Book Extract from Dangerous Promises by Roberta Kray

I am delighted to feature an extract from the exciting new novel by Roberta Kray

Dangerous Promises

Published by Sphere
11th February 2016

Sadie Wise has finally tracked down her husband Eddie, who left her five years ago, taking all her savings with him. Now in a new relationship, all she cares about is getting him to agree to sign the divorce papers so that she can move on. On the train to London to confront him, Sadie finds herself confiding the whole story to a stranger, Mona Farrell. In her mind, it’s a throwaway moment. In Mona’s mind, it’s a promise: she will rid her new friend of her husband, and in exchange, Sadie will kill Mona’s domineering father.

After securing the divorce, Sadie wants to put the whole experience behind her – but then she learns that just after she left, Eddie was stabbed to death. Mona took their chance encounter very seriously, and she won’t leave Sadie alone until she’s fulfilled her end of their ‘deal.’ Meanwhile, Eddie’s death has attracted the unwanted attention of the Gissings, a family Sadie doesn’t want to get on the wrong side of. They hold Sadie firmly responsible, and they want revenge.

Read this exciting snippet from Dangerous Promises.....

‘I hate men,’ Mona said, worrying on her lower lip. ‘They’re all bastards, the whole damn lot of them.’

‘Not all of them,’ Sadie said, thinking of Joel. He was a gem, sweet and smart and understanding. She still couldn’t believe her luck. After all the miserable years with Eddie, she’d wondered if she would ever be happy again. But she was happy now, except for one small fly in the ointment.

She really needed this divorce. Once she’d legally disentangled herself, she could have a fresh start in a marriage that was based on something deeper than a mutual appreciation of real ale and The Clash.

‘Have you met someone else?’

Sadie nodded. ‘Yes. He’s a nice guy, really nice. I just want to get the papers signed and move on with my life.’

Mona pulled a face as if to imply there was no such thing as a nice guy, before returning to her earlier subject. ‘My dad’s a control freak, wants to know what I’m doing every minute of the day. It’s weird. He’s weird. Actually he’s worse than that. He’s fat and vile and disgusting.’ She put her elbows on the table and stared at Sadie. ‘I wish he was dead.’

Sadie looked back at her, startled. ‘You don’t mean that.’

‘I’d kill him myself if I could get away with it. I’d creep up on him in the middle of the night and slit his throat from ear to ear.’ She made a cutting motion with the side of her hand. ‘Straight through the arteries. It wouldn’t take long. He’d be dead in minutes.’

Sadie gave an involuntary shiver. Was she serious? There was a smile tugging at the corners of the girl’s mouth, but there was also a malevolent glint in her eyes. ‘You’d spend a long time inside for that.’

‘Only if I got caught. That’s the trick you see, not to get caught.’ Mona paused, her forehead creasing into a frown.  ‘People do get away with murder. Have you ever seen that film, Strangers on a Train?’

‘I’ve read the book,’ Sadie said cautiously.

‘Oh, is there a book? I don’t read much. I don’t like reading. But it was the perfect plan, don’t you think? You get a total stranger to kill the person you hate and because they’ve got no motive, there’s no reason for the cops to ever suspect them. It’s a done deal. You could kill my father and I could

kill Eddie.’

Sadie shifted in her seat. The conversation was starting to unnerve her. ‘Except I don’t want Eddie dead. All I want is a divorce.’

‘But what if he won’t sign the papers? You might have to wait years to get it sorted. By then your new guy could have lost interest. And anyway this Eddie sounds like a real piece of work. I mean, what sort of bloke behaves like that? It’s sick.’

Sadie pulled the file back across the table, snapped it shut and stored it in her holdall. ‘It didn’t work, though, did it?’ she said in what she hoped was a suitably dismissive tone. ‘In the book, I mean. The two of them didn’t get away with it. And one of them didn’t even want his wife dead.’

‘Sometimes people don’t know what they want. And the plan only went wrong because Bruno was a drunk and didn’t stick to the rules. If there’s no communication, there’s no connection. The cops wouldn’t have anything to go on.’

Sadie had the feeling that this wasn’t the first time Mona had thought about such an arrangement. The girl, she decided, was a fantasist. Did that make her dangerous? Probably not, but it still didn’t make for comfortable listening. Thankfully the train had picked up speed again and would soon be arriving in Kellston. She tried to steer the conversation back on to neutral territory. ‘So where do you live, then?’

‘Hampstead, 12 Constance Avenue. You can’t miss it. It’s a bloody great mansion, got turrets on the roof and everything. Tennis courts, swimming pool, eight bedrooms – and there’s only the three of us living there. How ridiculous is that? And there are marble floors everywhere. I hate it. The

place is like a goddamn mausoleum.’

Sadie’s eyebrows shifted up again. ‘I dare say there are worse places. I’ve lived in some real dives in my time.’

But Mona, even if she’d heard, didn’t take any notice. ‘You know how he gets his money, don’t you? He makes guns and rockets and stuff, shit for people to kill each other with.’ Her face took on a hard, angry expression. ‘People like him shouldn’t be allowed to live. All he brings is pain and misery. I’d be doing the world a favour by getting rid. Of course the house is alarmed – he’s bloody terrified of anyone breaking in – but I know the code. I could easily turn it off.’

Sadie began to gather her things together, willing the train to get into the station. Mona was freaking her out. The sooner she was away from her the happier she’d be. Feeling the train beginning to slow, she breathed out a sigh of relief. Quickly she rose to her feet and grabbed her holdall.

‘Well, nice to meet you. Take care.’

‘I hope you find him.’

‘Thanks.’ Sadie made her way through the compartment, resisting the urge to glance over her shoulder. She had a sudden fear that the girl might decide to follow her, like one of those stray dogs that attach themselves and refuse to go away. It was only when the doors opened and she was about to step out on to the platform that she risked a quick look back. The seat was empty. Mona was gone. And suddenly the whole strange encounter felt like a figment of her imagination.

©Dangerous Promises by Roberta Kray 

Published 11th February by Sphere, price £7.99 in paperback. 

Amazon UK

About the Author

Through her marriage to Reggie Kray, Roberta Kray has a unique insight into London's East End. Born in Southport, Roberta met Reggie in early 1996 and they married the following year; they were together until Reggie's death in 2000. Roberta Kray is author of the bestselling Nothing But Trouble, Strong Women, The Villain’s Daughter, Broken Home and Bad Girl. She lives in Norfolk.

Roberta Kray Author is on Facebook

Praise for Roberta Kray

‘Well into Martina Cole territory’ Independent

‘A cracking good read’ Jessie Keane

‘There can be few people better placed to write about East End gangsters than Reggie Kray’s widow Roberta, and her unique insight into the murky world of organised crime shines through in this gritty fiction thriller… Kray’s storytelling is intelligent, gripping and sure to entertain.’

News of the World

My thanks to Sophie at ED Public relations 

and to Sphere for my review copy of

Dangerous Promises 

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