On the Radar –– Today’s new books column starts with a big release that Sherlock Holmes fans will lap up, and it features Holmes stories written by some of the biggest names in crime fiction. Also, we have Jeffery Deaver’s latest Kathryn Dance novel, a couple of books that tie in to World War II and Nazi Germany, and some fresh new stuff from writers you should dare to try. Read on and let us know which books will make your TBR pile this week.
Tomorrow, crime fiction lovers and fans of Sherlock Holmes in particular are in for a treat. Titan Books is releasing a new compendium of Sherlock Holmes stories. Inside, you’ll find post-Conan Doyle Holmesian contributions by a slew of top crime authors including Cornelia Funke, Michael Connelly, Jeffery Deaver, Harlan Ellison, Denise Hamilton, Sara Paretsky, Michael Sims, and more. In total, 16 authors are taking part. The book has been edited by Laurie R King, herself famous for her Mary Russell series, and the classic mystery expert Leslie Klinger. For the best Sherlock Holmes stories not written by Arthur Conan Doyle, click here.
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Crime fiction lovers have been made well aware of Lincoln Rhyme, Jeffery Deaver’s paraplegic profiler. But the author is also the creator of Kathryn Dance, who works for the CBI – the California Bureau of Investigation. This is her fourth outing and it opens with Kathryn busted down to the civil division of the Bureau and tasked with checking permits after a fatal stampede at a roadhouse. It turns out that the mayhem was started on purpose and the deaths were intentional. Kathryn and her partner Michael O’Neil find themselves hunting a man whose loves creating conditions that reduce people to animals, and wallowing in the chaos that results. The stampede for Solitude Creek begins 5 May.
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David Khara‘s last international thriller, The Bleiberg Project, was translated into English by Le French Book last year and began the Consortium series. The latest is The Morgenstern Project, and it features a character created in the first book. Eytan Morgenstern has survived the experiments of Professor Bleiberg – in fact they’ve left him with enhanced physical aptitudes… and, he now ages slower than normal people. He is the sworn enemy of The Consortium, and when Jackie and Jeremy Corbin are kidnapped (they took on the same mysterious organisation in previous novel) Eytan leaps into action. Once again the story jumps between WWII and the present. It’s out now as a paperback and for Kindle.
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World War II has just ended and Germany is in ruins. Mason Collins, US Army criminal investigator, is in Munich, which is now occupied by his force. But the soldiers and survivors aren’t alone. A murderer is stalking the rubble-strewn streets – one who seems to be picking his victims at random. Is it an ex-Nazi, a black marketeer, a soldier, or someone else? Collins not only puts his life on the line but must look into his own soul as he hunts the psychopath. Released in the UK on 6 May, our friends in America tell us the book contains some horrifying surprises. Oh, good.
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It’s a set-up, but ex-soldier Sebastian doesn’t realise it when he’s given a bag to deliver. Pretty young thing Isobel asks him for a ride and before he knows it he’s unconscious and the bag is gone. The honey trap puts Sebastian in the dog-house with the owners of the bag – in fact, he’ll be a dead dog if he doesn’t find it and return it within 24 hours. He can do that easily, right, being an ex-soldier? Well, hold on, because although he was in the army Sebastian has asthma and never saw combat. You’ll find out that it’s not so easy for him after all when you grab your copy on 5 May.
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Bad Bones came out for Kindle in October, and now it’s going to appear in print on 4 May. Inside, we’ve got what sounds like a pulpy enough story in which main character Gabe happens on a way of making his problems disappear. He’s not getting along with his father, someone called Benny is on his case, but then he stumbles upon a shallow grave in an out of the way part of LA. After a little digging, he finds a golden bracelet in that grave which he takes for his own. But instead of improving his dull old life, it appears to awaken a curse…
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We’ll start off with who Bobbi Lomax is. She is the prom queen who is killed by a bomb in order to give this book its title, and its main premise. Because on Halloween Night in 1983 another bomb also kills Peter Gundsen, a property developer. A third explosive narrowly fails to kill rare book dealer Clark Houseman. Is Clark a hero, or could he be an evil genius involved in the killings? Either way, it’s through him that Detectives Alvarez and Sinclair can begin their investigation. This is a debut for Cal Moriarty, who came through the Faber Academy to write this book, which was originally scheduled for last summer. Out 7 May.
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