Kimberley Chambers Book Reviews : Gritty gangland crime books based in London
Kimberley Chambers was mentioned in the I belong to. I love Martina Cole books and have spent months reading through the series
Fans of Martina Cole said Kimberley Chambers were similar and I do think her books are as they are both set in London and the same era but then they are totally different as they have different stories and twists.
I love a good ganster book especially back in the day when violence ruled the streets of the East and West End in London. So this writer is right up my alley. She writes so well I felt I was living through the stories and would highly recommend the this UK author.
I worked my way through her series although I have not yet read her new booked which was released in 2020 Queenie, I think I might have to buy it soon though as I keep seeing comments about how good a read it is. You can find the book set on Amazon click on the image below to purchase
The Feud
About the Feud
Two rival families. One East End. The explosive first novel in the Mitchells & O’Haras trilogy.
For more than a decade, two East End families have been locked in a bitter war.
On one side are the Mitchells, a notorious underworld mob from East London’s Canning Town. They have an iron in every fire and will resort to intimidation and violence to get what they want.
On the other side are the O’Haras. The Mitchells’ biggest rivals are a travelling family who live in nearby Stratford. They compete with the Mitchells for pub protection, and the two families hate each other.
Caught between these two families at war are two innocent children, who will grow up to love the wrong people and spark the last terrible act in the long-running feud.
The Mitchells & O’Haras Trilogy
My review of The Feud
OMG I was not expecting that ending talk about shocking!!
This is the first book the mitchell and o’hara series two rival ganster families.
We mainly got to know the mitchell family and even though Eddie the father was one hard bas#@$% I did like him.
This is also the first book that i have read by Kimberley Chambers and I could not put it down and after the ending I couldnt wait to pick up the second book
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The Traitor
What is the Traitor about
She fell for the enemy. Now she must pay the price.
The gripping second novel from the #1 bestselling author in the Mitchells & O’Haras trilogy.
The Mitchells and the O’Haras have been enemies for years.
One a gangland family, the other travellers, they resort to violence to solve problems between them. So when Frankie Mitchell fell for Jed O’Hara, it was only going to be a matter of time before all hell broke loose.
Clever, ruthlessly attractive to women and slippery as a snake, Jed O’Hara has Frankie exactly where he wants her – pregnant and estranged from her family. Even Eddie Mitchell, Frankie’s terrifying father, is no threat – he’s in prison awaiting trial for murder.
But Frankie is not a Mitchell for nothing and when she begins to suspect the extent of Jed’s treachery, she puts together a lethal plan.
The Mitchells & O’Haras Trilogy
My review of The Traitor
Some of the names and saying in Kimberley’s novels are so funny “gertcha, you fuc#@$g old rabbits crotch” was a great insult and had me chuckling if someone called me this I dont think I stay angry and keep a straight face.
Now we are really getting to know all the characters. Poor Frankie doesnt have a easy life and she is so likeable I just want to throttle Jed. I hope he is taught a lesson for being so nasty I am sure Eddie will get him in the end.
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The Victim
What is The Victim about
If you live for your family, would you die for your family?
Life is looking bleak for Frankie Mitchell.
Not only has she lost custody of her two children to their sadistic father, gypsy Jed O’Hara, she is also pregnant and banged up in Holloway awaiting trial for attempted murder.
In Frankie’s absence, her father, underworld boss Eddie Mitchell, is determined to get his own back. Eddie plans the O’Haras’ demise slowly and precisely. But when he finds out a secret and learns the real reason why his daughter is in the slammer, all hell breaks loose.
Essex has never seen anything like the bloodbath that follows, but is either family capable of winning this long-running feud, or will they all become the victims of their past mistakes?
The Mitchells & O’Haras Trilogy
My thoughts on The Victim
As soon as i finished the traitor i picked up the victim as i had to know what was going to halpen to frankie and her family.
The trilogy had me hooked right from the beginning. This is the 3rd in the series but everything is briefly recapped at the beginning so you could read it stand alone. It is however so much better knowing what is happened in the lead up so I would recommend reading these books in order.
Again I was not dissapointed with this novel and I was slightly upset I had come to the end about reading about these two families but I think it ended well as there is not much more that could have been written about these famil relationships.
I dont like giving too much away as I want you to read the book and enjoy it for yourself but I would say you have to read these books if you like finding out how life was like for a gangster family in London.
