Karen Woods

Betrayal, family loyalties, secrets: not all gangsters live in the east end. Two families run this part of Manchester: the Johnsons and the Bennetts. With the head of the Johnson family banged up, the Bennetts have made their move. But power comes at a price… Now Charlie Johnson is out of...

Quiet streets hide the worst crimes Manchester’s Manor Estate is the kind of place people want to live – smart houses, neighbours who look out for you. But what if you don’t want to be seen? Behind the tidy front gardens and glossy painted doors it seems everyone’s got something to hide...

Life is tough. Women are tougher. When Gina Turner’s husband, Scott, is sent down for a ten-year stretch, her world falls apart. It’s not just that she misses her husband, but the fact that the Proceeds of Crime team are gunning for all the couple had: her home, her lifestyle, her safety...

People can buy your silence, but not your loyalty… Macy Taylor was born in the shadow of Tavistock Square, at the heart of her Manchester estate. It’s got a reputation as a place where bad things happen. But it’s kept her secrets and she’s kept its code of silence. If you need something...

All families have secrets. Some protect. Others destroy. Three sisters. A last wish from their dying mother. Can they forgive her? Brenda Smith shouldn’t feel lucky – she’s only got months to live, if that. But knowing this means she’s got one final chance to make peace with the grown-up...

When rebellious teenager Misty Sullivan falls pregnant to a local wannabe gangster, she soon becomes a prisoner in her own home....

You have to play to win in a game of life and death Danni had to grow up fast – as a girl, her mother left her alone and she had to raise herself, any way she could. Finding comfort and company in the pubs and clubs of her local streets, she could throw a dart before she was old enough to buy...

Lust, power, revenge: the gripping gangland thriller from Karen Woods – the writer to show you the dark side of Manchester. Two women – one too innocent, one who knows too much. They have secrets, but none as lethal as those they uncover when they get caught up in turf wars between two strip...

The unexplained death of Kendal Wilson's mother hangs over her family like a dark, brooding cloud while the identity of her father remains a mystery her mother, Mary, took to her grave....

You’ve got to fight for everything when you start with nothing. Susan Knight has a good life. So she turns a blind eye to the gambling winnings her husband Donny puts through the books at her salon. After all, he needs some way to unwind. At work, he is headteacher at Second Chance, an...

When her gangster boyfriend, Tim, is sent down, Susie Jones’ life is thrown into turmoil....

A deadly choice. A secret between friends or a stab in the back? Four friends as close as they come. Until a girl’s weekend away leaves them with a shared secret that could destroy them all. But a secret is safe among friends, isn’t it? That’s what they think until in turn they all in turn...

In the dead of night, he’ll find you… Based on a terrifying real theory about a serial killer at work along the Manchester canal – the Manchester Pusher – Karen Woods’s latest novel takes us right through the dark heart of the city one woman, Saskia Mayor, decides she’s going to find...

A mother will do anything to protect her child… Love and hate are no match for a prison’s walls What would you do if your son was sent down? Any parent would want justice – but justice takes many forms. Would you take on his enemies, protect his reputation, fight his battles? What if you...