Lenny’s business dealings and it is not long before his reputation as a hard man destined for the top means they are living the good life with their sons.

Jack Johnson is the main man and he takes Lenny into his business and under his watchful eye. As Lenny climbs up the ranks he is a force to be wary of. Lenny is also keeping a secret that could destroy his family and his status and that secret must never come out.

One night when Lenny does not come home. Shron does not worry as it is not the first time he has done this, but it is his last. He is found murdered. He has been beaten to death in an act of brutality that shocks even the police, and not even Sharon knows why. Only twenty years later, Sharon finds out the truth. Such a crime cannot go unpunished. Revenge is long overdue.

Get Even is set over a time span of 30 years it is a page turner. I enjoyed the story and the way it was told. Martina Cole remains an excellent story teller. If you enjoy a good thriller, I recommend Get Even.

Valerie Penny