Close — Martina Cole

The #1 bestselling novelist in the UK now makes her U.S. debut with a hardhitting story that combines the brutality and deep family ties of The Sopranos with an unparalleled look at the underbelly of London's gang land. Patrick Brodie is on the way up. He is a risk-taker like his alcoholic father, and knows exactly how far he is prepared to go to get what he wants. Before long, Patrick has ruthlessly taken out the old guard of the criminal underworld and become a legend in his own lifetime.The kind of women he is normally attracted to have no foolish dreams of marriage, children, or, God help them, love. But Lily Diamond is different. There's something about her that has gotten under Patrick's skin, and all he can think about is making her happy and keeping her safe.Eventually they settle down and have a family, and grow determined that their children will not have to face the same kind of lives they did. But then, the unthinkable happens, and everything is suddenly, irreversibly changed.Spanning over forty years in the underbelly of crime, CLOSE is powerful, shocking, unsettling, and utterly addictive.