On the Radar — GDR noir could be the next big thing in crime fiction, what with Deutschland 83, Simon Urban’s Plan D, and David Young’s novels set in East Germany. That’s where we’re heading first with this week’s new crime releases. These books are hitting the shelves in early February and there’s plenty to choose from. Commies, kidnappers, cops, crazies… you name it. Let us know which books will be added to your reading pile.
Stasi Wolf by David Young
Young’s impressive debut, Stasi Child, made quite an impact when it was released in 2015. This follow-up has been eagerly awaited and sees East German investigator Karin Muller heading south to new town Halle-Neustadt, where baby twins have gone missing. The town is the pride of the Communist state and the Stasi are none-too-keen to have its reputation dragged through the mud. But it is the home to a stalker who is preying on children, so Muller may have to shatter that picture-perfect illusion to get to the truth. Released 9 February and watch for our review.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Snatch by Gregory Mcdonald
Hard Case Crime is at it again, and here the publisher combines two books by Gregory Mcdonald that were last published over 30 years ago. Kidnapping is the theme that links both – in Snatched, an eight-year-old called Toby Rinaldi is kidnapped by a thug called Spike to gain leverage on the boy’s father, a diplomat at the UN in New York. The second story, Safekeeping, is about the kidnapping of Robby Burns, a boy of aristocratic heritage who is in New York during World War II for safekeeping. It’s out 7 Feb with a cover to suit its old school pulp content. Review on the way…
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All Kinds of Dead by James Craig
The intrepid Inspector Carlyle from the Charing Cross nick in central London is partnered with Captain Daniel Hunter of the military police. Why? Only because a group of squaddies have stolen a fortune in uncut diamonds. They prove to be a ruthless crew, though, and kidnap Hunter’s family and in his anger the military policeman spirals out of control. Can Carlyle calm the situation before Hunter kills someone? Find out on 2 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Blue Light Yokohama by Nicolás Obregón
Inspector Kosuke Iwata has a new job in Tokyo’s homicide department and a prickly new partner in Assistant Inspector Noriko Sakai. A family has been murdered by a killer who then sat in the house for hours eating their ice cream and surfing the net. The original investigator was so haunted by the case he threw himself off Tokyo’s Rainbow Bridge. Debut novelist Nicolás Obregón has described it as a book about facelessness and pain. His inspiration stems from his first trip to Japan in his mid 20s and the true story of a brutal murderous home invasion that remains unsolved. It is released 2 February, and we have a review planned.
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The Intrusions by Stav Sherez
A new Stav Sherez release is always something to celebrate and there’s been plenty of buzz surrounding this one, the third in the Carrigan and Miller series. Released 2 February, it has twin themes of obsession and stalking, with our duo of detectives called into action after a distressed young woman arrives at the police station, claiming that her friend has been abducted and that she’s next in line. It’s a case like no other and their investigation will take them to the darkest of online worlds. Watch for the CFL review.
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A Darkness Absolute by Kelley Armstrong
This is the second in the series with experienced homicide detective Casey Duncan set in Rockton, in the Yukon territory. The town is off the grid with no phones and no electricity. It’s a good place to hide secrets. Duncan and her deputy sheriff, Will Anders, take refuge in a cave to avoid a blizzard as they hunt for a missing man. They find a Rockton resident who has been held captive for over a year and then two more bodies turn up shortly after. The first book was City of the Lost and this one is shaping up to be a typically twisty thriller in a remote setting. It is released 7 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon.
Blackout by Marc Elsberg
Piero Manzano, former hacker and activist, crashes his car as Milan is plunged into darkness. The blackout is due to a power outage across Europe when terrorists hack the software and then start destroying the hardware of the power grids. Chaos ensues and Manzano is thrown into this fast paced cyber-thriller with disaster movie overtones. Elsberg is Austrian and the book, originally published in 2012, is already a global bestseller with more than a million copies sold. Now translated into English it is available in ebook and the paperback is released 9 February. Our review is coming soon.
Pre-order now on Amazon.
What You Break by Reed Farrel Coleman
Gus Murphy, former cop and now a Long Island private investigator, is back and he’s in between some very dangerous groups of people. The case he takes is to find out the motive behind a young woman’s murder. The cops have the killer, but the girl’s grandfather needs Gus to find out why she was killed. Added to which, a man is murdered after meeting Gus’s friend Slava. The cops don’t like Gus poking around, nor do the local street villains, but perhaps the biggest problem of all is a Russian mercenary who’s all pumped up and out for revenge. Watch for our review; this one comes out 7 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Breakdown by BA Paris
A new addition to that groaning shelf labelled ‘psychological thrillers’, BA Paris’s second novel has all the ingredients to tempt lovers of the genre – just take an unreliable narrator, add a dark and stormy night in the deep, dark woods, throw in a murder and a liberal dash of creepy goings-on et voilá! Paris’s debut novel, Behind Closed Doors, brought her widespread praise and a good-sized fan base and she sticks to that domestic noir theme for this book too. Released 9 February and we have a review on the way.
Pre-order now on Amazon
