A classic revisited: Lie in the Dark
Certainly, some will argue that Lie in the Dark by Dan Fesperman can’t be a crime fiction classic. Originally published in 1999, it’s not old or even that widely read, and I’m not sure many authors have cited the book as an influence. Yet it has…
The Woman Who Wouldn’t Die by Colin Cotterill
The setting is Vientiane, Laos in the late 1970s. The country’s only coroner, Dr Siri Paiboun, now retired, is recalled to oversee the search for the body of the brother of a high-ranking minister. This was initiated when the corpse’s location was approximated by an…
White Lilies
Written by RC Bridgestock — Authors Bob and Carol Bridgestock came to writing late. First there was the little matter of following a career, and both were employed by West Yorkshire Police – Bob as a copper for 30 years, holding every rank within the CID…
A classic revisited: Cop Hater
“The city in these pages is imaginary. The people, the places are all fictitious. Only the police routine is based on established investigatory technique.” It’s just 24 words, but no three sentences have ever held so much significance on the flyleaf of a book. Each…
The Ghost Riders of Ordebec
Written by Fred Vargas — A new Fred Vargas novel is always a happy event for her legions of admirers, whether in the original French or translated into English, and she has won the CWA International Dagger three times. She is not as prolific as other…
Hour of the Wolf
Written by Håkan Nesser – Nesser is one of Sweden’s most popular crime writers, and his Inspector Van Veeteren novels have won a number of awards. The series is published in over 25 countries selling more than 10 million copies worldwide. Hour of the Wolf…
Western Approaches by Graham Hurley
After a string of bestselling books featuring the idiosyncratic Portsmouth policeman Joe Faraday, Graham Hurley made the brave decision to kill him off. In the next book, Happy Days, Faraday’s shadow loomed large as Hampshire Police played out a fatal endgame with the violent Pompey…