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…
The Chalk Pit
Written by Elly Griffiths — Some books are let down by the lack of coherent characterisation, featuring players so one-dimensional they would blow away in a gentle breeze. Not so with the work of Elly Griffiths, whose books are populated by creations as well rounded and multi-layered as…
A Dangerous Crossing
Written by Rachel Rhys — Late July 1939. A young woman named Lillian Shepard boards the Orontes, docked at Tilbury in Essex and set to sail for Australia. She has assisted passage to work in Australia as a domestic servant. Her family sees her to the cabin…
Hard Labour
Written by Bill Bateman — Medical crime fiction is not the most mined of the sub-genres we cover, which is strange because doctors hold life and death in their hands every day. And of course things don’t always go the way they planned. In Hard…