On the Radar — 5 May is a big date on the publishing calendar, with a range of big releases landing and plenty of smaller ones too. We’ve already reviewed Distress Signals by Catherine Ryan Howard, Little Sister by David Hewson and In Too Deep by Samantha Hayes on the site – all out on 5 May. Here in On the Radar, we’ve got new books by Mark Billingham, John Lawton, Chris Ewan, Paul Hardisty and John Hart all with books out 5 May, and they look too good to choose from. Plus, we have four further books so let us know which ones will make your TBR pile.
Mark Billingham is well known for his Thorne novels, and they’ve even been adapted for Sky TV, and he’s one of the hardest working authors on the festival circuit. His latest novel is a standalone, but you might see one or two characters from Thorne appearing. Set in London, it deals with the murder of a troubled woman recovering from an addiction. She attends a therapy group along with fellow former addicts, and it is they – plus the therapist – who are investigated by the police. You can expect a clever whodunnit with several well-disguised twists, but watch for our full review soon. The book is released 5 May. In the meantime you can savour this interview we did a few years back.
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New books by John Lawton are few and far between. His World War II novels featuring Frederick Troy are widely admired. Lawton also created the a down-to-earth but plausible spy character called Joe Wilderness, who was introduced in Then We Take Berlin (2014). In The Unfortunate Englishman, Joe pops in and out of the action as we follow the progress of two agents during the Cold War. One is a KGB officer posing as an English gentleman, while the other is a mild mannered metallurgist who is persuaded to work for MI6. You can find out which of them best fits the book’s title from 5 May. Again, check our site for the full review nearer publication day.
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Like his previous novel, Dark Tides in 2014, and the Isle of Man is the starting point in Ewan’s latest novel but rather than staying local this one takes us for an action-packed and often bone-crunching jaunt across Europe. Nick Miller saves Kate Sutherland from a gangland assassin, and offers her his unique witness protection service because the National Crime Agency just isn’t up to the job. But Miller has more than just Kate to protect, and the people who want her dead want him dead too. There’s that, and the fact that they just won’t give up. You can read our Interview with Chris Ewan by clicking the link, and get your hands on his latest book from 5 May.
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We first met Claymore ‘Clay’ Straker in The Abrupt Physics of Dying (2014) but things are not going well for the international trouble-shooter. His former friends want him out of their lives, his girlfriend has disappeared and his best buddy has just been killed. Oh, and yes, there is the small matter of every CIA operative having him at the top of their terminate-with-extreme-prejudice list. The various protagonists, who include Russian gangsters, Greek terrorists and a cabal of unscrupulous property developers all clash heads on The Island of Love – Cyprus. Published on 5 May, and once again you should keep an eye out for our review.
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Hart is the only author in history to win the best novel Edgar Award for consecutive novels. This story is set in a small North Carolina town where the lives of three characters interweave, with dramatic results. Former cop Adrian Wall is finally released from prison where he has served time for a crime he didn’t do. Current police officer Elizabeth Banks has a dark past and an uncertain future, while 14-year-old Gideon Strange is determined to avenge the death of his mother. And he has a gun. Available on 5 May.
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Robert B Parker’s lippy investigator, Spenser, is such a popular character that his estate has engaged Ace Atkins to continue the series. The first was Lullaby (2012) and Slow Burn is the fifth. Here Spenser has to investigate the cause of a Boston fire which claimed the lives of three firefighters. Aided by his old sparring partner, the menacing Hawk, Spenser finds that the arson is linked to some very powerful names in the city’s underworld. Published on 3 May.
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Anita Waller’s Beautiful was a powerful and nerve-wracking debut, and Angel is the follow-up. A sexual predator and rapist has served hard time in an English prison, and the desire for revenge against his victim and her family has gone from being a dull ember to a white hot flame. Ronald Treverick killed Amy Thornton, but will not rest until he has inflicted the same fate on Lauren, her daughter. Anita Waller is based in Sheffield, and cites Patricia Cornwell as one of her influences. Angel is available from 7 May.
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When someone gets a heart transplant, do they receive a little more than the physical organ? After a life-saving operation, Casey Schillinge is only too happy to begin her life anew. When her whole character, demeanour and outlook begin to change, she is forced to examine the possibility that not only is her new heart pumping blood around her body, it has infected her with the most negative qualities of its original owner. When Casey finds out how her new heart came to be available, she enters a world of nightmares and shocking revelations. Out on 1 May.
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Patricia Wentworth was a prolific Golden Age author whose reputation has perhaps been in the shadows of Agatha Christie, Dorothy L Sayers, Ngaio Marsh and Margery Allingham. Miss Silver was her principal character, but Dean Street Press is re-issuing her non-Miss Silver stories. Sleuth Benbow Smith solves crimes assisted by his garrulous parrot, Ananias, and in this 1933 novel he investigates a young fellow accused of stealing important government papers. The story unfolds against a background of the Secret Service, a beautiful sleepwalker and, of course… murder. Published on 2 May, along with nine other books from the series. All 33 will be available by the end of July.
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