The Third Nero
Written by Lindsey Davis — Historical novelist Lindsey Davis is best known for her series set in Ancient Rome, featuring Marcus Didius Falco. A few years back she retired her popular detective (or ‘imperial informer’, as the position was known back then) to make way…
A Game of Ghosts
Written by John Connolly – Charlie Parker is back. He is hired by the FBI’s Special Agent-in-Charge Edgar Ross to find the private investigator Jaycob Eklund. Ross is a slippery fish and neither man trusts each other. Eklund is in the wind but Ross is…
Treacherous Strand
Written by Andrea Carter — Despite the moody cover art and threatening title, this novel falls squarely in cosy crime territory, although with a grittier edge than some of its American cousins in the sub-genre. Set on the Inishowen Peninsula in Ireland, about as far north…
Ill Will
Written by Dan Chaon — Past and present crimes haunt the two main protagonists of this beautifully crafted new literary thriller. In the present day, psychologist Dustin Tillman lives in suburban Cleveland, Ohio. One son is away at college, and his younger son, Aaron, is…
Prussian Blue
Written by Philip Kerr – If you’ve tried your hand at art, you might know that Prussian Blue is a dark pigment used in paints. You are probably less likely to know it is also the medical antidote to poisoning from certain heavy metals, including thallium….
The Lighthearted Quest
Written by Ann Bridge — Things have certainly changed since the 1950s. With the rise of cheap air travel and global terrorism, along with the internet and Hollywood movies, North Africa is no longer a place of mystery for most English speakers. It sometimes feels like…