Patel, Nikki

Gritty...shocking...true Top Girl is the tell-all, true story of a grammar school girl turned county lines drug dealer. Danielle has a safe, happy childhood growing up in West London, but her bright future fades as she turns her back on school for gang life and crime. Betrayed by the police after a brutal gang rape, she finds protection under the wing of organised criminals and falls in love with the local 'top boy'. However, her allegiances bring terror to her doorstep when gun-toting rivals target her flat - and the authorities answer by taking away her baby. Heartbroken, Danielle spirals deeper into gang life and becomes a key player in a sprawling county lines operation, running drugs to satellite towns all over the UK from the gang's London HQ. The Harrods shopping sprees, designer handbags and hedonistic lifestyle are the envy of her friends, but the good times and cash mask the grim realities of her life. A turning point comes when Danielle is arrested and - with the help of a probation officer - she begins to question whether she really is 'top girl' after all. But after five years deep in the high-earning street hustle, can she really leave it all behind? Danielle's gritty, emotional, no-holds-barred memoir lays bare the reality of a county lines insider and reveals the truth about life on the frontline of Britain's biggest drug threat for a generation

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