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Having lived in Manchester all her life, many of her novels draw their inspiration from her experiences growing up in the suburbs. As for most of her characters, they are the people she has met and interacted with over the years. She also includes events that happened in the inner suburbs of Manchester during the 1990s. These include the 1996 Manchester bombing, the plight of the homeless and the gang wars of the 90s. But this is in no way a negative, Heather Burnside is a superb author and she has written another Gritty and Compulsive read and I can't wait to read the next installment. Which I'm about to start! After taking a career break to raise two children, Heather completed a creative writing course. During that time, she had many articles published in well-known magazines and went on to run a writing services business before focusing on her novels.
But before she can get out of the game, she will first have to take charge of her own life which starts with revenge. In her quest, she takes something that belongs to Justin, a very dangerous man that happens to have his fingers in a lot of pies. Heather Burnside’s novel “Crystal” introduces the protagonist as a working girl that had been through a terrifying ordeal. She has now decided to put an end to using drugs and left her career as a prostitute so that she focus on raising Candice her daughter. I read this book in one day. I absolutely could not put it down... This book will absolutely captivate you.' Netgalley Reviewer, *****Heather Burnside is a gritty urban fiction writer from Manchester in the United Kingdom. The author spent much of her childhood in the inner city suburbs of the city, in what was deemed the toughest estate of Manchester. Explosive, fast action story... A perfect tale again of love, hate, revenge and secrets all wrapped up in 'real' life family drama... Takes you on a journey they and you will never forget... 10/10.' NetGalley Reviewer , ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Heather’s writing is pacy and easy to follow but I found aspects of the storyline slightly unrealistic. And although Crystal’s character development is clear, she wasn’t the most likeable. Ruby on the other hand I liked a great deal. She came across as genuine and strong.
Kept me up half the night as couldn't put it down . Absolutely adore Martin and Beth. Edge of seat all the way .' Reviewer, ***** Brilliant, I read this book in 1 day and couldn't put it down. Just love how you see the characters from their life before. Loved it.' NetGalley reviewer, ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Crystal is a story of abuse, corruption and revenge and therefore I’m giving trigger warnings for sexual abuse, violence, kidnapping and drug/alcohol abuse. As for her inspiration she does not particularly have any since. Heather Burnside’s novels do not resemble the works of any of her favorite authors such as Jeffrey Deaver, Minette Walters, Val McDermid, and Nicci French. However, her work most resembles that of the likes of Mandasue Heller and Martina Cole.
The mother of two first started writing after taking a creative writing course. It was during this time that she published several articles in well known publications. She also ran a writing service business before she decided to become a full time author. Businesswoman Laura Sharples owns a fashionable chain of clothing shops, but not so long ago she called herself Crystal and worked the streets of Manchester. Although she's moved on, she's never forgotten how far she had to go to beat her addictions and raise her daughter, Candice. When Beth meets wealthy crime boss Martin , he sets her up in business, dotes on her and gives her everything she wants. But Beth is plotting revenge on the man who tried to ruin her... Will her plan come together? Or, this time, will she lose everything for good? Crystal was a working girl. After a terrifying ordeal she decides that enough is enough. She needs to put an end to her drugs and career choice and focus on her daughter Candice.The plot was full of twist and turns and did keep my interest right to the end despite some obvious flaws. In addition to her long form fiction, she is also the author of “Crime Conflict & Consequences” which is a short story collection written in multiple genres. This book is fast-paced, addictive and completely absorbing. I loved Beth's character and was fully invested in her story. She comes across as genuine and believable.
I LOVE this series ( and the authors previous series’ ) everything you want for a top notch gritty driven story is there and the book flows with a tense exciting plot coupled with no holds barred realism A great book , has twists and turns , its exciting and i couldnt put it down , highley recommend.' Netgalley Reviewer, *****The 3rd in ‘The Working Girls’ series, Crystal can easily be read as a stand alone or also after ‘The Mark’ and ‘Ruby’ I’ve never read anything by Heather Burnside so I wasn’t exactly sure what to expect but the synopsis caught my attention plus as this was set in Manchester, I was particularly interested to see how it differed to those in the same genre that are set in the gangland streets of London. I didn’t realise Crystal was the third book in The Working Girls series when I started reading it, but I‘m comfortable saying you can read it as a stand alone story as I didn’t feel like I was missing anything having not read the first two books. Meanwhile, her livelihood is being threatened by gangs who are intimidating her and could just destroy her business. Will she be able to come out of this by beating her tormentors?
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