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

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 Tim Baker in the Countdown hot seat.

We’re on Twitter at:
Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK
Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer
Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia

This week’s reviews are:

AFTER THE FIRE by Henning Mankell, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor

 Fredrik Welin was lucky to escape the fire in his home alive, but now he
must rebuild his life, and find out who wanted him dead.

SLEEP NO MORE by PD James, reviewed by John Cleal
Six inventive, occasionally witty and convincing scenarios involving
murder, its motives and the course of natural justice from one of crime
fiction’s greatest writers.

THE THIRST by Jo Nesbø, reviewed by Ewa Sherman

A woman is found dead after a Tinder date, and marks left on her body
indicate that the killer used iron teeth to kill her, and then drink her
blood. Oslo’s ex-detective Harry Hole reluctantly gets involved in a search
for a vampirist.

STATE SECRETS by Quintin Jardine, reviewed by Linda Wilson 

Former Chief Constable Bob Skinner has been asked to the Palace of
Westminster to talk about the possibility of him accepting a peerage, which
puts him in the right place at the right time to investigate a crime that
will shock the nation.

DARK PINES by Will Dean, reviewed by John Cleal 

Tuva Moodyson, a deaf local paper reporter, dreams of a story that could
make her career. Two bodies, their eyes cut out, copies of three unsolved
murders 20 years before, give her the chance – and plunge her into secrets
and fear in the dark forests.

THE RELUCTANT CONTACT by Stephen Burke, reviewed by Arnold Taylor
It is 1977 and Yuri is returning from attending his brother’s funeral in
Moscow to Pyramiden in the Svalbard Archipelago north of Norway. He is
about to discover that the quiet life of which he is so fond is about to
come to an end.

SIRACUSA by Delia Ephron, reviewed by Sylvia Maughan
Two American couples go on holiday together. Their friendship begins to
disintegrate almost immediately and death is the result.

THE BLACK SHEEP by Sophie McKenzie, reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor
Francesca believes her husband’s death was a senseless attack, but then a
stranger’s words shakes her belief to the core. 

THE HIT by Anna Smith, reviewed by John Cleal
Reporter Rosie Gilmour, investigating the disappearance of an accountant
and the killing of his wife’s lover, becomes involved in an international
crime ring which steals and sells babies as well as trafficking people.

MAIGRET AND THE MAN ON THE BENCH by Georges Simenon, reviewed by Arnold
Taylor 

Maigret receives a call from Inspector Neveu of the Troisième
Arrondissement saying that a man has been stabbed to death on the Boulevard
Saint-Martin, that the murder seems out of the ordinary and that he would
be grateful for his help.

THE ABSENCE OF GUILT by Mark Gimenez, reviewed by Chris Roberts
District Judge Scott Fenney is asked to rule on the detention of suspected
terrorists, and becomes involved with a plot to bring down the Dallas
Cowboys’ stadium.

THE PAINTED QUEEN by Elizabeth Peters and Joan Hess, reviewed by John Cleal
Amelia Peabody and her archaeologist husband Radcliffe Emerson are again in
danger as they search for a priceless, stolen bust of legendary Queen
Nefertiti.

FROM THE SHADOWS by Neil White, reviewed by Linda Wilson
Robert Carter is accused of the murder of a 24-year-old woman. His defence
is flimsy and he seems determined not to help himself. But young solicitor
Dan Grant is determined to uncover the truth.

ROOTED IN EVIL by Ann Granger, reviewed by John Cleal
When a man’s body is found in a Cotswold wood, it looks like suicide, but
DI Jess Campbell and Superintendent Ian Carter soon discover looks can be
deceptive.

LIGHTNING MEN by Thomas Mullen, reviewed by Chris Roberts
In post-war Atlanta, police on both sides of the racial divide struggle to
contain criminals exploiting the tension, especially when family and
friends are involved.

THE CHILD FINDER by Rene Denfield, reviewed by Linda Wilson
Naomi is a private investigator who specialises in finding missing
children. Her latest case is that of five-year-old Madison Culver, who went
missing three years ago.

THE DEAD by Mark Oldfield, reviewed by Chris Roberts
Investigator Ana Maria Galindez seeks Leopoldo Guzman, who recently
reappeared in Madrid after years of dirty work in a shadowy squad created
by Franco – even now reluctant to surrender its powers.

MODESTY BLAISE: THE KILLING GAME by Peter O’Donnell (illustrated by Enric
Badia Romero), reviewed by Linda Wilson
Modesty and Willie go up against another set of villains in three more
iconic comic strip adventures.

NEMESIS by Brendan Reichs, reviewed by Linda Wilson
Every other year since Min turned eight, she’s been hunted and killed by a
sinister man in black. Every time, she wakes up, alive and unhurt, but
knowing the nightmare was real, and it isn’t ending any time soon.

BEYOND THE WALL by Tanya Landman, reviewed by John Barnbrook
Cassia is the slave of a wealthy Roman living in Roman Britain. She escapes
the attention of her master and runs to Roman London and then on up beyond
Hadrian’s Wall, saving her brother and meeting Marcus, who she is not sure
she can trust.

Best wishes

Sharon