Where did January go? Though we must admit, there were times we thought it would never end. Bank accounts drained, we were forced to turn to crime. Crime fiction, of course. Books. The kind we all love. As we crawl into February, let’s have a look at some new crime novels to get us through the winter. There’s plenty of heat in Gregg Hurwitz’s latest Orphan X book, and we also have a take on old school noir Italiano with new author Marek Z Turner. AK Benedict is back with something really quite creepy, we have weed farms and illegal immigrants with Francesco Paola, and a cool new series set in London by Charlotte Philby. Plenty to look forward to…
Nemesis by Gregg Hurwitz
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We’ve reached book 10 in Gregg Hurwitz‘s popular Orphan X series, and Evan Smoak is in crisis. He thinks of Tommy Stojack as his best friend – but now the gunsmith who builds Evan’s weapons and combat gear has crossed a line. Evan’s only recourse is to fight back, and he sets off to track down the man who was once his only ally. Meanwhile, Tommy is on a quest of his own, honouring a promise to help a dead friend’s son. A face-off between the pair seems inevitable… but an even more dangerous threat is about to arrive on the scene and things are going to get incendiary. Will any of them survive? Nemesis is out on 11 February.
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Born to Lose: Tales of Gigi by Marek Z Turner
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Marek Z Turner employs a mixture of vignettes, flash fiction and short stories to great effect in Born to Lose: Tales of Gigi, published on 10 February. We’re in 1970s Turin, where Gianluigi ‘Gigi’ Moretti, a criminal with plenty of talents but very little luck has hit hard times and is struggling to even pay his rent, let alone make his fortune. Follow this unfortunate crook through 11 short form tales that combine crime with a hint of comedy.
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Little Red Death by AK Benedict
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Once upon a time, DI Lyla Rondell was faced with a case that had her perplexed… She is investigating a series of deaths that the press has dubbed the Grimm Ripper Murders, each of them apparently based on a different classic fairy tale. But what makes things more difficult for Lyra is that the killer’s bloody trail takes her deep into her own origin story. When she discovers the truth, it seems like nothing will ever be the same again. Is there a happy ever after? Find out when AK Benedict‘s Little Red Death arrives on 13 February.
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Left on Rancho by Francesco Paola
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The only people who ever go left on Rancho are interested in one of two things – cannabis or immigration. It’s October 2019 when Andrew Eastman arrives in Adelanto, a desolate outpost in the Mojave Desert. He’s there to help an old pal turn a fledgling legal weed operation into profit, but the twin threats of illegal growers and protesters helping migrants to escape from the nearby ICE detention centre force Andrew to ask questions and draw unwanted attention to himself. Those questions lead him to the underbelly of Los Angeles – and a whole lot of trouble. Left on Rancho by Francesco Paola is published on 11 February.
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Dirty Money by Charlotte Philby
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Ramona Chang was an investigative journalist until her last big scoop left her with a target on her back. Now she’s a private detective, lying low in the East End of London – until a case looking into an upmarket escort agency takes a dark turn. The information she needs is known only to people in power so how is she to access it? Meanwhile, DS Madeleine Farrow is a high-flying operative at a government agency whose latest assignment needs someone on the outside, capable of moving undetected… Hmm, looks like this pair could help each other, maybe? Dirty Money, the first in a new series by Charlotte Philby, is out on 13 February.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org