On the Radar — We’re off to a fiery start this week with English writer MR Hall’s latest forensic mystery, but there’s also historical crime fiction, two books full of espionage and a unique new self-published novel by Oak Anderson called Take One With You. You can watch the trailer for it too. Read on as we bring you eight new crime titles…
This the latest in the Coroner Jenny Cooper series from screenwriter and novelist Matthew Hall. Since 2009, the feisty and determined Bristol coroner’s investigations have attracted an enthusiastic readership. When a family tragedy occurs in the Wye Valley village of Blackstone Ley, Cooper is faced with a seemingly straightforward case of death as a result of fire, but some of the facts don’t seem to stack up. Jealousy, a missing child, secretive villagers and an old abduction case all combine to set Jenny Cooper one of her sternest challenges. Available on 27 February.
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New Jersey native Barry Eisler is a former CIA operative and a judo black belt, so expect intrigue, violence and and an a convincing account of international skulduggery. This is the eighth in a series of novels featuring hitman John Rain. In terms of time period, this pre-dates previous Rain novels, and looks at the formative events which shaped the hero’s character. Rain is working for the CIA in 1970s Tokyo, and in between keeping one step ahead of his Langley paymasters, and trying to avoid a death sentence pronounced by the Yakuza, he falls madly in love with a beautiful Korean woman. A racy and no-holds-barred story, available from 11 February.
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In 2010, Rory Clements won the CWA Ellis Peters Award for historical crime fiction, and this is the sixth in his series featuring the Elizabethan investigator John Shakespeare. There’s no CIA, no satellite technology and no databases, but murder, treachery and lust are timeless. Queen Elizabeth – Gloriana – is beset on all sides by conspiracy and rivals. While Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, remains in prison, a major threat is stifled. But what if Catholic agents can free Mary from her Sheffield prison cell? Shakespeare is tasked with preventing the break-out, but in doing so he finds his loyalties are severely strained, and he is forced to make hard choices about the safety of those he loves. Out on 27 February.
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The wonderfully named agent Jericho Quinn featured in two earlier books by the self-avowed motorcycle nut Marc Cameron, and we can expect Quinn’s stable of BMWs, Harleys and classic British bikes to feature prominently in this latest adventure. There are bad guys galore, but the real enemy is a killer virus transmitted via hairdressers and nail salons. Quinn discovers that this is not an act of God, but the act of vicious and calculating terrorists. Cameron’s book is out now in Kindle, and will be published in paperback on 1 March.
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Two top writers in duet, and likewise with the characters they’ve created. Here, thief and thief-taker come together as international conman Nicolas Fox and his most serious adversary, FBI agent Kate O’Hare, pool their exceptional talents in an effort to combat a daring crime by a former White House staffer. The aide threatens delicate Sino-American relations when he organises the theft of a crucial Chinese artifact. As Fox and O’Hare dodge bullets fired by ruthless hitmen, the action ranges across Europe and the Far East, and readers can expect a high-voltage international thriller. Available from 25 February.
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Simenon occupies a unique place in international crime fiction. His Parisian detective, Maigret, is immortal. Some may recall the British TV series with Rupert Davies, the pipe being lit by the match scratched against the wall, the wonderful Citroen cars, and Maigret’s redoubtable assistants Lucas and Lapointe. Penguin is freshly translating and republishing all 75 Maigret novels, and this begins with a dead woman, classy in life but much reduced in death, discovered beneath the straw in a mean stable. Expect grey skies, rain, horse drawn carts, surly carters, canals and a wall of silence. Out now.
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Morgan Coooper lives in a wealthy district of Washington, DC. Second, she is struggling to be both father and mother to her kids, as there is definitely someone else in her husband’s life – his job. Oh, yes, and third, she just happens to be an undercover CIA operative, with special responsibility for one of the most dangerous places on earth – the war-torn Gaza Strip. The author is a British journalist with expertise in the Middle East and military intelligence issues, so expect a convincing and authentic story of a family nearly driven apart by international events, treachery and political meddling. Out now.
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With the intriguing strapline ‘If you die tomorrow, who will you kill tonight?’, Oak Anderson has come up with a chilling idea. Charlie and Sarah have started a relationship via a chat room for depressives and would-be suicides. They are embittered by their own failures, and by the failures of society to deal adequately with rapists, paedophiles and assorted lowlife characters who seem to evade justice. What if they can contact those who are determined to end it all, and persuade them to carry out one last violent act of restorative justice before they take their own lives? This bizarre brainwave gains momentum, but then spirals out of control, and the star-crossed lovers realise they have released a monster. Available now – watch the trailer below.
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