Holmes Entangled
Written by Gordon McAlpine – Holmes Entangled is a great title for this complex metafictional novel. Nominally a private detective mystery with a host of familiar characters, it is about as far removed from the original Conan Doyle canon as it’s possible for a Sherlock…
That Old Black Magic by Cathi Unsworth
Another music-related title for a Cathi Unsworth standalone book, and this one had me in its spell from early doors. Like Without The Moon – which we reviewed in 2015, it is set firmly in World War II. Open this eye-catching and slightly spooky cover,…
Back Up by Paul Colize
Translated by Louise Rogers Lalaurie — This crime thriller by Belgian writer Paul Colize about a British rock band was short-listed for a number of prizes when first released. Although it is only now available in English, the book should find a natural home and…
London Rules by Mick Herron
In John LeCarre’s classic Smiley’s People, Moscow Rules are a form of ultra-cautious tactics for operating in the most dangerous circumstances. They include such measures as dead drops, chalk marks as signal markers, and careful face-to-face meetings. In the end, they were not enough to…
This Is What Happened
Written by Mick Herron – Since 2013, Mick Herron has been writing about London’s espionage community to great acclaim. There are four novels so far in his satirical Jackson Lamb series, with a fifth, London Rules, arriving this summer. Dead Lions was awarded the 2013…