Broken [Paperback]

Martina Cole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: June 4, 2001

DI Kate Burrows thought she'd never face a killer like the Grantley Ripper again. But she was wrong. One by one, children are being abandoned. Thankfully, they're rescued from harm. Then one victim is not so lucky, and Kate knows she's in a race against time to save lives. As a parent herself, Kate's finding the case tough and she needs the support of her lover, Patrick Kelly, more than ever. But Patrick's got problems of his own...

Editorial Reviews

Review

'In prose that is always expressive and trenchant, Cole weaves her spell throughout this lengthy and ambitious narrative...Another winner for Cole' Brian Ritterspak, Amazon.

About the Author

Martina Cole was born and brought up in Essex. She is the bestselling author of eleven novels set in London's gangland, and her most recent three novels have gone straight to No. 1 in the Sunday Times bestseller lists.

Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Headline Export (June 4, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0747255415
• ISBN-13: 978-0747255413
• Product Dimensions: 4.4 x 1.6 x 6.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 12 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #821,284 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exciting and Riveting!, April 12, 2011

By 

D. Williamson "Hooked on Kindle!" (Moncton, NB Canada) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Broken (Kindle Edition)

Broken is a novel that I highly recommend for anyone who is riveted by spellbinding suspense and the underbelly of the criminal world in England. This is a second outing for Detective Inspector Kate Burrows and her lover, bad-boy Patrick Kelly. Their first encounter was in "Ladykiller". Great reads!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Broken - Fantastic Read!, April 15, 2011

By 

Diana Gallant (Moncton, NB CANADA) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Broken (Kindle Edition)

Broken gives a shocking insight into the life of London's lower class citizens. The story is sad, realistic, believable and an entertaining read. Detective Inspector Kate Burrows is back in her second novel (first was Ladykiller - fantastic read!) and it is a winner! Children are being abducted and left for dead; this leaves DI Kate Burrows in a frantic search to catch the killer and save these defenseless children. The story is all about corruption and violence; could not put this down til I read the whole book.

1.0 out of 5 stars Contrived, banal and tedious, with woeful dialogue, February 1, 2011

By 

Wombat (Sydney, Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Broken (Paperback)

Where to start? This has to be one of the worst reads I can recall. This book made me angry and frustrated as the storyline dodged all over the place, and characters came and went. What was the significance of the gay truck driver stopped in France with a dead child in the back of the truck? Where did that fit in to the rest of the jigsaw puzzle? The plot has more holes than a seive. It was a jigsaw puzzle with about a third of the pieces missing. The dialogue beats even the banal efforts of Stephen Leather, and that's saying something. Every character seemed to speak with an identical patois of the east end of London (even though the book was set in rural Essex), and thought bubbles accompanied their every utterance. Police investigative methodology was sloppily and inaccurately portrayed, police violence was condoned, and standard procedures ignored. Police integrity was displayed as an oxymoron in this novel. Murders (and there were quite a few), especially those separate to the main investigation into paedophilia and disappearing children, went uninvestigated, with suspects central to the story not even interviewed. What was the moral message of this book? Police integrity lines were often crossed, without consequence, and baddies got to live happily every after. Was there any editorial supervision before this work hit the presses? Evidence is sadly lacking. A complete waste of several days of my life.