New issue of Crime Review

The final 2022 issue of Crime Review is up and there's a vaguely festive feel to it (and that's not just the editors scoffing mince pies and wondering whether you can ever have too many roast potatoes ...) We've gathered together a load of short story collections that will see you through the holiday season or provide a quick stocking filler if you need last-minute pressies. Thank us later.

There are a range of writers there, including Georges Simenon, Agatha Christie, CJ Tudor and the late and much-missed Reginald Hill. But it's not all cosies - if you fancy sloping off to Addis Ababa, the Antarctic or Sweden, there's plenty of noir on offer.

And we welcome author CL Taylor to the Countdown seat. Season's greetings to everyone and we'll see you in 2023.

http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/editorial/10117

Best wishes

Sharon and Linda

www.crimereview.co.uk

New Issue of Crime Review

 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 Lilja Sigurdardottir in the Countdown hot seat: http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/interview/9636

 

We’re on Twitter at: 

Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK

Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer

Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia

 

This week’s reviews are: 

THE MAN WHO DIED TWICE by Richard Osman, reviewed by Viv Beeby 

The Thursday Murder Club rides out again. This time they’re on the trail of £20,000,000 in stolen diamonds and some violent and ruthless international criminals who surely won't let a bunch of old-age pensioners stand in their way ... 

THE CUTTING ROOM by Louise Welsh, reviewed by Linda Wilson 

When Rilke is called to a house clearance in a respectable Glasgow suburb, he immediately knows he’s sitting on a goldmine, but the auction job turns out to have a darker side. 

THE SECOND CUT by Louise Welsh, reviewed by Linda Wilson 

When Glasgow auctioneer Rilke’s old friend Jojo is found dead in a doorway, the police don’t seem that interested, but unlike them, Rilke isn’t quite so ready to write off Jojo’s death as an unfortunate by-product of a dissolute lifestyle. 

THE DARK HOURS by Michael Connelly, reviewed by John Verpeleti 

Renée Ballard calls in Harry Bosch as her latest case shares a feature with one of Harry’s unsolved cases from ten years earlier. She is also trying to identify two rapists who have been dubbed The Midnight Men. 

THE HOUSE by Tom Watson and Imogen Robertson, reviewed by Chris Roberts 

Labour MP Owen McKenna receives a demand to withdraw a parliamentary question, under threat that his role in the tragic case of a former colleague will be exposed in the press. 

THE ICE COVEN by Max Seeck, reviewed by Kerry Hood 

A man and a woman go missing in Finland. Small clues, painstaking work and huge discoveries drop the Violent Crimes Unit of the Helsinki police department into a world of pain and depravity. 

ANOTHER KIND OF EDEN by James Lee Burke, reviewed by Tim Field 

A Korean War veteran is looking for freedom and enlightenment in the American West in 1962. Peace beckons through his love for an art student but then a meeting with a psychopath makes things start to spin out of control. 

JUDAS 62 by Charles Cumming, reviewed by David Rose 

Secret agent Lachlan Kite faces peril in Dubai as a brutal ghost from his past works his way down a Russian kill list – with Lachlan and one of his key contacts next in line. 

GEIGER by Gustaf Skördeman, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

Grandmother Agneta Broman answers a phone, hears only one word then shoots her husband and disappears, leaving the police at a loss.

BEFORE THE STORM by Alex Gray, reviewed by John Cleal

Superintendent Bill Lorimer, head of Police Scotland’s Major Incidents team, investigates the exposure of undercover officers while at the same time facing a terrorist threat to Glasgow.

BRUNO’S CHALLENGE & OTHER DORDOGNE TALES, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Fourteen short stories featuring Bruno, Chief of Police, set in the heartland of France’s Dordogne region.

RIDER ON THE RAIN by Sébastien Japrisot, reviewed by Chris Roberts

In an out-of-season Riviera resort, a bus brings a solitary visitor who turns the life of housewife Mellie Mau upside down.

SAFE by SK Barnett, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Jenny, kidnapped as a six-year-old, is back. But 12 years have changed her. Some would say beyond recognition.

THE FAVOUR by Laura Vaughan, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan

Ada Howell, brought up in a large old house somewhere in Wales, constantly tries to live up to her start in life. So much so that even the death of a fellow student on a trip to Italy doesn’t change her ambition, until reality is revealed.

