On the Kingston Estate, Manchester Alexis, 'Lexi' James and her best mate Nicole Harvey who now lives on the posh Riverside estate after her family goes up in the world, but Bad boy Ryan King comes in between them they both have the hots for him and Lexi doesn't stand a chance against her pretty mate Nicole. I admit that that I have only read one other book from Mandasue Heller but, after reading Brutal, I will make sure I will read other books from her. Because this is a five-star read. I loved it. Frank offers her a bed for the night but it’s the middle of winter, and when heavy snowfall prevents her from leaving the next day, he’s forced to extend the invitation. But the longer Irena stays, the easier it gets for the men she’s trying to escape from to find her.

The last quarter of the book felt so rushed, no loose ends were tied up at all. Were the boys who found Evan’s body supposed to be heartwarming or something? Coming to his funeral? It just made me mad. So Karel gets arrested, and Irena is just allowed to swan around visiting whoever she wants until the trial? Okay hun whatever. Frank was held hostage in his own home and just lives there happily ever after when it’s over? I don’t think so! I’m still fuming now about Yvonne’s cats. And her niece turning up and living with Frank? First of all, where was she when the cats were starving to death, secondly, WHY, FRANK, WHY??? Her moving in is like a carbon copy of Irena from the beginning.Frank comes home after buying few bits from the shop to find the man that Irena is being hiding from. He arrives with another two burly men in toe. Then a van brings young women that have come from abroad to start a new life in this country only they realise that it is not all that it seems. I have read every one of Mandasue’s books and can honestly say you never know what to expect...yes the elements of crime, gangs are there but every book is so different and unlike you sometimes find yourself thinking with prolific and successful authors books ‘mmmmm this seems familiar’, I never have with this author Be warned, a lot of this involves sexual detail and sexual activity of minors. Later, this turns into sexual violence. This was a brilliant read, it showed how loneliness can affect people and make them very vulnerable. How your quiet life can then seem the best life you could wish for. When Alexis ‘Lexi’ James falls out with her best mate Nicole over ‘bad boy’ Ryan King, it’s just the beginning of a chain of events that go from bad to worse to deadly.

The author style of writing is like I said one of a kind and she never disappoints me with her work, everyone I read has left me content I just wish they would come faster. Set in urban Manchester, Running Scared is a nerve-shredding thriller by bestselling author Mandasue Heller. Dark and gritty, Witness is a heart-pounding thriller set in Manchester by bestselling author Mandasue Heller. I think the author has covered abuse, manipulation, gangs, drugs and prostitution in real light, highlighting that as much as we don't want to believe these things happen, it's a daily occurrence for some. The writing starts and finishes with you, the reader, in the centre of this story and holds you there through every line

This also about the useless male police ,we are still living in population of horny men ruled by their meat & two Veg. This about a darker Manchester at Christmas time, this about Frank's special Christmas dinner party. Most of all this about family lives & seeing people you know . The story revolves around newly widowed Frank and what happens when he gets involved with a woman he really shouldn’t....more than that I am not going to give anything away but the consequences for Frank and his family are far fetching, cruel and BRUTAL Returning home one night to her high-rise flat, she is faced by a terrifying scene that changes her life forever – and matters are made worse when she is put into care in another town.

When teenager Alexis 'Lexi' James falls out with her best mate Nicole over 'bad boy' Ryan King, it's just the beginning of a chain of events that go from bad to worse to deadly. Returning home one night to her high-rise flat, she is faced by a terrifying scene that changes her life forever and matters are made worse when she is put into care in another town. But what is Irena hiding and what is Frank going to find out about her, what is going to end up getting involved with.This story is all about who do you trust, the story line will have you gripped, you never know what's around the corner chapter after chapter, I just could not put it down and found myself reading on and on. The characters bring it all to life, full of ups and downs and tears.

As always ( some things you dont mind being unchanged, this is one ) the story is littered with characters that are instant, instant to love AND instant to hate and of course the odd one like Big Shirl that you cant help but want to see ( even though shes vile!! ) When teenager Alexis ‘Lexi’ James falls out with her best mate Nicole over ‘bad boy’ Ryan King, it’s just the beginning of a chain of events that go from bad to worse to deadly. A bereaved husband is faced with a devastating choice in Brutal , an engrossing, gritty thriller from the top ten bestselling author Mandasue Heller. When Frank lost his lovely wife his life seemed broken and lonely. His daughter is emigrating and his son has his own life to live with his wife. Living on a farm makes him seem even more lonely. not having immediate neighbours and someone you can just chit chat to if you go out your front door, Frank seems to have sunken into a slump. When hearing noises on the farm one night he goes to investigate and comes across a woman who seems to have been injured some how. It's only normal that frank would want to take her in and help her, you cant leave a young lady out in the cold with her injuries. Over the coming days Frank helps Irena get better, in turn she helps Frank and an unlikely bond develops.Set around a Manchester estate we neet Holly and her ‘ likes a drink’ Mum Josie, new neighbour Suzie and her on/off ‘handy’ boyfriend Rob, Carol the next door neighbour and Gee the bloke who lives above Holly and her Mum....Holly and Josie move around a lot and Holly doesn’t know why but after a series of events and with Suzies help and noseyness things begin to ‘come clearer’ and the horror of who Holly really is will be revealed, but not without a fight! Then Holly has a falling out with her best friend, and suddenly finds herself becoming increasingly isolated and alone in the world. But she is about to make a new friend in Suzie – the glamorous woman who lives directly across the road, who Holly witnesses being beaten up by her violent boyfriend. But whoever Holly and Josie have been running from is about to find them, and nothing will ever be the same again . . . I thought this might be some sort of police procedural or gangland drama, but it's not. it's more of a drama with a thriller edge. There is a police investigation led by DI Ken Seddon, but it doesn't really come to much. We know the identity of the killer pretty early and it did get dull reading him trying to catch up to what I already know. Detectives in fiction only work if the reader knows as much as they do. I wait in anticipation each year for the release of a new Mandasue Heller book. This author for me is one of those authors whose books I don't even read the blurb for. If Mandasue has written it, I want to read it. I really enjoyed this. I couldn’t put it down. The story flowed easily but, also gripped it though out. It was realistic and It had great characters and a good plot. I highly recommend.