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 publicist Kerry Hood in
the Countdown hot seat:
We’re on
Twitter at:
Crime
Review: @CrimeReviewUK
Linda
Wilson: @CrimeReviewer
Sharon
Wheeler: @lartonmedia
This
week’s reviews are:
THE
STRANGER DIARIES by Elly Griffiths, reviewed by Arnold Taylor
Clare, a
teacher at Tolgarth High, is discussing a short story called The Stranger with
members of a creative writing group. The story is a Gothic horror but Clare has
no reason to believe that the school is about to undergo its own horror story.
TO THE
LIONS by Holly Watt, reviewed by John Cleal
Reporter
Casey Benedict eavesdrops a conversation in a London club and investigates the
apparent suicide of a wealthy young man. Her hunt leads her from St Tropez to
the Middle Eastern deserts – and the darkest corners of the human mind.
AN
ELDERLY LADY IS UP TO NO GOOD by Helene Tursten, reviewed by Ewa Sherman
Maud is
nearly 90 years old and lives rent-free in a spacious apartment in Gothenburg.
She might be old and seemingly confused but will not allow anyone to upset her
peace and quiet.
DEAD
MAN’S DAUGHTER by Roz Watkins, reviewed by Linda Wilson
When DI
Meg Dalton finds a child in a bloodstained nightdress in woods and the child’s
father dead in the house with a cut throat, she doesn’t want to believe the
young girl is guilty of murder, but all the evidence seems to point to her.
BERTIE: THE
COMPLETE PRINCE OF WALES MYSTERIES by Peter Lovesey, reviewed
by John
Cleal
Albert
Edward, Prince of Wales, the future King Edward VII, is a pleasure seeker,
searching out the best meals, the most beautiful women, and the most lavish
parties. He also fancies himself as an amateur detective and relates his
ventures into crime.
MURDER IN
THE CROOKED HOUSE by Soji Shimada, reviewed by Chris Roberts
In a
strange house built at the isolated northern tip of Japan, guests who’ve
gathered for New Year start dying. Renowned detective Kiyosi Mitarai is called
in to find out why.
A PRIVATE
BUSINESS (audiobook) by Barbara Nadel, reviewed by Linda Wilson
Lee
Arnold and his assistant Mumtaz Hakim are hired by former stand-up comedian
Maria Peters who wants to know why she’s being targeted by someone determined
to make her question her own sanity.
THE
AMERICAN AGENT by Jacqueline Winspear, reviewed by John Cleal
Investigator
Maisie Dobbs is approached by the British and US governments to help solve the
murder of an American war correspondent in London during the Blitz.
GHOSTS OF
THE PAST by Marco Vichi, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan
A
well-respected Florence citizen is found murdered in his study. Apart from
a fencing foil stuck between his ribs, there are no clues, no fingerprints,
nothing except for a beautiful ring found close to the body.
GENTLEMAN
JACK by Christina James, reviewed by Arnold Taylor
DC Ricky
Macfadyen rescues an agricultural businessman who is being beaten up in the
street but who refuses to press charges. When DI Tim Yates and Macfadyen
visit his site they see a quad that might have been stolen, but the
investigation soon takes second place when the headless body of a woman is
found in a canal.
99 WAYS
TO DIE by Ed Lin, reviewed by Chris Roberts
Chan
Jing-nan becomes involved when his friend Peggy’s father is kidnapped and
threatened with death if he doesn’t hand over a new computer chip.
KICK THE
MOON by Muhammed Khan, reviewed by Linda Wilson
Ilyas
Mian wants to draw comic book heroes rather than work in his dad’s shop but
until he meets Kelly Mathews, Ilyas keeps his ambition to himself. Kelly
understands him like no one else, but unfortunately, she’s attracted to Ilyas’
friend Imran, and doesn’t listen to the warnings she’s given about him.
MISS KOPP
JUST WON’T QUIT by Amy Stewart, reviewed by John Cleal
Intrepid
Deputy Sheriff Constance Kopp’s help for a woman inmate in a mental home sees
her targeted as a political football in a key election.
LOLA by
Melissa Scrivener Love, reviewed by Chris Roberts
The
Crenshaw Six are a minnow amongst the gangs of South Central LA, and war
between rival drug cartels provides both an opportunity and a threat. Luckily,
they have a smart leader.
THE
SECRETARY by Renee Knight, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor
Christine
Butcher is the perfect secretary until the CEO’s daughter Mina forces her to
become the perfect enemy.
THE
MAGICK OF MASTER LILLY by Tobsha Learner, reviewed by John Cleal
Master
17th century astrologer and magician William Lilly narrates the story of an
England broken by religious and political intolerance as it plunges towards
civil war.
LIVES
LAID AWAY by Stephen Mack Jones, reviewed by Chris Roberts
Detroit
ex-cop August Snow is unimpressed by government action to combat the sexual
exploitation and traffic of girls and so takes matters into his own hands.
CLOSE TO
THE EDGE by Toby Faber, reviewed by Linda Wilson
When
Laurie Bateman sees a man fall to his death in front of a tube train, she has a
need to make sense of what happens. The police seem convinced it was suicide,
but Laurie is certain that’s not the case, and she becomes determined to carry
out her own investigations.
LANNY by
Max Porter, reviewed by John Barnbrook
In a
quintessential English village primal forces are stirring, incited by a
charming, naive and unusual boy.
THE
BATTERED BODY BENEATH THE FLAGSTONES AND OTHER VICTORIAN SCANDALS by Michelle
Morgan, reviewed by Kim Fleet
A
collection of shocking, murderous and bizarre true Victorian tales from the UK
and the US.
Best
wishes
Sharon
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