Cover Image: Raven

Raven

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Member Reviews

Georgina is back!!
I have been dipping in and out of this series for a while now, I have loved each one I've read and this one is just as terrific!
Book five see's Georgina attempting to live a normal quiet life with her husband and children on the country, away from her old life of crime, but fate and the old ways soon drag her back into the game when her husband is taken and it is now u to Georgeina to find him and land out her own justice for those who dare to cross her.
This book is super fast, there is so much happening if you take you eye of the page for moment you'll miss a trick.
It's dark and edgy and full of very gritty and vivid details, Georgina is just as ruthless and dangerous as ever, and thi one is easiest the darkest of the series.
I will miss Georgina, she is a suburb heroine, a legend, a true diamond in the rough and I will certainly be re-vistiting thi series over and over!

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This is book 5 in the series. This book is very violent in parts and so gritty. It is a gangland crime book. This is a brilliant series.

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A gritty gangland crime thriller. This is the fifth book in the Georgina Garrett series. Set in London in the late 1940’s. It’s a brilliant but violent read at times,

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The plot of the book was such a great page turner. The plot of the book was very well written. I truly cannot wait to read another wonderful book from this author. This was a truly great book.

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received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review. WoW! WoW! WoW! What an absolute mind spinning, beautiful story this was! when i read a book i like a book to keep me gripped from the beginning and this book certainly does that

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Raven by Sam Michaels.
Georgina Garrett Series Book 5.
She's out of retirement – and out for revenge. When Georgina Garrett wakes in the night to find intruders in her house, she knows she must do everything she can to keep her children safe. But just when she thinks the ordeal is over, she realises something is terribly wrong. She arrives at her crime-lord husband David Maynard's London house to find a bloodbath. Six of David's best men lie dead and he is nowhere to be found. Georgina may have walked away from the game but she's still the best player on the street. Now, she will stop at nothing to get her husband back and to make whoever took him pay for ever daring to set foot in her town.
Omg what a series. I absolutely love it. Great story plot and characters. I love Georgina. She's my favourite. 5*.

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This is the first book that I have read by Sam Michaels and I loved it. If you're a fan of Martina Cole, Kimberley Chambers, Jacqui Rose and Jessie Keane you need to read this book.

Raven is book 5 in the Georgina Garrett series and despite not reading the previous books it was easy to get into and pick up on all of the characters. I will be going back to read the first four straight away.

The story was gritty, violent and gripping - I love the female boss in the gangland genre and this delivers on all counts. I highly recommend it.

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I actually did not like the book as compared to other books of the series it was the runt of the litter not much of story or adventure as the previous book and way too much background, it was the mysterious background that attracts readers but for both Eddie and Thomas we get chapters full of background.
Now as a Georgiana Garret story it fails but if the book is intended as start of a new series than its good.
And the Prologue of First book 's impact we still haven't seen what happened to Liam

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“She’s out of retirement – and out for revenge”



“Gang Lit” is not a genre everyone will enjoy, so before I begin to extol the virtues of this hard-hitting storyline, I feel I must make some reference to the tone and content of the narrative and dialogue, for those readers of a more sensitive nature, who might not be comfortable with the language, violence and sexual references. They are an intrinsic part of the culture and a true representation of a way of life, however they are never used gratuitously and always with complete deference, empathy and sympathy to the storyline.

OMG! My eyes were standing out on stalks most of the time I was reading this story. I have taken part in Blog Tours for the previous four books in the ‘Georgina Garrett’ series, however they have only featured short, shared extracts and I have to admit that I have never had the luxury of time to read them all the way through, although after this, I shall definitely be revisiting them all. This full review request for part five of the gangland saga, was therefore not quite what I was expecting it to be, although I have no real idea what I actually was expecting. Yes, it is obvious that the book is an episode within an established series, however it really does work fine as a stand alone story, as any necessary background detail is added in at exactly the right moment, so that I never felt short-changed about what was what and who was who; whilst at the same time the backstory never detracts from the latest action, or wastes any valuable word space.

