Apparently the Canadian crime fiction author Linwood Barclay has been given the enviable nickname of ‘Twisty Thriller’, which is well earned. (I wonder if that’s his porn star name, too?!?!?) Before I swerve off piste here, it’s Linwood who leads the way in this week’s report with his new novel, which has topical themes. (‘Topical Themes’ is a monicker he feels lucky to have avoided.) We’ve got Scottish crime fiction with Scotch, a procedural in 1990s London, a trip to Prince Edward Island sans potatoes, and more…
Not a Word by Linwood Barclay
Linwood ‘Twisty Thriller’ Barclay is back with Not a Word on 25 August in the US, 10 September in the UK, and judging by the pre-publication blurb, it’s another winner. When Reece visits his parents’ house, he’s shocked to find them in bed… No, not that! Even worse… They’re dead. On first appearances, it looks like his dad killed his mother, and then turned the gun on himself. However, inconsistencies in the crime scene suggest differently. While a shaken Reece waits to be questioned by the police, he gets a phone call that rocks his world even more – and things take a sinister turn. Could Reece’s own family be in peril? And are there links to the unscrupulous pharma company his father worked for, years ago?
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Illicit Still by William McIntyre
William McIntyre‘s Illicit Still, out on 27 August, must win the award for best title this week. It’s as complex as the Scotch at the heart of the story. This is the latest in the series featuring defence lawyer Robbie Munro, and finds him handling what looks like an airtight murder case. Bestselling novelist Jilly Jean Lyon is accused of poisoning her whisky entrepreneur husband and the police are convinced that they’ve got her bang to rights. But Robbie isn’t so sure, and when his ex-cop father digs into the victim’s distillery and a dangerous former client turns his attention toward Robbie’s daughter, the case begins to fracture. There are darker motives at play here and it’s up to Robbie to prove it.
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Covert by Neville Blackwood
I love this cover too, to be fair, and in Neville Blackwood’s debut crime novel, Covert, we land on the mean streets of London in the 1990s, when things were a lot more tetchy than they are today. Untouchable crime boss Freddie Morgan rules by fear and is number-one target for the Metropolitan Police. DS Mark Carter’s job is to covertly infiltrate Morgan’s heroin operation and not arouse suspicion. However, as the undercover sting gathers momentum, he stumbles across something far more dangerous: corruption within his own ranks. With growing suspicions that even his own team has been infiltrated, just who can Carter trust? This one is out 25 August.
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The Vanishing Room by Andrew Lowe
When a young boy goes missing from a locked and empty house, it’s up to DCI Oswald Lennox and DC Olivia Blackwood to calm his distraught parents and get to the bottom of it. Things get even more tricky when the investigation is linked to a horrific discovery beneath a derelict Victorian mansion. It’s clear that there’s a methodical predator at large; someone who’s been going under the radar for years. They operate within very different parameters, but as the pair begin to make progress the killer finally shows their hand… The Vanishing Room by Andrew Lowe, second in the Lennox and Blackwood series, arrives on 27 August.
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Dig Deeper by James B Petrie
The tiny Canadian province of Prince Edward Island seems an unlikely setting for a crime novel… unless perhaps a cosy one. Private detective James B Petrie sort of meets expectation with his first novella, Dig Deeper: A Joe MacGregor Investigation, which sees the eponymous PI investigating the disappearance of bestselling author Raymond Connelly. It has a cosy vibe… Everyone thinks Connelly departed to California for work, but he hasn’t turned up there and the Charlottetown police are barely lifting a finger. No body, no crime, right? The family brings in former RCMP man Joe MacGregor and once he starts digging into the life of a writer who dreamed of the perfect crime, the secrets soon start bubbling to the surface. Dig Deeper is out now.
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Post Mortem by David Lagercrantz
If you’ve been craving a Scandinavian crime series inspired by Sherlock Holmes, then David Lagercrantz‘s Post Mortem should fit the bill. It’s out on 27 August, and features Professor Hans Rekke and Micaela Vargas, who’ve gained a reputation for solving the unsolvable. But could a serial killer prove to be their downfall? It all begins when Rekke is visited by Spanish chief inspector Rafael Corales, a man haunted by the unsolved murder of a young woman in Santander in 1988. Now other bodies have come to light, bearing signs that appear to reveal a numerical order. Time for Rekke and Vargas to uncover what actually happened nearly four decades ago – and unmask a killer. Ian Giles is the translator.
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Killer Twist by Jo Furniss
Plagiarism at a crime fiction festival? Who would have imagined it? Well, Jo Furniss actually, because Killer Twist, published on 27 August, features just that scenario. Crime writer Aggie Catchlove is livid that celebrity author Kit Stirling stole her famous twist, and at the Crème de la Crime festival she meets fellow novelist Jakob Hök who’s just discovered that Kit’s next book is a rip-off of his long-running Nordic noir series. Hell hath no fury like a crime writer scorned, and together the pair plan the perfect way to bump off kit. As a joke, mind. But when he is actually found dead they must prove their innocence, and fast. The only problem is that neither self-centred author is prepared to play nicely in this cosy crime with a twist of humour.
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That’s it for this week. But if you’re craving more crime novels click here for last week’s listings.
