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 author Susan Wilkins in the Countdown hot seat:
http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/interview/4950



We’re on Twitter at:

Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK

Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer

Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia



This week’s reviews are:



THE LONG DROP by Denise Mina, reviewed by Arnold Taylor

William Watt, a Glasgow businessman widely suspected of murdering his wife,
daughter and sister-in-law, has arranged a meeting with a known criminal,
Peter Manuel, who claims to have information that will establish Watt’s
innocence.



THE BEAUTIFUL DEAD by Belinda Bauer, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Eve Singer, crime correspondent for iWitness News, needs murder: it pays
the bills. For the killer who stabbed Layla Martin to death behind a glass
door, murder is his art. Eve would say they are worlds apart. The killer
wouldn’t.



THE RESTLESS DEAD by Simon Beckett, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Forensic anthropologist Dr David Hunter is called to give advice on a body
washed up on the Essex marshes. The police seem to want an easy resolution
to the case of a missing man, but Hunter isn’t convinced by the evidence
and wants to delve deeper.



BRIGHT SHINY THINGS by Barbara Nadel, reviewed by John Cleal

Former soldier-turned-PI Lee Arnold enlists his Muslim assistant,
Bangladeshi psychiatry graduate Mumtaz Hakim, in a daring deception to
bring a self-confessed ISIS terrorist to the West.



THE PLEDGE by Friedrich Dürrenmatt, reviewed by Chris Roberts

A detective becomes fixated with a serial killer of young girls, and
sacrifices his career and mental health in an attempt to bring the man to
justice.



FIRESIDE GOTHIC by Andrew Taylor, reviewed by John Cleal

A trio of supernatural, eerie and haunting Gothic novellas.



THE BURIAL HOUR by Jeffery Deaver, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Lincoln Rhyme and Amelia Sachs travel to Italy on the trail of a serial
kidnapper who likes to torture his victims in pursuit of some unusual goals.



SWEETPEA by CJ Skuse, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Rhiannon is an editorial assistant on a provincial newspaper, and despises
her invisibility – except when her lofty morals drive her to kill.

STRANGE TIDE by Christopher Fowler, reviewed by Jim Beaman

Bryant and May of the Peculiar Crimes Unit investigate when the body of a
woman is found chained to a post in the River Thames.



PURITAN by David Hingley, reviewed by John Cleal

Mercia Blakewood hopes her search for Charles II’s missing paintings, which
has taken her to America, has gained enough leverage to reclaim her family
home. But when a new friend is murdered, she will not leave until the
killer is found.



THE BINDING SONG by Elodie Harper, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Newly-appointed lead psychologist Janet Palmer is faced with a spate of
suicides amongst the prisoners and a worrying climate of secrecy amongst
the staff at Halvergate Prison.



HERETICS by Leonardo Padura, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Retired Cuban detective Mario Conde helps to trace the chain of possession
of a Rembrandt portrait that was stolen and disappeared for 70 years.



THE LAST DAYS OF NIGHT by Graham Moore, reviewed by John Cleal

Brilliant novice lawyer Paul Cravath must help his first client withstand a
$1 billion dollar patent suit – with the very future of electric light
itself at stake.



THE ROAD TO ITHACA by Ben Pastor, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Wehrmacht officer Martin Von Bora lands in Crete immediately after the 1941
German invasion and is handed the investigation into a possible war crime.



ROOTED IN DISHONOUR by Christina James, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

When an 18-year old girl disappears days after she meets her husband-to-be,
DI Tim Yates is convinced this is his first encounter with an honour
killing.



THE NIGHT VISITOR by Lucy Atkins, reviewed by John Barnbrook

Professor Olivia Sweetman, a noted historian, has used a Victorian diary to
write the biography of one of the earliest women to become a doctor. But in
the background is the ominous presence of the woman who gave her the diary,
who could destroy her hard-earned reputation.



GOOD GIRLS DON’T TELL by Liselotte Roll, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

A tortured body of a man is found in an allotment shed. Inspector Magnus
Kalo and his team are mystified, especially due to the lack of information
about the victim. Eventually they find a connection to a past event in
Argentina.



LITTLE BONES by Sam Blake, reviewed by John Barnbrook

Zoë Grant is an aspiring artist on the verge of a breakthrough with a local
gallery. Garda Detective Cathy Connolly is called to investigate a break-in
at Zoë’s home and discovers an old wedding dress, ripped open, with baby’s
bones hidden in the hem.



A NECESSARY EVIL by Abir Mukherjee, reviewed by Chris Roberts

India 1920: Captain Wyndham and Sergeant Banerjee of the Calcutta police
force visit the native state of Sambalpore to investigate the assassination
of a Maharajah’s son.



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

The Urban Outlaws have been infected with a deadly virus and now their
arch-enemy Hector Del Sarto is threatening to infect the whole of London –
and the rest of the country – as well. He also has the antidote, and the
Outlaws need it, fast.



Best wishes


Sharon