Welcome to our weekly On the Radar column, where you’re always guaranteed to find new crime fiction, and more. Nothing is ever straightforward in this genre, otherwise there’d be no fun in it, so we’ll start off gently with Deception by Alan Parks, look for a missing witness with James Ellson, investigate Houdini’s death with Larrian Gillespie and we’ll freewheel from there…
Deception by Alan Parks
The second book in Alan Parks’ acclaimed Gunner series arrives on 2 July, and this time finds former soldier Joseph Gunner on the streets of New York. As Deception opens, World War II is raging across Europe and Gunner is working for the British Secret Service – his role: to covertly encourage pro-war sentiment in the USA through planted news stories, radio broadcasts and even blackmail. But things go awry when a honeytrap mission with a prominent US politician goes wrong and the young woman involved is found dead. Gunner is now in the spotlight with a target on his back. How is he going to extricate himself this time?
Order now on Amazon
Click here to subscribe to the CFL weekly newsletter.
The Rule of Threes by James Ellson
When a protected witness who knows enough to bring down a prominent Manchester crime gang goes missing, it’s up to DCI Rick Castle to find them. Sure, it’s only days before his wedding – but what could possibly go wrong? He’s soon following a trail to the desolate Scottish Highlands but that early optimism is about to dissolve into violence, leaving Castle with strong suspicions of a leak within the police. He’s cut off from support and has a distinct feeling that he’s being watched, but this is a man who won’t back down, whatever the personal cost… Book five in the DCI Castle series, The Rule of Threes by James Ellson is published on 2 July.
Order now on Amazon
Houdini: The Man Who Died Twice by Larrian Gillespie
A new true crime release is about to chain you to the reading chair and throw away the key. Larrian Gillespie’s Houdini: The Man Who Died Twice is out on 1 July and explores the story of the famed escapologist’s final days. A century after his death, the mystery of Harry Houdini still refuses to stay buried. The official version is that the world’s greatest magician died from a ruptured appendix after being punched in the stomach. But Gillespie trawls through documents, witness statements, medical evidence and more to reveal a much more complicated story in a book that is part biography, part forensic investigation and part cinematic true crime narrative.
Pre-order a copy here
The Kingpin by AA Dhand
AA Dhand’s The Kingpin, out on 2 July, takes us back into the nightmare world of pharmacist Idris Khan – first introduced to us last year in The Chemist. As it opens, the ramifications of that first book are still being felt, and Idris has nowhere to turn. Can things get worse? Well, yes. Because when his estranged brother Zidane walks through the door fresh out of prison, Idris is trapped. Zidane wants them to take over the entire drug trafficking network in Leeds and Bradford, and rule together. Once he was a simple chemist, now Idris must decide whether to join forces – or make a run for it.
Order now on Amazon
In Deep Water by Elle Blair
A cruise with the family sounded like the perfect way to unwind for DI Rachel Harlow but now she’s stuck aboard ship with her twin teenagers and uptight parents. And to make things worse, work beckons when she flirts with a fellow passenger and then he’s found dead the next day. With no eyewitnesses and no official investigation, Rachel decides to go against captain’s orders and dig into the murder alone – the ship’s crew is keeping shtum and something fishy is going on. It’s a far cry from her work with Northumbria Police, but this determined detective won’t let a series of dead ends stop her getting to the truth. In Deep Water by crime fiction debut author Elle Blair lands on 2 July.
Order now on Amazon
A Killing in Lagos by Amen Alonge
As the sun rises over Lagos, a man and his son are sifting through mounds of rubbish dumped overnight from the affluent Island estates. They’re hoping to find usable items; instead the pair uncover the body of a young woman in Amen Alonge‘s A Killing in Lagos, out on 2 July. Investigative journalist Kike Bankole was known for her fearless work exposing injustice, and was also the daughter of one of the most influential men in Nigeria. Her death prompts her brother Remi to take the next flight back to a home he left nearly a decade ago. Remi is immediately sucked back into a world he’s learned to both love and hate – but one he must embrace if he is to discover who killed his sister.
Order now on Amazon
