On the Radar — Ezekiel ‘Easy’ Rawlins returns this week for another neon-lit adventure among the hills and boulevards of Los Angeles. We’ve also got a new printing of Dashiell Hammett’s short stories, and a great selection of further crime novels to try.
PI Easy Rawlins doesn’t look for trouble but when his old friend, the lethal hitman nicknamed Mouse asks for help, he knows that trouble will soon be looking for him. Mouse isn’t a man who takes no for an answer, and soon Rawlins, trying to help the man they call Charcoal Joe, is doing his best to avoid hits from all directions on the glitzy streets of LA. In our back pages you can read our PI Case Files on Mosley’s most memorable creation. Out on 16 June.
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Dashiell Hammett remains a hugely influential figure 55 years after his death. Now, independent book publisher Open Road is bringing us eight collections of Dashiell Hammett’s complete short fiction featuring the Continental Op, his landmark anonymous PI. Arson Plus is the story that introduced the world to the nameless detective whom Dashiell Hammett described as “…a little man going forward day after day through mud and blood and death and deceit- as callous and brutal and cynical as necessary” Available from 14 June.
This historical thriller has a curiously modern resonance. It’s set in 16th century Spain and a bloody conflict brewing between Islam and Christianity. The Moriscos are Muslims who have been forced – at sword-point – to convert to Christianity, and their resentment is made worse by the actions of the brutal Inquisition. When a Christian priest is murdered in his own church the Muslims are blamed, and local magistrate Bernardo de Mendoza is appointed to find the truth – and prevent a bloodbath. On the shelves from 14 June.
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Who better than a writer of mystery thrillers to solve a real life thrilling mystery? ‘Almost anyone’ would be the sensible answer, but this is crime fiction and author Rachel Goldman picks up the phone one day to find her caller is none other than Duffy Madison, the principal character in her novels. Is madness looming for Rachel, or does the real-life Duffy hold the key to catching a serial killer whose targets are… thriller writers! Out now for Kindle and later in June in print.
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This is the debut novel from Richard Koreto, who is a New York financial journalist. Death on the Sapphire is set in Edwardian London where the deals are as deadly as they are on Wall Street, and the word ‘cut-throat’ is not a metaphor. Suffragette Lady Frances Ffolkes is a determined and independent modern woman. Her charm and beauty open doors, but she needs to employ all her wiles to investigate the cover-up of an atrocity committed during the Boer War, and the consequent murder of a family friend who threatened to expose the guilty. Published on 14 June.
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In our First look at this book, we were entranced by the beautifully designed cover with its brushed metallic finish, but how about the contents? The title is both literal and metaphorical, as the futuristic plot involves conjoined twins Tila and Taema who were separated, but are now kept alive by artificial hearts. When one twin is accused of murder, to what extent will the other be prepared to go in the name of sisterly love? The book is set in San Francisco, the author is Californian, and she lives in Scotland. Available on 16 June.
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Parents have a shared worst nightmare. It is when their child is spirited away by a malevolent stranger, from under their very nose. Sophie is a parent. Yes, she is an alcoholic, and yes, her excesses have driven her marriage into the ground. But she still has access to her daughter Amy. When Sophie spends some quality time with Amy at a fairground all goes well until she loses concentration for a moment. Then she finds Amy has disappeared, and so begins a descent into hell. This psychological thriller offers suspicion, deceit, malice and revenge. Published on 16 June.
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Peyton Cote is a federal agent and has been in some rough, tough places. Like the Mexican border, and the bleakly beautiful forests of her home state, Maine. Now she must solve the riddle of why a Ukrainian boy is living rough on the Canadian border, and why his existence is a key issue for so many big players. She uncovers a dramatic conspiracy involving international relations, the heist of an irreplaceable painting from a famous art gallery, and a cabal of ruthless criminals. Destiny’s Pawn is just out for Kindle, and will be in print on 1 July.
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