On the Radar — Could Cath Staincliffe’s latest release be one of the hottest books this summer? It’s the story of how a young woman goes missing while teaching English in China and her parents go out there to find her. We’ve also got a new book from Norwegian legend Gunnar Staalesen, some hot-looking pulp releases, and Rachel Howzell Hall has hatched her second novel. We’ve also got a book called Porno Shoppe. Which ones will be added to your reading pile this week?
Half the World Away by Cath Staincliffe
It’s every parent’s nightmare. Your daughter decides to travel the world and ends up in China working as an English teacher. But don’t worry, you’re never more than an email or Skype call away. But then her blog isn’t updated. The emails dry up. There are no more Skype sessions. Panic sets in. Loni Maddox’s parents are separated, but they reunite in desperation as it becomes clear that something awful has happened to her. They travel to China to try and trace her. They must endure shocks, heartbreak and personal challenges before their quest is over. Half the World Away is out today and you can also check out our 2013 review of an earlier Staincliffe novel, Blink of an Eye.
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We Shall Inherit the Wind by Gunnar Staalesen
There aren’t many private investigators in Scandinavian crime fiction, but Varg Veum is one of them. As the Norwegian detective tries to come to terms with the fact that his girlfriend is in hospital with serious injuries due to his own poor judgment, he has to investigate the apparently humdrum disappearance of a landowner. The cover image and title give hefty clues that he’s going to become entagled in the deadly politics and financial dealings surrounding controversial wind farms. When the disappearance becomes a murder, Veum is faced with the most difficult case of his career. This book has just been released for Kindle, but you can get your hands on a paperback version on 15 June. Gunnar Staalesen‘s novel The Consorts of Death was one of Barry Forshaw’s top ten Nordic crime classics.
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Skies of Ash by Rachel Howzell Hall
Last year we gave a very enthusiastic review to the author’s debut Land of Shadows. Here, Detective Elouise Norton returns to investigate a disastrous house fire and the family that is torn apart as the flames consume their home. Norton’s own personal life is in a state of crisis, but is she right in suspecting that behind closed doors the Chatman family were just as disfunctional? With Christopher Chatman – the husband and father – surviving the blaze, Norton and partner Taggart must weigh up whether he might have started the fire or if it was the work of notorious arsonist… The Burning Man. Rachel Howzell Hall told us about her favourite classic crime novels last year. Skies of Ash is out now.
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Obsession by Shakir Rashaan
Dominic Law is a police detective. He is desperate to leave the force and is tired of walking in the criminal gutters of his city. When he gets the chance to head up a private security firm, he seizes it with both hands. Plush office? Nice desk? Sexy secretary? “Yes sir!” says Law. However, before his dream job starts to settle around him, he finds himself back on the streets he hoped to leave behind. He is up to his eyes in a case that takes him to some of the sleaziest backstreets and underground sex bars, where the only rule is … there are no rules. Published on 16 June.
Pre-order now on Amazon
You’re As Good As Dead by EA Aymar
When you hire someone to carry out a hit you’d better make sure they’re good at their job before you part with your cash. Baltimore college professor Tom Starks has spent the last three years grieving over his wife’s murder, bringing up their daughter, and planning revenge. When the killer is released from prison, Starks pays two underworld hitmen to exact revenge on his behalf. When they make a mess of the job, Starks finds himself in three kinds of deep trouble thanks to the FBI, the two would-be assassins, and some very seriously annoyed mobsters. We reviewed Ed Aymar’s debut novel I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead and his new book is available from 13 June.
Get Plucked by Thomas Pluck
If you like your humour black, your pulp twisted and your pace totally manic, this new collection of short stories may well be for you. Thomas Pluck‘s hardcore style guarantees you won’t die wondering, as he serves up a menu which includes a hi-tech geek taking on the mob, a zombie-staffed sex dungeon, and a kid who sets out to terrify visitors to a spooky wood but gets more than he bargained for. Get Plucked is available from 9 June, and you can examine the author’s skills as an editor in this review of an earlier collection of short stories, Protectors: Stories to Benefit PROTECT.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Acoustic Shadows by Patrick Kendrick
The all too frequent horror of gun attacks in American schools is brought vividly to life in Patrick Kendrick‘s new thriller. This time, however, one of the teachers fights back. Erica Weisz wounds one of the assailants in her Florida classroom, but suffers injury herself. The reason she was armed is that she is on a witness protection programme, but it becomes clear to her that she has been betrayed. When she goes missing, Florida cop Justin Thiery is drawn into a deadly game. Kendrick has posted a YouTube trailer for his book, and you can read it from 11 June.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Porno Shoppe by Jack Nixon
Being a top male porn star may well have certain occupational hazards but being kidnapped isn’t one of them. Against the sleazy background of private booths, shrink-wrapped magazines and DVDs whose covers promise much but deliver little, three small-time crooks decide on the heist of a lifetime. Jack Nixon has certainly lived the life. He has been to jail for drug offences and began this novel while he was behind bars. Now he’s clean, and doing his best to rehabilitate himself into society. His debut novel is out now.
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