The Feud

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There are also numerous characters that add another layer to the story which stretches over the following months and years. Vinny, Roy and their younger brother Michael are quite different. As their younger brother Michael starts to make more of an appearance as the story progresses I realised that he was one of my favourites. This book has so many plot threads going on but it’s easy to keep up as you become engrossed with the different families involved in different elements of the story. It’s actually pretty hard to review parts of the story as it could be a major plot spoiler. The main element to this story is Vinny Butlers dangerous personality. He’s a man that’s used to getting his own way, and when he starts to make bad decisions, it’s his own family that he ends up putting in danger. With her mother dead and father in prison, Frankie Mitchell goes to live with her fiancé Jed O’Hara. When her daughter is born, her fiancé’s mother becomes domineering and overbearing. Meanwhile, Frankie ignores the rumors that her beloved fiancé is cheating on her.

Damn, I need a drink. This book pulled me every which way and then really chewed me up at the last. I'm really quite surprised at how sad I feel over the ending. 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.There wasn’t anything the least bit normal about this family. My head spins just thinking about them. At the head of the Butler family we have Queenie. She’s the mum. Where Queenie was there was Aunt Viv. They were a couple of bad ass females that had me laughing and cringing. Both families are a part of the seedy underbelly of the East End and Stratford. Jessica Smith and Eddie Mitchell become engaged, against the wishes of Jessica’s father. The two are swept away into a world of crime, murder, and deception. The Feud The story is set in the 70's & 80's mostly in London's East End and the book's atmosphere is phenomenal, completely taking me that time and place. The plot and pacing are fantastic and the characters are vividly drawn, both good and bad. Eddie Mitchell was particularly well done for me. As bad as he was, there was also a lot good about him that made it really hard to hate him, most notably his love for his family and his wife, Jessica. It truly did break my heart for Eddie at the end. The one thing that was never in doubt was how much he loved Jessica and to find out that he killed her instead of Jed, oh my God. I cried. The best book I will read this year. I first discovered Kimberley Chambers last year when I read The Feud, the first in a trilogy. I then read the following two books over the course of a week finishing the last book at 6 in the morning as I couldn't go to sleep until I had reached the end. I have read her other books and I really enjoyed them however the trilogy was just fantastic. The Schemer was the next book Kimberley wrote after completing the trilogy and after the move to a new publisher and whilst that book was fantastic I thought the trilogy was still her best work. Then last week I was introduced to the Butlers, and that all changed. I could easily have read this book in one sitting however I have dragged it out over the last week and I have to say I think that made me enjoy it more because it's like when you watch a TV show which ends on a cliffhanger, if you watch all the episodes at once there's none of the excitement of waiting for the next one. Then the unthinkable happens, Vinny’s beautiful daughter Molly disappears. The Butler brothers depart on a frantic search for the little girl. They don’t know if their enemies have taken her, or if the kidnapping is revenge for what Vinny has done.

Then we have Michael the youngest, dreams of becoming a mechanic but gets drawn into the families seedy world of crime. This is a British thriller/drama/tragedy with several love stories. Had I known beforehand how it ended, I would have never start reading it. I’m glad I did though. It’s not for the faint hearted, that’s for sure. The Mitchell's....notorious East End gangster family are at war and have a long standing FEUD with the O'Hara's a typical travellers family. They adored Queenie and what she said went.......the eldest Vinny would do anything for he's mother, anything!!Vinny and Roy Butler are the apple of their mum’s eye. Queenie knows they can play dirty, but when it comes to family they look after business and make her proud. Nothing and no one can bring them down. Anyway, the story starts with the introduction of several characters, plots, subplots and sub-subplots, which takes some concentration to wrap your head around. The main characters include the Walker family who recently opened a café in 1960's Whitechapel and the matriarchal Butlers sisters, Queenie and Vivvy with their offspring. Queenie's gangster wannabe sons Vinny and Roy feature prominently in the start of the book and over the space of a few weeks, Vinny's crimes seem to escalate which forms the basis on the main plot.

The Butlers....set in the heart of London's East End.......it tells the trials and tribulations of the Butler Family.The characters are so vivid, and ladies you won't be disappointed with Eddie. But for me, my two most favourite characters had to be Joycie and Stanley. 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. 1988 was a happy year in many people's lives. Some called it The Rave Year, others The Second Summer of Love. For Eddie Mitchell and his family it is neither. 1988 is the year in which his whole dangerous, violent world explodes around him. Eddie is a fantastic character and he is everything you would expect and underworld gangster to be. He is fearless, ruthless and fiercely loyal. When he meets and marries the young Jessica, her family aren't that keen but are aware they have no say in the matter. The first book in a trilogy of the Mitchell's and the O'Hara's, when Jimmy O'Hara slashes Eddie, Eddie retaliates by beating Jimmy half to death with a baseball bat, there in is born a feud that lasts a life time. Both have kids and go their separate ways however fate brings both families together in a way neither could imagine with life changing consequences. The apple of his mother Queenie's eye is Vinny the oldest of the brothers, suave, good looking and loves being told he looks like he has a touch of Italian and Irish in him, he has the looks and charm that women go weak for... but underneath he is manipulative, controlling, possessive and definitely has psycho tendencies..

What a horrible bastard, cold mean callous bastard.....but what a great character Ms Chambers created.....hated HIM....really, really HATED him. Over the years we see Jessica and Eddie have twins of their own Frankie and Joey. We see them not only as young children but later on as teenagers too. The main characters of the story are Jessica and Eddie and we see what it is really like for a woman being married to a man so high up in the underworld. We also see and learn a lot about Jessica's parents Joyce and Stanley, her brother Raymond as well as he twins Frankie and Joey. That said, it is a very gripping saga and I could not put it down. I'm beginning to realise that most books by this author are not necessarily about gangsters, but the effect their behaviour has on their victims, so you constantly find yourself gunning for them. But what I like most is that all her characters have depth and feel like real people, who you start to love or hate. Kimberley really captured the setting as well and the whole thing felt incredibly realistic. The pubs, the locations, Whitechapel, the mentions of music etc you really felt as if you were inside the story with the characters. Kimberley's books also have lots of humour in them and there were plenty of funny moments in this book. She definitely has a way with words and that really helped bring the characters to life. Do not expect any florid writing on the landscape of Essex and the east London suburbs. There is no time for that. This is strictly business. Bang, bosh, boom!

There are two families, the Mitchells and the O'Hara's, and both are the criminal sort, running protections and loan sharking. A feud develops due to The O'Hara's trying to move in on the Mitchell's territory. After a violent, bloody start this feud simmers for more than 15 years, until a series of events causes it to blow up again, with undreamed of tragic consequences. If you a fan of British gangster crime you will love this, or if you want to read something different from this talented British writer you will not be disappointed.. Chambers was an extremely smart and gifted student in primary and secondary school. Her best subject was English. For reasons unknown, Chambers grades began to plummet. When she was eleven, she states that “things began to deteriorate.” After a few years, her academic life became so stark that she decided to leave her secondary school. 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?