I read and review all genres but I’ve chosen a selection of crime books that show the range and scope of narratives some of my favourite authors engage in – there’s something for everyone from police procedurals to amateur sleuths, legal thrillers to avenging families. All of these books are available through bookshops or Bookshop.org which supports independent bookshops.
One Good Lie by Jane Isaac (Canelo)
Famed for her police procedurals, Jane Isaac presents us with a thriller
which deals with the aftermath of a murder with huge repercussions for the
family as another murder happens which may or may not be related – and everyone
is a suspect…
The Rule by David Jackson (Viper)
Daniel’s parents’ have instilled in him to obey the rule. But when his
father’s life is threatened, Daniel breaks that rule. What follows is a
chilling sequence of events with the police on one side and vicious criminal
family on the other and Daniel’s parents sliding into a vortex of wrongdoing to
protect him.
The Killing Kind by Jane Casey (HarperCollins)
Jane Casey keeps the reader on their toes in this legal thriller.
Barrister Ingrid Smith is being stalked by the man she got off a harassment
charge. But nothing is as it seems as she uncovers links that go back to one of
her first cases as a junior. Brilliantly manipulative first person narrative.
Body On The Island by Victoria Dowd (Joffe Books)
An Agatha Christie
type scenario: the five Smart women (the book club amateur sleuths) plus Jess,
Angel, Bottlenose and Spear as well as two drowned bodies are thrown up on an
uninhabited island, facing starvation, hypothermia and the knowledge that there
is a murderer among them. As the body count rises suspicion eats away at them
all. Who is the killer and will the Smart women manage to outwit him or her?
The Invitation by A.M. Castle (HarperCollins)
A locked
room mystery only this time it’s a castle on a Cornish Island which becomes cut
off from the mainland by a storm. The hostess, with her new and much older
husband and two adult children, knows all the secrets her friends have hidden
for years and she’s determined to have fun exposing them. But someone else is
pulling the strings and murder is on the menu in this
The Three Locks by Bonnie MacBird (Collins Crime Club)
MacBird steps back
into the world of Holmes and Watson to adroitly weave three stories into a
compelling narrative featuring a range of characters whose motives are often
hidden behind convention and deceit. Through meticulous research and rigorous
attention to period detail, she eloquently evokes the Victorian atmosphere and,
of course, the world of Holmes and Watson created by Conan Doyle.
Syn by Malcolm Hollingdrake (Holbrook)
Malcolm Hollingdrake
has produced a dream team with DI Decent and DS Warlock for this new series.
The narratives are intensely dark and gritty. He handles the themes with
assurance and the storytelling is superb as the language flows and compels the
reader on with enough twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes until
the dramatic dénouement.
Two Wrongs by Mel McGrath (HQ)
When young women die
in mysterious circumstances at a Bristol university, Honor fears for her
daughter’s life. Haunted by her best friend’s “suicide” years before, she
realises there is a connection and she could at last avenge the deaths and
right the wrongs. But is she strong enough to face the repercussions? A
perfectly plotted, gripping tale of revenge.
