The title of our lead book this week, at least, makes us think of simpler times, and it comes from an author who won our Best Indie Novel Award in 2022. Following Sulari Gentill’s Five Found Dead, we’ve got two quite different Yorkshire mysteries, a Shakespeare-inspired murderer and book set in 1930s San Diego. Some very interesting choices to be made…
Five Found Dead by Sulari Gentill
Has Enid Blyton taken a nasty turn? The title of this one might support that idea, but there’s no sign of George, Anne and co in Sulari Gentill‘s Five Found Dead, out on 26 August. Actually, this one has more than a hint of the Agatha Christie about it, as a crime author with writer’s block after cancer treatment is persuaded to take a trip on the Orient Express with his sister. Time for some R&R – until a murder occurs… or does it? Because although there’s a copious amount of blood, there is no sign of a body. Where has the man in Cabin 16G gone? Joe and his twin Meredith are intrigued, but when several murders happen on board the train, the initial fun of the chase turns into something much more life-threatening.
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The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead by Antony Johnston
Sit and stay if you’re a fan of cosy crime fiction featuring canines – because Antony Johnston‘s The Dog Sitter Detective Plays Dead is published on 21 August and could be the perfect treat! We’re in the misty Yorkshire Dales, where actress and dog minder Gwinny Tuffel is filming a small role in a new gender-swapping movie called Draculania. But when a fellow cast member is found dead, a stake through their heart, Gwinny slips into her third role, as amateur sleuth. Jack Russell Terrier in tow, she sets out to solve the mystery of spooky Hendale Hall before anyone else finds themselves on the cutting-room floor.
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The Devil’s Smile by Daniel Sellers
Book two in Daniel Sellers’ Yorkshire Killings series is set in Leeds and follows on from The Lollipop Man, published earlier this year. It’s October, 1995 and Adrian Brown has thrown himself into his second year at Leeds University and is having a ball. However, a late night encounter with a man he met in a basement club makes him sober up and see sense. Meanwhile, his friend, journalist Sheila Hargreaves, has written a best-selling book and now works on screen presenting Yorkshire CrimeTime. The murder of her co-presenter, Tony Tranter, is destined to bring the pair back together again as they follow the trail of another killer. Make a date with The Devil’s Smile, it’s out on 21 August.
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Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg
A murderer with a literary bent and an eye for classic art is on the loose in Murder by the Book by Amie Schaumberg, out on 18 August. A small college town is being targeted by the killer, whose first victim is posed like a painting of Ophelia from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Detective Ian Carter turns to literature professor Emma Reilly for help, but time is ticking as a second victim is found, posed as the Lady of Shallott. With the murderer escalating, and one of Emma’s students as the third victim, the introverted academic must summon up all her inner strength if she and Carter are to stop the bloodshed.
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St James Park by John Doll
Put aside all thoughts of Newcastle United, football lovers, this St James Park is in San Jose. John Doll’s novel, out on 19 August, is set during the Great Depression and is based on real-life events. It’s 1933, and a prominent department store heir has been kidnapped under suspicious circumstances. FBI agent Louis Cooper has been sent to investigate, but local bootlegger Angelo Gumina and labour activist Victoria Trinchero are conducting their own enquiries as an angry mob gathers to lynch the alleged culprits. Set against a backdrop of unrest, government corruption and anti-immigrant racism, St James Park is a novel steeped in forgotten history.
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