The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree as far as Billy O’Connell’s concerned, so when his sister Kate gets involved with Jay Shaw, the son of a scummy small time criminal and Billy’s biggest enemy, there can only be one outcome, carnage.
Jay is sick and tired of scraping through the dirt and grime of his life, in order to make some cash. Desperate to make a name for himself and become more than his father was ever capable of, he decides he is going to have the power and money he deserves and the only way to get it is to go up against the big boys, but Billy O’ Connell, a major criminal face is standing in his way. Caught up in the vicious feud, Kate is forced to make a choice, between the man she loves and her fiercely protective brother; a decision that could cost Kate her life.
Casey Kelleher was born in Cuckfield, West Sussex. Growing up she became an avid reader, loving in particular gritty crime thrillers and gangland books.
The Books
Standalone Psych Thrillers The Perfect Guest The Missing Mother The Babysitter's Secret MINE I'll Never Tell Only Child The Babysitter's Secret
Gangland/crime thrillers
standalones Bad Blood The Taken The Promise Rotten to the Core Rise and Fall Heartless
Griffin Estate Trilogy No Escape (book 1) No Fear (book 2) No Going Back (book 3)
The Byrne Trilogy The Betrayed (Book 1) The Broken (Book) The Forgotten (Book 3)
4.5 Great Start to 2014 Gritty couldn't put down Stars
Billy is a face in London. Building up his business surrounded with loyal friends he is respected but feared.
Jay is a bouncer on the door at Goldie's the place to be seen nightclub, good looking, he wants what Billy has... including Billy's sister Kate. Just one small problem Billy and Jay hate each other.
Billy is protective of his sister and when he finds out that she is seeing local thug Jay to say he's not pleased is a understatement. He knows he will have to tread carefully if he wants to put an end to their relationship.
Kate loves Jay, she tells Billy he treats her like a princess and she knows she will need to chose. Especially when she has another announcement to break.
Billy has good reason to hate Jay but is determined to keep his secret to himself for the time being.
My Thoughts Wow!!! Roller coaster... need to catch my breath type of read. This is my first book by Casey Kelleher and I know it won't be my last. Really enjoyed this, fast paced and gritty, just how I like these type of books. Each character has a story to tell as you are transported into their lives. With lots of twists along the way, it made it a nail biting and very enjoyable read. Fantastic story and a great start to 2014
It seems these days that to be a successful author you don’t necessarily have to go through a publishing house, which is why we have seen a sharp rise in people self-publishing. With hard work and determination (as well as a good book), many authors are doing it for themselves! Casey Kelleher is one such person and she published Rotten to The Core in 2011. The reviews posted on Amazon were promising and I was looking forward to giving another new author a go! One thing that I instantly loved was the cover of this book, very eye catching with a beautiful woman holding an apple on the front, I would certainly have been drawn to this cover in a Bookshop.
Jay Shaw is living the life his father taught him which was wheeling and dealing and generally thinking about only himself. When Jay’s dad was murdered he had a pretty good idea who was to blame but kept that to himself. Billy O’Connell is the man in the house and the only one who looks out for his sister Kate. Since their Mum passed away Billy has relied on his shady dealings in business and has kept his little sister safe. Until Jay and Kate meet and Kate ends up pregnant by him. Billy’s reaction sets off a chain reaction that means Kate is caught up in the bitter feud between her brother Billy and Jay.
It took me not time at all to be caught up in this story as it starts with a bang. Kate O’Connell is an easy character to both read about and like immensely. A young girl she is making mistakes but the reader can only sit by and watch as she makes one of the biggest of her life. Her older brother Billy I initially didn’t like that much and as for Jay, Kate’s boyfriend, I loathed him as soon as he was introduced.. As the story progresses you see the warmth in Billy and it didn’t take me long to warm to him as you learn about the struggles he has had to endure.