ROBERT B PARKER'S FOOL'S PARADISE by Mike Lupica, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Police Chief Jesse Stone grapples with the case of a man who made the journey from Florida to Paradise only to end up dead on the evening of his arrival.

TURF WARS by Olivier Norek, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When a new drug lord is determined to make their mark on the tough Seine-Saint-Denis district of Paris, it’s not long before the area is on the verge of an all-out war between the gangs and the police. Against that volatile backdrop, Capitaine Coste and his team have a murder to solve.

THE LITTLE MAN FROM ARCHANGEL by Georges Simenon, reviewed by Chris Roberts

When his wife fails to return home one night, Jonas Milk finds himself suspected of murder by neighbours who he always regarded as friends – but he comes to realise that what he imagined was acceptance is in truth only skin-deep.

LAST FLIGHT TO STALINGRAD by Graham Hurley, reviewed by John Cleal

Propaganda journalist Werner Nehmann is sent to Stalingrad to put a gloss on the battle that marked one of the turning points of the war for the German people.

HELL GATE by Jeff Dawson, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Ingo Finch visits New York in 1904 on behalf of British spy masters to expose the machinations of pro-German agents in the USA.

THE BOYBAND MURDER MYSTERY by Ava Eldred, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When the frontman of boyband phenomenon Half Light is arrested on suspicion of murdering his best friend, his army of fans are determined to prove his innocence.

A belated happy new year to everyone!

Sharon and Linda

www.crimereview.co.uk

New Issue of Crime Review

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 Isabelle Grey in the Countdown hot seat:   http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/interview/9478

We’re on Twitter at:

Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK 

Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer

Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia

This week’s reviews are:

A COMEDY OF TERRORS by Lindsey Davis, reviewed by John Cleal

While Roman detective Flavia Albia tries to come to terms with a new role, her magistrate husband becomes involved in a case which threatens not only the family but also the future of the empire itself.

THE SENTINEL by Lee Child and Andrew Child, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan

Jack Reacher arrives by chance at a small town near Tennessee, where there appears to be a power cut. Also, by chance, he manages to avert a kidnapping. By which time he is too involved not to let it all go.

GALWAY EPIPHANY by Ken Bruen, reviewed by Sharon Wheeler

Maverick PI Jack Taylor is finally hoping for a quiet retirement. But when he emerges from a coma after being hit by a truck, the incident is being hailed as a miracle and the children who tended him as saints. But he isn’t the only one looking for the kids, who have gone missing …

PASSENGER 23 by Sebastian Fitzek, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Police psychologist Martin Schwartz lost his wife and son five years ago on a cruise. When someone tells him there was more to their disappearance than a tragic accident, he has to find out more.

THE MIST by Ragnar Jónasson, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

Erla and Einar live in an isolated farmhouse in the eastern part of Iceland. Their daily toil remains unchanged for years until a strange visitor arrives during a snowstorm just before Christmas. As the telephone stops working and electricity dies, the unsettling atmosphere intensifies.

THE WHOLE TRUTH by Cara Hunter, reviewed by Viv Beeby

DI Fawley and his wife Alex are expecting a much longed-for child and everything in the garden looks lovely – until the release from prison of a vicious and vengeful rapist and murderer threatens to blight their happiness.

SAVAGE ROAD by Chris Hauty, reviewed by John Verpeleti

The President of the United States is a Russian mole and it is for his handler and covert agent, Hayley Chill, to keep him in line and ensure that a current series of cyber-attacks does not escalate into war.

THE MOON TUNNEL by Jim Kelly, reviewed by Kerry Hood

A body is found in one of the escape tunnels dug by POWs held in a World War Two camp in Cambridgeshire’s fenlands. Journalist Philip Dryden is drawn inescapably to the case when it is revealed that the man discovered in the collapsed tunnel was on the way into, not out of, the compound.

BLACKWOOD by Michael Farris Smith, reviewed by Chris Roberts

The dying rural backwater of Red Bluff, Mississippi, is briefly awoken from its slumber when new arrivals appear in town and locals go missing in the sinister nearby blackwood.

THE HOUSE OF WHISPERS by Anna Kent, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Grace is back in Abi’s life, dripping toxins into an already fragile status quo.

BREAK OUT by Paul Herron, reviewed by Linda Wilson

With two hurricanes on collision course, the staff of Ravenhill maximum security prison decide to evacuate, leaving the inmates to fend for themselves. But in the middle of a riot and a superstorm, all ex-cop Jack Constantine wants is revenge.

