Broken

Shadows on the Docks

In the grimy heart of London’s East End, where smoky warehouses and derelict wharfs serve as breeding grounds for ambition and danger, Broken thrusts readers into a world where loyalty is currency and betrayal is survival. When crime matriarch Grace Ward is gunned down in a hail of bullets meant for her family, her three estranged daughters—Grace’s iron-fisted heir, Tilly’s haunted resilience, and Lorna’s desperate longing for escape—must unite or face annihilation. Martina Cole’s visceral prose crackles with tension as the sisters navigate a perilous landscape of street vendettas, corrupt officials, and double-crossing allies. Every narrow alley and dilapidated lock-up becomes a battlefield where trust can be as lethal as any bullet.

Bloodlines and Vendettas

With their empire teetering on the edge of collapse, the Ward sisters forge uneasy alliances: the eldest sister assumes her mother’s ruthless mantle to protect what remains, striking explosive deals in abandoned factories; the middle sister wrestles with guilt and an illicit affair that could tear the family apart; and the youngest fights to break free but finds herself ensnared by debts she cannot repay. Cole masterfully interlaces their individual arcs, illustrating how the bonds of blood can both strengthen and strangulate. As a new gangster lord rises from the ashes of Big Jim’s reign, the sisters’ divergent paths converge in a crescendo of violence, sacrifice, and the unyielding question: how far will you go to shield those you love?

Redemption’s Last Call

When the city’s underworld closes in and a final betrayal erupts beneath the flickering lights of an abandoned wharf, the Ward sisters face their ultimate reckoning. In a heart-stopping finale, alliances fracture, secrets are laid bare, and survival demands a choice between vengeance and redemption. Martina Cole’s Broken is an unrelenting saga of fractured family ties, unbreakable will, and the fierce hope that even the most shattered hearts can find the strength to rebuild.

. Martina Cole – bestselling British crime novelist born in 1955, renowned for her uncompromising portrayals of women who fight with iron fists and unbroken spirit in a world ruled by violence and betrayal.