On the Radar — It’s a week for deadly killers, and intrepid detectives to hunt them down. Let’s start off with the latest Jefferson Winter novel by James Carol, entitled Prey. We’ve also got an action-packed debut set in London, some historical crime fiction and a novelisation based on the US TV series Elementary. Let’s not forget Graham Ison’s latest either – a theatrical thriller. Which books will be added to your TBR pile this week?
Prey by James Carol
If all the top names in British crime fiction seem to be Detective Inspectors, in American crime novels everyone’s a criminal profiler. Jefferson Winter is one such, but it has to be said that he has something of a head start – his dad was a serial killer. In his latest adventure, Winter pits his wits and intuition against something a little harder to come by – a female psychopath. Not the least of Winter’s problems is that six years ago the cops arrested the wrong man for the killings, and he subsequently committed suicide. Prey will be available from 26 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon
The Distance by Helen Giltrow
This is an ambitious debut novel set in contemporary London just 60 miles down the motorway from the author’s Oxford home. Charlotte Alton lives a dangerous double life. A glamorous socialite by day, at the bat of an eyelid Charlotte becomes Karla, a specialist whose unique skill is making information disappear. For a fee Karla will wave her magic wand and, hey presto, the record of your life – internet traces, documentary evidence, newspaper reports, etc – will all vanish. Needless to say, Karla’s employers are serious criminals and when she makes a tiny mistake she has to deal with mob hits, deception, and a healthy amount of sex and violence. Already out for Kindle and as a hardback, the paperback version of this book is published on 26 February.
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Exit Stage Left by Graham Ison
This is the latest police procedural featuring the Met Police duo of DCI Harry Brock and DS Dave Poole. When a matinee idol actor is found dead in a roadworks hole, they have to interview all manner of theatrical luvvies in an attempt to find out who killed Lancelot Foley. The imperturbable detectives find that most of the thespian cast of this real-life drama have been hopping in and out of bed with each other, and that the truth behind Foley’s killing may lie beyond the bounds of London’s theatre land. Available on 27 February.
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Holy Spy by Rory Clements
With the TV adaptation of Wolf Hall compiling huge viewing figures, the latest adventure for John (no relation) Shakespeare takes us a generation on from the era of Henry VIII to an England ruled by his daughter, Queen Elizabeth I. This is the seventh outing for the Tudor detective, described not as an investigator, but as an intelligencer. Shakespeare’s paymaster is Sir Francis Walsingham, whose official title was Her Majesty’s First Secretary, but he is best remembered as her spymaster. The task here is to thwart a Catholic plot that will A) assassinate Elizabeth, B) free Mary Queen of Scots from house arrest, and C) clear the way for the Spanish invasion. Out on 26 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Country of the Bad Wolfes by James Carlos Blake
More historical crime fiction now, but set in 19th century America. Ranging from the aspiring civilisation of New England to the brutal, Wild West borderland between America and Mexico, this novel is part family history, part crime story, and part chronicle of the myths and legends of a growing nation. The Wolfe family have their own code of honour, and it does not always chime with the law of the land. This came out for Kindle at the end of January, but will be on the shelves as a paperback on 26 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon
Elementary: Ghost Line by Adam Christopher
This tale is a spin-off from Elementary, the popular TV series which features Lucy Liu playing Joan Watson in contemporary New York. Holmes is far, far away from his London stamping grounds, and the foggy streets of London’s East End are replaced with hurly-burly of Manhattan’s Hell’s Kitchen. A murdered underground train driver is the immediate victim, but who cared enough to wish him dead? Published on 27 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon
High Crimes by David Lawlor
Irish journalist David Lawlor brings us a high-voltage tale set in Dublin. Crane operator Tommy Reynolds has one invaluable perk to his job – he can literally look down into people’s lives from his vantage point. This is particularly helpful, as he is not just a voyeur, but a predatory stalker. Into the mix is added a former priest who is only too happy to live down to the reputation Roman Catholic priests have gained for sexual abuse. When past and present victims of the two men start to fight back, we have an emotionally charged thriller. High Crimes is out now.
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Buried by Jussi Adler-Olsen
Finally, this book has already been published as The Marco Effect in the United States, and we reviewed it as such here. Buried is the English title for the book which sees Detective Carl Morck of Department Q investigating another cold case in Copenhagen. A civil servant returning from an apparently an unremarkable trip to Africa goes missing. His family have given him up for dead, but still need closure. Morck quickly realises that the answers are not be found in The Dark Continent, but very much closer to home. A clever young street thief called Marco knows more than is good for him, and Morck is faced with being a mere spectator as the boy unwittingly crosses swords with powerful and ruthless vested interests. Buried is out 26 February.
Pre-order now on Amazon
