Queens of Crime: 3-Book Thriller Collection
Three thrilling novels from the queens of East End Crime…The Trap by Kimberley ChambersDirty Game by Jessie KeaneTaken by Jacqui RoseTHE TRAP by KIMBERLEY CHAMBERSThe heir to Martina Cole’s crown with a story of murder, the underworld, violence and treachery. When it comes to family they look after business and make their mother proud. Nothing and no one can bring the Butler’s down.But Vinny seems to have crossed the wrong person and his cards are marked. And with the brothers joined at the hip, Roy may just be in the firing line too… Will the Butlers emerge stronger than ever, or is the East End code of honour as good as dead?DIRTY GAME by JESSIE KEANEAdultery, murder and dangerous love collide in Jessie Keane’s gritty debut novel.For longer than she cares to remember Annie Bailey has lived in the shadow of her older sister Ruthie. Now Ruthie has her hands on Max Carter, the much feared head of the Carter family and a top class villain.Seducing Max wasn't a problem, but the guilt, shame and anger of rejection afterwards was.Annie has unwittingly placed herself between two rival gangs and upset too many people, and these kind of people don't forget. But as everyone knows, Annie Bailey is no ordinary woman.TAKEN by JACQUI ROSECasey Edwards has demons to put to rest. Since she had to give away her baby at 15, she’s been lost in booze and bad company. But now she wants to find her child and put things right…Heading to Soho, Casey meets former gangster Vaughn Sadler, an old-school hard man who can still handle himself – and anyone else. There’s a spark between Vaughn and Casey but she can’t let herself get hurt, not again.To find the truth, Casey must enter the dark world of London’s gangland: hard drugs, vice, even people trafficking. Full of strong women, devious gangsters and compelling twists, Taken is compulsive read perfect for fans of Jessie Keane and Martina Cole.
Читать Queens of Crime: 3-Book Thriller Collection онлайн беплатно
QUEENS OF CRIME: 3-BOOK THRILLER COLLECTION
Kimberley Chambers, Jessie Keane and Jacqui Rose
Published by HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd
77–85 Fulham Palace Road
Hammersmith, London W6 8JB
First published in Great Britain by HarperCollins Publishers 2014
The Trap by Kimberley Chambers
Copyright © Kimberley Chambers 2014
Kimberley Chambers asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this works.
Dirty Game by Jessie Keane
Copyright © Jessie Keane 2014
Jessie Keane asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this works.
Taken by Jacqui Rose
Copyright © Jacqui Rose 2014
Jacqui Rose asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this works.
Cover [photograph/illustration] © [As supplied by design]
Cover design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd [year]
Cover layout design © HarperCollinsPublishers Ltd [year]
A catalogue copy of this book is available from the British Library.
This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.
Ebook Edition © November 2014 ISBN: 9780008115319
Version: 2014-10-30
Contents
KIMBERLEY CHAMBERS
The Trap
Dedication
In memory of all our brave soldiers who have lost their lives in action including my own grandfather “Gunner Thomas Henry Caunter”
If you trap the moment before it’s ripe,
The tears of repentance you certainly wipe.
But if once you let the ripe moment go,
You can never wipe off the tears of woe.
William Blake
Contents
Prologue
Autumn 1965
Unable to make himself heard above Sandie Shaw belting out ‘Long Live Love’, Donald Walker made his way over to the Wurlitzer jukebox and turned down the volume.
‘Don’t do that! You know I like Sandie,’ Mary Walker said, as though she knew the singer personally.
‘There’s somebody knocking at the door,’ Donald informed his wife.
Mary walked over to the door and unbolted it. She was greeted by a sturdy-looking woman standing there in a dark-grey overcoat. At a guess, Mary thought she was probably in her mid fifties, but it was hard to be sure because of the curlers and hairnet on her head. ‘Hello. Can I help you?’ Mary asked, politely.
‘No, but I can help you,’ the woman replied, barging her way past Mary and into the premises.
Donald and Mary knew very little about the East End or its natives. They were North Londoners, having lived in Stoke Newington for many years, but this café in Whitechapel had been far too cheap to turn down, which is why they had decided to up sticks and move.
‘Hello, I’m Donald and this is my wife, Mary. As you have probably already realized, we are the new owners of the café. We officially open for business tomorrow but would you like a cup of tea or coffee?’ Donald asked.
Shaking her head, the woman held out her right hand. ‘I’m Freda. Freda Smart. I live just around the corner.’
‘And how can you help us?’ Mary enquired. She had a feeling that Freda was about to ask for a job, but there was no chance of that as she and Donald had spent every penny they had refurbishing the rundown café and were in no position to employ staff just yet.
‘I can help you by telling you why this café has been empty for eighteen long months before you bought it and why you probably got it for peanuts,’ Freda spat.
Mary gave her husband a worried glance. This café had been half the cost of any others they had looked at and the only one in their meagre price-range. But this woman seemed unhinged somehow and Mary wondered if she perhaps held a grudge against the previous owner.
