This little dark debut, and more
On the Radar — Let’s get things going this week with a fresh voice in the world of crime fiction as AS Hatch releases his debut novel. There’s lots more though, with four books from veterans based both in the UK and in the United…
The Best American Mystery Stories 2018
Edited by Louise Penny — What an entertaining collection this is! The stories cover a wide range of mystery, crime and suspense writing, with a fair bit of edge. Edited by popular Canadian author Louise Penny from a collection assembled under the direction of Otto…
Dis Mem Ber
Written by Joyce Carol Oates – This collection of mostly longish short stories features Oates’s sly humour and penchant for the off-kilter. There’s something just a little bit obsessive, just a little wrong about many of the protagonists who appear. Sometimes, there’s a lot wrong. Someplace along…
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…
Jack of Spades by Joyce Carol Oates
This rather short (200-page) psychological thriller is told as a first-person narrative by successful mystery author Andrew J Rush. Rush thinks of himself with quote marks around his name, perhaps because he’s beginning to realise identity is more ephemeral than he’s heretofore believed. We soon learn he’s…
Evil Eye
Written by Joyce Carol Oates – An acclaimed novelist, short story writer, poet, essayist, and literary critic, Joyce Carol Oates was once dubbed ‘the dark lady of American letters’. In her 50-year career, she’s often been drawn to violent characters and harrowing subjects. Where Are…
The Fever by Megan Abbott
With her early, noirish crime novels, Megan Abbott revisited the hardboiled tradition and period detail of 1950s LA from a female character’s perspective. Her more recent books, including Dare Me, have focused on the mystery and intrigue surrounding teenage girls. From that description you might…