Hall of Fame Review: Tainted Love by Kimberley Chambers

Friday 5 February 2016
Title: Tainted Love
Author: Kimberley Chambers
Publisher: HarperCollins
Publication Date: 11th February 2016
Pages: 496
Source: Review Copy
Rating: 5/5
Purchase: Amazon
Three Butlers.
Two weddings.
One funeral.

The explosive new novel from the Sunday Times #1 bestselling author Kimberley Chambers.

Nobody can hurt you like the ones you love…

Blood is thicker than water, love is stronger than hate – and that’s the problem. When your brother has betrayed you, there’s no coming back.

Vinny and Michael have always protected each other and provided for the family. Together they were formidable but business always stopped at the front door. Now someone has changed the rules – women and children are fair game and one of the Butlers is going to end up six feet under.

Little Vinny is battling not to follow in his father’s footsteps. Sweet Sammi-Lou has just vowed ‘til death do us part, but it’s only a matter of time before the truth comes out about the murder he committed.

Dark secrets are spiralling out of control and have the power to destroy them all for good. Is this the final nail in the Butler family coffin?

Contains spoilers for previous books.

It's no secret that Kimberley Chambers is one of my favourite authors and to say I was ecstatic to receive an early copy of Tainted Love would be an understatement. It can be easy to take books for granted when you receive them on an almost daily basis, but receiving your most anticipated book of the year early really makes you realise what a privilege it is. You might look at my rating and see yet another 5 star for a Kimberley Chambers book but, not that I need to justify myself, I haven't rated all of Kim's books with that rating and my rating for this book is solely based on how good it was, and how much I enjoyed it. Plus, some authors really are just that good that each book they release is even better than the one that came before, and Kim is one such author.

It is impossible to discuss Tainted Love in great detail, despite the fact I have a million and one things I want to say about it, because of how far we are into the Butler series. This is a series that needs to be read in order, they are the four best gangland crime novels ever written and contain everything you could possibly want from a book and then some. I find that sometimes I lose my way with reading a little bit, and can pick up four or five books and just have no interest in them which can be frustrating for a book blogger. Then, Tainted Love arrived and was a real reminder of how much I love reading, and that it's all about choosing the right book. I was honestly just blown away by what I was reading, this story is the culmination of everything that Kim has been building up to with all that went on in The Trap, Payback and The Wronged and it delivers on every single level. Kim has created one hell of a family in the Butlers. They are unforgettable and without a doubt a one of a kind family.

So much has happened over the previous three books, but I soon got into my stride and became addicted to the story, having to somehow try and force myself not to rush it because I didn't want to have it read in a day. There's a lot of characters to remember from the past, and there's some new ones this time too, but one character who I didn't have any trouble remembering was child murderer Little Vinny. Some of the scenes from Payback will remain with me forever and Little Vinny is one of the most intriguing and multi-layered characters that Kim has created. I did ask in a previous review whether it was wrong for me to look for the good in him but perhaps it isn't as in Tainted Love he's a changed man, and goes on a little bit of a journey throughout the novel and I had no idea what would happen to him by the end of the story but I did have a couple of ideas and, as always, I was wrong.

Two characters who have always shone throughout this series are sisters Queenie and Vivian. They are proper, no nonsense East End women and I love them. Even more so because they are surely based on real women in some form. Whether it's Kim's family or somebody else, they just seem like genuine, real women and that endeared me to them even more. Their observations about everyday life are both hysterical and, for the most part, absolutely bang on. Whitechapel has changed drastically since The Trap and Queenie is devastated and disgusted by it. Queenie and Vivian take a little bit of a backseat in Tainted Love but their presence is always felt throughout. They also offer some brilliant comedic scenes and drama, a lot of the time involving Queenie's ex-husband Albie, which is much needed amongst the heavier stuff featured in the story. Queenie's patience is tested throughout by her granddaughter Ava and Ava's beloved dog, the famous Fred Butler. Ava is a right little madam and a brilliant character and if we meet the Butlers again in the future she's going to be a character to watch.

Eddie Mitchell makes a return in Tainted Love which fans will be extremely pleased to hear and we cross the timeline of the Mitchell trilogy. Eddie is a proper respectable villain unlike Vinny Butler who idolises Eddie but isn't even half the man he is. Just like his son, Vinny is an intriguing character, one who has changed numerous times over the years but there's still that underlying nastiness that will never, ever go away. One Butler man who is likeable is Michael Butler and the poor sod has a terrible time of it throughout Tainted Love as past mistakes, past secrets and certain bunny boilers test his patience. Because he actually has morals unlike his older brother, there's plenty of drama and strife along the way because of his unwillingness to handle things like Vinny would. There's a reveal between the brothers that almost had me giving myself a paper cut I was turning the pages that fast.

Tainted Love features so many reveals, with various secrets and characters coming out of the woodwork and revealing all and I so want to talk about them all but of course it's impossible. Each reveal is brilliantly done, delivered perfectly to leave the reader reeling. There's one huge reveal, and I won't say who it involves but all I will say is I sort of worked it out before it came but it was still amazing nonetheless and led into a classic Chambers cliffhanger and that surely must mean we haven't heard the last of the Butlers. There's still so many stories that could be told about these characters and I hope that we will read about them all again in the future. In my head there's still things I want to see happen to certain characters and I would love to know Kim's writing process for this book because there's so many different ways that everything could have played out.

There's also a number of emotional scenes throughout Tainted Love that I wasn't expecting. I guess when you follow a family across four books you build up a bit of a bond with them and so I wasn't prepared for some of the things that happened in the story. The last couple of chapters especially had my heart racing and then the epilogue was delivered perfectly and left me desperate for more from the Butlers. If EastEnders' Julia's Theme had been playing over that epilogue I swear I would have shed a tear. It left me with chills and whether the next book is the Butlers, the Mitchells or somebody new, I will be right at the front of the queue ready to read it and then shout about it. If you've got Kimberley Chambers on your TBR then pick up one of her books straightaway and if you're already acquainted with the Butler family then Tainted Love is a book you will not want to miss. Kim is an author I am always recommending, and everybody who has picked up one of her books off the back of my recommendation has went on to devour her back catalogue which I think shows just how good her books really are. Kimberley Chambers is just in a league of her own at the minute, no other author even comes close and Tainted Love delivers on everything it promises and more and, at the time of writing, is the best book I have read this year.

3 comments:

  1. Love this review, love this book. It is one of the strongest gangland style books, absolutely brilliant.

    Lainy http://www.alwaysreading.net

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wasn't it just amazing. And I'm not afraid to admit I had tears in my eyes. I didn't want to leave the butler's when I closed the last page.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wasn't it just amazing. And I'm not afraid to admit I had tears in my eyes. I didn't want to leave the butler's when I closed the last page.

    ReplyDelete

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