On the Radar — This is pretty unusual… and we can’t remember having an all-female line-up in our On the Radar weekly news column ever before. But that’s what we’ve got and there’s some great variety this week with highly established authors like Louise Penny appearing side-by-side with self-published Emma Salisbury as well as debut crime author Charlotte JR Baker. Espionage, procedural, domestic noir and more. Take your pick…
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A Better Man by Louise Penny
In the last novel in this epic series by Canadian author Louise Penny she had her investigator Armand Gamache leading from the front. And when the smoke cleared, he had to account for his actions so in A Better Man he has been demoted from chief superintendent of the entire Sûreté du Québec to chief inspector in his old division, the serious crimes unit. His former protege is now his boss and Gamache is assigned to assist a nervous young female detective as she starts investigating the case of a woman who has gone missing just outside Montreal. Vivienne Godin had called the police before due to her violent husband, but now she’s gone and her father is getting worried. Climate chaos means the ice on the St Lawrence and its tributaries is rising and when it melts floods are on their way. Then, a body is discovered… Find out more on 27 August.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Trust Me, I’m Dead by Sherryl Clark
Hopes are high for this thriller, which was nominated for the CWA Debut Dagger for an unpublished first novel during its development. Judi Westerholme’s drug addict brother is dead – of an overdose, she assumes. But when Judi returns home for the funeral she discovers her estranged sibling had turned his life around, got clean, married and brought up a family. So why was he killed in an apparent drug deal shooting, and where’s his wife? Judi decides to investigate further, digging up a few skeletons and putting herself in danger in the process. Trust Me, I’m Dead is out 22 August. Another sibling with secrets features in Over Your Shoulder by 1999 Debut Dagger winner CJ Carver.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Flesh and Blood by Emma Salisbury
Self-published crime author Emma Salisbury has made a name for herself writing gritty procedurals and book five in her series featuring Salford DS Kevin Coupland is out on 23 August. Coupland is called out to a fatal fire at a local residential home for vulnerable people. Arson is suspected, and when it is revealed that one of the victims is the sister of local gangster Kieran Tunney, a wave of revenge attacks threaten to bring the city to a standstill. It’s all Coupland needs as he prepares to face a professional standards hearing, but as he probes deeper, what he uncovers is about to have mighty big repercussions…
Pre-order now on Amazon
I Spy by Claire Kendal
Who keeps their eyes on the spies? A good question, and one that’s at the heart of this standalone psychological thriller that’s out on 22 August. Former spook Holly Lawrence loved the job she’d dreamt of doing since she was a child. Now she’s an ex-spy and hiding under an assumed name, with no friends and a heightened sense of danger. Which is just as well, because when her past comes rushing back to meet her head-on, Holly realises the tables have turned and she’s now the one being spied upon. How far will she have to go to find a safe haven? For more espionage, try Mick Herron‘s Jackson Lamb series.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Themis by Charlotte JR Baker
Derbyshire-based author and creative writing lecturer Charlotte Baker has released her first crime novel and it looks like it has a unique feel to it. There’s a secret organisation out there called Themis, which is dedicated to meting out justice beyond what the police, courts and prison service can provide. But is what Themis does really all that just? 15-year-old Liberty is about to find out, and as Themis and its activities start to get a little bit less secret two reporters begin sniffing around and people start going missing. Bodies are discovered and everything is dialled up further when Themis begins to attract police scrutiny. Out now in print, and for Kindle from 23 August.
Buy now on Amazon