Martina Cole, born 30 March 1959, is a prolific British crime writer renowned for her gripping novels about London's gangster underworld. As of 2021, she has released twenty-six novels, with many adapted into successful television dramas, including Dangerous Lady, The Jump, The Take, and The Runaway. Her tenth novel, The Know, notably spent seven weeks on The Sunday Times hardback best-sellers list.

Martina was born and raised in Essex. Over her career, she has sold over fourteen million copies of her novels in the UK. Several of her works, such as The Take and The Runaway, have been adapted for Sky 1 with remarkable reviews. Additionally, Two Women and The Graft were adapted for the stage, receiving critical acclaim at the Theatre Royal Stratford East.

Martina Cole is a phenomenon, consistently breaking sales records. In 2011, she became the first British female novelist for adult audiences to surpass £50 million in sales. Known for her hard-hitting, uncompromising style, Martina's writing is in a genre all its own.