…or perhaps they’re here, as we wish everyone a happy Halloween and round up the latest crime releases, beginning with a much anticipated novel by Michael Connelly. Yes, Harry Bosch returns as a private detective in The Dark Hours, and he’ll be working with Connelly’s more recent creation, night shift LAPD detective Renee Ballard. We love all things Bosch, even the original Hieronymus, so we’re cock-a-hoop about this one.
And you can tell by this week’s selection that crime fiction publishers and authors are dialing up the ante as Christmas trudges closer. It includes some fantastic and varied novels as well as short stories by the likes of Mick Herron, Cathy Ace, Thomas Morris and S Williams. Whether you love historical, cosy or creepy-tastic thrillery crime fiction, there’s something worth reading…
The Dark Hours by Michael Connelly
A new Michael Connelly book featuring the double header of Renee Ballard and Harry Bosch is something to shout about, and The Dark Hours arrives on 9 November. It’s New Years Eve as Ballard works her customary graveyard shift. On the streets of Los Angeles people are gathering to mark the occasion. As midnight strikes, hundreds of guns are discharged into the air – but only minutes later, Ballard is called to a scene where a hardworking auto shop owner has been fatally hit by a bullet in the middle of a crowded street party. This was no accident and as Ballard investigates she finds links to another unsolved case, one that former LAPD detective Harry Bosch investigated. The pair must work together to solve this – but someone else is on their tails…
Pre-order now on Bookshop.org
Dolphin Junction by Mick Herron
For the first time, Mick Herron’s short fiction has been collected into one enticing volume. The contents include five standalone crime fiction stories, plus four mystery stories featuring the Oxford wife-and-husband detective team of shrewd Zoë Boehm and hapless Joe Silvermann. And if that’s not enough, the collection also boasts a a nod to the CWA Gold and Steel Dagger-winner’s most famous body of work, with a peek into the past of Jackson Lamb, irascible top agent at Slough House. Dolphin Junction is out on 9 November. Read our review of Slough House, the latest in the Lamb series.
Pre-order now on Bookshop.org
The Corpse with the Granite Heart by Cathy Ace
There’s a whiff of Christmas about The Corpse with the Granite Heart, book 11 in Cathy Ace‘s series featuring Welsh Canadian criminal psychologist Cait Morgan – but there’s little to be merry and bright about. Cait and her retired-cop husband Bud Anderson are in London to meet up with an old friend and his new fiancée. It’s meant to be a weekend of fun, good food and festive cheer until an untimely death at a posh dinner party puts paid to all that. Cait and Bud want to winkle out the truth, however a shadowy figure seems determined to keep everything under wraps as the body count rises. Grab a copy on 5 November.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Dublin Railway Murder by Thomas Morris
A locked door mystery based on a real-life Victorian crime? Bring it on! It’s November, 1856 when George Little, the chief cashier of the Broadstone railway terminus in Dublin, is found dead, lying in a pool of blood beneath his desk. He’s been beaten savagely, but there’s no sign of a murder weapon and the door was locked from the inside. Alongside Little’s body is a pile of silver and gold, worth thousands of pounds. Augustus Guy, Ireland’s most experienced detective, is called to investigate the murder but cannot make head nor tail of the case, while two celebrated sleuths sent by Scotland Yard soon return to London, baffled. Then a woman comes forward, claiming to know the identity of the killer… Thomas Morris’s The Dublin Railway Mystery is out on 11 November, and the hardback jacket looks wonderful with gold foil embossing.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Girl: Inside by S Williams
Following on from the well-received Girl: Broken, Girl: Inside by S Williams catches up with Daisy, who grew up abused by the cult known as The Fishermen. The house where she was imprisoned was destroyed by an explosion and all of the cult members were killed… Well, that’s what people thought. But some of them survived, including Inspector Slane, a key member of The Fishermen, and she’s has gathered together the remnants of the group and is out to find Daisy and eliminate her. Ex-cop Jay wants to help Daisy escape, but when people start to die, they are facing a seemingly impossible task. Out 1 November from Bloodhound Books.
Pre-order now on Amazon
