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Kimberley Chambers Books in Order

See Kimberley Chambers books in order, with series lists, short plot summaries, gangland family background and clear guidance on where to start her East End crime sagas.

Last updated: June 7, 2026

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18 books

Billie Jo

by Kimberley Chambers

2008

Billie Jo is the protected only child of East End villain Terry and his alcoholic wife Michelle, but when a sudden tragedy shatters their family, she is thrown from a life of privilege into a brutal world of grief, secrets and survival.

Born Evil

by Kimberley Chambers

2009

Respectable housewife June Dawson thinks she has left the rough East End behind, until her daughter falls pregnant by violent addict Billy McDaid and their baby grows into a sadistic, uncontrollable boy who tears the family apart.

The Betrayer / Sweet Baby James

by Kimberley Chambers

2009

Spanning three decades on a Stepney council estate, this saga follows Maureen Hutton and her children as prison, petty crime and buried secrets test their loyalties, while quiet youngest son James hides the betrayal that could destroy them all.

The Feud

by Kimberley Chambers

2010

In the East End, the Mitchell crime clan from Canning Town and the traveller O’Haras from Stratford have waged a vicious turf war for years, while two children caught between them grow up to love the wrong people with deadly consequences.

The Traitor

by Kimberley Chambers

2010

Pregnant Frankie Mitchell, blamed for her mother’s death and cut off from her crime family, moves into Jed O’Hara’s traveller camp, but as controlling in-laws close in and rumours swirl, she begins plotting revenge on the charming man she loves.

The Victim

by Kimberley Chambers

2011

Imprisoned and pregnant, Frankie Mitchell has lost custody of her children to sadistic Jed O’Hara, while her gangland father Eddie quietly prepares payback, until a devastating secret ignites one final reckoning between the Mitchell and O’Hara families.

The Schemer

by Kimberley Chambers

2012

As a bored teenager in 1980s London, Stephanie Crouch is besotted with cocky wide-boy Barry, then finds comfort with his steady friend Wayne after Barry vanishes abroad, but a decade later Barry’s return triggers a ruthless plot to destroy her new life.

The Trap

by Kimberley Chambers

2013

The Butlers are kings of the East End, with brothers Vinny and Roy running their mother Queenie’s empire, until Vinny crosses a dangerous enemy and one brutal night plunges the family into a cycle of vengeance that tests their old code of honour.

Payback

by Kimberley Chambers

2014

When the truth about a fatal crash involving one of their own rips through the Butler clan, old loyalties crumble and enemies circle, then Vinny Butler’s young daughter Molly disappears, forcing the ruthless family to confront payback from every side.

The Wronged

by Kimberley Chambers

2015

After too many funerals, Jo Butler is tired of loving East End hard-man Vinny, while his brother Michael slides deeper into the family business and his wife Nancy dreams of escape, as betrayal within the clan sparks heartbreak and violent reprisals.

Tainted Love

by Kimberley Chambers

2016

Years after conquering the East End, brothers Vinny and Michael Butler find their empire threatened when betrayal brings women and children into the firing line, and the next generation of Butlers struggle to choose between family loyalty and their own futures.

Backstabber

by Kimberley Chambers

2017

Crime kingpin Vinny Butler teams up with legendary villain Eddie Mitchell in a seemingly unbeatable partnership, until grotesque warnings and anonymous threats reveal someone is hunting them, leaving both families wondering which old enemy—or blood relative—is plotting the ultimate backstab.

Life of Crime

by Kimberley Chambers

2018

Charismatic chancer Jason Rampling claws his way off a council estate with scams and quick money, giving his wife Melissa the flashy life she craves, until prison and one last audacious job push them toward a dangerous choice between wealth, loyalty and survival.

The Sting

by Kimberley Chambers

2019

Childhood friends Tommy Boyle and Scratch grew up side by side on London’s estates, but when Tommy joins the notorious Darling crime family and Scratch becomes an undercover cop on Operation Sting, their opposing loyalties lead to a high‑risk game of betrayal.

Queenie

by Kimberley Chambers

2020

From surviving wartime Whitechapel slums to ruling the Butlers’ corner of the East End, Queenie Butler learns early that family and ruthlessness keep you alive, raising sons who will become feared gangsters and shaping the brutal rules that govern their world.

