Beezy Marsh

A Novel

Queen of Thieves

'A colourful tale of love, lust, making good and revenge' The Sun 5* eBook of the Week Gangland was a man's world - but the women knew different London, 1946. Alice Diamond, the Queen of the Forty Thieves, rules over her gang of hoisters with a bejewelled fist. Nell is a slum girl from Waterloo, hiding a secret pregnancy and facing a desperately uncertain future. Sensing an opportunity to exploit Nell's vulnerabilities, Alice takes her under her wing and, before long, Nell is experiencing the secret world of hoisting, with all the dangers - and glamorous trappings - that comes with this underworld existence. Alice has a longstanding feud with Billy Sullivan's all-male gang in Soho, and thinks Nell could be a useful weapon in her vendetta. But Nell has a secret agenda of her own, and is not to be underestimated. And the more she is exploited by both Alice and Billy, the more her hunger for revenge grows. As she embraces the seedy underbelly of London, will she prevail in carving out her own path to power and riches... ...and crown herself the Queen of Thieves? From Sunday Times bestselling author Beezy Marsh comes a thrilling new crime saga series, perfect for fans of Sam Michaels, Martina Cole and Jessie Keane. Readers are loving Queen of Thieves 'Gangland at its best' 'Oooh this book was so good...I am hooked now and can't wait to see how this series develops' 'This is a proper bang on London saga and I loved the characters...The author is spot on with all her research that makes this book such a unique read' 'WOW totally pulled into the storyline from the start... it's a real page turner I devoured in one sitting'

An unforgettable new voice in gangland crime saga

The Queen of Thieves is back! Queen of Clubs is the second in Beezy Marsh's thrilling UK historical series about a ring of all-female gangsters in 1950s London. London, 1957: After rising up against gangland's queen, Alice Diamond, formerly downtrodden Nell is living the perfect life of crime. Far from the East End slums where she was raised, she's now an accomplished professional thief by day--lifting luxury goods from high-end department stores--and a glamorous nightclub owner after dark. Dressed in stolen silks and furs, Nell cuts a dazzling figure in the dimly lit clubs where she calls the shots. But a betrayal and botched robbery suddenly reverse Nell's fortunes...and her old rival Alice is hell-bent on taking her down. Nightclub dancer Zoe is finally earning a living after escaping a poverty-stricken childhood. She'd rather work for Nell than set scores for Alice. But the life of luxury Zoe craves comes at a terrible price. When a vicious gang tightens its grip on Soho, all three women realize it pays to keep your friends close and your enemies closer.

Queen of Clubs

1957, London. Gangland Queen Nell has the perfect life of crime as a top shoplifter by day and glamorous club owner by night. But a betrayal and botched robbery suddenly reverse her fortunes... and her old rival, Alice Diamond, is hell-bent on taking her down. After escaping a poverty-stricken childhood, nightclub dancer Zoe has more on her mind than settling scores for Alice. But the life of luxury Zoe craves comes at a terrible price. And when a vicious gang tightens its grip on Soho, all three women realise it pays to keep your friends close and your enemies closer. When the fight to save your family becomes a fight for survival, there is no honour among thieves... The second in a thrilling new crime saga series about a real-life gang girl from Sunday Times bestselling author Beezy Marsh, Queen of Clubs is perfect for fans of Sam Michaels, Martina Cole and Jessie Keane.

An exciting and gripping new crime saga series

The Sunday Times Bestseller and #1 international bestseller Keeping My Sister’s Secrets by Beezy Marsh is the heartwarming true story of three sisters and their fearless fight to survive the hardships of poverty and war - by whatever means necessary. Born into a close-knit working class family in the slums of London’s Waterloo, Eva, Peggy and Kathleen are three remarkably different, but very loving sisters. Desperate to escape their violent father, they find different ways to survive. Beautiful Kathleen escapes into marriage with an abusive man, and during the horrors of the Second World War, falls in love again - this time with an American GI. Peggy, serious and studious, is appalled by conditions in the factories and becomes a communist, desperate to help her fellow workers. The rebellious sister, Eva, will do anything to protect her family - even if it means breaking the law to put dinner on the table. Living closely together, the sisters support each other through thick and thin - their story is a moving tale of unconditional love, the one constant in a changing world.

