The Royle Family meets EastEnders, with a touch of Footballers' Wives in this marvellous, down-to-earth first novel, full of humour, warmth, sexual shenanigans - and violence. Kimberley Chambers, bestselling author of Payback, is a talent to match Martina Cole.

'Not once had Terry ever been hauled in by old bill. He was sure the filth was aware of him, as he had his fingers stuck in many pies, but he was a background man and that's the way he liked it. He made sure that he kept well away from the dodgy motors, the thieves and the yards...'

Terry - the lucky villain with a heart of gold - is riding for a fall. Michelle - the wife he hates and is plotting to leave - knows something is afoot, but not quite what. Billie Jo - their adored only daughter - loathes her parents quarrelling and her mother drinking, but will she understand when Terry tells her the truth: that he is planning to marry his pregnant secretary? Jade is a cut above the rest and waits patiently for the day when she and Terry can live peacefully together on his ill-gotten gains, probably on the Costa del Sol. But fate is about to deal a terrible hand, leaving Billie Jo's protected world in tatters.

'A thrilling read' News of the World

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 at all, leaving Billie Jo's protected world in tatters.

Set in a world of villains and chancers, Kimberley Chamber's brilliant first novel is a rollercoaster read you will not want to put down.