The Family Man

by Kimberley Chambers

2021

Fresh out of prison for killing a policeman, Kenny Bond vows to go straight while keeping his tight‑knit clan safe, but as his son Donny and twins Beau and Brett tangle with rivals on Dark Lane, a simmering feud threatens to tear the Bonds apart.

The Brothers

by Kimberley Chambers

2024

Twins Beau and Brett Bond have always backed each other, even when Beau’s fierce love for fiancée Jolene pits their feuding families against one another, and as their lavish wedding approaches, a buried secret threatens to explode and drag everyone into war.

New

Essex Wives

by Kimberley Chambers

2026

In 1999 Essex, Sharon, Jolene and Evie share one thing: they have all been hurt by Bond men, and as the millennium looms the three women join forces, determined that this year it will be the Essex wives who take bloody revenge.

Where should I start?

If you want to start at the beginning: Billie JoBorn EvilThe Betrayer / Sweet Baby James.
If you like multi-family gangland feuds: The FeudThe TraitorThe Victim.
If you want her biggest East End saga: The TrapPaybackThe WrongedTainted LoveBackstabber.
If you prefer her latest Essex crime family epics: The Family ManThe BrothersEssex Wives.

Author bio

Kimberley Chambers is one of the most recognisable voices in modern British crime fiction, a novelist who turned a colourful East End past into a string of bestselling gangland sagas.

Born in 1967 and brought up in Dagenham, East London, Chambers was an only child. Her mum worked as a typist, her dad as a steel erector, and money was often tight. She has said she was bright at school but restless; she left secondary school without sitting exams and with no clear plan beyond earning a living.

Like many of her later characters, she grafted. She spent years as a market trader on a women’s fashion stall in the busy Roman Road market, learning the patter, humour and sharp edges of street life. Later she worked as a pub DJ and then as a mini‑cab driver around Romford, jobs that brought her into late‑night pubs, backstreets and the lives of people on the margins.

Chambers had never written a word of fiction when, in her late thirties, she decided that driving a cab was no longer enough. Bored between fares one gloomy day, she resolved to try writing the kind of story she knew best. The result was Billie Jo, a raw, energetic debut about a villain’s daughter whose comfortable life is ripped apart. She wrote it longhand in notebooks, then nervously sent sample chapters to agents – and was astonished when several phoned back within days.

Since Billie Jo was published in 2008, Chambers has built an interlocking universe of East End and Essex crime families. The Mitchells & O’Haras trilogy charts a violent feud between a Canning Town firm and a traveller clan. The Butlers series follows formidable matriarch Queenie Butler and her sons Vinny, Roy and Michael as they rule, and ruin, lives across London. More recently, the Bonds series, beginning with The Family Man, moves the action into Essex, where Kenny Bond and his grandsons Beau and Brett fight to keep control of their patch.

Her novels are known for their gritty realism, dark humour and unapologetic depictions of violence, poverty and family loyalty. Chambers often writes from the villain’s eye view, letting readers inside the heads of hard men, long‑suffering partners and sharp‑tongued matriarchs. Secrets, betrayals and blood ties drive the plots, but there is always room for warmth, banter and flashes of tenderness in the middle of the mayhem.

Over time she has become a fixture on the bestseller lists, with titles such as Payback, Tainted Love and Life of Crime reaching number one in the Sunday Times charts. Remarkably, she still prefers to draft her books by hand before they are typed, and she has spoken about relying more on instinct and character than on elaborate planning.

Now living in Essex, close to the streets she writes about, Chambers continues to draw inspiration from the people and places she grew up around. A lifelong Tottenham Hotspur supporter, she has joked about her love of football, nights out and shopping, and remains closely engaged with readers, many of whom see her as the authentic queen of gangland crime fiction.

Edited by

Richard Reis

Software engineer whose passion for tracking book recommendations from podcasts inspired the creation of MRB.

Anurag Ramdasan

Lead investor at 3one4 Capital whose startup expertise and love for books helped shaped MRB and its growth.

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18 Kimberley Chambers Books in Order (Complete List 2026)