Tell Me How it Ends by VB Grey
England in the early 1950s must have been a pretty grey and dismal place to live. The country was still recovering from World War II, and rationing didn’t end until 1954. No wonder, then, that the 1960s were ‘swinging’ as a new sense of freedom…
Matthew Henson and the Ice Temple by Gary Phillips
Los Angeles-based author Gary Phillips has been writing crime in a variety of styles and media for nearly 30 years. I can remember reading about his black PI, Ivan Monk, in books such as Violent Spring in the late 90s. He’s since branched out into…
On the Radar: Here comes a candle to light you to bed
A strong concept will make for an enjoyable read if it’s executed correctly, and so we’re very much looking forward to Oranges and Lemons by Christopher Fowler, in which the murders follow the pattern of the old London-based nursery rhyme. And, of course, execution is…
The Part-Time Job by PD James
Many readers are familiar with legendary crime author PD James through her novels about Detective Chief Inspector Adam Dalgliesh or her private detective Cordelia Gray. However, she was a skilled writer of short stories as well and on 14 July Faber & Faber is celebrating…
Ash Mountain
Helen FitzGerald is fast cornering the market in quirky psychological crime and this standalone novel is no exception. Fran is forced to return to the dead-end Aussie town of Ash Mountain to care for her father, who is terminally ill. She hates the place, and…
Seven Lies
The tired tropes of the domestic thriller are brushed away in Elizabeth Kay’s debut novel which is about the 20-year friendship of best friends Jane and Marnie. Jane narrates. Both young women marry, but Jane’s husband is soon killed by an errant taxi. She loathes…