Sonja van der Westhuizen

Psychopaths Anonymous by Will Carver

4 November, 2021

Will Carver’s writing is like tequila, or Marmite, perhaps. He produces a hot and abrasive brand of crime fiction that makes readers uncomfortable. For some this is delectable and it leaves you wanting more. For others, the approach is… challenging. If you dare to read…

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When Things Get Dark – Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

21 October, 2021

Edited by Ellen Datlow — In 2018, when Netflix released The Haunting of Hill House, a whole new audience was introduced to renowned American horror and mystery writer Shirley Jackson’s work. Although the series is based on one of Jackson’s six novels she was best…

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April in Spain by John Banville

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

20 October, 2021

Until recently John Banville published his crime novels under the pseudonym Benjamin Black to separate them from his more complex fiction. According to the author, he could write a crime fiction novel in three or four months while his more literary work took up more…

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Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

23 September, 2021

From the founder and publisher of Cemetery Dance Magazine, a publication specialising in horror and suspense, comes a spine-chilling story about a serial killer terrorising a small town in the state of Maryland. A metafictional retelling of events that took place in 1988, Chasing the…

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Heatwave by Victor Jestin

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

6 September, 2021

Translated by Sam Taylor — French author Victor Jestin’s short yet forceful debut novel is part dark coming-of-age novel, part morality tale. Set over the span of a weekend, it tells the story of a 17-year-old who witnesses another teenager dying and chooses not to…

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Tokyo Redux by David Peace

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

3 August, 2021

It’s been almost 12 years since Occupied City, the second instalment in David Peace’s Tokyo trilogy, was published. For fans of this ambitious author it’s been a long wait, but in Tokyo Redux Peace delivers a humdinger which, according to the author, was in part…

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Mammon in Malmö by Torquil MacLeod

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

28 July, 2021

Ex-police detective Anita Sundström is back in the eighth of Torquil MacLeod’s Malmö Mysteries series. It’s been a year since Anita resigned from the Skåne County Police and her current job at the Malmö’s tourism office lacks the excitement she thrived on as a police investigator…

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The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

12 July, 2021

Translated by Victoria Cribb — 2020 was a year of lasts for Icelandic crime writer Ragnar Jónasson. The Mist, the third in the Hidden Iceland trilogy, as well as Winterkill, the final Ari Thór novel, were released the midst of the pandemic. Instead of diving…

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About author

Psychopaths Anonymous by Will Carver

When Things Get Dark – Stories Inspired by Shirley Jackson

April in Spain by John Banville

Chasing the Boogeyman by Richard Chizmar

Heatwave by Victor Jestin

Tokyo Redux by David Peace

Mammon in Malmö by Torquil MacLeod

The Girl Who Died by Ragnar Jónasson

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