This post was originally published at Novelicious.com and is now at WritingTipsOasis.com. WritingTipsOasis.com acquired Novelicious.com in June 2022.
Reviewed by Zoe Lea
Ruthless sees a return of Annie Carter, a gutsy East End wild child that turned into a mafia queen of the London underworld. She’s done it all, lived the high life, owned a nightclub, a brothel and has become a mother. The novel opens in 1980, with Annie just getting the decree absolute from her marriage. She is officially divorced from her husband, Max, and ready to make a new life for herself and daughter. However, her new life consists of rival gang leaders, the Delaney twins, who tried to kill Annie ten years earlier before fleeing back to Ireland to escape the police. Annie thought they were dead, but nothing could be further from the truth.
The book alternates between London and Ireland within different time periods to show us exactly what events happened to lead up to the present day. Keane writes seamlessly between the two narratives and the plot is full of tension in both settings. It has many twists and turns and, as I hadn’t read any of the other Annie Cater novels, I don’t want to say too much about the plot here as I think it would spoil the first two books in the series for those who, like me, are new to Annie Carter.
I enjoyed reading this book, it was gripping right from the start and the setting of gangsters and East End London was great to read. I also really liked the character of Annie Carter, she’s a likeable, feisty main character who takes you through her story at a high speed pace. This is a book full of suspense and tension and I found myself surprised by the narrative more than once. I’m now going to look out for the first Annie Cater novels and have no doubt that I’ll enjoy them just as much.
8/10
Jessie Keane's Website