As the months of 2024 whizzed past, there were times when real life seemed way stranger than fiction. But when everything around you is going to hell in a handcart it’s the perfect opportunity to lose yourself within the pages of a book – and which better genre to do that, than crime? Strangely enough, my chosen five are all set in the UK this year, but each one of them has the power to drag you in and hold you tight – a bit like a hug… but with knuckledusters!
5 – Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter by Nicci French
This mixture of cold case and police procedural opens with a 50th birthday party and is a gripping take on family trauma by the accomplished husband and wife team that is Nicci French. The do is for Alec, husband of the titular Charlotte Salter, and when she doesn’t turn up after planning the whole thing he just gets on and enjoys himself – while his children, and in particular daughter Etty, worry about their Mum. Move on three decades and a pair of podcasters with links to the story decide to solve the case that has gone icy cold. Chuck in a police officer sent from the Met on what is perceived as a fool’s errand and you have the ingredients for an immersive read packed with surprises. Read the review.
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4 – Dead Fall by AK Turner
Cassie Raven has become a favourite character of mine, and in this fourth outing for the unique anatomical pathology technician who can talk to the dead, author AK Turner is really at the top of her game. In Dead Fall, the multi-pierced and heavily tattooed Cassie finds the past coming back to haunt her – literally, as the body of a girl she knew at school turns up on her slab and seems keen to share her story. These days Bronte is a troubled pop star, making headlines for her excesses rather than her music, and the echoes of fellow Camden luminary Amy Winehouse are loud and clear in a book that turns the spotlight on the evils of social media and press intrusion. Our review is here.
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3 – The Dark Wives by Ann Cleeves
Vera Stanhope is perhaps best known for her TV iteration these days, where she is played by the incomparable Brenda Blethyn. But we crime fiction lovers met the doughty Detective first within the pages of a book, and over 11 novels Ann Cleeves has created a hugely loved character. Vera is at her most Vera-ish in The Dark Wives, keeping up appearances after the death of a member of her team in The Rising Tide. Outwardly, she’s her usual stoic self, but Cleeves takes us behind the mask to show Vera’s more vulnerable side – and this book is all the more readable for it. Add beautifully rendered north eastern landscapes and a cleverly woven plot and you’ve got one of the best in the series so far. Read our review.
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2 – Midnight and Blue by Ian Rankin
How the mighty have fallen! Another beloved character made his reappearance in print this year – but with John Rebus behind bars in Edinburgh it was hard to imagine where Ian Rankin was going with this one. Our double Crime Fiction Award 2024 winner did not disappoint though, and Midnight and Blue is a testament to a writer who never short-changes his legions of fans. No cruising from this author, instead he treats us to a cracking good read, offering up a book he has dubbed ‘the first locked-cell mystery’. Bars may be confining our disgraced ex-cop, but they don’t stop Rankin from letting his imagination fly. And outside prison, some familiar faces take a fair share of the limelight too. A masterclass in series writing. Read our review here.
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1 – Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney
It takes quite a book to knock John Rebus and Ian Rankin off the top spot, but Deadly Animals is definitely up to the challenge. Marie Tierney collected the inaugural Val McDermid Debut of the Year Award at Harrogate in the summer, and more recently the Editor’s Choice Best Debut in our very own CFL Awards – and both accolades are well deserved. It stars Ava Bonney, a slightly built 13-year-old – and a character I’ll remember with fondness for a long, long time. The book opens as the girl who likes to pick up roadkill and study it as it decomposes comes across the body of a fellow teenager – and rather than run away screaming, she studiously surveys the corpse before calling the cops while disguising her voice. Yep, Ava is definitely a one-off and well worth knowing, so if you haven’t grabbed a copy of this one yet I recommend you do so soon! Read our review.
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