What could be more distressing than a decapitation? Well, a head rolling is what gets the ball rolling in the first book in our roundup of new releases – that of a female actor in the latest from Guy Morpuss. However, in the remaining four books it’s leading ladies who drive the narratives and, in most cases, try to solve the crimes. Enjoy…
A Trial in Three Acts by Guy Morpuss
There is a sense of theatre about being in court – the costumes, the drama, the setting – and the two worlds collide in A Trial in Three Acts by Guy Morpuss, which arrives on 6 March. When a leading lady is beheaded on stage in a smash-hit play, the dead woman’s co-star – and ex-husband – is charged with her murder. But did Hollywood legend Leo Lusk really do the dastardly deed? Defence barrister Charles Konig is brought in to prove his innocence, and as the trial progresses, he realises that if justice is to be done, he must unmask the real killer.
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Her Sister’s Killer by Mari Hannah
Mari Hannah‘s latest in the Northumberland-set series featuring newly promoted Inspector Frankie Oliver and her former boss DCI David Stone sees the pair following disparate paths in pursuit of the same aim. Oliver is obsessed with finding her sister’s killer and bringing them to justice, while the discovery of new evidence gives Stone the impetus to begin an investigation of his own – behind Oliver’s back. The secrecy threatens to ruin a relationship that has been forged over several years, but if they can finally unearth the truth, is that a risk worth taking? Find out when Her Sister’s Killer is published on 6 March.
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A Scandalous Affair by Leonard Goldberg
The social mores of Britain at the height of the Great War come under the microscope in Leonard Goldberg’s A Scandalous Affair, out on 4 March and the latest in his series featuring Joanna Holmes, daughter of the famed Sherlock. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Sir William Radcliffe is being blackmailed by someone who has salacious photographs of his daughter in assignations with a man who is not her fiance, and if they come to light she will be ruined. The game’s afoot as Joanna and the Watsons work together to track down the blackmailer and get their hands on the evidence before irreparable harm comes to the chancellor and his family.
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Count My Lies by Sophie Stava
Lies, whether they be big or small, are a cornerstone of the crime fiction world. Time to meet Sloane Caraway, who is not averse to bending the truth a bit when the fancy takes her. They’re just harmless little fibs, right? But things get a bit more complicated when a little girl gets stung by a bee in the playground one afternoon and Sloane claims to be a nurse and removes it. Soon she is nanny to Violet Lockhart, working for the child’s very attractive (and rich) father, Jay. They have a perfect life – surely it could be Sloane’s life too? Depends on how far she’s prepared to go to achieve her goals… Count My Lies by debut author Sophie Stava is out on 4 March.
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Broken Fields by Marcie R Rendon
Broken Fields by Native American author Marcie R Rendon, out on 4 March, is the fourth book to feature Cash Blackbear, a young Ojibwe woman and occasional sleuth. It’s spring in 1970s Minnesota, and Cash is working the fields for local farmer Bud Borgerud – until she finds him dead. The only witness is a terrified young Shawnee girl who refuses to speak and whose parents have vanished. Cash is determined to find out what happened in that farmhouse, but as she races against time to learn the truth and to find the missing parents, another body is discovered. With the pressure mounting, Cash must also deal with ghosts from her past.
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