On the Radar — This week we bring you the latest book by Louise Voss, with a title that parallels the carnivorous Venus Fly Trap plant with the demeanour of her antagonist. We’ve also got the first in the Killer Reads series of ebooks from HarperCollins and a selection of murderous tomes that cover drownings, shootings, hit-and-runs and other bad deeds. Which books will find their way onto your TBR pile?

The Venus Trap by Louise Voss
Voss has a thriving writing partnership with Mark Edwards but here’ she’s on her own telling the tale of a woman who has put a traumatic past – involving bereavement, assault, heartbreak  and divorce – behind her. Jo Atkins is attractive but shy, and when she summons up the courage to search for a new partner she is initially attracted to a man called Claudio. Her first impressions, however, don’t hold up, adn she breaks off the relationship. Claudio is having none of this, and imprisons Jo in her own home giving her a terrifying ultimatum. Out on 24 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon

The Deep End by Julie Mulhern
Set in the 1970s, this book promises to be a traditional mystery story with a fair helping of romance. When Ellison Russell goes for her morning swim, she hopes to forget – for half an hour or so – her faithless husband and his many indiscretions. Her plunge into the welcoming waters is put on hold when she discovers the body of one of her husband’s conquests bobbing around in the water and very dead. Russell’s search for the the truth is billed as the first of a series entitled Country Club Murders. Out on 17 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon

Before He Finds Her by Michael Kardos
Set in the wealthy coastal resort in New Jersey, this starts with the story of a man who murders his wife and daughter, and escapes the law. That’s how it seems, anyway. Actually the three-year-old girl survived the attack, and has spent the past 15 years in a witness protection programme in West Virginia. She has not been idle, however, and is now pregnant thanks to an unwise liaison with a local high school teacher. Breaking all the rules, she decides that to protect her unborn child from a lifetime in hiding, she decides to return to NJ and find her murderous father before he finds her. It’s out now.
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Stranger Child by Rachel Abbott
This is Abbott’s fourth novel featuring DCI Tom Douglas. Here he responds to a plea for help from old friend Emma Joseph. Emma has married a man whose life had been reduced to tatters by the death of his first wife in a car crash, and the mysterious disappearance of their young daughter from the scene. Time, love, and a new baby son seems to have healed the mental scars for David Joseph. However, Emma is distraught when a stranger appears who threatens any hope of redemption for David, and seems about to reduce her happiness to rubble. You can also read our reviews of The Back Road and Sleep Tight. Stranger Child will be published on 24 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon

Mindsight by Chris Curran
This debut novel from the former actress and dramatist reaches us via an innovative scheme from HarperCollins. Under the Killer Reads banner aspiring writers were asked to submit manuscripts and the best of them are being published digitally over the next few months. First up is this story of a woman with an almost unbearable weight of guilt on her shoulders. While on drugs, she inadvertently used that most devastating of weapons – an automobile – to wipe out most of her family. She has served her time, and now seeks reconciliation with her surviving son. In order to do this she must revisit the terrible event which has defined her life. Available for download on 19 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon

Silent Scream by Angela Marsons
There must be more Detective Inspectors in British crime fiction than there are in real life, but there is always room for another, and there we meet DI Kim Stone. Set in England’s post-industrial West Midlands, the story involves a fatality in the distant past that seems dead and buried. However, the murder of a child and the collective guilt of those involved strikes a note resonating into the present day, and DI Stone must grapple with a series of contemporary deaths which can be traced back to that event years ago. Out on 20 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon

November’s Shadow by Bruce Rehburg
Based in Germany, US military policeman Bodowski is a recovering alcoholic with a promising but blighted career as a police officer in Washington State no more than a distant memory. It’s 1963 and when the body of a young girl is found in a ditch on the outskirts of a military base, Bodowski is convinced that there are links to US servicemen. Both helped and hindered by the local police force, and definitely hindered by top brass who want the case terminated, Bodowski must find the skills and courage that made him such a good cop many hangovers ago. This came out in Kindle last year, but will be available as a paperback on 24 February.
Buy now on Amazon

Finding Jake by Bryan Reardon
Simon is a stay-at-home dad who loves his family intensely, but a few pages into this book a shooting takes place at the local high school and it seems his son Jake was involved. From there, a psychological drama unfold against a background of accusations, guilt, and media frenzy. Looking back on Jake’s life at various stages, Simon tries to put together what’s happened and make sense of everything. Available from 24 February.
Finding Jake