Sonja van der Westhuizen

Blackwater by Sarah Sultoon

19 December, 2025

Blackwater marks the third appearance of intrepid news reporter Jonny Murphy, who first appeared in Dirt. He’s the creation of international news journalist Sarah Sultoon, who writes what she knows. Murphy’s latest investigation takes him 50 miles from London to Blackwater Island, on the fictional…

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The Writing in the Water by John Ajvide Lindqvist

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

18 December, 2025

Translated by Michael Meigs — Most people associate Swedish author John Ajvide Lindqvist with horror, but he’s finally taken a leap into the world of crime fiction. Our only question is: why didn’t he do it sooner? The writing in the Water is the first…

Features

Sonja van der Westhuizen: Top five books of 2025

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

10 December, 2025

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Here in the Southern Hemisphere, the shops are teeming with Christmas decorations, Father Christmas impersonators sweating in their suits, and Boney M blaring through the speakers, while most of the South African population heads off to the beach…

Print Reviews

If the Owl Calls by Sharon White

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

8 December, 2025

American author Sharon White is known for her poetry, short stories and non fiction books, which have a calm, philosophical feel to them. She’s written one other novel but enters the crime fiction fray with If the Owl Calls. Set in Norway in 1979, it…

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The Shadow of the Northern Lights by Satu Rämö

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

1 December, 2025

Translated by Kristian London — Finnish author Satu Rämö is new on our site, but this is a writer you need to know about, particularly if you love Nordic noir. Her series featuring Icelandic detective Hildur Rúnarsdóttir first arrived in English translation in October 2024…

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The After Party by Ruth Kelly

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

28 November, 2025

Amsterdam. The city of red lights, weed, canals and stroopwafels. The perfect setting for Ruth Kelly’s latest destination thriller and the new home of her main character, Becca. Becca and Nathan recently relocated from Devon to the Netherlands for Nathan to fulfill his dream of…

Print Reviews

Under Vixens Mere by Kit Fielding

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

24 October, 2025

Kit Fielding’s Under Vixens Mere takes the closed-circle trope to a whole new setting: a collection of houseboats and their residents near the village of Broome in the English countryside. On the surface, Vixen’s Mere is a peaceful community of people whose lives have grown…

Kindle Print Reviews

Perfect Happiness by You-jeong Jeong

By Sonja van der Westhuizen

14 October, 2025

Translated by Sean Lin Halbert — Introducing Yuna Shin: a mother, wife, narcissist, perfectionist and murderer in this newly translated novel from Korean author You-jeong Jeong. As the title suggests, main character Yuna believes that happiness is perfection, and she will eliminate all imperfections to…

Crime Fiction Lover

About author

Blackwater by Sarah Sultoon

The Writing in the Water by John Ajvide Lindqvist

Sonja van der Westhuizen: Top five books of 2025

If the Owl Calls by Sharon White

The Shadow of the Northern Lights by Satu Rämö

The After Party by Ruth Kelly

Under Vixens Mere by Kit Fielding

Perfect Happiness by You-jeong Jeong

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