- The Blurb...
Meet the Bonds
Kenny Bond is finally out of prison after doing a long stretch for killing a copper, and is determined to get back to life on the straight and narrow.
A family like no other
Kenny’s son Donny might lack his father’s edge but his twin grandsons, Beau and Brett – well, they are Bonds through and through. Like him, they won’t let anyone stand in their way.
But they’re about to meet their match
Family comes before everything else for Kenny, but there’s a feud brewing that could cause murder, and a new family on Dark Lane might bring the Bonds to their knees. Kenny’s determined that nothing, and no one, will threaten his family. But can the Bonds stick together when someone’s out to take them down?
- My Review...
I have never been more caught off guard by a book than I was with The Family Man. At first, I thought I had a pretty good idea of what this British gangland drama would entail. Dodgy dealings, elaborate heists, ruthless kingpins etc. Basically I was envisioning a novelisation of Guy Ritchie’s ‘Snatch’. However, this book completely subverted these naive expectations by offering something else entirely. This is not some dark comedy action romp. This is a tragic story of love, death, and most of all, family.
I say story, but there are in fact many stories within this book. The same can also be said about its main characters. There is nothing that truly predominates anything else within these pages. The focus shifts from story to story and from character to character. The one thing that unites them all, however, is the Bond family. Unsurprisingly, ‘family’ is a major theme throughout The Family Man. However, despite it’s aptly-named title, a family friendly story this is most certainly not. This book deals with a lot of dark and explicit material and it is definitely not for the faint of heart. There are also no shortage of graphic sexual depictions, although thankfully these are brief. The story also spans multiple decades, we see how these characters have evolved from the often traumatic events they endured in years past, which I found rather interesting. The characters themselves are well-written and believable, with clear motivations for each one. They aren’t entirely likeable, but that was probably the point. The dialogue between them was definitely the standout of this book for me. You truly get an insight into who these characters are based solely on the way that they speak. There are also a few scandalous plot twists scattered throughout this book, which I am always a fan of. I feel that if a book can physically make your jaw drop, then it’s doing it’s job well.
That being said, there are a few aspects of this book that made me reluctant to return to it. This is a rather long book at 491 pages, and there were many rapid transitions from scene to scene which I found to be quite jarring at times. As well as this, there are a sheer abundance of characters in this book. There were so many people to keep track of that I found myself trying to remember who was who more than a few times. Finally, the ending I found to be rather abrupt and underwhelming, considering everything that preceded it.
Overall, The Family Man is a decent enough read for fans of British gangland dramas. It’s full of underhanded gambits, brutal acts of violence and heinous love affairs. It’s not a perfect book, but it does it’s job fairly well
- Selected Quotes...
‘You told us if anyone hits us, we gotta hit ‘em back twice as hard,’ Brett reminded his father. ‘I didn’t mean your bloody teacher, ya pair of doughnuts.’
Kenny took the lid off the bottle of Cognac. It had not only been a long day, it had been a long fucking month for him.
‘Me and you are the same. We’re family men. Move heaven and earth to protect our loved ones.’
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- About The Author
Born and bred in Dagenham, I left school at sixteen with no qualifications and not a clue what I wanted to do in life. My mother was a tough woman, old school, and when she threw water over my head one morning, demanding I get up and get myself a job, I took myself off to Roman Road market.“Need any help?” was my chat up line and, luckily for me, a lovely stall holder called Harold took a chance on me. I started around the back of the stall as a tea girl on eight quid a day. But I soon got promoted around the front when I rugby tackled a woman who ran off with a handful of our coats.
I spent many happy years selling ladies fashion down the Roman, until Tower Hamlets council decided to wreck the market by stopping free parking and by bringing in permits. In just six months, everyone was struggling and the best market ever was as dead as a dodo.
A big fan of music I fell into DJ-ing next, nothing special, just local pubs and clubs. It was a good laugh at the time but was never going to be a job for life, and I soon moved on to mini cabbing. I did that for ten years, working nights around the Romford area. I’d always been a bit of a wild child and led a colourful existence and used to joke to my pals that one day I’d write a book. And at 38, still driving a cab, I took the bull by the horns. I didn’t have a clue what I was doing but after I got over the first chapters of Billie Jo, the rest kind of came naturally to me.
It took me a year to finish that book and then within twenty-four hours of sending it off I had an agent on the phone. Four other agents contacted me shortly afterwards and it all took off from there.
My first book deal was a small one, with a new imprint at Random House. But by the time Billie Jo hit the shelves, I’d finished my second book and signed a new contract which enabled me to give up the mini-cabbing and become a full time writer.
The Betrayer quickly followed, along with my trilogy, The Feud, The Traitor and The Victim. It was at that point that I moved to HarperCollins and penned The Schemer. My fortunes improved after I moved publisher, as my books got into the supermarkets and began to climb the charts. Getting to number 1 on the Sunday Times bestseller chart with Payback, the second in the Butler series, was literally one of the best moments of my life. It was completely unexpected and totally surreal.
However, I still can’t type and all my books are written by hand. I’m as thick as two short planks with computers and have no keyboard skills whatsoever. But I’ve tried not to let that hold me back – you can’t be good at everything.
My biggest regret is that my parents aren’t around to share my success, but I like to think that they are looking down on me.
I’d like to say a massive thank you to all of my readers, as well as my ex work colleagues and the brilliant team at HarperCollins. Each and every one of you have played a part in helping me get to where I am today.
My story is an unusual one, but I’m living proof you should never give up on your dreams.
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