Fighting Dirty

Soap opera fans will best appreciate Hampson’s sixth Daisy Lane novel set in 1983 London and Gosport (after 2010’s Jail Bait). Daisy’s joy at the impending release of her 21-year-old son, Eddie, who spent five years behind bars for knifing a man who was trying to kill her, is tempered by her fear that it will reignite a longstanding feud between Eddie and his half-brother, Jamie, her son by a Scotland Yard inspector. To lessen the chances of a violent confrontation between the two, Daisy turns for help to her lover, organized crime boss Roy Kemp, who has succeeded the notorious Krays as “London’s most feared gangster.” Once free, Eddie schemes to pull off a huge score to demonstrate his larcenous chops, a plan jeopardized once Jamie gets wind of it. A rivalry centered on the brothers’ attractive female cousin develops predictably. The contrived, unrealistic ending will disappoint anyone expecting a Godfather movie payoff . (Jan.)