CITY OF SPIES by Mara Timon, reviewed by Chris Roberts

SOE agent Elizabeth de Mornay flees Paris in 1943 for neutral Lisbon, where she finds plenty of enemy intrigue to keep her occupied.

FUTURE PERFECT by Felicia Yap, reviewed by John Barnbrook

In the near future, software has been devised that predicts the future with surprising accuracy. The only problem is that being given the probability that you will die the next day is not necessarily what you want to hear. Nor do you want to discover that analytic software identifies you as a potential murderer.

MURDER ON THE MOORLAND by Helen Cox, reviewed by John Cleal

Librarian-turned-detective Kitt Hartley heads for the moorland village where her boyfriend’s ex-wife was murdered five years before to solve what looks like a copycat killing – right down to the runic symbols carved into the victim’s hand!

EIGHT PIECES OF SILVA by Patrice Lawrence, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Eighteen-year-old Silva is meant to be looking after her 16-year-old stepsister Becks while their parents are on a belated honeymoon to Japan, but when Silva doesn’t come home, Becks decides to check out her bedroom and then her worries really kick off.

HOTEL CARTAGENA by Simone Buchholz, reviewed by Chris Roberts

A top-floor Hamburg hotel bar with a party of police amongst the guests is invaded by a dozen men with weapons who take everyone hostage.

THE OTHER YOU by JS Monroe, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Kate may have lost her outstanding memory for faces, but she is certain the man in front of her is not the man she loves.

RUN FOR COVER by Michael Ledwidge, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Ex-Navy Seal Michael Gannon insists on helping a friend and former colleague to investigate the murder of his brother by a sniper in a national park.

THE GLASS KINGDOM by Lawrence Osborne, reviewed by Chris Roberts

After defrauding her New York employer, Sarah takes refuge in a crumbling tower complex in Bangkok. The people she meets seem friendly, but she has the impression that someone is watching her.

LAST SURVIVOR by Tony Park, reviewed by John Cleal

A group of ageing enthusiasts set out to recover the only example of the world’s rarest plant stolen from the private game reserve of a Kuwaiti prince

Best wishes

Sharon and Linda

www.crimereview.co.uk

Crime Review Update: New issue of Crime Review

We’re now featuring 24 new reviews in each issue of Crime Review www.crimereview.co.uk  together with a top industry interview. This time it’s author Caroline England in the Countdown hot seat: http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/interview/9245

 

We’re on Twitter at:

Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK

Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer

Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia

 

This issue’s reviews are:

 

A Song for the Dark Times by Ian Rankin, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

John Rebus always focused on his job. But family is important which he realises more than ever when his distraught daughter Samantha calls in the middle of the night. Her partner Keith, interested in the old POW camp on the windswept coast, has gone missing. Rebus knows he has to help her.

 

A Prince and a Spy by Rory Clements, reviewed by John Cleal 

Cambridge-based American history professor Tom Wilde investigates the death of George, Duke of Kent, brother of the King of England, in a mystery plane crash.

 

Box 88 by Charles Cumming reviewed by Chris Roberts 

Lachlan Kite, working with top-secret spy agency Box 88, is abducted by Iranians and subjected to questioning about events one summer 30 years ago.

 

What Abigail Did That Summer by Ben Aaronovitch, reviewed by Linda Wilson 

While magician and copper Peter Grant is off chasing unicorns and missing children, his 13-year-old cousin Abigail has some missing kids of her own to investigate, with the help of a bunch of talking – and very organised – foxes.

 

Double Agent by Tom Bradby, reviewed by Chris Roberts 

A Russian foreign intelligence agent offers to defect, bringing evidence that the British Prime Minister is in the pay of Moscow.

 

Secret Weapon by Anthony Horowitz, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Seven short stories featuring teenage spy Alex Rider.

 

Blackout by Simon Scarrow, reviewed by John Cleal 

Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke is assigned to investigate the murder of a former well-known actress, but is put under immense pressure by rivalries in the Nazi hierarchy in an atmosphere where ‘disloyalty’ can mean death.

 

Smoke Screen by Jørn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger, reviewed by Viv Beeby 

When a bomb rips through the centre of Oslo as the clock strikes in a New Year, police officer Alexander Blix and journalist Emma Ramm are both at the scene. And so begins a new investigation and a ten-year-old mystery to solve for this unlikely partnership ...

