On the Radar — This week’s new books column starts off with three very different crime books, each with the word dark in the title. There’s a second novel from Cilla and Rolf Borjlind – the latest crime sensations from Sweden – and we bring you a reprint of an old Lionel Davidson spy thriller. There’s plenty more, so read on…
Dark Water by Ariana D Den Bleyker
Dark in the title, Noir in the narrative. This may be a novella, but at a modest 82 pages the book contains a smorgasbord of extremes by way of suicide, murder, torture and brutal revenge. Number Thirteen Press brings us the tale of Harry, a convicted killer who is on the run because he’s the prime suspect in the search for the killer of his wife. This is the latest from Number Thirteen Press, which is releasing 13 crime novellas and short novels over 13 months, on the 13th of each month. Published… 13 March.
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Dark Detectives edited by Stephen Jones
This anthology contains an amazing 18 short stories from such masters as Clive Barker, Brian Lumley and Peter Tremayne. It blends the supernatural with crimes that ordinary men inflict on other ordinary men. The settings range from seventh century Ireland to the modern day, with a telling visit to early 19th century England in between. Also, if you want the bizarre and obscure, how about the tale of the great John Wayne and a mysterious pink dress? Out on 17 March.
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Dark Star by Oliver Langmead
For our third helping of darkness this week we journey out into the deep space of science fiction. Other galaxies have criminals too, so why shouldn’t there be sci-fi cops to bring them to justice? Virgil Yorke is the officer in question, and his beat is the city of Vox. When the body of a young woman is found on the street, Virgil and his partner Dante have to crack open Vox’s darkest secrets. This is no Divine Comedy. Rather, we have a police procedural set many solar systems away near a star where light is at a premium. Available on 20 March.
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Third Voice by Cilla & Rolf Borjlind
After the innovative and gory Spring Tide, made our top 10 debuts of 2014, the Borjlinds return with their second novel Third Voice. With the action divided between Marseille and Stockholm, we have a woman whose body is dismembered and buried in six separate graves, and a second woman who finds her father’s body hanging in the family home – apparently having taken his own life. Trying to make sense of this murderous madness are a disparate duo of investigators – a former policeman, and a woman who only survived after an emergency C-Section on her murdered mother. Available on 20 March.
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Kolymsky Heights by Lionel Davidson
Lionel Davidson made a name for himself as a writer of spy thrillers. After his career appeared to wane, he burst back into prominence with Kolymsky Heights, published in 1994. Set in the sub-arctic Kolyma region in the Eastern reaches of Russia, it features a Native Canadian with a unique flair for languages and disguise. Johnny Porter must brave the Siberian permafrost to penetrate a secret Soviet laboratory where someone has sent out a message to the West. The book has found new fame since Philip Pullman named it as one of his favourite books recently, so Faber & Faber Crime has republished it. Out now in Kindle, later in March in print.
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Hausfrau by Jill Alexander Essbaum
You might think that nothing very exciting happens in suburban Zurich. The life of expat American Anna Benz, detailed in this book might change your mind. Bored out of her mind with her outwardly idyllic lifestyle, she experiments with dangerous sex. Her attempts to escape a life of ennui lead to an entirely different kind of captivity. This is a debut novel for the author, who is also a poet. Available on 17 March.
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Snatched from Home by Graham Smith
Caffeine Nights brings us another home-grown crime thriller. Nicholas Foulkes has respectable demeanour, but has run up some serious gambling debts with some equally serious people. When they kidnap his children to force him to settle, he and his wife turn to crime to keep their children alive. Trying to keep up with both the desperate parents and their tormentors is DI Harry Evans who is about to retire. Will his final case end in triumph or tragedy? Out in in Kindle and paperback on 19 March.
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The Lake by Sheena Lambert
Set in rural Ireland, this is the tale of a death, an illicit burial, and the bitterness of family conflict. Author Sheena Lambert is a qualified waste management engineer, but she weaves a story of dark deeds which cast a shadow over an apparently idyllic community. When Dublin cop DS Frank Ryan is sent to solve the mystery of a corpse on the shore of a lake, he uncovers in one weekend a whole lifetime of hatred, guilt and envy. Published on 19 March.
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The Mystery Writers of America Cookbook ed Kate White
We rarely feature non-fiction on these pages, but here is a distinguished history of cuisine featuring in crime fiction. Remember Rex Stout’s wonderful gourmand detective Nero Wolfe? Or the cooking skills of Madame Maigret and the excellent appetite and tastes of Lord Peter Wimsey? In more recent times, Inspector Montalbano loves a good Sicilian repast, described in loving detail by his creator, Andrea Camilleri. All this before we consider the countless times fine meals have concealed deadly poison. The celebrity chefs here include Sara Paretsky, Harlan Coben, Scott Turow, Mary Higgins Clark and Gillian Flynn. Published on 24 March.
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