Martina Cole (born in 1959, Essex, England) is a British crime writer. She was raised in Aveley, and has released sixteen novels about crime some of which examine London's gangster underworld. Three of her novels, Dangerous Lady, The Jump, and The Take, have been adapted into high-rating television dramas. She has achieved worldwide sales of over ten million in the UK alone, and her tenth novel, The Know, spent seven weeks on The Sunday Times's hardback bestsellers list.
Most of her novels feature a female protagonist or antihero, and some take place within the Irish community in and around London.
The Take was serialised on British television on Sky1, on 17 June 2009 - starring Tom Hardy as Freddie. In 2008 she authored a drama documentary series on ITV called Martina Cole's Lady Killers, which broke audience records for ITV3 and transferred to ITV1 in 2009. In 2009 she established her own production entity, "2Queens TV" to explore new avenues in broadcasting for her and her interests.
In 2009 an investigative documentary, Martina Cole Girl Gangs: Los Angeles was filmed. This focused on the role of girls in these gangs, which have been responsible for drug dealing and auto theft, to robbery and murder.
In 2010 the novel Two Women was adapted for the stage. This is the first time one of Martina Cole's novels has been adapted for the theatre. The play opened in February at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.