My first three criteria for a memorable read were most definitely met with resounding success: From the very first page this story hits the ground running and the action kicks in immediately. From then on, the pace is relentless, this is definitely a real pot-boiler, although relatively short chapters do add some welcome natural breaks giving me a little time to draw breath and reorganise my thoughts and emotions. I made the mistake on more than one occasion of thinking that the ending was close, when in fact the characters were merely regrouping for yet one more last stand, so by the time the final scene played out, all those little loose ends were neatly packaged and tied up. However my fourth personal criteria really does dictate, that as the main protagonist, you can’t end up dead, so without giving anything else away, that’s what makes this storyline quite unique and interesting, and blows my theory out of the water, in a round about kind of way – can’t say any more for fear of inadvertently letting slip spoilers!!

As a society, we are so inured to the ‘news of the moment’ snatches we see and hear in the media, when we are really led to believe that gang culture, gun and knife crime, drug dealing and prostitution, child trafficking and sexual exploitation, are modern day cultural and societal issues, often racially aggravated. Whereas, in fact, this series tells a much more accurate account about the reality of a situation, which has existed for decades, albeit under the radar of the majority of the population.

This gritty, well structured, multi-layered, intense and highly textured story, was fluently narrated in the third person, through multiple perspectives and across three separate timelines, between 1939 – 1953. It was rich in an atmosphere which was constantly tense, on edge and claustrophobic, therefore not making for relaxing reading, even when the dark clouds lifted briefly and I was treated to the odd moment or two of what passed for light-hearted banter. The narrative and dialogue was as raw, brutal and uncompromising as the action; yet seamless, fluid and always true to itself, making me want to keep turning the pages, but frightened of what I was going to discover happened next.

The author has a powerful, perceptive and compelling visual depth to her writing, which offered a real sense of time and place, making me a casual observer stood on the side-lines, witness to the gripping and disturbing savagery of retribution and retaliation, in a battle where, once all the dirty little secrets were revealed and avenged, there was destined to be only one victor, but with both sides knowing that there would always be new blood waiting in the wings to challenge the winner, as the wheel of fate and chance turned inexorably on. Revenge is always sweet in this ever changing and evolving parallel underworld, which thankfully so few of us ever get to know or see.

Sam has created and wonderfully defined, a multi-faceted cast of volatile, complex and unreliable characters it is almost impossible for most people to relate to, identify or engage with, or invest in. With their unwritten code of duplicitous and manipulative ethics, they do have a unique synergy with each other and they are addictively and uncompromisingly authentic and genuinely believable, in the roles they have been chosen for. Their individual and collective voices are so strong, that they demand to tell their own story and do so fearlessly, with only the slightest guidance from the pen of the author.

NOoo! The penultimate sting in the tail was something I never saw coming and whilst part of me might think that ‘what goes around, comes around’, it was still jaw-droppingly, gut-wrenchingly and sickeningly sad! That very final twist was not quite so unexpected, but equally mind-blowing, and does it potentially pave the way for a whole new spin-off series?

In author Sam Michaels’s world “The female of the species is definitely more deadly than the male”

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I don't often read a book out of order in a series, but having followed Sam Michaels on social media for a while, when the chance came along to read her lates, I grabbed it. And devoured the book in a day. Really easy to read, if stomach turning at times! I will probably go back and read the rest of the series, to see the stories behind the glimpses that were shown here. These were all bad people, but I was still rooting for Georgina and her crew. Gruesome and gripping!! #netgalley #raven

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Well this was quite the ride, fast paced and well written. I loved it.. definitely a five star read.

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Mixed emotions with this book. It’s the last book in a fabulous series about Georgina Garrett, after following her life it’s a bit sad to say goodbye to this series, but on the other hand I’m left excited to see what Sam writes next. This book is not for the faint hearted, it’s a fast paced gangland book with so much going on in it. You are taken on an emotional rollercoaster with every emotion going throughout this book. Make sure you have time as I guarantee you won’t want to put this one down once you start it. Another fantastic five star read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

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A very interesting read and while I did enjoy this book I found it a tad confusing especially as there seems to be a lot of back story I missed.

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This is a gangland thriller,
Involving many killers,
It's vicious and violent
And Georgina is intent
On making others pay,
She won't let them get away!