 

The Coldest Case by Martin Walker, reviewed by Linda Wilson 

With the ever-present danger of forest fires adding to his workload, Bruno, Chief of Police, still finds time to help investigate a cold case that has haunted his friend J-J throughout his career.

 

The Finisher by Peter Lovesey, reviewed by John Cleal 

As teacher Maeve Kelly struggles to compete in a charity half marathon, Superintendent Peter Diamond, tasked with crowd control, spots a violent criminal he once jailed – and his suspicions are raised when a runner disappears without trace.

 

The Island by Ben McPherson, reviewed by Ewa Sherman 

Scottish Cal and Norwegian Elsa leave their home in Washington DC to stay for six months in Norway, with their two teenage daughters and a baby son. The change of scene brings a devastating change to their lives: 15-year-old Licia vanishes from a summer camp on a tranquil island where two men shot tens of youngsters.

 

Knife Edge by Simon Mayo, reviewed by Linda Wilson 

Seven journalists are murdered on a single day in London. They all worked for the same news agency. The question in everyone’s mind is who will be targeted next. It’s not a happy thought for Famie Madden, or her colleagues, but that doesn’t stop them when a possible lead turns up.

 

A Double Life by Charlotte Philby, reviewed by John Cleal 

Foreign Office counter-terrorism expert Gabriela finds her life falling apart in a web of lies, while drunken, drug-taking journalist Isobel is in danger as she investigates people trafficking and prostitution.

 

Making Wolf by Tade Thompson, reviewed by Chris Roberts 

Weston Kogi returns to his birthplace in West Africa for the funeral of his aunt and is pushed into investigating the death of a revered statesman.

 

After Dark by Dominic Nolan, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor 

The little girl suffered from man's inhumanity. Now the police must piece together her story because she may never find the words.

 

Good Dark Night by Harry Brett, reviewed by John Cleal 

Tatiana Goodwin, widow of crime boss Rich, has struggled to take over his business as enemies pile up. Now she must learn that power comes at a price.

 

Killing Rock by Robert Daws, reviewed by Chris Roberts 

Gibraltar-based detective Tamara Sullivan joins forces with a colleague across the border to solve murders from the past and present.

 

Like Mother, Like Daughter by Elle Croft, reviewed by John Barnbrook 

Kat has two daughters, Imogen and Jemima. She has a secret about the elder daughter, Imogen, that even Imogen does not know. One day Imogen disappears, and Kat is desperately worried that this is linked to what she knows.

 

Private Moscow by James Patterson and Adam Hamdy, reviewed by John Cleal 

One of PI Jack Morgan’s oldest friends is shot dead at his company’s New York public launch. In Moscow an office worker is murdered in a bomb blast. Morgan finds a link and exposes a deadly conspiracy.

 

Like Flies From Afar by K Ferrari, reviewed by Chris Roberts 

Self-made businessman Luis Machi has made plenty of enemies, but who dislikes him enough to leave a body in the boot of his beloved BMW?

 

The Viper by Cristobel Kent, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan 

Two bodies are found in a remote area of the countryside near Florence. Sandro Cellini is called back into his old police department as a consultant.  He knows why, but is he strong enough to be able to help?

 

The Sanatorium by Sarah Pearse, reviewed by Viv Beeby 

An isolated hotel in the remote Swiss Alps, which was once a sanatorium, is cut off by an avalanche. A deranged masked predator stalks the residents and the only person who can help them is convalescing fellow guest, Detective Elin Warner.

 

The Last Thing to Burn by Will Burn, reviewed by Chris Roberts 

A young Vietnamese woman smuggled into Britain is imprisoned in a rural hell and as the last of her possessions are taken from her she desperately seeks a means to escape.

 

Slow Burn by Stephen Leather, reviewed by Linda Wilson 

Spider Shepherd is taxed with bringing a former jihadists wife and son back to the UK as the price for his cooperation with the security services but, as ever, there are added complications. 

 

Best wishes

 

Sharon and Linda

www.crimereview.co.uk

Crime Review Update: New Issue of Crime Review

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 Catherine Cavendish in the Countdown hot seat:

http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/interview/8417

We’re on Twitter at:

Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK

Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer

Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia

This week’s reviews are:

FALSE VALUE by Ben Aaronovitch, reviewed by Madeleine Marsh

In his first undercover role, Peter Grant infiltrates a London based tech company which is hiding a secret within its Douglas Adams-themed offices.

