The truth is that we’re not yet sure exactly what pottery occurs in Cathy Ace’s new novel, The Case of the Petrified Potter. We don’t know if pots get smashed, baked in a kiln, or whether the pot calls the kettle black. But we do know that readers love a little cosy crime fiction at the moment so we’ll start our report with Cathy’s new WISE detective agency novel – which stand for Wales, Ireland, Scotland and England – because it exemplifies that cosy vibe. We also bring you a new ‘everyone’ book from Benjamin Stevenson, a dark academia thriller by JR Thornton, new Japanese crime fiction and two wartime thrillers. It’s a week that’s cosy and a whole lot more. Read on and find your next crime novel…
The Case of the Petrified Potter by Cathy Ace
The women of the WISE Enquiries Agency are back, this time tasked with solving a mystery that happened more than 40 years ago. In 1984, four girls visited a small Welsh mining village to attend a memorial service for its most famous son. One of them died that day – but was it murder? And if so, who committed the crime? Meanwhile, new mum Christine can’t resist unravelling a puzzle dating back to Elizabethan times, and in Anwen-by-Wye, the reopening of the Old School as an artisans’ hub is bringing problems of its own. The Case of the Petrified Potter by Cathy Ace arrives on 16 March.
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Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson
Ernest Cunningham isn’t a detective, but he has a knack for what makes mysteries – and murderers – tick. This time, however, the would-be sleuth is breaking new ground. There’s a bank heist in progress, hostages have been taken and someone has been shot dead. What on earth has been going on? Let’s ask the man on the spot… Because Ernest is among the hostages, and he’ll need all his wits about him if he’s going to solve this one and get out alive. Everyone in this Bank is a Thief by Benjamin Stevenson is published in the US on 17 March and on 16 April in the UK.
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Lucien by JR Thornton
A young man is drawn into a dangerous game of deceit in JR Thornton’s Lucien, published on 19 March. Newly arrived in the hallowed halls of Harvard, Christopher ‘Atlas’ Novotny is totally unprepared for what greets him there. He falls under the spell of his roommate, the bold, confident and sophisticated Lucien Orsini-Conti, who is everything that Atlas aspires to be. Lucien introduces his naive new friend to a glittering new world of lavish parties and elite social clubs. Soon, Atlas is struggling to fund his new lifestyle – but Lucien offers a daring solution. Is Lucien all that he seems, or is Atlas out of his depth and in treacherous waters?
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Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami
Hana is 15, living in a tiny Tokyo apartment with her mother, who works as a hostess at a local dive bar. The teenager dreams of better things, and when Kimiko appears, Hana can see a way out of the darkness. Together they set up Lemon, a shabby bar with a seedy clientele that becomes a haven for Hana. With a job and money in her pocket, she feels on top of the world… but in the narrow alleys of Sangenjaya, nothing is as it seems. It’s time for Hana to stand up and be counted. Set in the 1990s, Sisters in Yellow by Mieko Kawakami is out on 19 March.
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The Second Traitor by Alex Gerlis
Book two of Alex Gerlis‘s Double Agents series comes out in paperback on 12 March, and tense spy thriller The Second Traitor in September 1940 as Britain braces itself for invasion by Nazi Germany. As a group of Nazi collaborators attempts to lay the groundwork for this invasion, spy Charles Cooper comes in from the cold to work with British Intelligence to ferret out the traitors. Plus, there is the question of ‘Archie’, the Soviet spy whom it’s feared is working as a double agent and may even have infiltrated MI6. Get ready for a ride across Western Europe with spy-buster Charles.
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The American Suspect by Jim Kelly
It’s October, 1942 and hordes of American servicemen are stationed across eastern England, building airfields to bomb Nazi Germany and using their downtime to enjoy themselves in the pubs and dancehalls of Cambridge. When human remains are uncovered by workers extending the runway, with identification only possible through his dog tags, DI Eden Brooke is called to investigate, but the body has been buried for decades. Then another soldier’s body turns up just days later and it’s clear there is a connection. Amid growing tensions and prejudice, Brooke searches for the truth. Jim Kelly‘s The American Suspect is out on 19 March.
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