Marshes, monkeys, kings and assassins...
On the Radar — Can’t wait to tuck into Karen Dionne’s novel, The Marsh King’s Daughter. It’s said to be like Room in that the main character was born in captivity. Claustrophobic. And it’s said to be like The Revenant on account of it involving…
Gyles Brandreth does the Ripper thing
On the Radar — Were your socks knocked off when you found out that Gyles Brandreth – former Tory MP and TV personality – has written a novel based on the Jack the Ripper case? Well, it floored one or two of the CFL team, that’s…
A Stab in the Dark returns
Award-winning crime writer Mark Billingham has returned to the world of podcasts this week, hosting a new series investigating the worlds of crime fiction and TV crime drama. Produced by UKTV, this is the second series in which Billingham will interview leading names in print and…
First look: The Susan Effect by Peter Hoeg
Long-term fans of Scandinavian crime fiction will know the name Peter Hoeg. He’s not a prolific author, but he wrote one of the defining books in this sub-genre of crime fiction in the early 90s – Miss Smilla’s Feeling for Snow, or Frk Smillas fornemmelse for…
Bloody Scotland crime festival revelations
Bloody Scotland has announced its line up of crime-writing suspects and is staging its gala opening of the annual crime festival this year in Stirling Castle. The event takes place 8 to 10 September, and the winner of the McIlvanney Prize 2017 for the Scottish Crime…
Keep digging
On the Radar — Schedule change! We used to bring you our new books column, On the Radar, every Thursday. Today we’ve moved it to Fridays. From now on, our Thursday newsletter will bring you the best of the new releases by email, as well as updates…
Mix a drink, it's party time
On the Radar — Yes, there’s good weather at last in the UK and so we’ll start this week’s new books pile with something light-hearted, bubbly and refreshing. But, don’t worry if you prefer melancholy because there’s plenty of that too, with gothic horror, deadly prison…