On the radar — Real life murders often give crime authors ideas for their works, but Piero Carlini has taken for his inspiration the shooting of one of the world’s most famous music performers – John Lennon. Also in this week’s new books we have trips to Northern Ireland and New York. But we’ll start things off with some new Scottish crime fiction…
Death by Glasgow by Jon Breakfield
Detective Sergeant Fiona Lyon-Jones is not your typical copper. Raised in the posh part of Edinburgh, she’s the first female DS in Glasgow with a PhD in psychology, and she likes to do things by the book. So when she’s assigned to work with DI David Sharkey, an ex-military man who grew up in the city’s East End slums, sparks could well fly. To make things worse, Sharkey’s own daughter has been brutally murdered. It’s a week before Christmas and this duo really need to get their act together. If they don’t, the consequences could be fatal… for both of them.
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What Yoko Knows by Piero Carlini
It’s 24 August 1981, and Mark David Chapman has just been convicted of the murder of John Lennon. That same night, two students discover they share a mutual grudge against the woman they believe destroyed The Beatles – Lennon’s widow, Yoko Ono. The pair also blame her for her husband’s death, a murder they are convinced she was behind, and decide they are going to avenge. Together with their marriage vows the pair make a pact to unearth the truth, but with each discovery of new evidence comes unexpected sacrifices. This is a tale that comes with a healthy dose of humour attached, so expect to be entertained.
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The Station Sergeant by John McAllister
From the US in the early 1980s, we head back to Northern Ireland as the 1950s are just turning into the 1960s. A farmer has been murdered, and a traumatised German soldier is wandering the countryside with a deadly weapon, and Ballymena police sergeant John Barlow has to investigate. On top of that, cattle are being stolen to order, the local mayor has been caught watering down the milk that’s sold to schools, and a zero tolerance approach to crime is filling the courts to bursting point. Barlow also has problems in his personal life, and a new boss who wants him demoted and transferred. He needs to solve this case quickly as his career could depend on it. The Station Sergeant is out now.
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Sacred Games by Gary Corby
The third book in Corby’s series set in Ancient Greece, featuring his amateur sleuth, Nicolaos, takes us back to 460BC and the Olympics are on. Nico’s best friend Timo is due to compete in a deadly martial art called ‘pankration’ and his only serious rival is a Spartan, Parmanos. When he’s found dead, suspicion falls on Timo who is tried, found guilty and set to be executed when the games end. To make matters worse, Athens and Sparta are in conflict with each other. If news of Parmanos’ death reaches Sparta, it could mean open warfare. Nico has just four days to prove his friend’s innocence and find the real killer. Sacred Games is out now.
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I’m not in favour of writing fiction about people who are still alive (Yoko Ono in this case). And is there really anything more to say about John Lennon’s death? The other books sound more to my taste – particularly the one about the Greek Olympics. It looks as if politics and nationalism reared their heads as much in those days as they do in the modern Games.