Paul Burke

Scarlet Town by Leonora Nattrass

By Paul Burke

11 October, 2023

We seem to be blessed with a burgeoning historical crime fiction scene in Britain at the moment and Leonora Nattrass is one of the most impressive newcomers. Her debut Black Drop struck a chord with readers and critics alike in 2021, which was followed by…

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The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson

By Paul Burke

26 September, 2023

Peter Swanson has written a criminous Christmas tale? His twisted, unsettling mysteries such as The Kind Worth Killing and The Kind Worth Saving don’t bend towards sentimentality or good will for that matter. But then this novella is for people who aren’t wedded to the…

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Murder at the Residence by Stella Blómkvist

By Paul Burke

6 September, 2023

Translated by Quentin Bates — Amazingly, there are 13 novels to date in the Stella Blómkvist series and yet no one knows the true identity of the author. The high-profile Reykjavik lawyer first appeared in 1997, began a hiatus in 2006, then re-emerged in 2012….

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Dig Two Graves by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins

By Paul Burke

29 August, 2023

Once, when someone complained that Mickey Spillane had eight books in a top 10 chart, he replied along the lines that the reader should be thankful he didn’t write two more. It’s hard to overestimate Spillane’s popularity in the 1950s and 60s. He has sold…

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Deadly Autumn Harvest by Tony Mott

By Paul Burke

11 August, 2023

Translated by Marina Sofia — Unlike Britain or America, some countries have little tradition of crime fiction writing. During the communist era, Romania produced spy novels targeting the West as the bad guys and you can see this approach lampooned in the frankly incredible Amazon…

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The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard

By Paul Burke

8 August, 2023

The Irish author Catherine Ryan Howard won the Irish Book Award in the crime fiction category in 2021 for her novel 56 Days. One of the first books in the genre to really countenance the COVID pandemic, it was a nerve-tingling thriller exploring the intensity…

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The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

By Paul Burke

27 July, 2023

They say that history has been largely told by men, but over the past few years crime writers have been throwing light on a hidden past, where women have the starring roles on both sides of the law. The Housekeepers by Alex Hay is an…

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The Clearing by Simon Toyne

By Paul Burke

21 July, 2023

Fans of international bestseller Simon Toyne will know that he deals heavily in mood and atmosphere – the Sanctus and Solomon Creed trilogies confirmed that. Now he’s back with a follow-up to 2022’s Dark Objects, which introduced Dr Laughton Rees. The Clearing sees the return…

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About author

Scarlet Town by Leonora Nattrass

The Christmas Guest by Peter Swanson

Murder at the Residence by Stella Blómkvist

Dig Two Graves by Mickey Spillane and Max Allan Collins

Deadly Autumn Harvest by Tony Mott

The Trap by Catherine Ryan Howard

The Housekeepers by Alex Hay

The Clearing by Simon Toyne

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