Time taken to read - 3 daysPublisher - Harper CollinsBlurb from GoodreadsAdultery, murder and dangerous love collide in Jessie Keane’s gritty debut thriller set in the London’s East End. Perfect for fans of Martina Cole and Lynda La Plante.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.Thrown onto the streets Annie finds herself living with Celia, a wayward aunt with a shocking secret. As the months pass Annie's resourceful nature sees her mature and carve out a life for herself, albeit not legal. But if you play with fire, you can expect to get burned and her lavish new lifestyle and connections may be about to come crashing down around her.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.My Review This book starts straight from the first few pages, hell even from the first sentence "Annie Bailey knew she was dying." The book opens with Annie Bailey, our main character who has been shot and is recapping her life as it flashes before her eyes. We go back to before her sisters wedding and Annie seduces the bridegroom, spurned she can't help but keep her mouth shut. She finds herself thrown out of the family home and caught up in a new life style, surrounded by her sisters husbands rivals. Soon she becomes trapped between the Carters & the Delaney's and when rivals both want something people always get hurt!Oooh this is a great read, crime, gritty, murder, sex, betrayal & lies. If you like Martina Cole and Mandasue Heller, Kimberley Chambers etc you will like this. The only thing that I would say is there are a few terms that may offend some people. For example the characters are rough around the edges and derogatory towards one of the gay characters, terms like shirt lifter etc.There are a few elements to this story, of course the big one is Annie going through the transformation of girl into woman. Learning to stand on her own two feet and learn the ropes of a "knocking shop" and initiating her own ideas for it. The issue of Max Carter, the man she loves who is now married to her sister and furious with her for her indiscretion. As she is shunned from her family and Max she moves further into Delaney territory and soon finding herself in deep water!I really liked the pace of this book, like I said it pulls you in from the start. I felt a mix of emotions towards Annie but by the end I actually started to like her. 4/5 for me and I will be reading this author again. I’m amazed it took twenty years before Jessie Keane finally stopped receiving rejection slips and got signed up by Harper Collins.I absolutely loved this book; I couldn’t flip the pages over fast enough. It reminded me of a McDonalds, I knew I should be eating something more nutritional and healthy; yet once I’d taken my first bite I couldn’t swallow it down fast enough. The synopsis on the back cover really doesn’t do either the storyline or Jessie Keane’s writing justice. Set in London during the 1960’s, Ruthie Bailey announces to her younger sister Annie that she is getting married to the local villain Max Carter; Annie goes all out to bed him before their wedding night. Ruthie is obviously devastated and Annie is kicked out of the family home, and moves into her Aunt's brothel.The language at times is extremely explicit, describing every last detail of Annie’s sexual encounters. Jessie Keane successfully creates a tough, moody atmosphere, and her writing is perfectly appropriate; portraying life in the East End of London where the streets are ruled by gangs; where prostitution and armed robbery are normal day to day occurrences. Nothing is left to the imagination when describing the going’s on in 'the house of ill repute', and the numerous violent clashes between opposing gangs.The central character Annie Bailey is simply wonderful; as too are all the other cleverly interwoven characters. The story is fast, aided by nice short easy to read chapters. I managed to devour the 560 pages in under a week; each chapter introduced an unpredictable twist in the story. I have ordered the next book which continues on from this story. (Black Widow) This is a very good book, if you like fast food you’ll love this!
What do You think about Kirli Oyun (2011)?
I've enjoyed reading this book. It was as good as Jail Bird! Amazing debut!
—zai212
if you like Martina Cole you will love Jessie Keane
—rachel
Brilliant book, easy to read. I am now a fan.
—dreammaker
