Oxford

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent

By Vicki Weisfeld

29 October, 2025

Word-lovers, rejoice! Susie Dent’s debut murder mystery, Guilty by Definition, thrusts a cold case right into the middle of a group of lexicographers, working in the Oxford offices of the Clarendon English Dictionary. The fictional organisation is no doubt a stand-in for the OED. The…

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Clown Town by Mick Herron

By DeathBecomesHer

1 October, 2025

Fans of Mick Herron, and Slow Horses in particular, have been mightily spoiled these past few weeks. First came the arrival of Clown Town, book nine in the Slough House series, closely followed by the arrival on Apple TV+ of series five of the series…

Kindle Print Reviews

The Cure by Eve Smith

By Sharon Richardson

15 April, 2025

The Cure is the fourth speculative thriller from author Eve Smith and her best so far, producing a gripping read by looking at societal issues and medical trends and casting an eye to the future. The author takes you to all kinds of interesting and…

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A Lesson in Cruelty by Harriet Tyce

By DeathBecomesHer

18 April, 2024

Harriet Tyce is an author that’s new to me, but there had been quite a buzz about this book and it made the CFL list of Most Wanted Books for 2024 so I had high hopes. After bursting into the scene with her best-selling debut…

Features

The Doctor will see you now... Simon Mason

By DeathBecomesHer

21 February, 2022

The latest in Dr Jacky Collins’ The Doctor will see you now video interview series catches up with Oxford-based author Simon Mason, whose adult crime fiction debut is A Killing in November. A former publisher, Mason has previously written literary fiction, books for children and…

Kindle Print Reviews

The Crystal Crypt by Fiona Veitch Smith

By Erin Britton

22 November, 2021

The Crystal Crypt marks the sixth investigative outing for reporter and amateur sleuth Poppy Denby. It’s a story that sees the sins of the past come back to haunt her, with former friends and foes resurfacing to destabilise her professional life at just the same…

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The Final Round by Bernard O’Keeffe

By Catherine Turnbull

24 May, 2021

What is it with fictional detectives and music? Inspector Morse, of course, was a huge opera fan, DCI Banks loves a bit of jazz with classical thrown in and it’s been the same score since Sherlock Holmes picked up his violin. Now we have a country…

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In the Dark

By DeathBecomesHer

12 July, 2018

Written by Cara Hunter — Earlier this year we met Cara Hunter, and her creation DI Adam Fawley, in Close to Home. Now Fawley and his team are back with another confounding case set in Oxford. The tale begins in dramatic style in a scene…

Crime Fiction Lover

Guilty by Definition by Susie Dent

Clown Town by Mick Herron

The Cure by Eve Smith

A Lesson in Cruelty by Harriet Tyce

The Doctor will see you now... Simon Mason

The Crystal Crypt by Fiona Veitch Smith

The Final Round by Bernard O’Keeffe

In the Dark

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