THE FAMILY: family life is always at the heart of Martina's storytelling... loyalty, protection and how the ties that bind us can also sometimes choke the very thing we want to protect.

Once you're in the family, you're in it for life...

Devastatingly powerful, THE FAMILY by the 'undisputed queen of crime writing' (Guardian) and Sunday Times No.1 bestseller Martina Cole reaches the darkest corners of family life. Philip Murphy expects loyalty from their nearest and dearest - for better or for worse...

Family is everything for the Murphy clan. Philip runs his business empire with the help of his brother, and dotes on his two sons who will, one day, take over.

His wife Christine is his perfect match. She'd always dreamed of a big happy family and, when she married into the Murphys, she thought she'd found one. But when that illusion is shattered, she's already in too deep.

The Murphys are dangerous and Christine can't unsee the horrors she has now been forced to open her eyes to. But nor can she escape them.

For more stories centred on family life, check out FACES, THE FAITHLESS and BETRAYAL. Martina Cole explores loyalty, protection, and how the ties that bind us can also sometimes choke the very thing we want to protect...