Books Read: Mandasue Heller - Broke

How low would you go to protect your own?

Amy only wants a happy family - instead, she's in a nightmare of pain.

Her marriage to Mark isn't the best - he can't hold down a job, he's got a bit of a temper. But she doesn't want to know just how bad things are until his gambling habit brings Lenny Yates to her door. He makes it brutally clear how she can pay off Mark's debts.

And Amy's troubles are only beginning. Now there's another woman in Mark's life, who wants Mark for herself. She is ready to steal Amy's man, her self-respect and even her children.

As the stakes rise, Amy will either lose everything, or she'll have to learn how to stand up to her enemies...

For Amy family is everything but husband's Mark inability to hold down a job or stay out of the bookies threatens everything that she holds dear.  When she discovers that Mark has borrowed from loan shark Lenny Yates she's worried especially when Lenny and his hired thug turn up at her door when Mark is late with payment.

After Mark disappears without a trace, Lenny informs Amy that the loan is now hers and this is when her life turns into a living nightmare and things spiral desperately out of control.  Will she ever be able to clear Mark's debt and bring her family back together?

I didn't really warm to Amy when we first meet her as a 16-year-old in labour on her wedding day but then we fast forward 5 years to the current day and I really felt for her after Mark deserts her and the children after bringing Lenny into their lives, I was soon willing her to find the strength from within to take back control of her life.  It was clear that Mark was a complete waster and my impression of him never changed at all throughout the book and as for Lenny Yates, he really made my skin crawl the more I read.

Having never read a Mandasue Heller book before I really did not know what to expect, what I got was a gritty read which I read in no time at all.  I'll definitely look to read more of her books in the future if I ever manage to clear my reviews backlog!

I'd like to thank Emilie at Hodder & Stoughton for sending me a copy of Broke and introducing me to a new author.