Martina Cole Books, DVDs, Movies, News and Reviews

Based on the many good things I had heard about J Lou McCartney both on dangerousLady.co.uk and from colleagues De Marco Empire was the safe bet novel to take on holiday.

It took me 3 days to get through De Marco Empire, mostly while sipping Pina Coladas on the deck of a cruise liner in the Med! A tough job but someone has to do it. Looking around the ship at others reading material there were lots of Martina Cole and Mandasue Heller novels in hand so I think those two ladies will be riding the recession out quite happily by the looks of things.

Plot outline:

Brothers, Antonio and Gianni de Marco originate from La Pregheira in Umbria, Italy. Having made their fortune and eager to escape their murky past they re-locate to London, England where they open a prestigious nightclub. When Katie Saunders and Lucy Carmichael manage to get a couple of jobs in the club, little do they suspect what is in store. From their normal, law-abiding and steady lives they are entering a world of mafia-style rivalry, turf wars, extortion, vice, corruption, drugs and murder. They impress those around them but also encounter jealousy, back-biting and malice but also love and romance. Katie is swept off her feet by Antonio de Marco, the club’s owner, and Lucy by his friend Stevo. But when a long standing vendetta against the de Marco family begins to rear its ugly head things begin to take a turn for the worse. With enemies old and new crawling out of the woodwork, just who is ultimately responsible for the devastation about to tear their whole world apart.

So what did I think of De Marco Empire? Overall, and out of 10, I would give the book 7. J Lou McCartney has been described as similar to Martina Cole, probably as the book is set in the world of the gangster. There were Martina Cole undertones however the characters, for me, did not come over as cold as they can in the Martina Cole novels, they were not as nasty or at least not conveyed as nasty as some of the Martina Cole characters can be.

I would have liked a little more background and character development on some of the peripheral cast, i.e. Eddie and Stevo.

The plot, on the whole, worked and kept me reading and I felt satisfied at the end of the novel that it had been an enjoyable read.

I will certainly be adding J Lou McCartney to my list of authors to stay upto date with and I reccommend De Marco Empire if you are looking for a holiday read.

Thanks for all your recommendations!

This article was written by dangerousLady.co.uk editorial on the 11 October 2009 | One Comment