Leading French thriller author Pierre Lemaitre is back and if you enjoyed his Camille Verhoeven series, you’re in for a treat as he brings an anti-heroine spin to his latest, which will delight anyone who loves a spotty dog or two. See below. We’ve also got trickery in Florida, adventures on the Black Isle in Scotland and Liars Island in Devon, plus a real crime podcaster trying to solve… um… a fictional real crime.
Going to the Dogs by Pierre Lemaitre
Written by Pierre Lemaitre and translated by Frank Wynne, Going to the Dogs arrives on 21 November. And this is no furry story, instead Lemaitre uses his trademark mix of suspense and humour to turn the spotlight on Mathilde Perrin, a 63-year-old contract killer, and her Dalmatian, Ludo. Mathilde is engaged in a mission when her cool and ruthless shell cracks, and things begin to take a nasty turn. Is it time for her to stop and put her feet up? In reality, retirement is not an option, but with her mind unravelling and the bodies piling up, how long will be before Mathilde finds herself in the firing line?
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Shell Games by Bonnie Kistler
A bit like find the lady, a shell game requires sleight of hand and deception. The same could be said of the aptly titled Shell Games by Bonnie Kistler, which comes out in the US on 19 November. Julie is thrilled when her mother Kate marries long-lost childhood sweetheart Charlie. Kate might be 70, but she is a force to be reckoned with, a savvy businesswoman and a power broker in Florida politics. But when she says her new husband has admitted to a notorious unsolved crime from decades before, Kate’s competence is called into question. Does she have dementia, as Charlie claims, or is this just a ruse for him to get his hands on her money?
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Liars Island by T Orr Munro
A sparsely populated isle off the coast of North Devon is setting for a new novel by T Orr Munro featuring CSI Ally Dymond. Liars Island is out on 21 November, and as it opens an island community best known for smuggling and shipwrecks is reeling from news of a murder. The waters get even murkier when two locals confess to the crime. Each claims they acted alone meaning neither can be convicted while the other stands by their story. Which of them is telling the truth? Time for Ally to step into the fray – but as she searches for evidence that could crack the case, it becomes clear that the residents of Liars Island know more than they’re letting on.
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Deadfall by Aline Templeton
There’s something a little strange about the dark and sinister Drumdalloch Woods in the Black Isle near Inverness. It’s a place of tangled growth and shadowy darkness, and it has business opportunists, biological scientists and conflicted family members all competing for a say in its future. But all that comes to an abrupt halt when a body is found there – and DCI Kelso Strang’s investigation is hampered by a tangled web of hatred, greed and revenge. Just when life was starting to look good for Strang, this case is destined to bring him to his very limits. Deadfall by Aline Templeton arrives on 21 November.
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Nothing to See Here by Susan Lewis
Meet Cristy Ward, a true crime podcaster who is about to star in a new series of books by Susan Lewis. Cristy has a chaotic personal life, but give her a true crime investigation to get her teeth into and she’s absolutely on the ball. Three women died at Kellon Manse one fine summer’s day, and a young girl vanished and hasn’t been seen since. It’s believed the killer was the husband of one of the victims but he still walks free. It’s the perfect scenario for one of Cristy’s podcasts and as she digs deeper there’s one burning question that she’s determined to answer — is the missing girl still alive? See how Cristy gets on when Nothing to See Here is published on 21 November.
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