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. 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.

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. 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. On one side are the Mitchells, a notorious underworld mob from East London's Canning Town. They have an iron in every fire and will resort to intimidation and violence to get what they want. When Stanley Smith's lovely young daughter, Jessica, announces that she is to marry Eddie, the son of mob boss Harry Mitchell, Stanley is horrified, but too afraid to stand in their way. 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. As I was muddling through the first chapter of The Trap, I wasn’t sure how I felt about it but seeing as I was having a lot of “firsts” with this one I kept an open mind and it surely paid off.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. The Butlers....set in the heart of London's East End.......it tells the trials and tribulations of the Butler Family. Unfortunately I can only think of one description for this book...tedious. The characters, plot, writing style and dialogue...all tedious. It felt like I was reading the screenplay to a very boring soap written for daytime telly.

The book builds up so well that you know all hell is going to break loose at the end. The apocalypse in the Essex countryside is guaranteed but boy does it still hit hard when it does happen. It was then I knew that I’d finally found my vocation in life. I mad very little notes, other than some character names. After I finished each chapter, the next came easy.” With the encouragement of friends, Chambers bought a copy of the Writers and Artists Year Book and scrolled through the list of agents. 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. 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 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..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. 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. 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 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.

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.

Publication Order of Standalone Novels

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. 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. It was then that she received a phone-call from her friend Hazel, who asked if she wanted to take a hair dressing course. It was then that Chambers decided to try her hand at writing a novel. A few days later, she began writing her premiere novel Billie Jo. When she told her family about her new aspirations, they believed that it was a fad and that she would grow tired of this new venture as well. The writing as usual is gritty and realistic with violence and language being a staple ingredient. If either of these things offends you, then maybe this wouldn't be to your taste. For me, it just makes it so real and I literally could NOT stop reading. I started this last night and finished it this morning. What a horrible bastard, cold mean callous bastard.....but what a great character Ms Chambers created.....hated HIM....really, really HATED him.

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. Then you have Roy, Brenda and Michael. I wish I could say there was one good apple in the group but they were all a bit crazy. Though cousin Lenny was kind of sweet. And I can’t forget Albie. He was the dad. He wasn’t much of a man though. The poor bastard. Not much went right for this guy. And the family grows. Yes, there are marriages and little Butler’s running around. The gifted novelist only has nine books, but her impact on London and around the world has been huge. Chambers has a three book series: The Traitor Chambers, Victim and The Feud. The series revolves around a long time feud between two families; the Mitchells and the O’Haras. Queenie and Vivian are sisters. Queenie rules the Butler Empire ... well at least she thinks she does. Her four children love her and she loves them. Vinny, Roy, Michael, Brenda - some of them likeable enough characters but mostly not so much, especially Vinny and Brenda, the heifer. Albie Butler, the dad, really didn't have much say in the family. 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?

Publication Order of The Bonds Books

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. I enjoyed this immensely. It is a good ol’ Chambers family saga with a bit of organized crime and ultra-violence thrown into the mix.