written by on 18/08/2008
The Know is the first Martina Cole book I have ever read and I thought it was absoulutly brilliant, I read it in 2 nights! It's well written and very hard to put down.
written by on 20/02/2008
This book will keep you wanting more and is very gritty. Would recommend The Know but DO NOT read the prologue as it spoils the plot.
written by bel27 on 16/04/2007
Cole knows what makes a good story. 'The Know' has an exciting plotline and rattles along at a fair old pace. But her writing style is full of cliche, and this makes many of her scenes less powerful than they should be - you get the feeling that you've heard it all before. This is particularly the case when she is trying to give us a sense of how brutal many of her male characters are: in fact, she ends up giving us a series of familiar stereotypes who lose their menace because they seem to be reading from a script cobbled together from episodes of 'The Sweeney' and 'The Professionals'. Some characters - particularly Paulie - suffer from inconsistent characterisation, but others, such as Jon Jon, are more successful and show that Cole can do it when she sets her mind to it. Too much of this novel, however, feels lazy and as if it is written on auto-pilot. Like a Pot Noodle, it is sort of good while it lasts, but leaves you empty and wondering whether there isn't in fact something better out there. There is, but it's not written by Cole.
written by gillian on 05/03/2004
The Know is the first novel I have read by Martina Cole. I found the violent scenes difficult to read, but realise that in the seedy world the Brewers live in violence would be the norm. Cole has tackled a few dificult subjects very well - drug dealing, prostitution, peadophillia. She particularly depicts the emotions and humanity of the main characters very well. Having found the book emotionally exhausting I will read something more lighthearted before I read another of Cole\'s novels.
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Neonshade's Comment
Written on: 05/08/2009
Hearing rumours that Martina Coles later novels where not her best, I searched for reviews to help me think about spending my money on this book.
<br/>My thanks to the reviewer, I bought the book, and enjoyed it as much as you did.
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