Lost Angel by Mandasue HellerMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Blurb From Goodreads
Combining grit and glamour, this thriller set in Manchester's criminal underworld is a spellbinding story of young love and old scores Many years ago, Johnny Conroy was forced into a shotgun wedding with a Manchester gangster's daughter. He's never even begun to love her, but can't leave without being killed by her vicious father. He turns out to be a success in the car-theft business, with a used car lot that provides both cover and a way to fence the cars. But now his daughter Angel--the best thing in his life--is 16, and history seems to be repeating itself when she falls for one of his employees. Ryan is a nice boy, and he really loves Angel, but there are secrets that could destroy the happiness of Johnny and his daughter, and they are about to come out.
My Review
Johnny Conroy is a jack the lad who finds he has bitten off more than he can chew when he pursues the local gangsters daughter, he is forced to marry her or be maimed or killed by her dad. Fast forward to present day and his daughter Angel is 15 and in the same situation as her mum was and history seems to be repeating itself but this time there are skeletons in the closet that could ruin the whole family.
What a brilliant read, I could have devoured it in one sitting but other things have happened. The book follows Johnny's life from a careless teenager to an adult with a teenage daughter himself. His struggles within his family, his wife who by the end of the book I absolutely hated, his family and his career from being a lackey to a well respected business man in their community.
It is a total page turner, good paced, action, lies, secrets, betrayal. It has the usual sex, bad language and drugs. If you like Manadasue Heller's previous books you will love this one, I don't claim to have read them all but of the ones I have this is my favorite. It was going to be a 4 star rating until just under the last quarter of the book which became explosive with secrets revealed and all loose ends tied up and I love my books like that. 5/5 for me and a massive thank you to the publisher Hodder & Stoughton for giving me the opportunity to review this. Lost Angel is out on the 12th of April 2012.
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Sounds like a fantastic read!
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of this author, but think maybe it is a YA read, from your review?
ReplyDeleteLindyLouMac she is very similar to Martina Cole, I don't think you would cast her in YA as some of it is cutting the edge but do think mature teens would enjoy her
ReplyDeleteIt is Naida :D
Thanks very much for this info and for calling by to draw my attention to your response, appreciated as I do not subscribe to comments. I used to but it became just too much for my inbox to cope with!
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