Tracks — Karen Woods

You've got to fight for everything when you start with nothing.

Susan Knight has a good life. So she turns a blind eye to the gambling winnings her husband Donny puts through the books at her salon. After all, he needs some way to unwind. At work, he is headteacher at Second Chance, an alternative provision school for kids who have nowhere else to go.

Being the headteacher gives Donny respect, money, and charm. But respect can be lost, money can be stolen and charm can only go so far.

The kids at the school all have a story to tell â€" as do the staff. Drugs, debt, violence and threat are part of their everyday lives. Donny's got this far by never playing by the rules. But to keep winning, you have to keep chancing it all. To stay at the top means risking everything.

Susan knows Donny walks a fine line â€" but if he stumbles too far on the wrong side of the tracks can she stand by him? And for Donny, if he loses Susan, he knows he might be pulled back into the life that's been waiting for him all this time…

Reviews

‘The northern Martina Cole' Melanie Blake, bestselling author of Ruthless Women

‘Wow! Karen Woods has delivered a gripping read full of grit and with characters to keep you turning the pages. And that ending! I didn't see that coming at all. Loved it. 5 huge stars from me.'Caz Finlay, author of the Bad Blood series

About the author

Karen completed an adult literacy course aged 39, having left school at 15 with no qualifications. The course gave her the writing bug and she has since self-published 20 novels. She is now a passionate literacy campaigner who has spoken out about the taboo around struggling to read and write for adults.