On the Radar — It’s said that dead men don’t wear plaid, but according to American author Ed Lynskey gingham is an acceptable fabric for a murder victim. We like that. We like that very much indeed. So he can head up this week’s round-up of new crime releases. Will you be reading any of these?
The Corpse Wore Gingham by Ed Lynskey
Ed Lynskey has put his hardboiled PI Frank Johnson to one side to focus on the softer and more delicate world of cosy crime fiction. Piper and Bill Robins, a happily married couple in the autumn of their years, are enjoying their retirement in a bland Washington DC suburb. When an old friend calls and asks them to check on her elderly mother Piper and Bill are horrified to find the old lady murdered in her bed. With the police taking their time over the investigation, they decide to investigate themselves. The Corpse Wore Gingham is out now, and you can read our review of the author’s anthology of short stories here.
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The Fisherman’s Lily by Suzanne Spiegoski
Lily Dietz, is a good-looking New York homicide detective who doesn’t suffer fools. Her career is hampered by her psychological and physical frailties. Apart from being a borderline alcoholic she is close to being a full-blown manic depressive. With her partner John Fremont, Lily becomes engrossed in the hunt to catch a killer who favours Asian-American women – a category she herself falls into. As the race to unmask the murderer gathers pace, Lily must prevent herself from turning from hunter into prey. Available on 26 January.
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The Devil You Know by Elisabeth de Mariaffi
The Canadian writer is internationally renowned for her short stories and poetry, but this is her crime fiction debut. It is 1993, and Evie Jones is a novice crime reporter in Toronto who is haunted by a childhood trauma from 11 years ago when her best friend was killed. The murderer was never found or convicted but now Jones will her status as a journalist to get to the bottom of the original case. The more she discovers, the more she realises that she could be the killer’s next victim. Out now in hardback, and available in paperback and Kindle formats on 6 February.
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Matt Vol 1 by Ahmad Ardalan
“They murdered my wife two years ago… Tonight, you die. I am Matt, your nightmare!” says the blurb for this first Matt Godfrey short story by Ahmad Ardalan. We don’t have too many Iraqi crime fiction writers gracing our pages, and the dentist-cum-author has created a character who is, at first sight, out of the Death Wish school of anti-heroes. A murdered wife combined with an inept and liberal justice system compel a successful entrepreneur into a deadly world of rage and revenge spread across the cities of Europe. Published on 23 January.
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Scarred for Life by Kerry Wilkinson
Wilkinson’s DI Jessica Daniel has become part of the contemporary crime fiction furniture since her introduction in 2012 with Locked In. We are now nine books into the series and in a typically incident packed police procedural DI Daniel has to deal with a wheelie bin containing a dead student, a criminal who pleads his innocence, Daniel’s own stolen wallet, and frowns of disapproval from her immediate boss. We reviewed the fourth Jessica Daniel book here, and Wilkinson spoke to us about his writing in this interview. You can buy Scarred For Life from 29 January.
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The Forgotten Holocaust by Scott Mariani
The Scotland-born author Scott Mariani unleashed ex-SAS operative Ben Hope on an unsuspecting public in 2011 with The Alchemists. Fans will expect high tension and violence, with links to historical conspiracies and forbidden secrets. Hope is down on his luck and has taken to washing away his troubles with strong drink in Ireland. The murder of a young journalist draws him into a revenge-fueled search for her killers, but an even greater crime comes to light – one that Hope is powerless to prevent. Who is concealing the shocking truth of how two million people met their deaths in seven terrible years in the 19th century? Available on 29 January.
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Miramont’s Ghost by Elizabeth Hall
Miramont Castle is haunted. Restless voices, crying out for peace after centuries of violence and injustice? Possibly, but this castle is not on some rugged bluff high above a German river, nor is it nestled in the idyllic English countryside. It’s actually in Manitou Springs, Colorado, and was built by a mysterious French priest who abandoned it in 1900 almost as quickly as he had built it. Miramont’s ghosts are nonetheless threatening, and when Adrienne Beauvier becomes a virtual prisoner within its walls she sees terrible visions of violence and evil. Don’t expect straightforward villainy, but rather a build up of atmospheric tension similar to du Maurier’s Rebecca. Out on 1 February.
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Crash and Burn by Lisa Gardner
This thriller features Lisa Gardner’s state trooper character Tessa Leoni, but the story is driven by Nicole Frank, a woman who has survived a catastrophic car crash. Has she survived intact was her sanity left somewhere in the rain-soaked ravine where it happened? Where is the missing child she is now obsessed with? Sergeant Wyatt Foster tries to make sense of the apparent madness assisted by Leoni and her long time associate DD Warren. Nothing is worse than a missing child – except, perhaps, a missing child who never existed. Our writer Lucy picked an earlier Lisa Gardner novel for one her top five books of 2012. Crash and Burn is available from 3 February.
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Uncle Dust by Rob Pierce
Here’s a challenge. Take a womanising, boozy, bank-robber who’s prone to irrational violence and make him into a fictional hero. Rob Pierce sets out to do precisely this with his innovative tale of Dustin, a criminal with a touch of class. Published by the noir-favouring gang at All Due Respect, you can expect a dose of hard-edged American crime which will delight readers who love books that painfully peel back the layers of skin from the body of the crime fiction genre. Published on 22 January.
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