On the Radar — Lincoln Rhyme is right up there with the best detectives in crime fiction, and Jeffery Deaver has made the character a favourite with readers around the world. What’s fascinating about Rhyme, who was played by Denzel Washington in The Bone Collector, is that a spinal injury has confined him to his apartment. But his mind can roam and with the help of his partner and protege Amelia, out there gathering evidence, it’s almost as though there’s no crime he can’t solve. Or is there…?
We’re excited to bring you news of the latest in the series, plus eight more new crime reads, some of which are based on equally fascinating concepts. Read on and discover your next crime fiction favourite.
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Lincoln Rhyme is back for his 14th appearance, and this time he’s taking on The Promisor, a frenzied killer who targets happy couples as they are planning their big day. The first deaths are at a jewellers in New York’s Diamond District, where a pair of love birds were about to buy an engagement ring. As the paraplegic investigator Rhyme and his partner Amelia Sachs take on the case, and the deadly perpetrator, they are led up many a blind alley before the truth is finally uncovered in this twisty thriller that’s out on May 17. Author Jeffery Deaver is one of America’s leading crime writers and we interviewed him here.
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It was 25 years ago when the Marineland resort burnt down on the Southend seafront. On that same night, a young woman was raped and murdered but no one was caught. Now DI Grace Fisher is tasked with taking a fresh look at the case after new DNA evidence is uncovered. Meanwhile, cub reporter Freddie Craig decides to make a name for himself by conducting his own investigation, but as his digging turns into an obsession, will either of them ever discover the truth? Out 17 May.
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Gambling debts? The ideal thing is to take your mind off them for a few hours by, say, going to a football match. That’s what Kipp Brown decides to do with his son Mungo, but when Mungo is snatched Kipp’s debts seem the least of his worries. The kidnappers have said not to go to the police but that’s just what he decides to do and Peter James’ veteran Brighton detective DS Roy Grace is on the case. It’s out on 17 May.
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How do you feel about speculative crime fiction? In a reimagined contemporary Edinburgh, a tectonic fault has opened up. Tremors are an everyday occurrence and a volcanic island has appeared in the Firth of Forth. The new island is called The Inch, and it is a place volcanologist Surtsey visits for a clandestine meeting with her lover, Tom. But on her arrival she finds Tom dead and she panics.The decision to keep the death, and her affair, a secret is about to lead Surtsey into a nightmare of seismic proportions. Out now for Kindle and on 22 May as a paperback. Doug Johnstone’s Hit and Run is a must-read release from back in 2012.
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Bridget lives a quiet, unassuming life with her husband and son and works hard to keep her business going. Then a chance meeting changes everything when she sees the music teacher who abused her when she was younger. He’s with a teenager he’s clearly grooming and something snaps inside Bridget. Her carefully built facade is about to come tumbling down – but Bridget isn’t about to let that happen. And what she decides to do could have serious repercussions… Out 17 May. In June 2017 we reviewed the author’s book The Day She Disappeared.
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An interesting concept here from the radio producer turned crime novelist Mark Hill. It involves a young woman called Tatia. She was adopted as a child, but when a younger sibling died in an accident she was given the blame and rejected by her new family. Now, 20 years on, she’s a bit of a drifter in the London suburbs. Perhaps it’s a loving home she wants as she moves into people’s houses while they’re away on holiday. But is she the one DI Ray Drake and DS Flick Crowley (yeah, really, the names, huh?) are after when bodies start turning up in the ‘burbs? It’s dark and it’s out 17 May.
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This is one of those psychological thrillers that sets out to take you right to the edge – especially if you’re a parent. Imagine you’ve had a caesarian section and you wake up wanting to see your baby. The nurses present you with an infant but, lovely as it is, you just know it’s not yours. What’s more, the main character in this one is a doctor, so author Susi Fox pits the reasoned thinking of a medical professional against the instincts of a mother. If that’s enough to hook you, Mine is out now for Kindle, and on 14 June as a paperback.
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Shakespeare redone as crime fiction. It’s a thing. We recently reviewed Jo Nesbo’s version of Macbeth and David Hewson is next up, having also reshaped Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. This time he turns to the classic tragedy. Unusually the audiobook, narrated by the talented Richard Armitage, was released last year, before the novel. It has received considerable acclaim. Hewson’s long running Nic Costa crime series draws heavily on its Roman setting. We can expect a powerful evocation of medieval Italy as the starcrossed couple and all their machinations come unstuck in a fateful week in Verona. Released 17 May.
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New York is the city that never sleeps, and the White Night could take down the career of Homicide Detective Jen Connors. She has just returned to the force after suffering life-threatening injuries and has been paired with Detective Alan Ross, who carries a bad reputation with him. Will it work out for the new partners, or will the White Night be their demise? Whoever’s behind it is playing the NYPD against them. This book, first in a series, is out now.
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