Faces [Paperback]

Martina Cole (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 4, 2007

Gritty. Gripping. Unforgettable. Martina's back.Just before Danny Cadogan's fourteenth birthday, his father leaves. Having drunkenly run up a gambling debt he cannot pay, Big Dan Cadogan takes the easy way out. Leaving behind his wife and children to face the wrath of the men sent to collect the debt. Determined to protect his mother, brother and sister, something changes in Danny and, overnight, he turns into a young man set on making his way in a violent and dangerous world. He becomes a Face. Not just a Face, but the most feared Face in the Smoke. Out for all he can get. At any cost. But Danny's ruthlessness on the streets of London doesn't stop at his front door. He rules his wife, Mary, and his children, with an iron will -- and his fists. But if Mary breaks her silence, it could shake Danny's criminal empire; right to the very core. And for a Face at the top of his game, there's only one way to go. Down. Because, after all, debts can be paid without money. Set in the heart of London's criminal gangland,FACES is gritty, gripping and utterly unforgettable.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Cole's long-winded London gangland saga charts the rise to felonious fame and fortune of Danny Boy Cadogan, from the late '60s to the present. As an oversized 13-year-old, Danny beats up his father, a useless waster saddled with gambling debts, and becomes his family's primary breadwinner. Louie Stein, a crook impressed by Danny's spirit, mentors Danny as Danny and his best friend, Michael Miles, become the new rude boys. At age 15, Danny beats a young prostitute to death after raping her, and he kills again to shut up a squealer, cementing his reputation as a super thug. Later, Danny marries Michael's sister, Mary, who hopes for happiness, but soon finds she's just another person the unfaithful Danny wants to control. Danny's reign of terror becomes a thing of legend, but like all legends, there's always someone ready to knock the kingpin down. Cole (Close) skillfully shows just how the mighty can fall in this sordid, often depressing, crime novel. (July)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist

*Starred Review* Danny Cadogan is 14 years old when his father runs out on a gambling debt, leaving behind his wife and children. Danny, who had vowed never to become a brutal man like his father, does the only thing he can to protect his family: he becomes a Face (British slang for a gangster). Soon he’s running a crime empire based on ruthlessness and retribution. He climbs to the top of the heap, but how long can a man with so many enemies stay there? And can he somehow regain some small part of the good man he had wanted to be? This gripping novel, set against the backdrop of the British criminal underworld, may remind some readers of the movie Scarface (either the Muni or Pacino version). As Scarface was a portrait of a criminal and his lifestyle, so is Faces. As Scarface was brutal and compelling, so is Faces. But this is no mere retelling of the Scarface story, or indeed of the story of the Krays, the notorious real-life British gangsters, although there are clear parallels to both. It is, rather, a masterful crime saga by the Mario Puzo of Britain, and it grabs us by the throat and refuses to let go. --David Pitt --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 544 pages
• Publisher: Headline Book Publishing; Export Airside & Ireland ed edition (October 4, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0755328639
• ISBN-13: 978-0755328635
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,793,799 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Get to the point., October 4, 2011

By 

lrat - See all my reviews

This review is from: Faces (Mass Market Paperback)

I had previously read Martina Cole's, "Close". I loved the book, the characters, and the plot. So I was excited to finally recieve this book. I had high expectations, which were not met even in the slightest.
She starts her books off in the future and then goes back 40 years to lead up to where you start. This is a great read, in other books. Martine Cole starts the book with the demise of the lead character, once you read 450 pages and are ready to find out what happens, you will be surprised to find she re-wrote the beginning at the end ?? I was so confused I had to flip back and read the first chapter to make sure I wasnt mistaken. I despise inconsistancy.
She also has a real problem of repeating herself for pages on end. I read a lot of books and pride myself on my ability to breeze through them, this took me forever to get through because I would catch myself skimming and then getting lost because of her writing style.
My third problem is in her previous book she built up this family to be the end all in London crime families. Now this new character is the end all with a slightly different background. How original.

PLEASE dont waist your time.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars well written and engaging, July 25, 2009

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Faces (Hardcover)

In London, several mob thugs arrive at the Cadogen home to collect the patriarch's gambling debt. Dan knew he could not pay so he fled leaving his wife and three children to face the wrath of the mobsters. Almost fourteen year old Danny "Big Dan" Cadogen shows no fear as he faces down the gangsters wanting blood money from his vanished drunken dad. One of the crooks Louie Stein, impressed by the teen's fortitude and size, mentors him in the life of a criminal.

At fifteen, Big Dan kills a hooker with his fists and not long afterward kills someone who ratted on the mob. Over the years with his best childhood friend brainy Michael Miles at his side, Big Dan becomes the most frightening gangster in the city. He is the Face as even his wife Mary, sister of Michael, fears him. Now a notorious legend, Big Dan knows wannabes will try to knock him off his pedestal, but he welcomes all challengers wanting to die at his hands.

Though extremely well written and engaging, FACES is not an easy to read character study due to the lead protagonist consistent use of his fists and other weapons even on the innocent. The interesting story line focuses on Danny whose life of crime is based on either killing or beating the sh*t out of the other guy or gal to retain their respect; he brings home his terrorist philosophy to his family too. Fans will enjoy this gloomy look at a despicable kingpin who the audience will hope gets his butt handed to him while wondering why he was not assassinated by a sniper with a semi.

Harriet Klausner

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Inside the British Mobster Scene - Become a "Face", July 15, 2009

By 

Michael A. Newman (New York) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Faces (Hardcover)

I was lucky to get an advanced copy of this excellent novel from an author I did not know of. Based on this book, I will know her going forward. It is an excellent introduction into the world of the British mobster scene. In some ways it parallels "Wise Guy" (the book version of Goodfellas) however, Ms. Cole shows that these British thugs have very few rules of conduct.

Danny Boy Codigan is a fearsome "Face" which means he is a mobster that everybody knows and must give respect to (like a "made man" in the US mob). Ms. Cole starts the book with a glimpse of how the tale might end. We get the sense that everybody is plotting Danny Boy's death but afraid of the consequences should the plot fail. The book then flashes back to the beginning with a gripping story of how Danny got to be so powerful yet so hated. Danny was not even a teenager when two loan sharks appear at his door demanding payment for his father's (Big Danny) gambling debt. Big Danny had abandoned his family to pursue his own interests and didn't care that those interests may be detrimental to them. Danny Boy shows no fear to the loan sharks and when Danny Boy's mother attacks them, Danny Boy joins the fray. This incident changes Danny Boy forever, changing him into the dark yet flamboyant up and coming Face that people start to talk about.

Danny Boy is both charismatic and vicious at the same time. To those that don't know his vicious side, he is a "star" to be admired. However, behind closed doors he is brutal, especially to his own family. This book is an excellent read but those with a weak stomach for violence will be taken aback especially when Danny Boy deals with those that cross him or those he thinks need to be taught a lesson.

I give this book five stars and my only objection is that what happens usually involves pipes, knives and weapons of that sort and very rarely guns. So I wondered throughout why his enemies never gang up on him with firearms to take him out.