The Jump: A compelling thriller of crime and corruption

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This is a violent world and the language is authentic - the rhyming slang is used appriately and naturally. I only wish I had used a notebook at the start to collect all the phrases. The Jump is a four-part British television crime drama, written by Adrian Hodges and adapted from the 1995 novel by Martina Cole, that first broadcast on ITV on 6 September 1998. The series stars Adrian Dunbar as Alan Cox, an ex-con who offers to help Mafia wife Donna Brunos (Susan Vidler) to spring her husband George ( Jonathan Cake) from prison after he is put behind bars for a brutal armed robbery. Additionally, she has appeared on ITV's This Morning, The Crime Thriller Club, The Wright Stuff for Channel 5, ITV's popular daytime show Loose Women, The One Show and two episodes of Pointless Celebrities for BBC One, and a 2004 edition of The Culture Show. It's true that the novel is a little too long in places but with tgid spanning three decades and the inclusion of additional references from Thatcher's government to New Labour under Gordon Brown it really helps highlight the passage of time.

In 2013, Martina Cole was one of only two authors inducted into the Crime Thriller of Fame. Martina was nominated for the CWA Gold Dagger 2017 and received the Nielsen Specsaver Platinum Award. The cover of this book describes it as a cross between Eastenders and the Sopranos. It kind of is like a 10-hour long episode of Eastenders, just darker and more violent without some comedy gingers for light relief. A four-part TV adaptation of Dangerous Lady was broadcast on ITV in 1995, and in 1998 ITV broadcast a four-part adaptation of The Jump. The Take was serialised on British television on Sky1 in June 2009, which starred Tom Hardy as Freddie. Sky1 has also commissioned an adaptation of The Graft, which has yet to go into production. [7] The Jump is a four-part British television crime drama, written by Adrian Hodges and adapted from the 1995 novel by Martina Cole, that first broadcast on ITV on 6 September 1998. The series stars Adrian Dunbar as Alan Cox, an ex-con who offers to help Mafia wife Donna Brunos (Susan Vidler) to spring her husband George (Jonathan Cake) from prison after he is put behind bars for a brutal armed robbery. (en) I have long since been a Martina Cole fan but there are many books I still have not read - this is one of them.

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I still had a lot of the same issues with this book as I did with No Mercy, but because the plot was so intriguing and the tension was built really well, they didn't bother me as much. For example, I found the writing style, especially in dialogue, quite clunky, and there was a lot of homophobic/transphobic language used. Maybe because of the time and the environment the characters were in, I can understand why it was there, but it was still uncomfortable reading. Along with TV executive producer, Barry Ryan, Cole co-owns the film and television production company "2 Queens". [9] Theatre [ edit ] The author really understands her characters and spends a lot of time in their heads. This allows us to understand their motivations, simple as they may be. Cole was born in Essex, England, to Irish Catholic parents, and was the youngest of five children. Her mother was a psychiatric nurse from Glasnevin, County Dublin and her father was a merchant seaman from Cork City. Her cousin is the Cork politician Denis Cregan. She was expelled from her convent school aged 15 after allegedly being caught reading a Harold Robbins novel. [1] [2] It's been years since I last read a Martian Cole novel and I'd forgotten how much I enjoyed this dark gritty readable gangster thrillers.

I hope Martina's new book, due for release later this year, will be just as good as some of her earlier work, including this book. a b c d e Cadwalladr, Carole (31 May 2009). " 'The Booker prize money wouldn't even keep me in cigarettes' ". The Observer . Retrieved 23 June 2018. In December 2011, readers using madaboutbooks.co.uk voted their favourite Martina Cole book. The Take won by 780 votes and was put at the top of the list of Martina Cole novels. Goodnight Lady came second, followed in third by Maura's Game.Cole is one of the worst writers I've read in a while. The only style she has to speak of is a tendency to repeat herself and treat the reader like an idiot. Yes, Ms. Cole, I can remember what happened two chapters ago, thank you; there's no need to keep reminding me. She has no idea what characterisation or character development are. Her characters don't learn or grow; they're the same from start to finish. Martina Cole: Always look on the dark side of life". The Telegraph. 11 October 2008 . Retrieved 5 November 2015. The day of the escape dawns, but things don't go to plan. The distraction goes more or less to plan, but the escape doesn't go so well. The two gangsters are married to sisters. Freddie's wife is dependant upon drink and drugs and very jealous of her sister. While the world they live in has a strong moral code - loyalty - care for families - honesty in dealings with superiors (not the general public), retribution is swift and violent. Jealousy and betrayal erode the family bonds with severe consequences. Dowell, Ben (17 April 2008). "Sky to air Cole novel adaptations". The Guardian . Retrieved 5 November 2015.

That said, I did actually like the plot and this book would have probably gotten a higher rating if written by a better writer; someone who can develop characters better and leave out an obscene amount of sexist bullshit. One of the initial novels written by Martina Cole was called ‘The Runaway’. It was published in the year 1997 by the Headline publishing house. The plot of the novel revolves around the lives of the main characters Eamonn Docherty and Cathy Connor. In the opening sequence of the novel, the main characters Eamonn Docherty and Cathy Connor are thrown on the streets of London’s sleazy East End and they are left to be on their own. Having grown up as the child of a prostitute, Cathy’s life becomes miserable, which leads to a disturbing ordeal as she does not have any other choice or anywhere else to go. On attempting to run away from her miserable life, she is rescued by Desrae who teaches her how to survive in the society of the criminal underworld. Meanwhile, Eamonn leaves for America along with his father and after some time he becomes one of the deadliest villains of New York. It is believed that when the paths of both of them will cross, they will be a perfect match for each other and it is only a matter of time before this happens. Cathy is beautiful, tough and clever and Eamonn is strong and powerful. Hence, if the two meet they are not going to run away again and will hopefully lead a happy life. There is no real plot, so if you aren't interested in lots of swearing and EastEnders type family rows, it's not for you.

Finally, blessedly, the plot is wrapped up in what seems like a incredibly rushed and predictable finale. Of course, I welcomed this swift finish, but couldn’t help feeling some of the previous shite could have been condensed to make way for a more fulfilling end.