On the Radar — As our Classics in September 2017 event gets underway, it seems fitting to lead off with a story that takes a Golden Age approach to a murder mystery, and features the Mitford family – icons of the early- and mid-20th century. Yes, journalist Jessica Fellowes is turning the Mitford sisters into detectives. But if that doesn’t float your boat, we’ll send you off to Russia for an espionage thriller, or banish you to Norway where a frozen woman has been discovered. Read on for this week’s new releases…
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The Mitford Murders by Jessica Fellowes
This is the first in a new Golden Age-style murder mystery series by the author of the Downton Abbey books mixes fact with fiction. The Mitford Murders features the real-life Mitford sisters, six extraordinary women from a gentry family who pursued various different lifestyles and espoused some extreme political views. Now they are to be detectives, and when Florence Nightingale’s god-daughter is murdered, young Nancy Mitford and her chaperone and confidante Louise Cannon set out to find the killer. Out 14 September – watch for our review.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Moscow at Midnight by Sally McGrane
He may have been surplus to requirements after a reshuffle but Max Rushmore finds himself back on the CIA’s books and in Moscow searching for a missing nuclear waste disposal expert. He starts to wonder if she is actually dead and his only clue is a rare Siberian diamond that he is soon chasing across the country. Debut author and American journalist Sally McGrane is based in Berlin but knows Russia and its culture intimately. This spy novel promises a classic espionage tale that will twist and turn but also delves into modern Russia. Out 14 September.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Frozen Woman by Jon Michelet
New Scandinavian crime fiction as Vilhelm Thygesen is an ex-cop turned left wing lawyer who has a problem when the frozen body of a woman turns up in his garden. He left the force in disgrace under a murder charge so the police aren’t going to give him an easy ride. DCIs Arve Stribolt and Vanja Vaage are investigating but a murdered biker and a shady politician soon complicate the picture. Michelet is twice garlanded with The Riverton Prize for Norway’s best crime novel. Translated by the redoubtable Don Bartlett, this is one Nordic noir novel that you won’t want to miss. Released 21 September.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Cossack by KJ Lawrence
The photographer and new author KJ Lawrence writes about what she knows in this debut crime novel about a fine art photographer whose assistant disappears in mysterious circumstances. Daniel Brooking has just had his first major exhibition, but is compelled to find out what has happened to his employee and finds himself drawn into international intrigue involving protests in Ukraine, and a 200-year-old secret. What’s more, it has a great cover. It’s out 14 September and watch for our review.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Death Wish by Linda Huber
New from the author of Baby Dear, here’s a new spin on domestic noir. It seemed like a good idea at the time, but going into business with his mother-in-law turns into a nightmare for Leo. His wife, Ashley also hates the woman. Meanwhile, next-door neighbour Joya is only eight and is facing a different set of circumstances with arguing parents and a dying grandmother. Toxicity meets tragedy as the two families collide and, as the title suggests, death is on the cards – wished for or not! Out now.
Buy now on Amazon
The False Men by Mhairead MacLeod
Inspired by a true story, The False Men is set in 1848, on the Hebridean Isle of North Uist. At the height of the brutal Highland Clearances, which saw huge numbers of crofters cleared from the land to make way for more profitable sheep farming by rich landlords, Jess MacKay, daughter of a local landowner, looks on in horror as her friends are ripped from their homes. It’s time to decide where her heart, and her loyalties, truly lie. Out 14 September.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Nameless by David McCaffrey
We first met the Irish crime reporter Joe O’Connell in David McCaffrey’s debut, Hellbound: The Tallyman. Now O’Connell is back and his obsession with The Tallyman – serial killer Obadiah Stark – leads him into the path of a cult that has formed, which is carrying out killings in Stark’s name. One terrifying serial killer has multiplied to become an army. Out now.
Buy now on Amazon