A True Story of Sisterhood, Hardship, and Survival

Keeping My Sisters' Secrets

An electrifying historical adventure about a ring of bold and resourceful women thieves in post-World War II London. Gangland was a man’s world. Or so they thought. The women knew different. London, 1946. The city struggles to rebuild itself after the devastation of the Blitz. Food is rationed, good jobs are scarce, and even the most honest families are forced to take a bit of “crooked” just to survive. Alice Diamond, the Queen of Thieves, rules over her all-female gang with a bejeweled fist. Her “hoisters” are expert shoplifters, the scourge of London’s upscale boutiques and departments stores. Their lucrative business stealing and fencing luxury goods always carries the threat of violence; Alice packs a razor, and has been known to use her heavy rows of diamond rings like brass knuckles. Young Nell is a teenager from the slums, hiding a secret pregnancy and facing a desperately uncertain future when Alice takes her under her wing. Before long, Nell is experiencing all the dangers—and glamourous trappings—that comes with this underworld existence. Alice wants Nell to be a useful weapon in her ongoing war against crime boss Billy Sullivan’s gang of rival thieves. But Nell has a hidden agenda of her own, and is not to be underestimated. The more she is manipulated by both Alice and Billy, the more her hunger for revenge grows. As Nell embraces the rich spoils of crime and the seedy underbelly of London, will she manage to carve out her own path to power and riches? Might she even crown herself the Queen of Thieves?

When Annie marries Harry after years of heartache in a London slum she believes she's found her happy ever after. But the horrors of the Blitz soon threaten everything they hold dear. The terrible sights Harry witnesses as an air raid warden bring back traumatic memories of his time during the First World War. Suddenly Annie finds herself struggling to cope not only with life in wartime and two little children, but also with a husband who seems like a stranger. Kitty has always been protective of her little brother Harry. Hiding the scandal about their father from the world was the only way to survive as they were growing up in Newcastle. But when she discovers Harry too has a shocking secret, she is torn. Meanwhile Annie wonders why Harry refuses to discuss his life before their marriage and why she has never met his sister. Will the truth ever come to light? From the bombed-out terraces of London to the docks of Newcastle, Her Father's Daughter is a moving and poignant true story about the unbreakable bonds of family, and the power of love to heal the worst wounds.

A True Story of Secrets, Betrayal and Redemption

Her Father's Daughter

From the Sunday Times bestselling author comes a moving true story of two women fighting to survive scandal, poverty and war. When Annie marries Harry after years of heartache in a London slum she believes she's found her happy ever after. But the horrors of the Blitz soon threaten everything they hold dear. The terrible sights Harry witnesses as an air raid warden bring back traumatic memories of his time during the First World War. Suddenly Annie finds herself struggling to cope not only with life in wartime and two little children, but also with a husband who seems like a stranger. Kitty has always been protective of her little brother Harry. Hiding the scandal about their father from the world was the only way to survive as they were growing up in Newcastle. But when she discovers Harry too has a shocking secret, she is torn. Meanwhile Annie wonders why Harry refuses to discuss his life before their marriage and why she has never met his sister. Will the truth ever come to light? From the bombed-out terraces of London to the docks of Newcastle, Her Father's Daughter is a moving and poignant true story about the unbreakable bonds of family, and the power of love to heal the worst wounds.

Two families. One man's secrets. A moving true story.

Eva, Peggy and Kathleen were sisters born into a close-knit working class family, living in a tiny terraced house in a street so rough the police would only walk down it in pairs. As they grew up between the wars, they dreamed of escaping their violent father and the crime-ridden slums of Waterloo. Peggy was a studious girl so appalled by conditions in the factories that she became a Communist. Beautiful Kathleen married an abusive man and later - during the Second World War - fell in love with a GI. Feisty Eva became a pickpocket as a child so she could help their mother put food on the table - and never lost her rebellious streak, or her desire to protect her family by whatever means necessary. As the years pass the sisters all lived close together, sharing each other's lives, supporting each other through hard times. Keeping My Sister's Secrets is a rich, moving story of three sisters fighting to survive through decades of social upheaval, their love for each other the one constant in a changing world.