A SILENT DEATH by Peter May, reviewed by Chris Roberts

When a British drug trafficker living in Spain is exposed and his girlfriend killed, he vows revenge on the policewoman involved. Investigator John Mackenzie is sent from the UK to help out.

THE NEW GIRL by Daniel Silva, reviewed by John Cleal

When the daughter of a Saudi Prince is abducted, he turns to the only man he can trust to find her: Gabriel Allon, the legendary chief of Israeli intelligence.

BLUE MOON by Lee Child, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan

Jack Reacher prevents an old man being mugged on a city street. But why is the old man carrying a large wad of money in an envelope, just stuffed into his pocket?

LITTLE SIBERIA by Antti Tuomainen, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

A meteorite lands near a small village in northern Finland and is placed in the local war museum before its journey to London for analysis. Pastor Joel Huhta volunteers to keep watch there at night but immediately realises that various people want to steal the precious rock.

THE DRIFTWOOD GIRLS by Mark Douglas-Home, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Oceanographer Dr Cal McGill is down on his luck. The press have turned on him, an old friend has left him an unusual legacy and a woman wants him to find her sister. But no one wants to give him paid work and Cal is fast running out of money …

LITTLE FRIENDS by Jane Shemilt, reviewed by Viv Beeby

Three couples and their children spend one long hot summer in each others' pockets – but even as they make merry an evil presence is infiltrating the party.

LETHAL AGENT by Vince Flynn and Kyle Milla, reviewed by John Cleal

Anti-terrorist contractor and former CIA agent Mitch Rapp must face a bioterrorist threat to an America weakened by internal divisions.

MAIGRET AND THE WINE MERCHANT by Georges Simenon, reviewed by Chris Roberts

When a wealthy wine merchant is shot dead in a Paris street, the lengthy list of people who detested the victim complicates Maigret’s investigation.

DEEP DARK NIGHT by Steph Broadribb, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Bounty hunter Lori Anderson is forced to do one last job for shady FBI agent Alex Monroe – take on Chicago crime boss Cabressa in a poker sting and get enough evidence to put him away for good.

THE GUEST LIST by Lucy Foley, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

False smiles, fake camaraderie, family feuds and a four-tiered cake. Nothing outstanding, despite the eyewatering invoice. But this wedding is going to be more than the usual hell for one member of the party.

KITTY PECK AND THE PARLIAMENT OF SHADOWS by Kate Griffin, reviewed by John

Cleal

As Kitty continues her fight against the ‘Barons’ of crime and to dismantle Paradise, her grandmother’s sprawling East End empire, she faces a series of new challenges including a fundamentalist religious sect led by a charismatic preacher.

PERFECT KILL by Helen Fields, reviewed by John Barnbrook

Bart wakes up in a pitch-dark container, with no idea where he is going or how he got there. DCI Ava Turner and DI Luc Callanach uncover sordid, violent and distasteful activities as they investigate this and an apparently unrelated crime.

STASI WINTER by David Young, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Major Karin Muller is sent to Rugen Island on the Baltic coast to investigate the death of a woman apparently overcome by the savage winter weather.

REWIND by Catherine Ryan Howard, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Andrew watches the woman’s savage murder in one of his holiday cottages, but he tells no one.

THE BURNING MEN by Will Shindler, reviewed by Linda Wilson

A killer is targeting former firefighters who attended a notorious blaze in a London tower block that burnt down whilst construction was in progress. DI Alex Finn and his new sidekick, DC Mattie Paulson, need to work out why the men are being killed.

NIGHT’S BLACK AGENTS by Catherine Moloney, reviewed by John Cleal

When a nun is found strangled, followed by other deaths, DI Gil Markham must uncover the secrets which threaten to wreck a Catholic order.

THE INUGAMI CURSE by Seishi Yokomizo, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Detective Kosuke Kindaichi is invited to assist when the head of the Inugami clan dies, leaving a complex will which enrages his three daughters.

WHAT SHE SAW LAST NIGHT by MJ Cross, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

Jenny thought her night on the sleeper train to Scotland would be uneventful. Now she is staring at a dead woman in a nearby compartment, and there is no sign of the woman’s daughter.

