Martina Cole Message Board
David Boyle posts on 7/13/2009 10:16:22 AM
This is beyond any question of a doubt a great read and I was unable to put it down although a couple of things don't ring exactly true.
Martina often talks about people's orbit being their sphere of influence. Gangsters usually talk about who they are "wrapped around". This is a more accurate metaphor for the closely knit insular life that gansters lead.
At a pub party in the book Freddie is described as taking cocaine which is point nine. "The best there is". The implication is that point nine is a purity. Although "point nine" is a favourable reference it is a weight.
Cocaine for the last few years anyway has been sold typically in varyingly adulterated forms for a street value of £1000 per ounce in London and gets sold on in nominal wraps of "a gram" at £40.
This affords a profit margin of £120, there being 28 grams in an ounce 28X40=1120, but most dealers divide an ounce into forty wraps of "point seven" being 0.7 grammes, still referring to a wrap as a G and .35 as a half. This affords a healthier £600 margin 40X40=£1600.
Cutting further on top is also common place but frowned upon.
A dealer selling "point nine" is making a favourable observation about the weight of the wrap, not its purity
Luckily the phase in my life where I attained this knowledge is now well passed!
David
Tony Doyle posts on 7/11/2009 11:51:48 AM
having just recently come across this post i decided to add in case anyone reads it,someone gave me a copy of martinas,the runaaway and i was hooked,i read all her books up as far as the know as that was as far as she got before i discovered her,however like many other readers i find that after the graft things started going south,faces and the buisness are not her usual,the earlier the book the better,two women,faceless,the runaway are my favourites.if ur looking for martina style books try jessie keane,june hampson,kimberely chambers,kevin lewis,arlene hunt,sheila quigley,maggie hudson,helen black,manadsue heller although her last few have been weak too.cmon martina someone who can write as good as you has to have a goody up her sleeve for 2009.ill always but them anyway because there still a good read even if they are getting repetitive
lynne burrows posts on 7/8/2009 8:15:21 AM
ive read every one of her books, the know being my favorite up to now, if people dont like her books or dramas , dont watch or read, cant wait for the next book and drama, i lend all my books to people who pass them on then i get them back when they have gone through a lot of people then its time for the new one in october, cant wait , but only problem read them in a day or maybe two, so have to wait a year for the next one,
elizabeth rennick posts on 7/5/2009 1:12:34 PM
i would love it if she wrote a sequel to the runaway martina didnt kill lil jimmy lil freddie did and he did it out of jealousy because he knew his father didnt love him enough if people dont like her books dont buy them as they are meant to be enjoyed i hope her next book is better
Jenny posts on 7/5/2009 11:25:44 AM
Thats a bit extreme Inbar! Her books are very violent tho so if you are offended by that sort of thing then its probably best not to read them. Just remember tho...they are just books. Unfortunatly this sort of thing does happen. Its a sad world we live in.
Inbar posts on 6/25/2009 6:18:57 PM
After watching the TV version of 'the take' I was impressed by the story line and wanted to read some of Martina's other books. However,tonight's episode made me change my mind. I resent that Martina killed lil Jimmy!!!!!! Was that necessary?!!?!!? This has put me off and I will not buy any of her books ever!!!
elizabeth rennick posts on 6/20/2009 4:13:12 PM
martina s books are great and i agree the business wasnt all that good but i love her and cannot wait for her next book hopefully a sequel to the runaway it was brilliant if they make a series of it it would be great the take on tv is brilliant more martina books televised please
Lauren posts on 6/19/2009 9:23:27 AM
Has anyone been watching the televised drama series of The Take which started on wednesday on Sky1?
I really feel they have done the book justice!
According to the official fan page on Facebook the first two episodes are repeated tonight at 10pm if you missed them!
Tamz92 posts on 6/16/2009 2:42:15 PM
Hey all
A good alternative to Martina Cole! A new british author called J Lou McCartney - try out De Marco Empire! A real page turner with that many twists and turns it will make your head spin. There are some great reviews at online bookshops.
Jordanne Fletcher posts on 5/15/2009 9:51:11 AM
Absolute Drivel!
I have read all of Martina Cole's books and, up until her last, Faces, I have always found them an excellent read, with clever, well thought out plots. Faces was gratuitously violent, with irritating text and loathsome characters. I hoped it was just a blip in her writing, but sadly 'The Business' is actually worse.
Just how many times did I need to be told that Imelda was not a nice person? Whole storylines were skimmed over, events happened that had me going back over pages to find out what I must have missed (not difficult: I missed huge chunks of repetitive dialogue, where the reader was told, for the hundredth time, that Imelda was not very nice); characters started to become interesting and then just disappeared (Jimmy Bailey, Michael Hanlon); Jordanna's dialogue was written as if by an adult yet she was only supposed to be two years old; Kenny had all the 'Faces' living in fear of him at the tender age of 14, and owned a pub at 17... come on - give the reader some credit! It was absolute drivel. And was anyone else as irritated as me with Kenny 'Boy'? This was as annoying as 'Danny Boy' in the last book!
Im sick of the same phrases being used, the proverbial this and the proverbial that!
I fear Martina Cole´s sucess makes her feel she doesn't need to try. However, if the author doesn't care about the book, why on earth should her avid fans? It seems obvious that she must have a big money contract that means she has to produce a book a year, I cant believe she is happy to let this be publsihed! I so hope she gets back to writing such quality reads like her earlier books, dangerous lady, two women, the know, mauras game etc.
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