My Blog

Strong Women in Gangland Crime Fiction

For a long time, gangland fiction was viewed as a man’s world.
Hard men. Hard fists. Hard rules.
But anyone who truly understands the underworld knows that is only half the story.

Women have always existed in gangland life. They hold families together because, let’s face it, they are the nurturers and they will kill to protect their own. They go to the grave with secrets. They have a flair for pulling strings. And they are more than capable of making impossible decisions when there is no room for weakness.

That is the reality I write about.

I do not write fairy stories, and I certainly do not soften reality. Strong women have real strength. They make hard, brutal choices, and those choices come with serious consequences.

The women in my books are not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. Even if they do not start out flawed, their journey through that life changes them. They witness cruelty, injustice, and outright violence. Sometimes they fight back with a clever plan. Other times, they fight fire with fire.

Either way, they carry scars. Some are visible. Some are not.

The invisible ones are the most powerful. They shape a woman. They harden her. They can make her cold and unforgiving.

When I write a female character who has been cruelly treated and is faced with someone the reader loves to hate, the reader will mentally spur her on to do her worst. That is because we all recognise injustice on some level, and as readers, we want her to come out on top.

If it were a film, we would be shouting at the television to finish them off. In real life, would we act the same way? Who really knows?

Whatever decision the character makes, she has to live with it. That decision might bring pride, satisfaction, or guilt. Inevitably, it makes her stronger, more practised, and better prepared for the dangers and threats that follow. Which, in my world, they always do, especially when I am writing a trilogy with the same character.

Gangland fiction works when the characters feel authentic. Strong female leads bring depth, tension, and emotional weight that lingers long after the final page.

My women do not win because they are lucky.
They win because they adapt, endure, and survive.

Sometimes they lose.
Sometimes survival is the only victory.
And sometimes, that is enough.

Final Thoughts

Strong women belong in gangland crime fiction. Not as side characters. Not as victims. And not as decoration.

They belong at the heart of the story.

Because in the real world, and in the underworld, women have always been there.
Watching. Waiting.
And when necessary, taking control.