Times of turmoil and insecurity call for books. And more books. Crime books. And lots of them. We love debut novels, and we know cosy crime fiction is huge at the moment, so we’re going to start our report with a book that fits the bill and already has people talking. Nicola Whyte’s debut 10 Marchfield Square is followed by new titles from Chris Offutt, Neil Lancaster, Lee Martin, indie author Miles Joyner and lifetime duranie Sandie Jones.
Open the covers of a book and let the real world drift from your consciousness…
10 Marchfield Square by Nicola Whyte
The elevator pitch for this cosy crime novel is: The Maid meets Only Murders in the Building. Interesting. It arrives on 27 March, so let’s take as peek inside 10 Marchfield Square, shall we? Nicola Whyte’s debut features the wealthy Celeste Van Duren, who built Marchfield Square to be a safe haven from the outside world for the people who come to live there. No such luck for one tenant, who is found murdered in his kitchen. The death spurs Celeste into action. Bad hip or no, she’s determined to catch the killer – with help from her cleaner, Audrey, and failed crime writer Lewis, who hasn’t got anything better to do. What they uncover comes as a surprise to them all…
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
The Reluctant Sheriff by Chris Offutt
Prepare for some tasty Kentucky noir with the arrival of The Reluctant Sheriff, book four in Chris Offutt’s Mick Hardin series – out 25 March in the US , 10 April in the UK. As it opens, Hardin is back on local sheriff duties in Rocksalt, while the previous incumbent, his sister Linda, recovers from a gunshot wound sustained in the line of duty. He’s not surprised to discover that things are as bad as ever. With dubiousness and violence around every corner, Hardin is steadfast in his determination to deliver retribution. Probably best to let him get on with it, then.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
The Evening Shades by Lee Martin
Pulitzer Prize finalist Lee Martin’s latest, The Evening Shades, arrives on 25 March and focuses on two lonely people thrown together in a small town in the American Midwest. It’s 1972, and widow Edith Green has had enough of existing on her own. She impulsively decides to rent a room to a stranger who has just arrived in Mt Gilead – but Henry Dees is running away from another small town, and painful memories of the death of a little girl that some people think was his fault. As the pair search for some common ground between them, they begin to reveal things to each other that have been held secret for far too long.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
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When Shadows Fall by Neil Lancaster
Neil Lancaster’s Scottish cop DS Max Craigie is back to investigate after Leanne Wilson is found at the bottom of a Scottish mountain. At first the death is deemed a tragic accident, but when Craigie discovers that five other women – all experienced climbers – have died by falling off mountains in the past year, he realises there’s a killer on the loose. But were they working alone? The deeper Craigie digs, the more convinced he is that there is more to this case than meets the eye. Grab a slice of Tartan noir as When Shadows Fall arrives on 27 March.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
Bazaar by Miles Joyner
A high-profile murder in Washington, DC lays bare the growing assassination market on the Dark Web in indie techno thriller Bazaar by Miles Joyner, out on 24 March. After a former ambassador’s son is killed in the nightlife district of the US capital, wealthy ex-diplomat, Chiedu Attah, hires an elite executive protection team headed by siblings Yemi and Karen Uzunma to guarantee his safety. But are they up to the task? Because their adversary is a young, inventive contract killer who is determined to finish off his prey by any means necessary.
Order now on Amazon
I Would Die For You by Sandie Jones
Who knew being a Duran Duran superfan could lead to a career as a crime writer? That’s what inspired Sandie Jones to pen I Would Die For You, published on 27 March. Back in 1986, Nicole Forbes had a fling with the lead singer of Secret Oktober, the band her younger sister adored. Now Nicole lives a quiet existence in California – until she receives a surprise visitor wanting to talk about the Secret Oktober days, and then her daughter goes missing, picked up from school by an aunt she doesn’t have. The past is catching up with Nicole, can she use those memories to hold onto everything she holds dear?
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