I was completely caught up in the story very early on and read this in one sitting I enjoyed it so much. There is certainly an air of ‘Gangster’ about it but it’s certainly not been overdone. There were plenty of plot twists as well as quite a bit of violence and swearing, which I come to expect in this type of story. By the last few chapters of the book I was hoping to see more of these characters. In addition to Kate, Billy and Jay we meet Jay’s mother Sonia, Billy’s friends who work with him and Paul who owns a nightclub. There wasn’t anybody I wouldn’t want to see appear again (with the exception of Jay)!
For a self-published book Casey Kelleher has done an amazing job. It was certainly a book that I really enjoyed and the girl has talent that’s for sure. She has another book due out late 2012 and I for one will be buying it for my Kindle as soon as it’s out. I think this is an amazing start to what could be a very successful career as a crime author. She may have a little way to go to catch the Queens of crime such as Kim Chambers, Mandasue Heller and Martina Cole. But if she keeps this up it won’t take her very long to get there!
This is the third book I have now read by this author and another brilliant read.
I have to admit to not being to sure on the characters to start with. I liked Kate but she is quite weak and Billy is a bit of a lovable rogue though his treatment of women leaves a lot to be desired. As the story went on though and I got to know them better, I really liked them and by the end I was a bit like a mother hen who is proud of her little chicks.
The story has a very strong sense of family and loyalty. It is also about greed, finding true love and letting go.
Billy and Jay I think to start with are quite similar in that they want to appear to be doing well for themselves and like to be in control of everything. Unfortunately Jay is all about himself and is very selfish and is determined to make Billy pay for what happened to his dad. Billy is doing really well for himself but I think it has gone to his head a bit and he thinks he can run everyone's lives by telling them what they can and can't do whilst doing whatever the hell he wants himself. It ends up taking something happening to Kate to realise what a fool he has been.
Rotten to the Core is a gritty, tense and highly addictive read. I literally struggled to put the book down as was so enthralled by the characters and the story. I'm not really a big fan of gang land style stories as the violence can be a really uncomfortable read, the author writes in such a style though that you get the effect of the violence without going into to much detail.
Can't recommend this author enough if you haven't already given her books a try, they truly are superb reads.
Excellently written, Gripping story line, I never put it down, Proper page turner that keeps you in suspense that you need to continue to read just to find out what happens next, Absolutley one to read xxxx
Rotten to the Core is a book that I wanted to read a few years ago when I first got my Kindle however I was wary about self-published authors because I had never read any before, preferring to stick to traditionally published books. Now, or at least over the past few months, some of my favourite reads have come from self-published authors. Whilst you can’t deny the Kindle Store is littered with rubbish, there’s some absolute gems out there to be found and, before becoming a traditionally published author, Casey Kelleher was one of those gems.
Having read Casey’s later books I was very excited to read Rotten to the Core and it did not disappoint. Casey has written some of my favourite gangland thrillers because they are full of just the right amount of grit and real, believable human drama and she is not afraid to push the boundaries with her storytelling. Her characters are always well-formed and the good ones you’ll love, but the bad ones you will truly hate. She does come up with some fantastic villains that get your blood boiling and in this book that title goes to Jay.
Villain Billy is more than a little dismayed when he finds out that his sister is pregnant to the son of the man he killed years ago for what he did to Billy’s mother. Billy is a fantastic character and is one of those ‘likeable villains’ that you sometimes find within this genre. Yes he operates on the wrong side of the law but this type of thing is always going to go on and a villain who only hurts his own type and who has strong family values is better than one who just hurts anyone and everyone like Jay. That’s not to say that Billy isn’t bad at times and he does take advantage of women (however said women know exactly what they are getting themselves in for with him).
The story is fantastic and moves at a great pace and proves again why this genre is one of my absolute favourites to read. Casey isn’t a tame author one little bit and she never shies away from portraying the harsh and brutal realities of being caught up in this world. There’s a real mix of characters here and one of my least favourites, Jay aside, was Emma. Despite what happens to Emma in the story, I felt that she brought a lot of it on herself and to be honest I found it difficult to feel sympathy for her and was actually a little annoyed at where her story ended up going because I still didn’t like her come the end of the story.
