It’s always big news when a new Michael Connelly novel is announced. This week the creator of detective Harry Bosch is back with the second in his new series, which focuses on Detective Sergeant Stilwell, another California cop with villains to collar. We’re on the West Coast again, but in Canada, for Matthew Hall’s latest, then it’s over to the UK where there’s an AI detective in Jo Callaghan’s new book, and possibly a ghost culprit in Jess Kidd’s latest. There’s always more to discover, here on Crime Fiction Lover…
Ironwood by Michael Connelly
Detective Sergeant Stilwell’s dreams of enjoying a quiet life on Catalina Island are about to take another knock when Michael Connelly’s Ironwood arrives on 19 May. A plane lands in the middle of the night at a remote airstrip in the mountains, dropping off a duffel bag full of drugs. Stilwell and his deputies are there, thanks to a tipoff from an informant, but the capture goes awry when the pickup man escapes and shots are fired. Which leaves our hero on suspension until an investigation is completed. But as anyone who read the series opener Nightshade knows, Stilwell is not a man to be sidelined. When he starts an off-the-books side investigation, his path is destined to cross with none other than Detective Renee Ballard of the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit…
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Totem by Matthew Hall
Matthew Hall is a BAFTA winner, garnering the award for his work on BBC1’s Keeping Faith. He also has credentials as a crime writer, as lovers of his Coroner series will know. Now Hall is back with Totem, out 21 May and set in British Columbia in Western Canada. Lawyer Jessie Cunningham has finally achieved her goal to be made a partner at her high-profile law firm, but the pressure proves too much and she crashes from burnout. To get her mojo back, Jessie volunteers for a charity preserving ancient trees on indigenous land, where she encounters Todd Samson, who has a troubled past and a wounded soul. When Todd is falsely accused of murder, she must form an unlikely alliance with Chief Ray Squinas and wood carver and shaman Eldon Marshall in a fight against just the kind of dark forces she has spent her career serving.
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Body of Lies by Jo Callaghan
Fans of AIDE Lock and DCS Kat Frank have been waiting with bated breath for the arrival of Body of Lies by multi-award-winning author Jo Callaghan. Not long now – it’s out on 21 May and finds Kat thrown into a new, high-profile case when a local MP is murdered by someone who seems to want her attention. The victim was fiercely anti-AI, and in Lock, Kat has an AI detective as her partner – something with which she has never quite been able to come to terms, so this investigation could be fraught. A cyber attack on the National Grid adds to the pressure, with the pair working together to track down the hacker before thousands die. But as followers of this series are beginning to suspect, Lock may have another agenda entirely.
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Murder at the Spirit Lounge by Jess Kidd
Sharp-eyed former nun Nora Breen is back in Jess Kidd’s Murder at the Spirit Lounge, arriving on 21 May. Nora is enjoying a seaside stroll when it is rudely interrupted. Doreen Chimes, Gore-on-Sea’s resident medium, wants to see her and DI Rideout urgently. Doreen claims there has been a robbery and personally invites a reluctant Rideout to that evening’s private séance. It’s a mistake waiting to happen, right? When one of the attendees is murdered in a particularly spooky fashion and it becomes clear that the others who were there that night are in danger too, it’s up to Nora to chase the ghostly serial killer.
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Turning the Page on Murder by Vanessa Westermann
Crime fiction is anathema to bookstore owner Kate Rowan – she can’t even cast her eyes over a cosy novel after a real-life killer broke her heart. The man in question is security expert Gary Fenris, who had his reasons for committing murder and now devotes his life to keeping others safe. But when Kate’s great-aunt is found holding a bloody knife at a crime scene, on a property guarded by Fenris Securities, the only way the estranged pair can solve the case is by working together. A high-stakes treasure hunt across London ensues. Turning the Page on Murder by Vanessa Westermann is published on 16 May.
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A Wasp in the Beehive by Mary Logue
Time to head to Salt Lake City in 1881, where Irish immigrant Brigid Reardon is relieved to find work in a book store and offered a room in the home of her employer, Mr Cutter, a high-ranking member of the Church of Latter-day Saints, and his five wives. Her boss has his sights set on wife number six, and when he is found apparently murdered in the women’s sewing room, all of his spouses are on the list of suspects. Time for Brigid to put her detection skills to good use by teaming up with the local coroner to investigate – and it’s not long before she uncovers a telling clue… A Wasp in the Beehive by Mary Logue is out on 19 May.
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