An interview with a suspect unexpectedly takes DI Colin Strong back 25 years, because the man’s voice reminds him of a tape he heard of Wearside Jack, a criminal who taunted the West Yorkshire police back then but was never apprehended. After the body of a burglar turns up and a mysterious metal case is found at the scene, Strong teams up with journalist Bob Souter, but as they investigate the suspects are killed one by one. They’re helping one another, but also in competition – Strong for a collar and Souter for a story. Part one of a series shortlisted for a CWA Dagger.
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We reviewed Anita Waller’s debut Angel earlier this year, and now 34 Days takes us inside a 35-year marriage. So, domestic noir, then. Anna and Ray are perfectly normal grandparents, but under the surface there’s a storm brewing. The day of their wedding anniversary, Anna decides to leave, throwing the family into turmoil and also sparking an awful series of events that might just lead to murder…
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DI Alec McKay and his team face a tough case. Murder is unusual on the Black Isle peninsula, by the Moray Firth in Scotland. But a serial killer? It’s unheard of! Things get underway with the discovery of a dead girl near a wilderness walking trail. She’s surrounded by candles and roses, as per the title, and it seems she was chloroformed. After a couple more bodies crop up – one in a cave and one in a shut-down retirement home, the pressure is on McKay to solve the case. All the while, he still hasn’t come to terms with his own daughter’s death and his fragile marriage.
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The world of publishing is ripe with intrigue, it seems, and in this thriller we get under way with the murder of romance author Joy Faversham. She leaves behind a husband, a daughter, and a manuscript called Silver. Although it isn’t finished, her fans desperately want to read this disturbing story but her widower Roger refuses to release it. Meanwhile, the writer who covered the trial of Joy’s killer continues investigating the unanswered questions surrounding her death. What he uncovers is… well, you’ll have to read it to find out.
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This Amazon favourite follows the story of Deborah, a plain young woman who is swept off her feet by trainee optician Larry. Larry is a man with secrets, but Debbie can’t see it, and as a killer stalks the streets of Cambridge, they start building their life together. But it’s only disintegrate as Debbie begins to suspect Larry. When he’s arrested, suspected of murder, she has to make some tough choices to keep the family afloat. An unusual example of domestic noir, with a unique twist, which we reviewed here.
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Set in North East England, we meet crime scene investigator Ben Cassidy who balances her work with life as a single-mother. While on a course, she meets Jacob Scully, a veteran dealing with his past. When a care home worker is killed in a hit and run, Ben thinks there’s more to it and winds up on the trail of a killer. Could the answers to the case be closer to home than she ever thought possible? A gripping police thriller.
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Amnesia is a key theme in this debut crime thriller set in Thailand. A woman wakes up in hospital but doesn’t know who she is or how she got there. The medical staff call her Kai, the Thai word for fever. She was found at the bottom of a cliff, and the only clue to her identity is a diary. What nobody realises that there’s danger in her past and it’s coming to get her…
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Liz Mistry’s debut introduces us to DI Gus McGuire, who’s looking into the murder of a prostitute and the discovery of a young girl locked in an attic. Very soon, things get much more complicated because what he’s uncovered is an international child sex trafficking racket. Those involved are more than willing to kill to escape the law, and as McGuire pursues The Matchmaker he has his own emotional problems to face. We reviewed this hugely popular book here, and watch for our interview with Liz Mistry as part of New Talent November.
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Ross Greenwood’s debut focusses on Will, a drifter who’s ended up in jail, and who gradually begins to realise the consequences of his criminal career. Looking back over 30 years living the life, thoughts of his friendships and experiences make him realise how fragile life can be. This book has been described as a harrowing drama, with moments that’ll make you laugh, and cry, and others that might make you cringe.
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Here’s another debut to try during New Talent November, and in it Ed Penny introduces us to private detective and anti-hero Eddy Boyle. His speciality is unfaithful spouses, but when a retired colonel contacts Eddy to find his missing daughter he’s drawn into a case involving far more than a runaway. For a start, the colonel might not be presenting all the facts, and when people are killed Eddy’s problem is to avoid the police and nail the real killers.
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