The Silvas Books in Order

The Silvas series spins away from inner city London into what should be a quieter setting, a village pub run by Alex and Maggie Silva and their two children. On paper they are respectable small business owners. In reality they are a family trying to outrun a violent past.

In The Street, Alex and Maggie take over the local pub and try to disappear into the background of a new community. Alex carries a bounty on his head from old criminal associates and is constantly watching the door, hoping that hiding in plain sight will be enough to keep his loved ones safe. As he gets to know his neighbours, it becomes clear that the most dangerous secrets on the street are not his alone.

The Troublemakers jumps forward to a crisis point. Alex is facing prison and Maggie is left to hold family and business together. Their children, Deana and Dante, react in very different ways to the pressure. Deana wants to prove herself by following her father’s path, whatever the risk, while Dante looks for quieter, more calculated ways to live up to the Silva name.

In Turf War, Alex returns from serving his sentence determined to go straight at last, only to find that the younger generation have made enemies of their own. Deana is missing, Dante is tied into the wrong kind of deals and a territorial battle is brewing around the pub. To save his family, Alex may have to reconnect with the very people he once betrayed.

These books keep the gangland tension of Godden’s earlier series but add a strong thread of domestic drama. Much of the action takes place in kitchens, back rooms and quiet suburban streets, where neighbours watch each other and lines between ordinary respectability and organised crime are surprisingly thin. Alex’s determination to change, Maggie’s loyalty and the wild energy of their children give the series a more intimate, sometimes heartbreaking feel.

Fans of the Lambrianu and Diamond books will recognise the wider criminal landscape, but the Silvas bring a fresh angle, asking what happens when someone finally tries to step away, only to find that the past has sunk its claws into the next generation. It is a story about second chances, bad choices and how far a parent will go when trouble comes to their door.