A Spot of Folly: Ten and a Quarter New Tales of Murder and Mayhem
Written by Ruth Rendell — These previously uncollected or new short stories are a masterclass in how to deliver psychological suspense in domestic settings and an antidote to some publishers’ current zeal for packaging and claiming grip-lit and domestic noir as a nearly-new phenomenon. Although Ruth…
CIS: Rediscovering Margaret Millar
It’s not that Margaret Millar was ever completely forgotten. She was admired by Truman Capote, Agatha Christie and Evelyn Waugh. She is often cited by modern crime writers like Laura Lippman and Gillian Flynn as a great influence. Millar features regularly on lists of top suspense or mystery…
His Bloody Project by Graeme Macrae Burnet audiobook
Narrated by Antony Ferguson — This remarkable faux true crime thriller was shortlisted for the 2016 Man Booker Prize and an immersive, inventive fable it is. The conceit is that the author, in researching his family history, uncovers ancestor Roderick Macrae, who in 1869 stood…
All the Wicked Girls
Written by Chris Whitaker — Chris Whitaker’s debut, Tall Oaks, was a heady mix of humour and tragedy, with a very believable American setting even though the author is British. In his latest, Whitaker stays true to small town America and the theme of teenagers yearning…