On the Radar — The American author Thomas Harris has only written five novels but he’s one of the most impactful crime writers of all time. The Hannibal Lecter series – Red Dragon, The Silence of the Lambs, Hannibal and Hannibal Rising – has been a huge success on the bookshelf, on the big screen and on the small screen too. So the excitement is building for Harris’ latest novel, a tense, literary affair that might just reach into the primeval core of men, and women.

That’s not all, this week we also have thrillers and detective stories, and something unique from Sweden too.

Cari Mora by Thomas Harris

It’s 13 years since the last novel by Thomas Harris, and the creator of Hannibal Lecter, one of the finest villains in 20th century crime fiction has come up with something new. The beautiful Cari Mora is an immigrant, working as the caretaker of an expensive property on Miami Beach. Nearby, it’s thought a fortune in gold bullion has been buried and one of the men seeking that treasure is Hans-Peter Schneider, an obsessive character with dark appetites. Cari catches his eye but if he tries to make her his quarry, he might find he gets more than he bargained for. It’s out 16 May for Kindle and 21 May as a hardback.
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Rogue Killer by Leigh Russell

Suspicion falls on a gang of muggers when man dies in an apparently random attack on the streets of York, but DS Geraldine Steel has her doubts and her fears seem vindicated when two similar cases come to light. As she sets out to follow her own agenda and catch a killer, Steel is about to put herself right in the firing line – but as fans of this series know all too well, that’s nothing unusual for a feisty protagonist who is never content to play by the rules… Out now for Kindle and on 23 May as a paperback.
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Out of the Ashes by Vicky Newham

Turn a Blind Eye, Vicky Newham’s debut novel, was well received and introduced readers to DI Maya Rahman, a London detective who is pulled between her Asian background and English reality while balancing family and work commitments. Out of the Ashes returns to London’s East End, where protests against gentrification in Brick Lane are about to take a fatal turn. Rahman and her Australian DS Dan Maguire have their work cut out to uncover the truth when a case of arson leaves two people dead. Out on 30 May.
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Never Be Broken by Sarah Hilary

We’ve reached book six in Sarah Hilary’s award-winning series featuring DI Marnie Rome and her sidekick DS Noah Jake, and in a case that mirrors today’s real-life headlines the pair is battling knife crime on the streets of London. Children are dying as a result of gang culture and few people seem to care. These are kids who are drifting through life, befriended, recruited and then exploited. Then a young white girl is stabbed to death and the establishment begins to take notice. The pressure is building on Rome and Jake – but with problems of his own to deal with, can Noah keep his mind on the job at hand? Out on 16 May.
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The Carrier by Mattias Berg

‘We two against the world.’ That’s the message Erasmus Levine receives from Alpha, the secret head of a group of security men, one of whom travels with the US president at all times carrying the nuclear briefcase. They were set up after 9/11 and basically hold the fate of humanity in their hands. However, it seems as though Alpha has another agenda and wants Levine to help him. It sounds like a noble plan to rid the world of nuclear weapons once and for all, but soon Levine begins to suspect that it’s really a plot to bring about nuclear apocalypse. This Swedish thriller is not only complex but it draws in big themes and it arrives on 23 May.
Pre-order now on Amazon