Zenka by Alison Brodie #Review @alisonbrodie2

Devious, ruthless, and loyal.

Zenka is a capricious Hungarian with a dark past.

When cranky London mob boss, Jack Murray, saves her life she vows to become his guardian angel – whether he likes it or not. Happily, she now has easy access to pistols, knives and shotguns.

Jack discovers he has a son, Nicholas, a male nurse with a heart of gold. Problem is, Nicholas is a wimp.

Zenka takes charges. Using her feminine wiles and gangland contacts, she will make Nicholas into the sort of son any self-respecting crime boss would be proud of. And she succeeds!

Nicholas transforms from pussycat to mad dog, falls in love with Zenka, and finds out where the bodies are buried – because he buries them. He’s learning fast that sometimes you have to kill, or be killed.

As his life becomes more terrifying, questions have to be asked:

How do you tell a mob boss you don’t want to be his son?

And is Zenka really who she says she is?

Zenka by Alison Brodie is available to purchase now from the following retailers – Amazon UK | Amazon US

MY REVIEW

When I read the description for Zenka I had a feeling this was a book I was going to enjoy. I didn’t realise though just how much I would enjoy it and it certainly wasn’t what I was expecting.

Hungarian Zenka is rescued and her life saved from a terrible gang by London gangster Jack Murray, she then vows to be his guardian angel and I have to say I immediately took to Zenka. Straight away you see she’s gutsy and has balls but she also has a heart of gold. Jack is Zenka’s hero and also a father figure to her and she will do anything for him, Jack has a soft spot for Zenka and even though he’s a tough London gangster, Zenka is able to wrap him round her little finger and get away with a lot more than she should.

When Jack finds out he has a son he’s over the moon, but Jack and Nicholas are completely different. Jack is a tough nut, he has no fear and has a reputation for taking lives, Nicholas is a male nurse working with the elderly. He’s got a heart of gold and is basically a bit of a wimp. Not the typical gangsters son. This is where Zenka steps in and decides to make a man out of Nicholas.

As I said earlier this book wasn’t what I was expecting. I was expecting a gritty crime thriller and it was a very pleasant surprise to find the added humour, a touch of romance and so many twists and turns, I never had an inkling to where the story was going.

Alison Brodie has written a story that is filled with characters that come to life, it was very easy to picture each one in my mind. The story flows so well and with each page I turned I found myself more and more absorbed and intrigued in the story and I really didn’t want it to end. I’m sure my family thought I was crazy or crazier as I often found myself laughing out loud and I absolutely loved the humour in this story.

Zenka really is a fantastic read, it had me on the edge of my seat at times and is filled with black humour, a touch of romance and added mystery. this really was an all-rounder and a story I think many would enjoy even if they are not a big fan of this genre.

It’s a definite recommend by It’s all about the books.

Alison Brodie is a Scot with French Huguenot ancestors on her mother’s side.
Alison has lived all over the world, including Kansas City, Athens and Basque country.
Her first novel – “Face to Face” – was published by Hodder & Stoughton and became Good Housekeeping’s Pick of the Paperbacks.
Alison has now gone Indie!
“Brake Failure” has 28 five-star reviews from professional book bloggers + “Masterpiece of humor” -Midwest Book Review
“ZENKA” is releasing 6 November, 2017.