On the Radar — Here we are again, like clockwork, with a new instalment of On the Radar, featuring the latest crime novels to hit the shelves. This week, author Andrew Wilson turns the clock back to 1927 as he once again sets Agatha Christie out not as a crime author but a crime solver, and in A Different Kind of Evil she’s also working for British Intelligence (is there such a thing?). We’ve plenty more for you to devour. Ruth Ware’s latest is being released, there’s a new gothic mystery set in Edinburgh, and doesn’t the debut Find You in the Dark sound like it has an interesting premise?
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A Different Kind of Evil by Andrew Wilson
The second novel in Andrew Wilson’s series featuring none other than the Queen of Crime herself, Agatha Christie, finds our heroine on her way to the sunny Canary Islands. It’s no holiday jaunt though, at the behest of British Special Agent Davison, Agatha sets off by boat to investigate the strange and gruesome death of Douglas Greene, an agent of the British Secret Intelligence Service. However, on the way she gets sidetracked by a woman throwing herself overboard from the cruise ship. We previously reviewed A Talent for Murder. Out 31 May.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware
With the loan sharks circling, Harriet Westaway is delighted to find out her Cornish gran has left her a pile of cash. Particularly as she is fully aware her grandparents died 20 years ago and it’s a case of mistaken identity. She needs that money and with a sideline as a seaside fortune teller she is confident she can bluff her way through. Soon events take a more sinister turn in this dark psychological thriller. Ruth Ware’s The Woman in Cabin 10 sold by the metric ton but we rated her last book, The Lying Game, as better. Released 29 May in the US, 28 June in the UK.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Loch of the Dead by Oscar de Muriel
There is a wonderful cover in this, the fourth in the Victorian Gothic crime series featuring Inspectors Frey and ‘Nine-Nails’ McGray. A woman asks the pair for help after her son, the heir to a vast wine-producing estate, receives an an anonymous death threat. In return, she offers McGray access to a miraculous spring on an island at Loch Maree, which could provide a cure for his sister who has been locked in an insane asylum after brutally murdering their parents. It’s tempting, but this sacred burial ground holds many dark secrets… We’ve previously reviewed The Strings of Murder. Out on 31 May.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Find You in the Dark by Nathan Ripley
A debut thriller with an interesting premise, which comes out as a paperback on 31 May. Martin Reese has an obsession. He secretly buys up police files on serial killers, studies them and uses what he discovers to find missing bodies then turns over his findings, anonymously, to the police. He thinks of his work as a public service, but Detective Sandra Whittal sees things differently. She wants to find the man she calls The Finder before he has any thoughts of turning killer himself. Meanwhile, Martin’s latest investigation takes a dangerous turn.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Red Hot Front by Harry Brett
Oh, we do like to be beside the seaside… especially when the salty air of Great Yarmouth beckons for the second instalment in Harry Brett’s gritty series featuring widow Tatiana Goodwin. Her husband’s business empire had its share of criminal entanglements but she stands to profit. She plans to cash in and leave the crime behind but it’s not easy to shake off her gangster husband’s past. A fire in the company HQ and a mounting death toll soon leave Tatty fighting to protect her family as Brett mines the seamier side of the coastal resort. Released 31 May.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Meltdown by GP James
If the names Chernobyl and Fukushima get your heart fluttering with anxiety then this thriller promises to set your pulse pounding. An unexpected but devastating earthquake rocks the northeast of the USA and the ageing infrastructure of the Bear Mountain Nuclear Energy Center creaks and groans. Plant supervisor Trace Crane fights to save the reactor while his wife, Avi, desperately searches for their daughter. Soon radiation is spilled into the environment and millions of people in the New York City area scramble for survival. It’s not just the plant that is in meltdown as humanity faces a devastating threat. Out now.
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I initially clicked on this page to see what the Agatha Christie book was about, but then the next two sounded like they are right up my alley as well. Cheers for the reviews.