The Graft

Underground Loyalties

In the unforgiving streets of South London, crime isn’t just a way of life—it’s a family legacy. In The Graft, Martina Cole plunges readers into the relentless world of Celia “Charlie” Cartwright, a woman forged by hardship and hardened by betrayal. From broken council estates to smoke-filled pubs, Charlie navigates networks of alliances as fragile as the loyalty she demands. Cole’s vivid prose captures the pulse of a city where every whispered confidence in a back alley could cost you everything, and every handshake might conceal a hidden blade.

Bloodlines and Betrayals

When Charlie inherits her father’s debt-ridden empire, she must wrest control from calculating rivals and untrustworthy kin. As she builds her own crew—each member scarred by their own desperate pasts—Charlie wages a brutal war across gambling dens, drug rackets, and illicit protection rings. Rivals fall like dominos beneath her calculated strikes, but the greatest threat comes from within: a brother she never knew she had, whose ambitions mirror her own. With tense standoffs beneath flickering streetlamps and midnight ambushes on rain-slicked docks, every scene crackles with the promise of vengeance and the risk of self-destruction.

Empire of Shadows

As Charlie’s power grows, so does the cost of her ascent. Friendships fracture under the weight of greed, and love becomes a commodity more dangerous than the drugs they traffic. In a heart-stopping finale set against the roar of revving engines and the glare of neon lights, Charlie confronts the ultimate betrayal in the heart of her stronghold. Will she survive the final blow, or will the empire she built crumble beneath her own ruthless ambition?

. Martina Cole – bestselling British crime novelist born in 1955, renowned for her unflinching portrayal of the underworld and unforgettable heroines who command respect in male-dominated realms.