On the Radar — Throwback Thursday is a popular theme on the internet, often involving people posting images of themselves from years ago with outdated haircuts. That, or hipsters repurposing 1980s lawnmower parts to make better coffee. Our weekly new books column, however, has something much tastier to offer. We’ve got books taking you back to the good old days of crime fiction. Two of them contain genuine Golden Age mysteries that have been reprinted, while another two are contemporary books harking back to the 1960s. And, what could be more retro than BMXing? We’ve got a mystery involving that too, and there’s lots more… even something from Denmark!
The Allingham Casebook by Margery Allingham
Ipso Books has done a fine job with the cover design for this collection of 18 short stories by a Golden Age writer who certainly knew how to concoct a murderous mystery. Albert Campion has his work cut out as he has to unravel everything from domestic deceptions to high-risk heists in this selection of tales which first saw the light of day in the 1960s, after the death of the author aged 62. Out 19 May in the United States.
Pre-order now on Amazon
High Seas Murder by Peter Drax
On May 15, Dean Street Press is reissuing six titles written between 1936 and 1944 by Peter Drax, including High Seas Murder. It’s another chance to enjoy some lost gems of the Golden Age of crime fiction, and in this particular title is seeing print for the first imd since 1939. On board the Ivanhoe, a vessel heading out of the port of Gilsboro with the town’s best fishing captain at the helm, there’s been a murder. Inspector Pollitt and his team investigates because, as you might guess, something smells fishy. Out 15 May.
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New: Get crime fiction news to your inbox
Due to popular demand, we’re launching an email newsletter for crime fiction lovers. It’ll start early June, and we’ll be sending out a weekly update that will include new books, just like you’re reading about here, as well as links to what’s new on the site. The latest book reviews, features including author interviews, and previews of crime TV shows, for instance.
Subscribe before 31 May, and you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win one of three copies of The Crime Book, a non-fiction tome all about crime through the ages, which is the perfect accompaniment to your passion for crime fiction. We’ve got one copy for people in the UK, one for subscribers in the US, and a third for the rest of the world.
Brick by Conrad Jones
Bloodhound Books has picked up Brick by Conrad Jones, a previously self-published book. The author’s inspiration to write about crime came when he was working in the McDonalds in Warrington when the IRA bomb went off right outside, killing two boys, in 1993. Brick is a gritty tale taking place in Liverpool. After a boy walking his dog is attacked and he goes to the police, his family are victimised. Detectives trying to stop the violence against them come up against an organised crime ring with contacts around the globe. Out 23 May.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Last Meridian by Joe Hefferon
Los Angeles in the 1960s. Hardboiled. Nina Ferrer is working in Hollywood when a telegram arrives from Chicago. The boy she gave up for adoption when she was young has been charged with murder. Nina’s now married and hasn’t told her husband about the child. That’s one problem, the other is the guilt she feels. As the plot unfolds she tries to exonerate the boy, but at the same time finds out the people she trusts most might not be all they seem. Out 22 May.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Baltimore Boys by Joël Dicker
Writer Marcus Goldman has moved to Florida and when he runs into an ex-lover, Alexandra Neville, memories of a turbulent childhood come flooding back. The titular Baltimore Boys, aka the Goldman Gang, included Marcus and his cousins Woody and Hillel. They may have been brilliant men but a mysterious tragedy looms in 2004. Dicker unpicks family relationships across five decades from the 1960s. It has been described as both a sequel and a prequel to Dicker’s critical and international success The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair which we reviewed [here]. This one is released 18 May.
Pre-order on Amazon
The BMX Kid and the River Cult Murders by Paolo Sedazzari
Ritual murder and BMXing don’t normally mix, but here a woman has been found down by the Thames with her eyes gouged out and the Tarot card for Death in her mouth. Coppers Ferdy and Matt ‘the Stat’ are on the scene, where a boy on a BMX tells them about some cryptic graffiti he’s seen in nearby Brooklands Park. It turns out the woman was a prostitute, and it also turns out that the BMC kid has more information… Out now.
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Sting by Sandra Brown
Not the life story of a certain spiky-haired Geordie rock star, instead, the Sting of the title is an elaborate set-up involving a double-crossing gun-for-hire, a complicated kidnap and an imaginative accountant who may or may not know the whereabouts of a missing $30 million. Recounted in Brown’s trademark snappy style, there are bound to me plenty of twists and turns before this story reaches a conclusion. Out now.
Buy now on Amazon
Under a Black Sky by Inger Wolf
Danish author Inger Wolf takes us to Alaska for a mystery centred around the murder of volcanologist Asger Vad, along with his wife and son. The killer has left a dollhouse and a pile of volcanic ash at the scene, in some sort of bizarre message to the police. Meanwhile, Vad’s daughter may have survived the shooting but is missing. Daniel Trokic is sent from Denmark to Alaska to help the police, and will work with local detective Angie Johnson. Out now.
Buy now on Amazon
