On the Radar — Our weekly news column kicks off with one of the biggest new thriller authors on the British bookshelf, and her third release. Start reading it, and we reckon you won’t be able to escape from The Escape. There are ten books for you to check out in total, and you can choose between fictional journeys to Wyoming, Australia, New Jersey and even 1882 London. Read on…
The Escape by CL Taylor
Offering a simple lift to a stranger turns into a nightmare in this latest standalone from an author rapidly making a name for herself the world of psychological thrillers. Jo Blackmore is more than happy to do a good deed but the problem is this unassuming stranger knows Jo’s name, her husband, and has a glove belonging to Jo’s young daughter, Elise. It’s the first move in a mind game which will see our protagonist fighting for everything she holds dear. Out 23 March.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Vicious Circle by CJ Box
Wyoming game warden Joe Pickett is a steady hand, always on the trail of poachers, but also ready to mix it up with the state’s big game criminal elements. This time his entire family is under threat when Dallas Cates, a rodeo star Joe helped put away a few books back, returns with a vengeance. The beautiful forests and mountains of Wyoming form the backdrop as Joe tries to solve a murder while protecting his wife and daughters. Out 21 March, and watch for our review.
Buy now on Amazon
Bay of Martyrs by Tony Black and Matt Neal
We recently looked at an interesting collaboration between two writers who are creating their own Nordic noir novel, A Presence of Absence. Here the well-known Tartan noir author Tony Black has worked alongside an Australian journalist on a brand new book set in Australia and featuring a jaded journo called Clay Moloney. The location is called The Bay of Martyrs, and it’s where the body of a young woman washes up on the beach. Clay is not having it that her death was an accident. With a decidedly un-Australian cover, it’s out 23 March and we have a review on the way.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Little Gift by Stephen Volk
Volk has a strong track record for writing brilliant novellas. This is a cleverly structured read that will have you pulling the covers up tighter in bed at night. A married couple are disturbed when a cat brings them in a bird. It’s ’the little gift’ that leads us into the mind of the narrator. Settle in for a disturbing journey from a writer with formidable talent. Volk is a BAFTA winner for his screenplays and he is an award-winning short story writer. Previous novellas, Whitstable and Leytonstone, have been beautifully written, deeply chilling and garnered rave reviews. The Little Gift is now available to buy in hardback from PS Publishing.
Bad Boy Boogie by Thomas Pluck
Jay Desmarteaux has just been released after spending 25 years in prison for the murder of a local bully. He is wading in the shallows of New Jersey lowlife and he is still holding grudges against those that left him carrying the can for the murder. A local mob captain wants him dead and an iron-fisted police chief is on his trail. Think Richard Stark’s Parker but with added flesh on the hardboiled bones as we switch back to Desmarteaux’s childhood and teenage life. It is unapologetically violent with Desmarteaux’s fists and a hatchet being put to serious use. The ebook is released 20 March and our review is coming soon.
Buy now on Amazon
The Stranger by Saskia Sarginson
There’s more stranger danger at the heart of the latest novel from former health and beauty editor, ghost writer and script editor Saskia Sarginson, out 23 March. Recently widowed Eleanor Rathmell finds her carefully-constructed life toppling around her when a stranger arrives at the door of her idyllic English home. Everyone who meets the stranger is suspicious of him, so why is Eleanor being so trusting? There are revelations aplenty before the pieces begin to slot into place…
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Killer by Susan Wilkins
This is the much anticipated final book in the Kaz Phelps trilogy. We re-join Phelps in contemporary London on the run from her criminal family and the painful memories of a murdered lover. She has spent time in witness protection and finds herself at the grave of her gangster brother. She realises she has to fight back. Phelps is not the only strong female protagonist in this superior series. It also features the ex-Met detective Nicci Armstrong who now looks after the security of the super-rich. Wilkins has a rich pedigree of successful TV drama and this crime thriller ticks all the right boxes. Out 23 March.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Dead Embers by Matt Brolly
Book three in the series featuring DCI Michael Lambert and our man is at the thick of the action. A simple house fire turns out to be anything but when the property contains two corpses, one of whom is a senior police detective, and the only witness is a traumatised child. A high profile case, then, and Lambert needs to be on top form. But with his boss under investigation, his marriage on the rocks, and his health suspect, can he still cut the mustard? Out now.
Buy now on Amazon
A True and Faithful Brother by Linda Stratmann
We’ve already reviewed several books featuring Stratmann’s pioneering woman detective Frances Doughty. The year is 1882 and a wealthy philanthropist has disappeared, even though he was under guard. This is going to be the penultimate novel in the series, and as Frances investigates she discovers that the case has some bearing on her own past. Author Linda Stratmann is currently co-chair of the UK Crime Writers’ Association. The book is out now.
Buy now on Amazon
New look for the Julia Probyn books
Our friends at Bloomsbury Reader have re-jacketed the Julia Probyn series by Ann Bridge. Originally written in the 1950s these eight somewhat cosy mysteries follow the journalist character through all sorts of adventures. They begin with The Lighthearted Quest in which Julia heads to Morocco to look for her missing cousin, and is surprised to find a veil of secrecy surrounding his disappearance. Ann Bridge was married to a diplomat and travelled the world during the early Cold War – experience she put to good use in her writing. The new covers are light in tone, to match the charm and amusement within.
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