No one thinks a seventeen-year-old girl can take on the hard men of London's gangland, but it's a mistake to underestimate Maura Ryan: she's tough, clever and beautiful—and she's determined that nothing will stand in her way. Which makes her one very dangerous lady. Together, she and her brother Michael are unbeatable: the Queen and King of organised crime, they run the pubs and clubs, the prostitutes and pimps of the West End. With Maura masterminding it, they pull off an audicious gold bullion robbery and have much of the Establishment in their pockets. But notoriety has its price. The police are determined to put Maura away once and for all—and not everyone in the family thinks that's such a bad idea. When it comes to the crunch, Maura has to face the pain of lost love in her past—and the dangerous lady discovers her heart is not made entirely of stone.

2002 Headline jumbo mass market paperback, Martina Cole (Betrayal). Maura Ryan was the queen of the criminal underworld when she pulled off the most audacious gold bullion robbery of all time. Since then she's retired from a life of crime to be with the only man she's ever loved. But enemies from her past are closing in and they're about to learn that they should never cross Maura Ryan - Amazon