On the radar — Yes, Easy Rawlins is back, from that master of LA crime fiction Walter Mosley, and this time the story even involves an acid trip. But that’s not all, among the new books this week is one about the case of a hot shot journalist with a nose for digging up trouble, and two tales where the protagonist’s past comes back to haunt them with potentially fatal results. Read on…
Back in 1990, Walter Mosley launched his Easy Rawlins series with Devil in a Blue Dress. Fast forward 23 years and we’re up to the 12th case file for the seasoned detective. It’s been six years since we last encountered Rawlins in Blonde Faith and the year is still 1967. In fact, we rejoin him two months after the events of that novel, which culminated with Rawlins slipping in and out of consciousness. Now he’s on the long road to recovery but a lot has changed in those two months. The world has turned psychadelic and the streets of Los Angeles are filled with long-haired hippies. Rawlins finds himself looking for a young couple called Little Green and Ruby, who have disappeared after taking LSD. Little Green is out on 6 June.
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Reporter Jamie August has a talent for digging up more than her editor at Eastern Shore is always ready to print. With a new development going up in the area, Jamie finds herself tasked with what she considers a rather dull assignment… until she finds a more interesting angle. Payoffs, kickbacks, blackmail and murder lurk in the nooks and crannies of these stylish new homes, and when Jamie uncovers all this graft she can’t resist digging a little deeper. A psychopathic arsonist is on the loose and she’s just caught his attention. Is this a story she’ll survive long enough to get it to press? Ocean City Lowdown will be available to download from 1 June.
When Eva Peron’s body went missing from a Buenos Aires vault in 1955 it wasn’t the only thing to disappear – so too did the key to her safety deposit box. One man knows where the body ended up, the man who witnessed it, CIA agent Michael Suslov. Now, 16 years later, Suslov is still living in disgrace but this could be the opportunity to redeem himself. When he agrees to retrieve the body, little does he realise that two rogue agents have other plans for Evita’s long lost gold. Suslov’s path to redemption could also be his road to survival. Blood Makes Noise is published by Thomas & Mercer, and is available now.
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Max Camara of the Valencia Cuerpo Nacional Policia first appeared in our bookshops back in 2011 with Or the Bull Kills You and was quickly followed in 2012 by A Death in Valencia. Now Max is back, but not in Valencia. He’s been sent off on a leave of absence and returned to his home town – La Mancha. However, the town is exhuming a mass grave dating back to the Civil War and Max’s grandfather is behaving very strangely. Plus, his friend Yago is investigating a particularly nasty murder. For Max the past is being dragged up from different angles drawing him into a very personal investigation that not only puts his life in danger, but leaves him questioning his past and his future in the police. The Anarchist Detective is out on 6 June.
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