On the Radar — Welcome to our latest edition of On the Radar, where you’ll find new books every week here on Crime Fiction Lover. We’re going to start off with Glen Erik Hamilton’s latest action thriller, which sees ex-Army Ranger Van Shaw in the middle of a gold heist. More action comes our way from Sweden and Taiwan, and we’ve also got a spy thriller and a trip back in time with the final novel by American Egyptologist Elizabeth Peters. Read on and savour the selection…
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Every Day Above Ground by Glen Erik Hamilton
Van Shaw is no stranger to crime but he is trying to stick to the right side of the law. He’s a former US Army Ranger who desperately needs some money to rebuild his grandfather’s house. Then an old con, Mick O’Hassan, arrives offering him an easy job. A little bit of safe breaking to get hold of a long forgotten stash of gold. Too good to be true? You bet. The heist goes wrong and Van ends up in a violent and deadly fight for his life. This is now the third thriller featuring Shaw. We reviewed Hamilton’s debut Past Crimes here. Released 3 August.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Ghost Month by Ed Lin
Crime fiction set in Taiwan is relatively novel, and Ghost Month takes place in the heart of Taipei in a market called Unknown Pleasures. The month is August, when Taiwanese people pay respects to their ancestors but Jing-nan’s ghosts are much closer to home. He’s just heard that his high school sweetheart has been found murdered by a road where she was selling betel nuts. The police have closed the case, but the girl’s parents want answers and they ask Jing-nan to investigate. The author is New York-based but with Taiwanese descent and this novel is out now for Kindle and out as a paperback on 27 July.
Buy now on Amazon
The Spy’s Daughter by Adam Brookes
Journalist and author Brookes reaches book three in his Philip Mangan series with his hero discredited and sidelined from the spy business. But Mangan and Trish Patterson spring into action for American teenager Pearl Tao, who has a gift for mathematics and a college sponsorship from a secretive technology corporation. Pearl is shocked to learn her talents are being used for ill – can Mangan and Patterson employ their considerable skills to help her escape? Out 27 July.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Painted Queen by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess
The latest (and probably last) Amelia Peabody book takes us back to 1912 Cairo. Our heroine and her archaeologist husband are on the hunt for the bust of none other than Queen Nefertiti. Things get underway when a man staggers into Amelia’s room in Cairo with a knife sticking out of his body, and it appears he’s been stabbed protecting her from an assassin. Her adventure continues as she heads out to a desert dig with her husband. Is her arch-enemy Sethos following them? Find out on 25 July. The book has been completed by Joan Hess from a manuscript left by Elizabeth Peters, following her sad passing in 2013. It’s 21st in the series.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Three Minutes by Anders Roslund and Börge Hellström
Piet Hoffman is living on the edge in this Swedish action thriller. He has escaped from a life term in prison and the Polish drug Mafia he betrayed. He is hiding out in Colombia with his family and a new identity. Then, he takes on work for a cocaine cartel but he can’t resist playing both sides and he is also taking the DEA’s dime. Precarious. It all tumbles down when an American politician is kidnapped. An alliance with an old adversary, the taciturn Swedish detective, DCI Ewart Grens, is his only hope in this twisting tale. Out 27 July.
Pre-order now on Amazon
She Be Damned by MJ Tjia
This debut by Australian author MJ Tjia was longlisted for the CWA Debut Dagger in 2015. Set in London in 1863, it introduces courtesan and professional detective Heloise Chancey, who is on the trail of a serial killer. Reminiscent of The Ripper, the perpetrator is murdering women in Waterloo after mutilating and removing their sexual organs. Heloise must venture into the darkest reaches of Victorian society to discover the truth, aided by her trusty Chinese maid, Amah Li Leen. Out 1 August.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Lonely Hearts by Gwyn GB
The second novel from this enigmatically surnamed author introduces DI Claire Falle and, as the title suggests, it has romance at its heart. Rachel works at an online dating agency, but someone is watching her every move and she is frightened. When clients begin to die, DI Falle has her work cut out to discover why they were targeted… and to stop Rachel being next in line. First in a series set in London and Norfolk – out now from indie publisher Chalky Dog.
Buy now on Amazon
