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 Michael Koryta in the
Countdown hot seat:
We’re on Twitter at:
Crime Review: @CrimeReviewUK
Linda Wilson: @CrimeReviewer
Sharon Wheeler: @lartonmedia
This week’s reviews are:
DEADLAND by William Shaw, reviewed
by John Cleal
Two youngsters steal a phone –
whose owner is willing to kill to recover
it. DS Alex Cupidi, tasked with
solving the mystery of a decomposing arm in
an art gallery exhibition, uncovers
a link between the crimes.
STONE COLD HEART by Caz Frear,
reviewed by Linda Wilson
When a young woman is found dead
not long after a party, there’s not
exactly a shortage of possible
suspects for DS Cat Kinsella to wade through.
SHE LIES IN WAIT by Gytha Lodge,
reviewed by Madeleine Marsh
The discovery of a body brings
together the victim’s schoolfriends 30 years
after her death and old secrets
start to be uncovered.
STASI 1977 by David Young, reviewed
by Chris Roberts
Major Karin Muller of the
Volkspolizei is called back from leave to
investigate a murder in a state
cotton mill, but soon finds that the Stasi
have an interest and are determined
to block her progress in the case.
THE MIDDLE TEMPLE MURDER by JS
Fletcher, reviewed by John Cleal
An unidentified elderly man is
found bludgeoned to death in London’s Middle
Temple. The police believe it was
simple robbery, but journalist Frank
Spargo, who stumbles on the death
scene, joins forces with a Scotland Yard
detective and a young barrister.
SMALLBONE DECEASED by Michael
Gilbert, reviewed by Chris Roberts
The London legal firm of Horniman,
Birley and Craine suffers a blow to its
reputation when a client is found
dead in an office deed box.
ROBERT B PARKER’S OLD BLACK MAGIC
by Ace Atkins, reviewed by Linda Wilson
Boston PI Spenser is called in to investigate
a theft, 20 years ago, from
an art museum in the city and is
soon plunged into the at times murky world
of high-end art.
LOST CREED by Alex Kava, reviewed
by John Cleal
A child trafficking bust sets K9
handler Ryder Creed on a search for his
missing sister.
A GIFT FOR DYING by MJ Arlidge,
reviewed by Kati Barr-Taylor
A serial killer is prowling
Chicago, and teenager Kassie knows where he
will strike next.
THE HAVEN by Simon Lelic, reviewed
by Linda Wilson
When 13-year-old Ollie Turner’s
guardian is murdered, he’s taken in by a
group of kids living a separate
life under the streets of London and has to
fight to prevent chaos and
destruction being brought to the city’s streets.
BLACK WOLF by GD Abson, reviewed by
Chris Roberts
It is only chance that a body left
by the roadside outside St Petersburg in
early January is discovered before
the snow buries it for the rest of the
winter. Captain Natalya Ivanova is
assigned the case.
SHADOW by James Swallow, reviewed
by John Cleal
Marc Dane and his partner, ex-Delta
Force sniper Lucy Keyes, must thwart a
plot by an international group to
use extremist right wingers to unleash a
lethal virus in a major European
city.
ONCE A PILGRIM by James Deegan,
reviewed by Linda Wilson
Former SAS hard man John Carr is
now working in private security, his army
days behind him, or so he thinks,
but some wars never entirely end, as
events early in Carr’s military
career come back to haunt him and his
former comrades.
THE DIVINITIES by Parker Bilal,
reviewed by Chris Roberts
Detective Sergeant Cal Drake gets
an opportunity to restore his tarnished
reputation with the help of
forensic psychologist Dr Ray Crane.
THE TEAHOUSE DETECTIVE by Baroness
Orczy, reviewed by John Cleal
A collection of short stories, each
with a puzzle to solve.
BLOOD WILL HAVE BLOOD by Catherine
Moloney, reviewed by Arnold Taylor
A brutal murder occurs at the
school where DI Markham's girlfriend works.
In spite of criticism from his
Chief Inspector, Markham insists on carrying
out an investigation into the
school staff.
MALICE IN MALMO by Torquil MacLeod,
reviewed by Ewa Sherman
Inspector Anita Sundstrom of the
Skane County Police is under pressure. She
has to deal with evidence-less
cases of kidnapped businessmen and a murder
of an infamous journalist. Her boss
is in hospital, replaced by Anita’s
nemesis, and her long-distance
boyfriend is suddenly too close.
THE BROKEN TOKEN (audiobook) by
Chris Nickson, reviewed by Fiona Spence
When Richard Nottingham, Constable
of Leeds, discovers his former housemaid murdered in a particularly sickening
manner, his professional and personal lives move perilously close to each
other.
STRANGE TOMBS by Syd Moore,
reviewed by Anthea Hawdon
There's a mystery and suspense
residential creative writing week at
Ratchette Hall. It's at Halloween,
so what could possibly go wrong? Well,
murder for a start.
PERFECT CRIME by Helen Fields,
reviewed by John Barnbrook
It seems that there is a serial
killer at work in Edinburgh who is
specifically targeting people who
have attempted suicide and murdering them
with sophisticated cruelty.
Best wishes
Sharon
Posts