WUNDERSMITH by Jessica Townsend, reviewed by Linda Wilson

Morrigan Crow has settled into life in Nevermoor, but there is someone who wants to expose her deepest secret. And then there are the disappearances to contend with …

Best wishes

Sharon and Linda

www.crimereview.co.uk

Crime Review Update: New issue of Crime Review

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 Louise Candlish in the Countdown hot seat:

http://crimereview.co.uk/page.php/interview/8365

We’re on Twitter at:

Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK

Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer

Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia

This week’s reviews are:

Galway Girl by Ken Bruen, reviewed by John Cleal

Former cop-turned-PI Jack Taylor is pitted against a trio of young assassins who all have reasons to hate him and who are targeting Gardai as a means to destroy him.

Bury Them Deep by James Oswald, reviewed by Linda Wilson

DCI Tony McLean must cope with a missing member of staff, a multi-agency operation with a silly name and bodies galore.

Heaven My Home by Attica Locke, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Texas Ranger Darren Matthews is sent to Caddo Lake where a nine-year-old boy is missing, the son of an imprisoned white supremacist.

The Lantern Men by Elly Griffiths, reviewed by Sharon Wheeler

Dr Ruth Galloway has a new job and a new life in Cambridge. But a murderer’s confession drags her back to north Norfolk to work again with DCI Harry Nelson, the father of her young aughter.

A Grave for Two by Anne Holt, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

High-flying lawyer Selma Falck has lost everything because of her former client Jan Morell, and her own recklessness. Now Morell wants her to clear the name of his daughter Hege, an elite cross-country skier accused of doping. Selma has no choice but to search for the truth.

The Accomplice by Joseph Kanon, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Aaron Wiley visits Argentina to track down a Nazi in hiding who bears responsibility for the death of many in his family.

Black Summer by MW Craven, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When a supposedly dead woman turns up at a police station, an old case comes back to haunt Washington Poe.

The Measure of Malice edited by Martin Edwards, reviewed by John Cleal

A collection of 14 short stories illustrating how crime fiction reflected – and in some cases predicted – the use of science in crime detection.

Slay by Brittney Morris, reviewed by Linda Wilson

By day, 17-year-old Keira Johnson is one of only three black students at Jefferson Academy. By night, Keira is Emerald, queen of the universe she has created in the online multi-play game SLAY. When a boy is killed in a dispute originating in the game, Keira must fight to preserve the world she has created from those who want to see it taken down.

The Silent War by Andreas Norman, reviewed by Chris Roberts

Bente Jensen, head of Swedish Intelligence in Brussels, is passed information by a whistle-blower from the local MI6 office. The threat of serious embarrassment generates a determined effort at retrieval.

Come a Little Closer by Karen Perry, reviewed by Viv Beeby

Is Anton a callous murderer or was he wrongly convicted? And is his friendship with his young neighbour Leah genuine or something altogether more sinister?

Wild Harbour by Ian Macpherson, reviewed by John Cleal

Pacifist couple Terry and Hugh flee to the Grampian wilderness to avoid Hugh being called up for a war with which they do not agree.

Leave No Trace by Mindy Mejia, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

The reappearance of Lucas Blackthorn, who has been missing for ten years, could be the death of speech therapist Maya Stark.

Firewatching by Russ Thomas, reviewed by Linda Wilson

When a body is found bricked up in the basement of a dilapidated old house, DS Adam Tyler gets involved in a cold case that suddenly starts to get very hot to handle.

The Boy in the Headlights by Samuel Bjørk, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

Detectives Holger Munch and Mia Krüger are in search of a serial killer who targets random ordinary people. The pair struggle to predicts his next move but must deal with their own demons to stop the murders.

Say You’re Sorry by Karen Rose, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan

Daisy, a young woman, is attacked in the street, but fights the attacker off. Others are not so lucky.

A Death in the Medina by James von Leyden, reviewed by Chris Roberts

During a hot Ramadan in Marrakech, the body of a Moroccan girl is found dead, dumped in a handcart. Despite distractions, local detective Belkacem persists with an investigation.

Under Occupation by Alan Furst, reviewed by John Cleal

Spying and subterfuge in occupied Paris inspired by the true story of Polish prisoners in Nazi Germany, who smuggled intelligence to Britain through the French resistance.

The Nowhere Child by Christian White, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

The stranger is just about to rewrite history – Kim’s history. And her entire life.

The Adventures of Maud West, Lady Detective by Susannah Stapleton, reviewed

by John Cleal

Maud West ran a detective agency for more than 30 years. Her exploits grabbed headlines, but did she tell the truth?

Best wishes 

Sharon and Linda

www.crimereview.co.uk