Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Crime Review Update for 6/15/2020

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 Sheila Bugler 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 BOY FROM THE WOODS by Harlan Coben, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When a girl from her grandson’s school disappears, New York lawyer Hester Crimstein agrees to his pleas to make some enquiries. Then there’s a second disappearance, with possible political undertones.


A SHOOTING AT CHATEAU ROCK by Martin Walker, reviewed by Sharon Wheeler

Police officer Bruno cooks mouth-watering meals for his friends in between investigating crooked dealings behind a dead farmer’s estate and Russian influence in the Dordogne.


THE CHAIN by Adrian McKinty, reviewed by Viv Beeby

When you become part of The Chain at first you are the victim, then you are the criminal and then you are the survivor – but could you be the one to break it?


THE ART OF DYING by Ambrose Perry, reviewed by John Cleal

Will Raven returns to Edinburgh a fully qualified doctor to find he must resolve his feelings for former housemaid Sarah Fisher as the pair plunge into the dark world of a serial killer.


MAIGRET AND THE INFORMER by Georges Simenon, reviewed by Chris Roberts

The body of a restaurateur is dumped on a Paris street and an informer points the finger. Maigret exercises his skills to get the evidence needed.


THE SPLIT by Sharon Bolton, reviewed by Linda Wilson

South Georgia is the dream posting for glacier expert Felicity Lloyd, but dreams have a nasty habit of coming at a price.


THE FLOOD by Kristina Ohlsson, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

A man who’s wearing his daughter’s wedding ring is found dead in front of his fireplace. A funeral director frantically searches for his brother who doesn’t seem to be missing. A woman struggles to protect her family as her husband becomes more dangerous. The three cases baffle investigative analyst Fredrika Bergman and DCI Alex Recht.


THE LAST HOUSE GUEST by Megan Miranda, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

A year ago, Sadie’s death was said to be suicide. But Avery knows it won’t be long before they accuse her of her friend’s murder.


HI FIVE by Joe Ide, reviewed by John Cleal

PI Isaiah Quintabe – IQ – is coerced into trying to prove that the daughter of the West Coast’s biggest illegal arms dealer did not kill her boyfriend. But the girl has multiple personality disorder – and any of her radically different ‘selves’ could have committed or contracted out the murder.


BLACK RAIN FALLING by Jacob Ross, reviewed by Chris Roberts

On the Caribbean Island of Camaho, young detective Michael ‘Digger’ Digson fights against thugs and the indifference of the local establishment.


BECOMING DINAH by Kit de Waal, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When her neighbour’s campervan containing his prosthetic leg is stolen, 17-year-old Dinah agrees to join forces with the distraught Ahab to track it down.


KNOCK ‘EM DEAD by Peter Morfoot, reviewed by John Cleal

Captain Paul Darac is called to the suspicious death of a former comedy star and enters a world of chicanery, corruption and murder.


PLAYING DIRTY by Helen Black, reviewed by Chris Roberts

A family firm of gangsters finds their territory invaded by a larger gang from out of town. With the police looking over their shoulder they need to play it smart to come out ahead.


SEVERED by Peter Laws, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When a vicar is brutally attacked by his own son in a church service, atheist ex-minister Professor Matt Hunter is asked by the police to advise on whether the teenage boy was involved in devil worship.


LITTLE DISASTERS by Sarah Vaughan, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Liz and Jess’s friendship is about to crumble as the truth about Liz’s daughter’s head injury unfolds.


MURDER BY THE MINSTER by Helen Cox, reviewed by John Cleal

Librarian Kitt Hartley is shocked to hear her closest friend has been arrested on suspicion of killing her ex-boyfriend and sets out to clear her name.


WITNESS X by SE Moorhead, reviewed by John Barnbrook

Can you trust the memories of anyone, let alone an apparent serial killer, if you are able to enter their mind and see their memories for yourself? The inventor of such a machine is drawn into an investigation to help find a determined and unusual serial killer.


THE FAMILY by Tom O Keenan, reviewed by Chris Roberts

The arrival of an ISIS zealot in Glasgow threatens not only the Family, a collective of 12 crime families, but the police and the public at large.


DEATHLY AFFAIR by Leigh Russell, reviewed by John Cleal

Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel must discover what links the deaths of vulnerable men to uncover a vicious killer.


BONES IN THE RIVER by Zoe Sharp, reviewed by Linda Wilson

DC Nick Weston and CSI Grace McColl have to investigate a hit and run and the discovery of the bones of a man in a makeshift grave uncovered by the river Eden against the backdrop of the annual Appleby Fair.


Best wishes


Sharon and Linda


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