Welcome back! We’ve missed you. Our news column this week is full of fascinating crime and mystery novels with settings as varied as Tuscany, Nunavut and Merseyside. And it’s that latter location where we’ll start our journey. Enjoy…
Better Off Dead by Sean Watkin
We’re moving a little way outside the Liverpool boundaries for Sean Watkin’s Better off Dead, out on 22 January. However, the discovery of a body in Formby Woods soon leads back to the city, and what happened in this author’s highly regarded debut, Black Water Rising. DCI Win de Silva and DS Barclay are still processing those shocking discoveries, with the ripple effect seeping into both of their personal lives. The Formby find is obviously decades old, but another more recent death forces the pair to focus on what they’re both good at – getting their heads down and solving the case. Success will come at a price, though.
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An Enigma by the Sea by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini
An exclusive gated community deep in a dark pine forest on the Tuscan coast is the setting for An Enigma by the Sea by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini, out in translation on 22 January. A disparate group of wealthy people have gathered in the luxury villas as Christmas approaches, and their perfect lives take a knock when a body is washed up on the beach. It sets in motion a whole wave of strange happenings, and it’s up to Carabinieri Monforti to put the pieces together and come up with a convincing final picture. Translated by Gregory Dowling, there’s more than a hint of Agatha Christie’s Poirot in this story, originally published in the mid-1990s.
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A Gift Before Dying by Malcolm Kempt
Let’s head to Arctic Canada, where a disgraced police investigator is about to discover that his path to redemption is paved with ice — and blood. In the aftermath of a high-profile murder investigation that went badly wrong, Corporal Elderick Cole has been exiled to the remote, rugged landscape of Nunavut. He’s alone and broken, and the discovery of the hanged body of Pitseolala, a troubled Inuit girl he had sworn to protect, sends him close to the brink. But the death ignites a spark inside Cole and he sets out to find Pitseolala’s killer. A Gift Before Dying by Malcolm Kempt is published on 20 January.
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Very Slowly All at Once by Lauren Schott
Debut author Lauren Schott dives head first into the psychological thriller pool with Very Slowly All at Once, out on 20 January in the US, and 29 January in the UK. Mack and Hailey Evans have it all – established careers, two beautiful children and a new house on a coveted lakefront estate. But success comes at a price, and when they begin to receive mysterious payments they think little about where the money came from and just spend it. Big mistake, because it soon becomes clear that their anonymous benefactor expects a return on their investment. Just how far will the couple have to go to pay them back?
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Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston
Camille Bayliss is sure that her husband Ben is hiding things from her but he tracks her every move, so she can’t prove anything. Meanwhile, Aubrey Price believes that Ben knows more than he will admit about the night that wrecked her life a decade ago. When the two women meet, they concoct a plan that will give them both the answers they seek. And everything goes well, until Ben is found murdered and Camilla and Aubrey both need a solid alibi. One false move, and their carefully-constructed scheming will bring them both down. Find out what happens on 13 January, when Anatomy of an Alibi by Ashley Elston is published.
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