New Talent November this year coincides with the third anniversary of Blasted Heath’s launch as Scotland’s first digital-only publisher. Partners in crime (and other genres) are the award-winning novelist and literary agent Allan Guthrie and digital specialist Kyle MacRae. Their shared upbeat view of the changing publishing world was inspired in part by Guthrie’s personal experiences of selling his own ebooks.
Allan and Kyle see digital publishing as an exciting opportunity for readers to find the books they want to read, and for authors to bring those books to market. The Blasted Heath mission is to publish brilliant fiction in ebook format at affordable prices, and that makes the company a perfect partner for Crime Fiction Lover. Indeed, the company is one of our New Talent November sponsors. Fascinating characters… gripping stories… deadly writing. Blasted Heath aims to offer its readers the very best in crime fiction, with a few surprises along the way.
The Blood that Stains Your Hands by Douglas Lindsay
Firmly established as a writer of Tartan Noir, Scottish-born Lindsay is a prolific author. He has seven Barney Thompson books under his belt, and this is his third in a series featuring DS Thomas Hutton. Four church congregations have been told to unite, but the union has unholy consequences. A woman is found hanged from a bridge in a public park, angel wings upon her back, and a teenage boy lies in a bath, the water turned blood red. As the death count rises, Hutton struggles to fathom just who is on the side of the angels in this taut, fast-paced police thriller.
Buy now on Amazon
Once a Warrior by Anthony Neil Smith
US-based author Smith has had countless short stories published, and has also won acclaim for his novels. This book is the follow up to All the Young Warriors, which won the 2012 Spinetingler Award for Best Novel: Rising Star. The action has moved on three years, and Mustafa Bahdoon has retired as leader of the Southside Killaz. But all that changes when he is asked to rescue a young girl from sex traffickers. Meanwhile, his son Adem is wracked with guilt over Sufia, the girlfriend he left behind in Somalia, and sets off on a rescue mission of his own…
Buy now on Amazon
The Killing of Emma Gross by Damien Seaman
Debut author Seaman is a former journalist, editor, parliamentary assistant, financial analyst, factory worker and security guard who has lived in places as diverse as Belgium and Libya. His novel is based on a true crime – the unsolved brutal murder of Düsseldorf prostitute Emma Gross and the story of notorious serial killer Peter Kürten, the so-called “Vampire of Düsseldorf. Detective Thomas Klein’s career has hit a wall until he gets a tip-off. The man confesses to murdering a prostitute, but his confession is full of holes. Motivated by spite, ambition, or maybe even a long-buried sense of justice, finding out who really killed Emma Gross becomes Klein’s obsession.
Buy now on Amazon
Wolf Tickets by Ray Banks
This Kirkcaldy-born author lists croupier among his former jobs and is a safe bet if you like unique and quirky crime writing. Wolf Tickets features Sean Farrell – thief, petrol smuggler and all-round scoundrel – who has been left in the lurch after Nora, the love of his life, ran off with £20,000, a gram of coke, and his favourite leather jacket. But Nora’s sights are on the £200,000 Farrell supposedly stashed somewhere in the middle of Northumberland, and she’s enlisted the help of her old boyfriend, a former hit man, to retrieve it. Farrell hooks up with an old army mate, the shoplifting, rotgut-swilling arsonist Jimmy Cobb, and sets off in pursuit.
Buy now on Amazon
Undercover by Gerard Brennan
This relentlessly pacy novel by Belfast-based Brennan has already garnered a five-star review on our site, which you can read here. It is the first in a series to feature PSNI undercover officer Cormac Kelly and tells the story of a kidnap that goes horribly awry. There are twists and turns aplenty in a novel that will have you on the edge of your seat throughout. The action shifts between Northern Ireland and England as Kelly breaks every rule in the book and crosses the line from legit police officer to rogue cop on the run as he tries to put things right.
Buy now on Amazon
You can find out more about Blasted Heath and its crew of heathens on the company’s website.
