This week’s On the Radar takes in two new releases that we were introduced to at a blogger event hosted by Simon & Schuster last week, and a trio of new releases in the ebook market. So why not put the kettle on and let us give you a brief glimpse into some of the recent arrivals on the crime fiction circuit…
Here’s a book that spans the centuries and is based in part on the 1811 Ratcliffe Highway murders in Wapping. With two families brutally murdered in their own homes, John Horton of the newly created Thames River Police Office is called in to investigate. Further back, in 1564, Billy Ablass is about to embark on England’s first officially-sanctioned slaving voyage. On an islet in the Florida Cays, he himself becomes enslaved, but how are the two events linked?
The Thames figures in Tideline too, but this is a far darker story of obsession that’s full of twists and turns. Sonia is a voice coach who lives in a beautiful house by the river. One winter afternoon she makes an unfathomable decision when she opens her front door to the teenage nephew of a family friend. She closes the door and decides she isn’t going to let him go, but why? Could something from her past hold the key? Secrets old and new are beginning to surface.
We now move into the world of the indie publishing and Bad Moon is the debut novel by Lorraine Mace, the British writer and humour columnist for Writing Magazine. She uses the pen name Frances di Plino and Bad Moon is a psychological thriller with a killer who has warped views of sex, and a deep seated belief that he is saving his victims’ souls. The attempted rape of a prostitute turns into a murder investigation for DI Paolo Storey and his partner Dave Johnson. Further murders occur and it becomes clear that they may be on the trail of a serial killer who believes he is leading his victims on the path to redemption. A copy of this ebook has found its way onto our TBR pile, so watch this space…
Our next debut comes from Brisbane-based writer Ian Walkley. Lee McCloud witnessed the kidnap of his sister when he was 14, so when his best friend’s daughter Sophia is kidnapped, he sees this as his chance to get some justice. Aided by a computer specialist called Tally, he sets out to rescue Sophia, but finds himself up against a ruthless Saudi Sheik whose plans for Sophia are part of a bigger more horrific plot, which will have devastating consequences if he isn’t stopped.
Our final book is by established American writer John Scherber who relocated to Mexico in 2007 and has written several murder mysteries set in San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuanto. Jack and Jill is the seventh book in Scheber’s Paul Zacher series. Their marriage is under pressure, but when Jack hatches a plot to eliminate Jill while he’s away on a business trip things don’t quite go to plan. When the hitman he hires suffers a few slip ups, Jack finds himself in the frame and hires the Zacher Agency to prove his innocence.
