I have to admit that as a reader I tend to stick to my favourite authors, but every so often I do like to try and read someone new. Mandasue Heller was a new author for me and ‘The Club‘ is the first of her books that I have read although in total she has written at least six! She has also been likened to Martina Cole so if you like her books it is quite probable that you will enjoy ‘The Club‘.

‘The Club‘ is set in Manchester and the story revolves around a nightclub called Zenith. It has recently been taken over by Jenna Lorde after the death of her father. Jenna is both inexperienced and a little naive, and certainly makes some wrong decisions in who she seeks help from. After a rather expensive refurbishment the club is up there competing with the best of Manchester’s night time attractions, but unbeknown to Jenna the clientele it is attracting are not all as they seem. Tony Allen is one of the regulars who frequents the VIP lounge and soon has designs on owning part of the club himself and will stop at nothing to achieve this.

Jenna also has to deal with a challenging set of staff particularly Fabian the manager who is not prepared to relinquish any responsibility. He also has a couple of interesting sidelines as well which he does not want Jenna to know about. She does have a couple of people on her side though – Kalli, a young barmaid and Vibes, her energetic DJ. Not surprisingly she finds herself falling for Vibes, but he has a story of his own and a few secrets that he is unable to share. This love story side of the novel is quite a pleasant diversion from the tension of the main story.

As the novel progresses there are a lot of shady goings on, most of which Jenna is totally unaware of. At this stage there is quite a lot of suspense as you wonder exactly what everyone is up to! All the chapters are quite pacy, and at the end everything particularly speeds up by her use of very short chapters which create a sense of urgency. I am not going to say any more about what happens, so as not to spoil the plot, but I can assure you that you will be hanging in there until the last moments!

Overall, I felt this was a well written book with a good story line, but if I’m honest, not quite my cup of tea. I suppose, being a bit of a stay at home mum, the seedier side of Manchester night life did not do a lot for me, and I guess that it is this type of setting that would put me off reading any more. Also, not being a regular clubber, I couldn’t tell you how authentic Zenith actually is as a night club! However, I did think all the characters were well developed – you liked the ones you were meant to like, and as for the others you could see them for what they were! There is a huge amount of dialogue, which I guess would make it pretty easy to turn into a screenplay, and this seems to work well for this book.

So, I do think that I would recommend this book, but if only if you are really into thrillers. It is quite a gripping story and certainly will have you guessing as you read it! I am glad that I read it and it’s always good to read different authors!

Manchester, Mandasue Heller

Club (The)
by Mandasue Heller

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