The Betrayer
What is The Betrayer about
If you can’t trust your family…
A family at war. A mother who comes out fighting…
Maureen Hutton’s life has never been easy. Married to an alcoholic and stuck on a council estate in East London, she scrimps and saves to bring up her three children alone.
Murder, the underworld, drug addiction – over four decades, Maureen sticks by her blood through thick and thin. But then the unforgivable happens. Maureen is told a terrible secret which threatens to rip her family apart. She can’t say anything. She is too frightened of causing a bloodbath.
The only thing Maureen can do is to get rid of the betrayer, before it is too late.
My Book review for The Betrayer
I felt this was less about gangster than the first three books I had ready by Kimberley Chambers but it was still about the crime world.
I have never known a family to have so many secrets and it had laughs from the crazy nan Ethel and made me cry when a character died.
The book went through a lifetime with the family, we saw them grow and how hey turned to crime and the outcome of some of their worse crimes.
It was a great book by a great author as soon as I finished I picked another novel by Kimberley Chambers just like I have done with all of this book set.
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Billie Jo
About Billie Jo
Her dad’s a villain. She’s his princess.
And their world is about to crash.
For Terry, family is everything. But it’s far from perfect…
Billie Jo is the adored only child of wealthy villain, Terry, and Michelle, the drunken wife he hates. Knowing how much Billie Jo dreads her parents’ fights, Terry imagines that she’ll understand when he tells her he is going to leave Michelle to marry his pregnant secretary.
But fate is about to deal a terrible hand and change everything in a way Terry has not planned for, leaving Billie Jo’s protected world in tatters.
Set in a world of villains and chancers, Kimberley Chambers’ brilliant first novel is a rollercoaster read you will not want to put down.
My review on Billie Jo
Billie Jo had had such a crappy life and just as things were starting to go good I had an inkling things would be ruined for her and things started to cascade.
Billie Jo is a lovable character and like with a lot of Kimberley’s characters i want them to have a happy ending.
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The Trap
What is The Trap about
The Butlers are the kings of the East End.
Vinny and Roy Butler are the apple of their mum’s eye and although Queenie knows they can play dirty, when it comes to family they look after business and make her proud. Nothing and no one can bring the Butler’s down.
But Vinny seems to have crossed the wrong person and his cards are marked. And with the brothers joined at the hip, Roy may just be in the firing line too…
One bloody night sets Vinny on the path of desperate vengeance, but will the Butlers emerge stronger than ever, or is the East End code of honour as good as dead?
The first novel in the bestselling Butler series. Also look out for PAYBACK, THE WRONGED, TAINTED LOVE, BACKSTABBER – the epic showdown between The Mitchells & The Butlers! – and QUEENIE.
My thoughts on The Trap
Loved Loved Loved this book, it first one in the Butler series and I couldnt wait to get stuck in as I have loved every book I have read so far by Kimberley Chambers.
This book kicks off in 1965, I enjoy books that from this era as I think this is when the gansters in London were proper gansters and thats what I enjoy reading about.
It is where we get to know the Bulters, it starts when Vinny is in his 20s and I have to say this guy is vile. I am looking forward to what he gets up to and the repercussions.
Some of the family are nice but most are horrid and when new members join the family I was screaming “stay away”.
I cant beleive Vinny has been getting away with his actions something has to happen to him soon as he has been one lucky bastard so far.
The book finished with a cliff hanger just glad I have the next book ready and waiting….
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Payback
What is Payback about
Family. They’re supposed to watch your back. Not stab you in it.
When the enemy is one of your own, the payback is twice as hard.
The Butler brothers are the Kings of the East End, and their motto is ‘what goes around, comes around’.
In their world, family counts; so when the truth about Vinny’s cousin’s death comes to light, it rocks the Butlers to the core. One by one, Vinny’s friends and family are turning against him…
Then, the unimaginable happens – Vinny’s little daughter Molly goes missing. She’s the one chink of light in all their lives, and the one they’d commit murders to bring back.
But is it already too late for that?
Is this PAYBACK?
The Butlers are back in this gripping, compulsive sequel to THE TRAP.
Payback Review
The 2nd in the Bulter series, you could read this stand alone as the first few chapters are a catchup to what has happened previously but I just love all Kimberley Chambers books so if you can read them in order to get the full story about this gangland family.
