Crime Review Update

We feature new 20 reviews in each issue of Crime Review (
www.crimereview.co.uk), together with a top industry interview. This time
it’s thriller writer Matthew Reilly in the Countdown hot seat.



We’re on Twitter at:

Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK

Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer

Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia



This week’s reviews are:

SHADOW KILL by Chris Ryan, reviewed by Linda Wilson

SAS man John Porter is sent into war-torn Sierra Leone to find and bring
back Ronald Soames, the regiment’s former commanding officer, the man
Porter believes was responsible for trashing his career.



SIRENS by Joseph Knox, reviewed by Chris Roberts

DC Aidan Waites is working undercover to expose a corrupt colleague in
Manchester police headquarters when the job is complicated by runaway
teenager Isabelle, whose powerful father expects Waites to protect her.



CORPUS by Rory Clements, reviewed by John Cleal

American lecturer Tom Wilde, a specialist in Elizabethan espionage history,
is dragged into political conspiracies as Communists and Nazis vie for
influence over the English throne.



MAIGRET’S FIRST CASE by Georges Simenon, reviewed by Arnold Taylor

Maigret is informed of a possible case of murder in the early hours of the
morning.  When a young man knocks on the door of the house to investigate,
he is beaten up by a manservant.  Maigret decides to pay a visit to the
house.



DEEP DOWN DEAD by Steph Broadribb, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Bounty hunter Lori Anderson has to bring in another fugitive who’s skipped
bail. But the first problem is the person she’s after is the man who taught
her all she knows about the job. The second problem is that she has to
bring him in with her nine-year-old daughter in tow.



BRIGHTON by Michael Harvey, reviewed by John Cleal

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Kevin Pearce learns an old friend is
prime suspect in a string of murders. He heads home to protect the secret
they share and face both an elusive killer and his own conscience.



THE KILLING ROOM by Peter May, reviewed by Chris Roberts

American pathologist Margaret Campbell returns to China, this time to
Shanghai, to assist the police when they discover a mass grave containing
butchered women.



CUT by Mark Raabe, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

Gabriel’s pregnant girlfriend is abducted. To find her and the serial
killer he is forced to face the horrific past he’s been running away from
for nearly three decades.

KILLING KATE by Alex Lake, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Kate is away on holiday when the first woman is killed. But the second
victim is too close for comfort, in every way.



THE PROMETHEUS MAN by Scott Reardon, reviewed by John Barnbrook

CIA Agent Tom Blake is on the trail of a man with enhanced physical
abilities, intending to revenge himself on the people who killed his
brother.



THE TOURIST by Robert Dickinson, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When a tourist from the future goes missing after a trip to a 21st century
shopping mall, it falls to her travel rep to get her back safely.



THE SIGN OF FEAR by Robert Ryan, reviewed by John Cleal

As London cowers under German aerial bombardment, Doctor John Watson must
solve the kidnap of leading government officials and the mystery of a lost
ambulance ship.



THE SATANIC MECHANIC by Sally Andrew, reviewed by Chris Roberts

When a South African bushman is poisoned, an expert in sauces helps with
the case, but is threatened herself before the culprit is caught.



BEFORE I LET YOU IN by Jenny Blackhurst, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Even though Karen is an experienced psychiatrist, nothing could prepare her
for the day she opens her door to Jessica.



THE PENNY HEART by Martine Bailey, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan

Peter and Michael, two 18th century gentlemen, are duped at a Manchester
public house. Michael catches the criminal, a young woman called Mary Jebb,
who is subsequently deported to Botany Bay. How sweet is her revenge for
this cruel punishment.



SMOKE OVER MALIBU by Tim Walker, reviewed by Chris Roberts

One-time screenwriter Lucky gets a call about an old friend who has gone
missing, and his boss at Bart’s Olde California is assaulted during the
theft of a cookie jar.



QUARRY’S DEAL by Max Allan Collins, reviewed by John Cleal

Quarry follows a killer from a steamy Florida singles resort back to his
own territory. But this killer is a beautiful woman and the ex-Marine
wonders if he may have met his match.



PENDULUM by Adam Hamdy, reviewed by Jim Beaman

A man wakes to find a noose around his neck. He is about to die. Why has he
been targeted?



LAWLESS AND THE FLOWERS OF SIN by William Sutton, reviewed by John Cleal

As a reluctant Inspector of Vice, Campbell Lawless must make a reckoning of
London’s houses of ill repute. His inquiries draw the attention of powerful
men, merciless in defending their reputations.



URBAN OUTLAWS: COUNTERSTRIKE by Peter Jay Black, reviewed by Linda Wilson

The Urban Outlaws face their toughest test – breaking into a top-secret
facility to steal Medusa, the ultimate weapon.



Best wishes


Sharon