Crime Review Update

Happy new year!

We feature new 20 reviews in each issue of Crime Review (www.crimereview.co.uk), together with a top industry interview. This timeit’s Nancy Bilyeau in the Countdown hot seat:

http://www.crimereview.co.uk/page.php/interview/6968

We’re on Twitter at:

Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK

Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer

Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia

This week’s reviews are:

BATTLE SIGHT ZERO by Gerald Seymour, reviewed by John Cleal

Muslim extremists plan to smuggle assault rifles into Britain for a series of deadly attacks.

DARK SACRED NIGHT by Michael Connelly, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Detectives Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch work together to reopen a cold case in the hope of finally bringing the killer of a teenage runaway to justice.

PARIS IN THE DARK by Robert Olen Butler, reviewed by Arnold Taylor

An American journalist is in Paris when a bomb goes off and sets out to find the culprit.

HEAD HUNTERS by Chris Ryan, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Danny Black has been sent to Afghanistan on a mission to hunt and kill the Taliban, but soon finds that he’s the one being hunted – for a war crime he didn’t commit.

THE LIES WE TELL by Kristina Ohlsson, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

Successful Swedish-American lawyer Martin Benner must prove the innocence of dead woman Sara Texas, accused of a string of murders in the US, while looking for her missing son Mio. At the same time he finds himself framed for crimes he didn’t commit.

BEAU DEATH by Peter Lovesey, reviewed by John Cleal

The demolition of a terraced cottage lands Detective Superintendent Peter Diamond with the coldest of cold cases when a skeleton in 18th century clothes is exposed.

HOME GROWN HERO by Khurrum Rahman, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Javid Qasim helped to foil a terrorist attack but neither MI5, who compelled his assistance, nor the terrorists are prepared to leave him alone.

FALL DOWN DEAD by Stephen Booth, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When a woman falls to her death in the fog on the bleak moorland of Kinder Scout, DI Ben Cooper is faced with the age-old question – did she fall or was she pushed.

THE GRAVEDIGGERS’ BREAD by Frédéric Dard, reviewed by Arnold Taylor

A man finds a wallet belonging to an attractive blonde woman who had made a telephone call from a kiosk shortly before he did. It contains her photograph and 8,000 francs, and he decides to look for her in order to return the wallet.

COLD DEATH by Quentin Bates, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

Officer Gunnhildur Gísladóttir’s new task is to protect an enigmatic guest of the Iceland’s controversial Minister of Justice. Ali Osman is either a saviour of war zones’ refugees or a manipulative arms dealer.

BRIGHT YOUNG DEAD by Jessica Fellowes, reviewed by John Cleal

A treasure hunt at the 18th birthday party of Pamela Mitford ends in tragedy when a guest falls to his death from a church tower. The police identify a maid as the killer, but Louisa Cannon, chaperone to the Mitford girls, sets out to clear her.

THE BOUNCER by David Gordon, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Joe Brody is a strip club bouncer with a Harvard education and a military career about which no records exist. Against her best instincts, FBI agent Donna Zamora finds him very attractive.

IN STRANGERS’S HOUSES by Elizabeth Mundy, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When Lena Szarka’s best friend goes missing, she has problems getting anyone to take notice, so she decides to combine her day job as a cleaner with some sleuthing to find out what’s happened to Timea.

THE LIZARD STRATEGY by Valerio Varesi, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan

An old man with dementia goes missing, a telephone ringtone can be heard from a lonely river valley and the council is in chaos. Commissario Soneri has to make sense of all these events.

THE ALADDIN TRIAL by Abi Silver, reviewed by Chris Roberts

A woman hospitalised for a minor operation is found dead after a fall from the 11th floor. An immigrant cleaner is accused, and defended by Burton and Lamb.

THE CITY OF LIES by Michael Russell, reviewed by John Cleal

Garda Special Branch Inspector Stefan Gillespie, investigating the IRA murder of a Garda, a pitched battle between racecourse gangs and the partly burnt bodies of a family of five, is called off for a sensitive mission to Berlin, but soon discovers all the incidents are connected and that his own life is in danger.

THREE LITTLE LIES by Laura Marshall, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Her best friend has gone missing, but Ellen is the only person taking her disappearance seriously.

JESS CASTLE AND THE EYEBALLS OF DEATH by MB Vincent, reviewed by John Cleal

Jess Castle PhD, historian and failed lecturer, returns to her home town of Castle Kidbury and becomes involved in a series of gory murders.

THE ASH DOLL by James Hazel, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Lawyer Charlie Priest has a high-profile case which he looks like losing when his star witness fails to show in court, and subsequently turns up dead.

ROSIE LOVES JACK by Mel Darbon, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Rosie loves Jack, but her father wants to keep them apart, especially when Jack is sent away to a special home in Brighton. But Rosie isn’t prepared to give up on her boyfriend, even when he stops contacting her.

Best wishes

Sharon