Even though Vinny Butler is a nasty charactor when it looks as though he was going to be doubled crossed I was shouting no!. Another great book I love the Butler family.
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The Wronged
What happens in The Wronged
There are some families that welcome newcomers with open arms, then there are the Butlers. An East End family no good girl wants to marry into…
Jo fell for Vinny Butler’s good looks, but she’s stood at one graveside too many and now she’s buried her heart as well.
Michael Butler was always the nice one, until he started running the family business. Nancy is desperate to leave, and though she would never turn her back on her children, every step they take in their father’s footsteps destroys her a little more.
As the old saying goes – you keep your friends close, and your enemies closer…
But you keep your family right where you can see them.
Book three in the Butler family saga. Read the whole series in order: 1. The Trap 2. Payback 3. The Wronged 4. Tainted Love
My thoughts on The Wronged
There is a lot of death in this book and I couldnt help thinking it was the wrong people that were dying. Some of the deaths were really shocking and totally unexpected which made them even more sad.
Just when you think Vinny cant get any nastier he does
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Born Evil
What is Born Evil about
He’s her son, but he’s no good. How far will she go for him?
Not all sons make their mother proud…
June Dawson has come a long way from her rough East End background.
She now lives in a nice little cul-de-sac in Rainham with her ultra-respectable husband and a lovely social life. But her world collapses when daughter Debbie announces that she is pregnant by her low-life drug addict boyfriend, Billy McDaid. June feels as though she is being sucked back into the world of villains and thugs she thought she had escaped forever.
But worse is yet to come. The baby – doted on by his violent and feckless dad – grows into the child from hell. He is mean, sadistic and out of control. Suddenly, the family is not just in crisis. It is in meltdown.
My thoughts on Born Evil
I didnt know a child could be such a little shite even at such a young age of 3 the words coming out of his mouth were shocking.
He truely was like Damien and with references to Only Fools and Horses Delboys son it made me chuckle as this is one of the tv shows, I was brought up watching.
As usual nothing dissapointing about this book by Kimberley Chambers. It is different from the others for the fact that it is such a young kid causing all the drama and you just know as soon as he gets older thats when the real trouble is going to start.
Tainted Love
What is Tainted Love about
Three Butlers
Two weddings
One funeral
Nobody can hurt you like the ones you love…
Blood is thicker than water, love is stronger than hate – and that’s the problem. When your brother has betrayed you, there’s no coming back.
Vinny and Michael have always protected each other and provided for the family. Together they were formidable but business always stopped at the front door. Now someone has changed the rules – women and children are fair game and one of the Butlers is going to end up six feet under.
Little Vinny is battling not to follow in his father’s footsteps. Sweet Sammi-Lou has just vowed ‘til death do us part, but it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out about the murder he committed.
Dark secrets are spiralling out of control and have the power to destroy them all for good. Is this the final nail in the Butler family coffin?
My thoughts on Tainted Love
I actually thought I had finished with the Butler series and thought it had ended without closure so was well chuffed when I realised I had this one to read.
Everytime someone mentions someone’s dingle dangle it makes me laugh, i am so childish when it comes to names of the human anatomy.
I used to feel sorry for Queenie, yea shes had a shitty life and at the beginning. I thought it was mainly her exes Albies fault but as I have read more of the Butler series I have come to realise that poor Albie had all the shitty luck and when Queenie is still giving him grief in this book I keep thinking leave the poor sod alone.
The book is unravelling dramas that have been brewing in the other novels and it was bound to be explosive and I wasnt dissapointed I loved every page.
Some of the character got what was coming to them. Some I felt were very hypocritical as they had commited the same wrong doings, as the people they were slagging off (I am trying to explain without giving too much away)
The twist near the end blew my mind I so wasnt expecting it. I had to go back and read the lines I had just read to see if it really was happening. With all the bad luck the Butlers have nothing, is as crazy as this.
I Love Kimberley Chambers Novels and you will too
The book description is taken from Amazon. I wanted to tell you about each book but I dont want to spoilt the stories. But all I can say is read these books if you havent already.
I bought the paperbacks I normally read on my Kindle but go hthrough stages when i love to read a good book. And now the best thing is havning this series to read again in a couple of years when i have forgtten what happened.
