On the Radar — Our headline might sound a little like a particularly voracious law firm, but any crime fiction fan worthy of the name will know that we are talking about Harry, Alex and Kay – three central characters who have notched up an amazing 61 titles between them. This is an exciting time of year for authors, publishers and readers alike, and we also have new books from Jonathan Ashley, J Robert Janes, Mary Burton and Elly Griffiths.
The Burning Room by Michael Connelly
There aren’t too many fictional detectives who share a name with a famous Flemish painter, but Hieronymus ‘Harry’ Bosch certainly fits the bill. The Harry Bosch stories run parallel with those of Connelly’s other protagonist, Mickey Haller. Occasionally their paths cross, but in this LA-based novel Bosch is on his own solving a cold case murder… with a difference. Almost a decade earlier, a mariachi musician was shot and left for dead but now the bullet lodged in his spine has finally killed him. Bosch and new partner Lucia Soto have a fresh corpse, but no fresh evidence. Plus, his feisty 17-year-old daughter has growing demands, and he finds that his new partner has issues of her own. The Burning Room is out on 6 November.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Cost of Doing Business by Jonathan Ashley
Here’s a blacker-than-black journey through the criminal underworld of drug dealers, junkies, bent cops and low-life hustlers in a story set in Louisville, Kentucky. Jon Catlett owns a bookstore. In case you think that makes him rather dull, he is also addicted to opiates, has a rich but unstable girlfriend and has just killed a fellow addict in the course of a drug deal that went wrong. Expect dark humour, darker deeds, and a dystopian view of modern America. The book comes courtesy of 280 Steps on 4 November, and we’ll be reviewing it next month as part of New Talent November.
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Betrayal by J Robert Janes
The first of two historical novels this week is set in the Irish Republic during World War II. While the Republic had an ambiguous relationship with the Nazis during the War, Ulster remained loyal to Britain and found space for prison camps – mostly for German POWs. When a young woman falls for an inmate of one of the camps, she’s caught up in a potentially fatal web involving the upper echelons of the Third Reich, embittered members of the IRA, and the British authorities. We took a quick look at an earlier novel by Janes in our On the Radar feature in May this year. Betrayal is to be published on 4 November.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Zig Zag Girl by Elly Griffiths
Recently, Elly Griffiths has won praise for her series of contemporary crime novels featuring the archaeologist Ruth Galloway. Now she takes us back to 1950, and the seaside town of Brighton. Variety acts are on their last legs, with radio sets in every home and TV is on the horizon. The intriguingly named magician Max Mephisto still treads the boards along with ventriloquists, sword-swallowers and dancing girls, but when his wartime chum DI Edgar Stephens seeks his help, the pair become involved in a particularly bizarre and brutal murder. A girl has been sawn into three pieces, and as this has dark echoes of a well-known stage illusion, they realise that the killer might be someone they already know. Out on 6 November.
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Cover Your Eyes by Mary Burton
The Virginia-based author cut her literary teeth writing historical romance, but here she is bang up to date, and in a much darker milieu. A 30-year-old murder case. A beautiful young woman bludgeoned to death. But is the wrong man in prison? Rachel Wainwright is a defence lawyer, and she is convinced that not only is Annie Dawson’s killer still at large, but he is prepared to strike again. Homicide detective Deke Morgan thinks she has got things all wrong, but when a fresh series of deaths fatally echo the killing of Annie Dawson, he takes Wainright’s concerns a lot more seriously. Out in paperback on 28 October, and for Kindle on 6 November.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Flesh and Blood by Patricia Cornwell
Kay Scarpetta has worked as a medical examiner in many locations including Virginia, Florida, and New York, and her personal life is never less than complex. In this, her 22nd adventure, she is helping police identify a serial sniper who seems to have almost supernatural powers of accuracy and anonymity. Scarpetta stories usually involve plenty of flesh and copious amounts of blood, but when flesh and blood come together in the form of Scarpetta’s niece, she is faced with her most challenging problem to date. Back in 2011 Patricia Cornwell was rated among our top five female crime writers, and you can read that feature here. Flesh and Blood is published on 6 November.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Hope to Die by James Patterson
Back in 2012, we reviewed Kill Alex Cross, but now Patterson takes a break from his numerous collaborations with other authors in this return to his most famous creation. There is a cute pun in the title which plays on a time-worn schoolyard oath, but for DC criminal profiler Alex Cross this case is anything but cosy. All the resident characters who have made the Alex Cross stories so readable over the years – including the seemingly immortal Nana Mama – are still with us, but when Cross is stalked and threatened by a psychopath whose intelligence and daring outstrip any of his previous adversaries, everything he holds dear is threatened. Out on 6 November.
Pre-order now on Amazon
