The Shards by Bret Easton Ellis
Infamous for his 1991 novel American Psycho, which pushed psychopathic depravity to new literary depths, Bret Easton Ellis is a controversial author whose work has inspired, or at least informed, a generation of crime novelists – particularly those writing about serial killers. He hasn’t touched…
Needless Alley by Natalie Marlow
Set in Birmingham in 1933, Needless Alley explores provincial England between the wars from a working class and queer perspective. It’s a debut novel for Natalie Marlow, a Warwickshire-based author whose passion is for stories from the past, and the book is named after a…
Trouble by Katja Ivar
Following Evil Things and Deep as Death, Trouble is the third novel in Katja Ivar’s series about the Finnish detective Hella Mauzer. Set in Helsinki in 1953, it’s a procedural with hints of a Nordic noir atmosphere to it, a touch of espionage as the…
Interview: Katja Ivar
This week sees the release of Trouble, the third book in the Hella Mauzer series by Katja Ivar. Set in 1950s Finland, during the Cold War, the books tell the story of a young police woman and budding detective who cuts against the grain when…
Dancing with Dusty Fossils by Karen Charlton
We first met Bobbie and Jemma of the York Ladies’ Detective Agency in Smoke and Cracked Mirrors in April 2022, and now the historical crime fiction whirlwind that is Karen Charlton is treating us to book two in the series. Britain is embroiled in World…
Interview: John Winn Miller
The tumult of World War II is an endless source of inspiration for crime fiction and historical authors, but it takes a lot of dedication to craft a story that not only feels true to the era but gets readers to engage with the characters…
Blue Water by Leonora Nattrass
Last year, Leonora Nattrass took the historical crime fiction world by storm with her debut novel, Black Drop, which was picked as a Times Book of the Year. As Blue Water opens, the ripples of what happened back then are still rocking Laurence Jago’s world….