Call Me Star Girl
Written by Louise Beech — We last reviewed Louise Beech with her standalone Maria in the Moon. She’s an author with a unique voice, whose lyrical prose can easily lull you into false sense of security. Her subject matter may range far and wide, but…
Day of the Accident
Written by Nuala Ellwood — You may have been looking forward to picking up this second book by Nuala Ellwood, following her debut thriller, My Sister’s Bones. This deftly explored the themes of civil war and domestic violence through the lens of a damaged war reporter with…
Spare Room by Dreda Say Mitchell
The London-based author Dreda Say Mitchell has written a whole selection of gangster novels with strong female leads, but with Spare Room she’s venturing into new territory, the psychological thriller. From the very beginning she’ll have you wrong footed and turning or swiping pages constantly,…
The Sinner by Petra Hammesfahr
Translated by John Brownjohn — The first season of the twisty crime show The Sinner, starring Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman, makes for addictive binge-watching. It also made our list of the best crime shows of 2018. Although produced in the US, the programme has…
Anonymity by John Nicholl
These days, there are myriad high-tech ways for crime fighters to do their jobs efficiently. Unsurprisingly, the same applies to the criminals themselves. Which is why the net has proved such a rich hunting ground for crime writers – take Chris Carter’s The Caller and Friend…
The Winters
Written by Lisa Gabriele — Lisa Gabriele set herself a high bar in tackling a modern reimagining of Daphne du Maurier’s classic psychological thriller, Rebecca, with its famous first line—“Last night I dreamed I went again to Manderley.” Gabriele’s first line, “Last night Rebekah tried…