Hearing intruders, Georgina strives
To ensure her children are safe and alive.
But her husband doesn't answer the phone
She's determined to find him but not alone.
Discovering the bodies of folks she knew
Revenge is now her plan to do.

This is an action packed read
Where Georgina now has the need
To return to her old life
And rescue her husband fro the current strife.
But will she succeed when she doesn't know
Just who has him, why and where to go?

This is a story of revenge served cold
Vengeance against those who crossed in days of old.
Packed with gangland violence and more
It isn't for the faint hearted, that's for sure.
With family drama, assaults, torture and fights
All in the name of putting things right.

There are graphic descriptions that chill
As gangland members go in for the kill
An action packed story with Georgina as the key
But read it so what happens you'll see.
For my complementary copy of this book, I say thank you,
A very different read and this is my honest review.

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Georgina Garrett is back for her 5th outing in this series, and she is back with a bang
The story continues with 2 main stories ( and little sub stories ) but the main thrust is regarding her hubby David and someone who via him is determined to serve his revenge on Georgina
All the fav characters are here inc of course Fanny Whipple and it was good to ‘see’ them again and see what they were up to
Now, it is in parts violent, very violent and at times felt more like I was reading a horror story but it is a gangland read and so is to be expected but it is up another level on violence from the previous 4
This has been a brilliant series and really look forward to the authors next book whatever that may be

8/10
4 Stars

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Georgina's most attractive quality is her love of family, but someone in the criminal world is using this against her, and she is determined to seek vengeance. This is fast-paced ganglit has vibrant characters and violent scenes. The perfect read if you like gritty gangland fiction with authentic settings, believable characters and events.
I received a copy of this book from 'Head of Zeus' Aries in return for an honest review.

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Book 5 in the Georgina Garrett series. I’ve read and loved the previous books in this series and Raven is another absolutely fantastic read. it’s a gritty gangland crime thriller with plenty of violence and lots of OMG moments. From the start I was totally invested in this book and couldn’t turn the pages fast enough to find out what was going to happen . Sam Michaels is one of my favourite authors of gangland crime thrillers and I can’t wait to hear what she has in store for us next.

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would like to thank netgalley and the publisher for letting me read this gripping novel

think martina cole and gangland killings, that will give you a hint to this story

i join this series at book 5 and though its a stand alone book there are hints in this book about the previous history found in the other 4 books but it didnt stop my enjoyment as i was drawn into this series right from the first page....

georgina garrett her full name is woken in the early hours of the morning...there are intruders in her house...her first priority is her children and when she stashes them away to safety she then goes to find out all she can... she does not know where her bodyguard is......

and so begins the nightmare journey for her....

wow from the first page till the last i was hooked...havent read anything like this sort since my last martina cole book

will be keeping an eye out for more from this author

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I’ve loved the Georgina Garrett books and Raven is the last one. It is such a good read and will keep you interested. It’s very well written as always and a great story with twists that you won’t see coming.
You won’t regret picking this up but you might not be able to put it down!!

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I’d like to thank Aria & Aries and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read ‘Raven’ written by Sam Michaels in exchange for my honest and unbiased review.

Georgina Garrett has walked away from crime and lives with her crime-lord husband David Maynard and her children in the Kent countryside. She’s woken in the night by intruders in her house and after shooting a man dead she knows immediately something’s wrong when she can’t contact her husband. She drives to their London home to find David missing and his loyal men shot dead. Someone wants to take over David’s territory and Georgina has no alternative but to come out of retirement, hunt down the person responsible and make him pay for his crimes as painfully as possible.

This the first book I’ve read in the series and although some prior knowledge of the characters might have been helpful I don’t feel it’s been detrimental to my enjoyment of ‘Raven’. This is a gritty and compelling thriller that’s bloodthirsty, absolutely gruesome, with an overload of drama and horror. There were a few times when I thought the violence was a bit over the top and I had to close my eyes as I really didn’t want to know what was coming next, but all in all it was compulsive reading with an exciting storyline that kept me involved throughout. The ending leaves us with a cliff-hanger as to whether a new gang of criminals is going to arise from the ashes of the old. I do hope there’ll be another thriller continuing the story in the not too distant future.

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