Dangerous Lady

Dangerous Lady is a novel by crime writer Martina Cole, first published in 1992. It focuses on the Ryan family, Michael, Benny, Maura, Geoffrey and their mother Sarah. The story shows how a family can stick together, and help each other through difficult times. Maura and Mickey, brother and sister, are unbeatable and are determind to prove themselves to the world.
Plot
The story begins as Sarah Ryan, mother to nine, gives birth. The doctor arrives to help her through labour, as her youngest son Benny opens the front door. Sarah eventually names her baby daughter Maura, a name she often liked.
Maura, now in school, has a fight in the playground with Margaret, who was calling her names in class and pulling her ponytails. Maura wins the fight, and Margaret becomes friends with Maura as she likes people who are tough and can easily overpower others.
Maura is now aged 21, and asks Michael, her brother, if she can run his business. He is reluctant, but is eventually convinced by Maura, who is determind to prove herself to the rest of the family. Maura begins working for Mickey, and bombs another man's business after he was stealing most of her customers. The man later kidnaps Maura's brother, Benny, and later murders him, and dumps his head in a bin, whom is later found by a man walking his dog.
Maura and Mickey work together to find Benny's killer, and eventually beat him up in an abandoned warehouse. Mickey's club is bombed in revenge for the beating, and his doorman dies in the blaze. Maura meets Terry Pethenick, a policeman investigating the fire and they begin dating. Maura falls pregnant to Pethenick, and is devastated when he later breaks up with her, not knowing about her pregnancy, and tells her that he was told to chose between her and his job as a policeman, as they do not like him getting involed with a Ryan, who is well known to the police for minor crimes. Maura gets an abortion, as she feels she is not ready to bring up a baby alone. The police are looking for anything to set up a Ryan for a major crime, but fails as they cannot find enough evidence to link them to the murder of Sammy Goudbaum, who they murder after finding out he called the police when they beat up the man who killed Benny.
Eventually, at the end of the story, Terry and Maura recoline, and move away together. Maura later returns, in Cole's next novel, Maura's Game.
Main characters
Sarah Ryan - mother of nine children and grandmother of Carla. She is very protective of her children, especially her youngest Maura. She forgives her children no matter what they do, but struggles to forgive Maura and Michael when Benny is killed during a fight they were having over Michael's business. She cares for Carla often, as her mother Janine is cruel to her, not feeding her for days. She is a religious women, often seen praying for forgiveness after shouting at her children, or having arguments with one of them.
Maura Ryan - daughter of Sarah, girlfriend of Terry Pethenick. Maura is tough, but underneath is very emotional and soft. Her best friend is Margaret, who became friends with her after a brawl with her at school. She spends christmas with Margaret (who she calls Marge) and her daughters, who are identical twins. Maura falls pregnant briefly, but gets an abortion after breaking up with Terry.
Benny Ryan - is the second youngest son of Sarah. He becomes involved in a fight between the family and a man whos business was bombed by a vengeful Maura. Benny is taken hostage by the man in revenge for the bombing, and is later killed by him, and his head is later found in a bin. He is very interested in girls, especially nice-looking ones. He had many girlfriends throughout the novel, often chatting them up in his brother, Michael's club. He helps Michael with paperwork in the Club's office sometimes, and is quite smart.
Michael Ryan - Michael is the 'leader' of the family, whom everyone listens to and takes instructions from. He is in charge of several businesses, and runs his own club, which is bombed in revenge for a bombing Maura committed. He is very tough, often beating people up if they fail to give him money owed, he has a very quick temper and can change his mood in seconds. He is very protective of his sister, Maura, whom he very close to; and hates any man who dates her or kisses her.
Geoffrey Ryan - is the quiet, shy member of the Ryans. He often does what he is told, and it is hinted he is his mother, Sarah's favorite child, as he is rarely in any fights or beatings. He is tough when he is pushed into it, but is really a quiet personality. He is quite nerdy, often coming up with quick answers to anything asked of him. He has blonde hair, and is very tall. He is liked by his mother and father, but is described as a 'coward' by most of his brothers and sister.
Margaret - is the best friend of Maura. They became friends after Maura hit Margaret during a fight. Margaret has two daughters, whom are identical twins. Margaret let Maura stay with her when she had an argument with Mickey, and she spent christmas with her daughters.
Terry Pethenick - is the boyfriend of Maura. He is a policeman who investigates the bombing of Michael's nightclub, which is where he meets Maura. He really enjoys his work, often staying for long shifts. Maura falls pregnant with his baby, but he breaks up with her, not knowing she is pregnant with his child. He explains to a devastated Maura that his boss warned him that is he continues to date a Ryan, who is wanted by police, he will lose his job. Maura gets an abortion without telling Terry. They later recoline at the end of the novel.

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