After eighteen years inside, Johnny Frank is coming out of jail with just one thing on his mind, to kill the man who put him there. But his plans soon go dramatically awry. As his past returns to haunt him, a vicious murder and kidnap force him back on the streets of London. He could choose simply to disappear - if it weren't for Simone. Through her marriage to Reggie Kray, the author has a unique insight into the inner conflicts of a long-term prisoner, and just as Roberta's life was irrevocably changed by meeting Reg, so Simone's will never be the same again after she enters Johnny's dangerous and unpredictable universe. Praise for Roberta Kray: 'Well into Martina Cole territory, Roberta Kray's first novel gets under the skin of the London underworld with no problem' - Independent 'Action, intrigue and a character-driven plot are delivered in well-written style, sure to please any crime fiction fans' - Woman 'You might expect a crime novel written by the widow of Reg Kray would be tough - and it is. Recommend this to fans of Ian Rankin' - Booklist 'The Debt convinces on every page - not only about the gangster world but also as a portrait of a woman whose life has been changed by forces beyond her control' - Chicago TribuneFrom Publishers WeeklyFans of Dick Francis and Simon Kernick will relish British author Kray's fiction debut, a cynical, hard-edged suspense novel told in alternating chapters from the perspectives of the two main characters—London mobster Johnny Frank and Simone Buckley, the daughter-in-law of the man Johnny blames for his long jail sentence. Convicted for the murder of a partner-in-crime two decades earlier, Johnny emerges into the world bent on revenge against Jim Buckley, the man who snitched on him. Taking advantage of the informant's greed, Johnny arranges to be a temporary lodger in his intended victim's household, where his path crosses with the attractive but unhappy Simone. Despite her intelligence, Simone is trapped in a marriage to a faithless rake, whose financial crimes have put an end to her career as an accountant. Razor-sharp writing and excellent pacing elevate this effort beyond the standard vengeance thriller. Kray is the widow of Reggie Kray, who with his twin brother, Ronnie, was a well-known London underworld figure. (Apr.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From BooklistYou might expect that a crime novel written by the widow of Reg Kray, one of England's most notorious gangland overlords, would be tough and brutal, and it is. After spending 18 years in prison for murder, Johnny Frank is free. And he has a mission: to get revenge against the man who put him behind bars. But first he intends to tear the man's life apart, very, very slowly. The author, who previously published a biography of her late husband, proves to be an adroit storyteller, and her fictional creations feel authentic--so much so that it's easy to imagine running into them should one take a wrong turn and land on Britain's meanest streets. It's hard to know, of course, how much of the story draws on real-life events, but that hardly matters. The book is what it is, and that's an uncompromising, grit-filled crime novel. Recommend this to fans of Ian Rankin, Ken Bruen, and David Lawrence. David PittCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Roberta Kray's first novel, The Debt, was published to universal acclaim: 'You might expect a crime novel written by the widow of Reggie Kray would be tough - it is. Recommend this to fans of Ian Rankin and Ken Bruen'(Booklist). In this third novel, there's more from the dangerous and unpredictable underworld she knows so well. Private eye Harry Lind doesn't believe in ghosts. Little Grace Harper went missing over twenty years ago, and missing girls can't just reappear - or can they? It takes a brutal murder to make him think again. Reporter Jess Vaughan is convinced that Grace is still alive but she's going to need some help to prove it. As she and Harry begin to unravel an age-old web of deceit and betrayal their discoveries soon put them on a collision course with one of London's most notorious gangsters. The search for the truth is about to lead them into a world where people will kill to preserve their secrets.From Publishers WeeklyAt the start of Kray's compelling, character-driven third London gangland novel (after The Pact and The Lost), Len Curzon, an alcoholic reporter interviewing a small-time villain in a local prison, notices a young woman visiting with a notorious older convict, Paul Deacon. The woman reminds him a lot of an eight-year-old girl, Grace Harper, who went missing 20 years earlier. Soon after making some indiscreet inquiries, Curzon is stabbed to death by an unknown assailant outside a pub. Meanwhile, PI Harry Lind, a crippled ex-cop, tries to track down a well-known crime czar's brother in-law, who's also disappeared. The two plot threads intersect when Jessica Vaughn, Curzon's friend and fellow reporter, has a boozy flirtation with Lind and persuades him that Curzon's murder isn't the random act of violence that the police assume. Kray captures the cadences and rhythm of underworld life, though some readers may feel some judicious trimming would have speeded up the action in spots. Still, fans of Derek Raymond and Ken Bruen will find much to admire. (May) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. From School Library JournalAdult/High School—His body hobbled by an explosion he suffered less than a year earlier when he was a police officer, and his emotional life bruised by his longtime girlfriend's departure, private detective Harry Lind finds himself at the nexus of a crowd of mysteries. An alcoholic newspaper reporter is killed shortly after the two have a casual conversation. The reporter's protégée, a young woman with moxie to match his, attaches herself to Harry, not for emotional support but to browbeat him into helping her solve the murder and to identify the story on which her mentor was secretly working. That story, it turns out, involves another young woman, one with a mysterious past, which may mean that she is the grown version of a girl believed to have died at the age of eight. Kray keeps all these balls nicely aloft, but it is her characters who make this mystery a winner. Methodically, she develops Harry's-and readers'-understanding that the little girl lost may have grown into a woman who has no desire to be found, and who will tell lies and half-truths to steer detectives (journalistic and otherwise) away from discovering who she is and what she did as a teen. Mystery fans will appreciate the storytelling here.—Francisca Goldsmith, Halifax Public Libraries, Nova Scotia Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Nothing has prepared her for the nightmare that is about to begin... Eve, the 34 year old daughter of recently deceased conman Alexander Weston, knows a good deal when she sees it - and this one doesn't even come close. However, with vulnerable brother Terry being beaten in jail, she can't afford to be fussy. She needs to organise protection for him, and fast. The intimidating and powerful con Cavelli seems the perfect solution, but how high a price is he going to exact? She may as well be forming a pact with the Devil. A break-in, followed by a vicious assault, soon makes Eve question the wisdom of her choice. Cavelli is leading her straight into Hell. Suddenly, her own life is in jeopardy; there's a psychopath lurking in the shadows and he's prepared to kill to get what he wants. With two men dead already Eve is forced to turn to the past to find the answers she so desperately needs. There's only one problem. Time is running out.From Publishers WeeklyEve Weston's younger brother is in jail, her cancer-ridden father has committed suicide and she's been fired from her job for something she didn't do—then things get really complicated for the 34-year-old former legal secretary in Kray's skillful if overlong sophomore effort (after 2006's The Debt). The collateral damage piles up while Eve, who's moved from London to her father's flat in Norwich, struggles to unravel the myriad skeins that tangle her life: her brother's real role in the robbery he was sentenced for; the meaning of her father's death; the handsome policeman wooing her; the packages she's guarding for the con protecting her brother and the mysterious item that someone named Joe thinks she is hiding. Though Kray choreographs too many unlikely convergences, she delivers well-drawn minor characters and a resilient, appealing heroine who uses brains and beauty to deal with the devils that beset her. (Mar.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. Review"* 'Well into Martina Cole territory, Roberta Kray's first novel gets under the skin of the London underworld with no problem' Mark Timlin, Independent * 'Action, intrigue and a character-driven plot are delivered in well-written style, sure to please any crime fiction fans' Woman * 'You might expect a crime novel written by the widow of Reg Kray would be tough... and it is. Recommend this to fans of Ian Rankin' Booklist * 'The Debt convinces on every page - not only about the gangster world but also as a portrait of a woman whose life has been changed by forces beyond her control.' Chicago Tribune"