Keeping My Sister's Secrets

From the grimy streets of Acton and Notting Hill to the bright lights of the West End, Beezy Marsh's All My Mother’s Secrets is a powerful, uplifting story of a young woman’s struggle to come to terms with her family’s tragic past. Annie Austin’s childhood ends at the age of twelve, when she joins her mother in one of the slum laundries of Acton, working long hours for little pay. What spare time she has is spent looking after her younger brother George and her two stepsisters, under the glowering eye of her stepfather Bill. In London between the wars, a girl like Annie has few choices in life – but a powerful secret will change her destiny. All Annie knows about her real father is that he died in the Great War, and as the years pass she is haunted by the pain of losing him. Her downtrodden mother won’t tell her more and Annie’s attempts to uncover the truth threaten to destroy her family. Distraught, she runs away to Covent Garden, but can she survive on her own and find the love which has eluded her so far? 'Beautifully-penned story on the harshness of life and how hope survives.' – The Sun

A Powerful True Story of Love, Loss and a Family Torn Apart

All My Mother's Secrets

David Fraser

Pat Fraser

Drawing on exclusive final interviews with Frank, and with unprecedented access to his closest relatives, Mad Frank and Sons follows his rise from a small kid stealing to put food on the table to a feared and respected West End crime lord and head of a legendary gangland family. It includes the story of Frank's beloved sister, Eva, who was a top-class West End shoplifter, and his sons David and Patrick, who reveal in shocking detail the full extent of the family's network and the influences that shaped them. With sawn-off shotguns as toys, the Kray twins as family friends and a mother who urged them as teenagers to 'get out of bed and rob a bleedin' bank', it is little wonder that the Fraser boys were heavily involved in organized crime by the time they were in their twenties. Packed with new information, and featuring some of the most famous names in the London underworld, this is a fascinating slice of gangland history seen through the eyes of Frank Fraser and his two renegade sons.

Tougher Than the Krays, Frank and His Boys on Gangland, Crime and Doing Time

Mad Frank and Sons

Tougher than the Krays, Frank and his boys on gangland, crime and doing time

This story of a stay-at-home mother’s misadventures is “a fun read that ‘imperfect mums’ everywhere will adore” (The Sun). While her husband Matt’s career takes off, Marnie Martin is left with the task of pairing socks and locating Lego. His late nights at the office are turning into late nights who knows where else, and they haven’t had a proper conversation in weeks, sex in months, or a full night’s sleep in years. Marnie’s journalism career has morphed into writing a food column. But even that turns into disaster when Marnie gets distracted by a daydream about her movie-star crush, Maddox Wolfe—which leads to a missed deadline and a case of food poisoning. There’s only one option left for Marnie: blogging. As the anonymous “Mrs Make Believe,” Marnie starts spilling secrets and becomes the voice of messed-up mothers everywhere. But she never could have imagined that her celebrity daydream would walk off the screen and into her reality, turning her already muddled world totally on its head . . . This “compulsively readable and entertaining” novel (Daily Mail) is “a funny, sexy, clever book which brilliantly reflects the chaos of motherhood and marriage” (Alison McGarragh-Murphy, editor of The Motherload). “Funny . . . fabulously fresh and achingly honest . . . I couldn’t put it down.” —Alex Brown, #1 bestselling author of The Secret of Orchard Cottage

Mr Make Believe

The moving true story of three sisters born into poverty and their fight for survival.Eva, Peggy and Kathleen were sisters born into a close-knit working class family, living in a tiny terraced house in a street so rough the police would only walk down it in pairs. As they grew up between the wars, they dreamed of escaping their violent father and the crime-written slums of Waterloo. Peggy was a studious girl so appalled by conditions in the factories that she became a Communist. Beautiful Kathleen married an abusive man and later - during the Second World War - fell in love with a GI. Feisty Eva became a pickpocket as a child so she could help their mother put food on the table - and never lost her rebellious streak, or her desire to protect her family by whatever means necessary. As the years pass the sisters all lived close together, sharing each other's lives, supporting each other through hard times. Lambeth Girls is a rich, moving story of three sisters fighting to survive through decades of social upheaval, their love for each other the one constant in a changing world.

Beezy Marsh

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