Femme Fatale
Written by Dominic Piper — The concept of les femmes fatales is older than crime fiction itself – female characters whose charms and influence propel male characters to act against their own interest. Well-known examples exist throughout crime fiction, however these women can be found…
The Force
Written by Don Winslow, narrated by Dion Graham — For a while yet, every gritty, noir cop story set in urban America will be compared to the television series The Wire in terms of realism, character development, and sheer storytelling power. So the audiobook of…
Brick
Written by Conrad Jones — Bryn Williams doesn’t have a lot going for him. He lives on a council estate in Liverpool, both his parents are alcoholics living on benefits, and his neighbourhood is full of dangers. Drugs. Gangs. Prostitutes. But this 14-year-old boy has…
Sting
Written by Sandra Brown — What’s your guilty pleasure, when you’re not crime fiction loving? Mine’s Nora Roberts (and not in her JD Robb persona, either). I like her romantic novels, with their sharp characterisations and snappy dialogue. In Sandra Brown, I think I’ve found…
Deadly Game
Written by Matt Johnson — If you like your crime fiction to be full of thrills and conspiracies, with more than a dash of authentic descriptions of weapons, raids and SAS-type tactics, then this series by Matt Johnson should be destined for your reading pile. The…
Lola
Written by Melissa Scrivner Love — Lola, the energetic protagonist of this Los Angeles-based crime thriller, is an eminently likeable young woman, flirting with death at the hands of rival drug operatives and flouting the legal establishment. She lives with Garcia, the supposed leader of the Crenshaw…