On the Radar — There’s a bit of a religious theme emerging among some of the books in this week’s new crime fiction report. In Martyn Waites’ latest, ancient Celtic beliefs come to the fore, while we could probably make a convent-ional joke about nuns to boost Mark Billingham’s The Killing Habit. In actual fact it was inspired by the Croydon Cat Killer. There are sacrifices in a stone circle in MW Craven’s latest and Eumenides, the Greek god of vengeance, appears to us in our fourth book – Death Notice is new Chinese crime fiction by Zhou Haohui. In total we’ve got nine new books for you to discover, and we even finish with an author who’s surname is Preacher. Do you believe?
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The Old Religion by Martyn Waites
Like a bit of paganism with your eggs in the morning? The Old Religion by Martyn Waites is set in the Cornish village of St Petroc, where there’s a hint of ritual murder in the air. Ex-cop Tom Killgannon is working behind the bar in the rundown old pub there, hiding out under a witness protection programme. But a university student has gone missing in the area, and so has a young woman from the nearby hippie commune. All the while, a shady character called Morrigan haunts the streets of the town, nailing crows to people’s doors, hanging out in the stone circle, and generally scaring the bejesus out of anyone in their path. Blood will flow, people. Blood will flow. As Tania Carver, Martyn Waites used to write the Miller and Esposito series with Lynda Waites. Out 14 June – watch for the CFL review.
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The Killing Habit by Mark Billingham
DI Tom Thorne is back with colleague Nicola Tanner and searching for a cat killer in suburban London. He knows animal torture is a classic sign in the psychological profile of a serial killer and it could be an opportunity to catch them before they start on people. Then links to the unsolved deaths of strangled women emerge and Thorne and Tanner are soon facing a deadly threat. Billingham was inspired by the true case of the M25 cat killer, who is still out there unfortunately and has killed and mutilated more than 400 pets. We reviewed Thorne’s previous outing Love Like Blood last year. Released 14 June.
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The Puppet Show by MW Craven
We’re back to ritual murder and ancient religions in MW Cravel’s latest. A serial killer is burning victims alive in the ancient stone circles of the Lake District. Washington Poe has been on suspension from the National Crime Agency but when the third victim is found, councillor Michael James, his name is on it. Literally. It’s carved into the chest of the body. Poe is called back into the fold and paired up with eccentric analyst Tilly Bradshaw. Soon the killer is pulling all the strings and hitting too close to home for Poe. Watch out for our review of this thriller that already has a television deal optioned. Out 7 June.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Death Notice by Zhou Haohui
Set in 2002, Sergeant Zheng Haoming of the Chengdu Police Department in the Sichuan province of China gets a possible lead in an 18-year-old case. The two victims were murdered after receiving elaborate death notices by a killer using the name Eumenides, the Greek god of vengeance. As more death notices start arriving with high-ranking individuals a taskforce led by the volatile Captain Han scrambles to prevent further murders and solve the case. The author Zhou Haohui is hugely popular in China and our review is coming soon. Released 5 June.
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The Syndicate by Clarence Cooper Jr
15 June sees the re-release of a lost crime classic from the late Detroit crime writer Clarence Cooper, Jr whose first novel, The Scene, became a literary sensation. Believed to be too raw, and possibly damaging to his literary career, The Syndicate, first published under pseudonym in 1960, is a hard-hitting, fast-paced story plunging into the psycho-sexual depths of ruthless syndicate hitman Andy Sorrell’s attempt to locate those responsible for a New Jersey bank heist. It comes with a foreword by Gary Phillips.
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Where the Missing Go by Emma Rowley
Kate volunteers at a missing person’s helpline, where most of the callers are time wasters, But occasionally she gets to talk to a young person who wants to pass on a message to their family – someone like Sophie, who’s called today and who wants her parents to know she’s safe. But Sophie is Kate’s daughter, who went missing four years ago aged just 16 and Kate knows that she isn’t safe at all… Expect the unexpected in this debut psychological thriller, out now for Kindle and in print on 14 June, that stretches a mother’s love to the very limits.
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The Lies We Tell by Kristina Ohlsson
A bestseller in Sweden with her Bergman and Recht series, the Stockholm-based author Kristina Ohlsson is back with a thriller set in that city. Criminal lawyer Martin Benner knows the now-dead Sara Texas wasn’t responsible for the string of murders to she confessed but he’s having trouble breaking through the barriers created by her false confession. Now Sara’s young son is missing and as Martin reluctantly joins the hunt to find the boy, he realises he’s in deep – and in danger… Out 14 June.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Other Woman by Sandie Jones
The number of times you’ve sat there wishing that one of the characters in the novel you’re reading was named Pammie. Well, it’s finally happened, and in Sandie Jones’ debut psychological thriller Pammie has another name too: Mother. Yes, she’s Adam’s mother and not only that but she’s a piece of work. You see, she’s just not going to let Adam go that easily after his engagement to Emily, who is convinced that Adam is ‘the one’. Find out what happens on 14 June.
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Jubilee: The Heist to Erase Debt by Joseph Preacher
Seeing as we started off on the topic of religion, it seems fitting to end with a book by a Preacher. Featuring a roguish gang led by master thief Roman Hawker, Jubilee details their attempts to pull off the most audacious cyberheist in… um… heistory. But this time it isn’t for personal gain. When Roman and his cronies release the Jubilee malware application, their aim is to wipe out everybody’s personal debt. Trouble is, the FBI is onto them and there are others out there who want to derail the plan – people who are much more dangerous than the feds. It reminds us a little bit of the Amazon series Mr Robot.
Buy now on Amazon
