WHEN Terry Greene is sentenced to life for a murder he didn't commit, his wife has two choices. To walk away from the criminal empire he has built up or to take it over.

As far as 'Sam' Greene is concerned, there is no choice. All the family's assets are tied up in the business and family means more to her than anything else in the world.

But being a gang-boss doesn't come easily to Sam, not when other criminals are trying to take over the business and she's not even sure who she can trust.

As Sam gets drawn into her husband's business and the world of drug-dealing and counterfeit money, she realises for the first time the true extent of her husband's illegal activities.

The Stretch is well up to the outstanding thriller standard we have come to expect from Stephen Leather (Hodder & Stoughton £17.99).