Our crime fiction radar is tracking five incoming novels that will have you excited – especially if you like books with a unique atmosphere, and enjoy discovering new writers. We lead off with the well-known literary crime author William Boyle and his latest Brooklyn story. But you might be new to the names Ken Harris, JK Flynn, Steve Wick and Rachel Donohue, who will take you from the backwoods of Grindsville to the wild west coast of Ireland…
Saint of the Narrows Street by William Boyle

William Boyle is back in his beloved Brooklyn for Saint of the Narrows Street, out 4 February in the US and 13 March in the UK. It’s there we meet Risa Franzone and her sister Giulia. Risa is married to Saverio and has a baby son, Fabrizio. Sav is a lazy, good-for-nothing bully, and when he and Risa get into a violent fight, Giulia steps in and whacks him with a cast iron pan. Suddenly, there’s no more Sav – but a whole lot of trouble… Do the sisters tell the cops, or cover up the death? With the help of Sav’s childhood friend, they opt for the latter – but as the years pass by, the three conspirators, and baby Fabrizio, now grown up, are still grappling with the after-effects of that fateful night.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
The Ballad of the Great Value Boys by Ken Harris

Private eye Steve Rockfish is back for his fourth story in The Ballad of the Great Value Boys by Ken Harris, published on 6 February. Once again he and his partner, Jawnie McGee, find themselves in all sorts of trouble. A call from an old grifter friend has them heading to Grindsville, a run down steel town that’s home to a local militia called the Penn Forest Patriots. Their pal has the Patriots all riled up, and the partners soon realise they are sitting on a powder keg that’s heading for insurrection and domestic terrorism. Can they act fast and save this assault on democracy?
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Pentacle by JK Flynn

Looking for a police procedural with a frisson of the occult? You’ve found it. JK Flynn’s Pentacle, out on 4 February, is the third in a series featuring DS Esther Penman, and when a teenage girl goes missing, Penman’s hunt leads her to an abandoned cabin in the woods, its interior emblazoned with odd symbols and showing signs of strange rituals taking place within its walls. Young Mina isn’t there though, and as the investigation gathers pace, things aren’t looking good for her chances. In the hills above Bellfield, there are worse thing to be uncovered – but are the police savvy enough to put all the pieces together in time?
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The Ruins by Steve Wick

Debut author Steve Wick explores the horrific premise of Nazis in the USA in The Ruins, published on 4 February. It’s 1954, and in Lindenhurst, Long Island, a crowd of German-speaking men are gathered in a bar to listen to listen to the first game of the World Series between the New York Giants and the Cleveland Indians. The town’s new chief of police, Paul Beirne, is otherwise engaged – a woman’s mutilated body has been found in a field and there’s been a suspicious accident on the railroad tracks. Paul still has nightmares about his time as a POW in Japan, and soon he will have new battles to fight, aided by his Holocaust survivor friend, Doc.
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The Glass House by Rachel Donohue

Controversial political philosopher Richard Acklehurst lives in isolated modernist mansion, and in 1963, as the New Year is about to arrive, he dies there. The mystery surrounding their father’s death has never been solved, and over 30 years later his daughters Aisling and Stella must return to their family home. Their father’s grave has been defiled – an act that is about to bring long-suppressed memories to the surface. In a story that moves from the West of Ireland to Dublin, London, Florence and back, Rachel Donohue’s The Glass House focuses on love, regret and vengeance. It’s out on 6 February.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
Thanks for the mention! The Great Value Boys is a wild ride.