If you’re looking for your next bed-table reading obsession, look no further: have a shot at Melanie Blake’s brand new book ‘Ruthless Women,’ which has already been critically acclaimed by the UK’s leading newspapers and magazines. On a beautiful island off the English coast, four TV actresses gather. Their fifth member is missing – and only they know why she was killed.

Lady Macbeth in Macbeth - Characters - AQA - GCSE - BBC Lady Macbeth in Macbeth - Characters - AQA - GCSE - BBC

Beverley Callard’s called it “the book you’ll never forget”, while Sally Lindsay declared she couldn’t put it down. With ageing actresses desperate to cling onto their crowns and ruthless male executives intent on booting them out for younger women, it’s a true battle of the sexes. A roster of rogues all working on what was once the world’s biggest syndicated soap opera are introduced, each with their own aims and ambitions, as well as outrageous personalities and high sex drives that will make even the most seasoned of readers blush. Circe Offering the Cup to Odysseus,” by John William Waterhouse, 1891. Circe was among one of the most famous femme fatales in Greek mythology. Credit: Public Domain Melanie’s Ruthless Women has already received critically acclaimed comments from renowned magazines and newspapers, including:Driven by the demons haunting her, she decided to go on a suicide mission to fight in the Trojan War. Before leaving Greece, as the story goes, Agamemnon sacrificed his daughter, Iphigenia, to the goddess Artemis, to appease her after he accidentally killed one of the goddess’s sacred stags. I’ve lived and breathed it all,” she tells us. “Tragedy, bankruptcy, attempted suicides, criminal dealings… as an agent you see all that drama all the time!”

Ruthless Women:’ The Book By Self-Made - Gramersi ‘Ruthless Women:’ The Book By Self-Made - Gramersi

You’ve been a renowned showbiz agent for decades – surely the characters are based on real people. Who’s who? If there’s one book you’re going to read in 2021, make it Ruthless Women. Utterly addictive from its opening chapters, the technically fictional novel (which draws on author Melanie Blake’s real-life experience as an agent to the stars) is unpredictable, unputdownable and unique to anything I have ever read. Lady Macbeth is, perhaps, even more determined than her husband. She can only be Queen if he becomes King so when he hesitates she displays enough ambition for both of them. Once she has worked out a plan, nothing will turn her from that course until her ambition is fulfilled.Out, damned spot! Out, I say! One, two. Why then 'tis time to do't. Hell is murky. Fie, my lord, fie, a soldier, and afeard? What need we fear? Who knows it, when none can call our power to account? Yet who would have thought the old man to have had so much blood in him?(Act 5 Scene 1) With her cunning tactics, she fought through the Greek ships fearlessly while the other Persian admirals dissolved into hysteria. Even though she has been portrayed as a villain in numerous ancient Greek tragedies, few could truly blame her for avenging her daughter’s death. Artemisia of Caria The Battle of Salamis. Painting by Wilhelm on Kaulbach, 1868. Artemisia can be seen wearing white and wielding a bow-and-arrow near the middle of the work. Credit: Public Domain Read the bestselling first instalment in the Falcon Bay novels! Now with an exclusive preview chapter of the brand new book, Guilty Women According to ancient Greek legends, Circe, a sorceress, was the most well-known femme fatale of that time. She would seduce men, luring them onto her island.

Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake | Waterstones Ruthless Women by Melanie Blake | Waterstones

Desperate to prove her innocence, Salt must use the full extent of her combat and espionage skills to avoid capture and unveil the truth before it’s too late. The plot of the film is as ludicrous as it is frenetic, but Jolie’s Salt offers a compelling focal point that makes the action bonanza worthwhile, and makes for one of the more underrated action heroines seen this century. On a beautiful private island off the coast of the UK, the cast and crew of glamorous TV show Falcon Bay are at breaking point. So it’s no surprise it’s author, Melanie Blake, has been thrust into the spotlight herself. She’s the most talked about new writer in decades – and after meeting her and reading the book, it’s soon obvious why. A number of powerful women have shaped the course of history with their intelligence, strength, passion, and leadership qualities. They have challenged the status quo, made lasting reforms, and many have presided over their countries for decades, ushering in prosperity and cultural revolutions. As an extra on a soap, you’re considered to be a lowest rung of the ladder, but it was excellent training to see what life on set was like. After all, no one’s watching what the extra is looking at! I remember one day where I was supposed to be just standing by the bar in the Queen Vic, suddenly Jessie Wallace and Barbara Windsor went at it off camera!Lynette Fromme was one of Charles Manson's closest associates, but she had no involvement in the infamous 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders. Instead, she gained notoriety after she pulled a gun on President Gerald Ford in 1975. The Secret Service stopped her before she could fire it, and she was sentenced to life in prison. She escaped from prison on 1987 in an attempt to see Manson, but was recaptured and remained incarcerated until she was granted parole in 2009. When you think terrifying criminal mastermind, you don't normally think of a woman. Of course, women are capable of everything that men are, but typically men are more prone to the violent, controlling, power hungry behaviour it requires to be a feared criminal. Men are more ruthless, and able to inspire fear in their enemies, but sometimes a woman can do the same thing. These women were powerful and often deadly forces despite the fact that Greek mythology is filled with references to strong men who conquered kingdoms, fought for their freedom, and did not hesitate to kill. Clytemnestra, one of the most ruthless figures in Greek mythology “Clytemnestra Hesitates Before Killing Agamemnon,” by Pierre-Narcisse Guerin. Clytemnestra is one of the most notorious femme fatales in Greek mythology. Credit: Public Domain

Ruthless Women (Audio Download): Melanie Blake, Claire King

Oh absolutely! And I put that scene in the book! Some actresses are so highly sexed in real life because many have access to specialist doctors who put them on particular blends of HRT that contain testosterone, which leaves them with the libido of a 25-year-old. And that’s why the characters in the book are so sexually adventurous. And in my experience, that’s what many soap actresses can be like. But writing has always been her dream and now, at the age of 44, she’s enjoying a second career in the spotlight usually saved for her leading ladies.

Lady Macbeth's determination to succeed is clear here. She is insistent that Macbeth will become King ('shalt be what thou art promised') However, she recognises that he is 'too full o'th'milk of human kindness' and that this could stand in their way. It is interesting that she describes the necessary ruthless streak as an 'illness'. This suggests that even at this stage she knows what she is doing is wrong.