The first of August saw the launch of my fifteenth gangland novel, Vengeance. This is the fourth book in my series of standalones called, The Manchester Thrillers. Usually, by the time a book goes into publication, I am so immersed in the next book that I have temporarily forgotten many of the details of the novel being published. Therefore, I had to stop and think about where the original inspiration for Vengeance came from. 

It was while I was watching a TV series that the seed of an idea developed. One of the characters in the programme was a ruthless businessman buying up homes so he could develop the land. This was a minor subplot rather than the main plot of the series, but it set me thinking about the people affected by the takeover. What if the developers intimidated residents to such an extent that it escalated into violence? And what if the friendly community where people had spent much of their lives suddenly became an alien and menacing environment?

With these ideas in mind, I then focused on my main characters. The protagonist in Vengeance is Hannah, a single mother with a failed relationship behind her. Like a lot of my characters, she is inspired by real-life scenarios. Hannah is trying to make a better life for her child, Kai, so to earn a bit of income, she works as a nightclub barmaid while her parents look after her son. 

In Vengeance the businessman takes the form of corrupt gangster, Jez Reilly. He has a shady past including using upstairs rooms in his nightclub as a brothel as well as other nefarious activities. Jez is used to employing thugs to collect money owed from his protection rackets, so he already has a gang ready to carry out his orders.

One night Hannah is alarmed when she overhears nightclub owner, Jez, talking about Rovener Street, which is where her grandmother, Pat, lives. As time goes on, Hannah discovers that the residents are being threatened and she is concerned for Pat. When the threats turn violent, Hannah teams up with nightclub regular Russ to take on the gangsters. 

Russ has always had a thing for Hannah, but she keeps him at a distance. He has a criminal past and, with her heart already broken, Hannah doesn’t want to get involved with somebody like Russ. However, she is drawn in by his charisma and strength of character and finds him difficult to resist. There is a will they, won’t they theme running through the novel in relation to them.

As Hannah and Russ try to get information connecting Jez to the violent attacks, they face danger from all sides. Furthermore, some of the people connected to Hannah have their own agendas and she is betrayed by somebody she thought she could trust. 

Can Hannah and Russ outwit Jez and his bunch of goons before it’s too late or will they too become victims of the callous gang?