There have been a few gangland thrillers focusing on a villain’s daughter or sister fraternising with the enemy but Casey has definitely put her own twist on that story here. There’s lots of betrayal and plenty of revenge and it’s such a fun read because the danger and the revenge can come from anywhere so even though you know a showdown between Billy and Jay is inevitable, you don’t know exactly how or when it’s going to happen.
Rotten to the Core is a fantastic read and if I was reading it as my first Casey Kelleher book and it was this time a few years ago, I would be predicting that she would go on to become the success that she now is with Bookouture. She’s a fantastic author and I think she will be giving me a sleepless night or two after the absolutely chilling ending to this book. I want to name a TV show where something similar happened to one of the characters but to do so would totally give the game away. Let’s just say that it’s an ending I don’t think any reader will be forgetting in a hurry and I loved it. I am a huge Casey Kelleher fan and recommend this book to fans of the gangland genre with no hesitation whatsoever.
This was a riveting story and very well written. It's a real page-turner that I could not put down and I stayed up late to finish. I really enjoyed it and would recommend to anyone who also enjoys books by Mandasue Heller & Kimberley Chambers. I'm looking forward to reading Rise & Fall which I am sure will be just as good.
A book Loaded with all, so intense, and this is the authors first book and I couldn't wait to get started. Kate O'Connell lived with her bad tempered brother Billy there's always shenanigans going on with him, the neighbours were no use always turning a blind eye to any trouble he is one of the feared men on this side of London. She had some news to tell him that wasn't pretty her new fella Jay Shaw and she was now pregnant they were going to be so happy together and she couldn't wait to become Mrs Shaw and Billy hated him, he is going to kick off big time. Jay works as a bouncer in Goldies nightclub run by Paul Goldie and Jay had a wandering eye for the ladies and dabbled in drugs big time he hates Billy so getting back at him with his sister was a bonus. all this is going to get real messy this is about payback and revenge and it ain't sweet with sex appeal added. The author has come on in strove since this book in her achievement as a brilliant writer so I knew I would enjoy this book. it's brilliant just brilliant with a few I didn't see that coming, living up to the name so gritty and fast pace. this made me a happy Booklover right to The End.
This has been another fantastic gripping read from Casey. She really does know how to keep her readers entertained.
Having read a lot of Casey’s newer books, 2017 onwards and loving them all, I knew that I wanted to read her earlier books too, one of which is this one Rotten to the Core which was published in 2011. Well as stated in my opening sentence of this review, I think you can tell that I loved this book.
Just like all of her later books, it was truly well written and darn brilliant characters. Absolutely gripping and fast paced, full on entertainment, action and drama, gritty going ons and plenty of intense moments. I swear if you like author Martina Cole, then this book is highly recommended.
I must admit that i'd never heard of Casey Kelleher, until a good friend has told me about her books. I must admit she is almost as good as Martina Cole, but this is only the first book I've read of her's. You can definitely see the similarities between both authors whilst reading this book, but Martina is a very hard act to follow! I am going to read a few more of Casey's books, and sees what I think after those books. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who loves reading Martina Cole books!! 😁
This is the second book of Casey's that I have read. Must say that I was not disappointed. She captured my attention from the first chapter. Looking forward to reading more from Casey.
If you like Martina Cole or Jessie Keane I'll definitely like this book. I read it in one night couldn't put it down a great read so I'm onto to another book by Casey kelleher.
Wow. I downloaded this book yesterday and could not put it down. Full of strong and intriguing characters entwined together in this enjoyable story of love, hate, jealousy and greed.
As her first book really enjoyed it up there took 2 days to read up there with Heller Cole Keane and sherett ready for next one. Not sure why it took me so long to read her books
Wow, what an amazing story. I read it within a few days as I was hooked. Easy to get with loveable characters. I would definitely recommend Rotton to the core.
Wow what a excellent book, a real page turner didn't want it to finish so so good,will definitely recommend this book to friends and family, looking forward to her next book.