Two Women: An unforgettable crime thriller of murder, violence and unbreakable bonds

This is a long book at 672 pages but I have to say I enjoyed it very much. Two Women opens with us being introduced to Susan Dalston who is now locked up in prison for the murder of her husband. How far would you go to protect yourself and your children? Susan loves her kids more that life itself and she will do everything and anything in her power to keep them safe. This is quite a depressing and brutal story but is very well written. Susan's life is full of sadness, married to a man that abuses and torments her daily and basically has no regard for her at all, she is virtually trash to him. He also rapes his own daughter and leaves her with a venereal disease for life, what more can be said. Eventually Susan kills her husband and she has no quarms about his death and admits she was fully sane when she committed the act and if she had to she would do it again. The story then moves back to the present where Susan is in prison. Enter the second women. This was really quite a strong drama with a bit of mystery thrown in, the characters are strong and the plot well put together. I will now look at Martina Cole's other books

"Parents shape their kids". Reading this book I found it to be true while think of things I've actually seen and heard of in real life. Glad that the kids all were able to rise above the unfortunate situation they were born into and become adults with a career. This tells us that there is hope not matter what you went through or where you came from

I am a big fan of Martina's books-some have been more enjoyable than others, however this one was great!!! The story centred around a married couple-the down-trodden, abused wife, and the drunken,abusive, and quite frankly revolting husband. The story was quite hard to read at times-domestic abuse is a part of life for many people and I had trouble making myself read just how awful it can be....I was literally holding my breath waiting to see what would happen next. The entire story was fast-paced, with a good storyline that kept me glued to my kindle, and there was a bit of a twist at the end that I really did'nt see coming. Two Women is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time.

This is one of the best of Martina Cole ! I have read several of her books and they are all on the same subject......same environment, prisons, drugs ,prostitute. etc.....But Two Women really got me hooked from the start. I usually finish a book and start reading another......but I don't read Ms. Cole's books one after the other as the stories are similar. But when I turn to her books again, I can't put it down until I finish it.I do recommend " Two Women "

very gritty author - great descriptive passages of horror treatment!!!

If you have read other Martina Cole's novels, don't bother to read this one.It is the same plot with almost the same characters. And very depressing, by the way.

I don't think I have ever cried at the end of a book...I have at movies but never a book. Two Women is a great read. I could hardly put it down, I don't know what I'm gonna do when I have read all Marina Cole's work, this must be the 6th in a row I have read. Highly recommended

Spellbinding and intriguing her books are superb reading material. I wish I could afford all her books!

27 % in, and I gave up. The authors attempts to shock are repetitive, and comical at best. Okay, I'm not a Londoner, and I know this isn't supposed to be a true story, but !!I refuse to believe whole communities were full of people of this ilk which seems to be the portrayal. It's a poor reflection of what life must have really been like at that time.A quarter of the way in and still no sign of a story line. We are to busy reading about downtrodden women and cockney wide boys interspersed with a few lessons in cockney rhyming slang. So I'm leaving this one there for now.

Ok, where to start. I love this type of crime thriller especially as it was set in the East End, it gives it more authenticity. Having been raised in West London myself, although not a Cockney, I'm quite familiar with the rhyming slang, it's uses and meanings. This kind of prose I can follow easily, however, I found myself getting really irritated by reading in "normal" English language one minute then rhyming slang the next, chopping and changing throughout. This book would have been a lot shorter in pages if it wasn't for the constant repetition of scenarios, and reading the same/similar words such as "Susan should be with her children and her children with their mother", gave me more cause for irritation. I'm not too sure whether this storyline is based on fact or fiction or perhaps a bit of both, it certainly was pretty graphic. If you like this sort of read then yes you'll enjoy it but if your expecting the Queens English you most definitely won't.

Wow! Wow! Wow!The story starts off with Susan being locked up and starting her jail sentence, we are then taken back to when Susan is a child and how her life was growing up and to events to where she finds herself back in the present day.Now this book won't be for everyone. Solely because it deals with abuse. We are talking sexual, physical and mental abuse. It really does make for some uncomfortable reading yet at the same time it was heart breaking and made me soooo angry. Sadly it is something that happens to far too many people every day. This isn't just a story about abuse though. It's about women who no matter what, never give up. It's about friendships and that mother and child bond. There are some fab characters throughout this novel. Some I loved, others I loathed and others who I very much had a love/hate relationship with. One in particular really shocked me and I loved how the author could make me feel so many emotions when it came to all these characters. Two Women was a powerful and hard hitting story that had me go through an array of emotions. At times I didn't want to carry on at the injustice of what Susan has to put up with from the men in her life. I felt I owed it to her to carry on and read her story though and I am so glad I did. The author's writing skills will have you well and truly hooked while you get totally immersed in Susan's life. A truly gripping and brilliant story that has made me want to devour the rest of the authors books.

A saga that tells the story of women who lived lives that were very different and yet shared a bond. Susan, a woman who was born into poverty and parents who didn't care about her. Married to a outwardly loveable rogue, she kills him and ends up in prison. Susan shares a cell with Matty, a middle class woman who is also in prison for murdering her husband, but there the resemblance ends. I loved the bonds between some of the female characters and the wat that their childhoods had shaped their lives. I've read several of Martina's books and they are always fantastic reads.

I’ve never read Martina Cole before and if this is her style, I won’t bother again. She is not my cup of tea. It’s just horrible and violent . If that’s your bag then I will leave it to you. I’ve given up on it. Life is too short to read stuff like this.