DeathBecomesHer

Mark Billingham wins the 2026 CWA Diamond Dagger Award

By DeathBecomesHer

29 January, 2026

Our site’s first encounter with actor-turned-crime-writer Mark Billingham was way back in 2012, when he chatted to us about World Book Night. We’ve been reviewing his books on the site ever since – starting with the irascible police detective Tom Thorne, and continuing to 2025’s…

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Better Off Dead by Sean Watkin

By DeathBecomesHer

15 January, 2026

It was April of last year when we first met new author Sean Watkin and his creation, the tortured Merseyside Police DCI, Win de Silva. A whirlwind few months later, Black Water Rising was shortlisted for the Val McDermid Debut Award and the author was…

Features

DeathBecomesHer: Top five books of 2025

By DeathBecomesHer

15 December, 2025

It’s been a reading year of surprises for this reviewer, who handed out a dozen five-star accolades to books I’ve enjoyed in 2025. Picking the best five was something of a challenge, but in the end the quintet of absolutely fabulous reads is one I’m…

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The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace by RWR McDonald

By DeathBecomesHer

26 November, 2025

If your love for crime fiction began at an early age, it’s a fair bet that it started with the likes of The Famous Five, The Hardy Boys or Nancy Drew. The same applies to Tippy Chan, the 11-year-old heroine of RWR McDonald’s award winning…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny

By DeathBecomesHer

13 November, 2025

Two decades have passed since Armand Gamache joined the crime fiction legions. As the first novel, Still Life, celebrates its 20th anniversary he’s back in The Black Wolf. This is a book that shows author Louise Penny still has her finger firmly on the pulse…

Kindle Print Reviews

We Create Monsters by Martin Sterling

By DeathBecomesHer

27 October, 2025

In the rain-streaked streets of northern England, something’s afoot. We’re talking soap opera land here, a fictional place where gritty drama with a social conscience rubs shoulders with the impossible and the improbable. The latest suspension of belief is about to fall on Salford Quays…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly

By DeathBecomesHer

21 October, 2025

Mickey Haller has really been put through the wringer over the years, even going to prison at one point. But as The Proving Ground opens it’s a more contemplative Mickey who is in the spotlight. He’s stepped away from the cut and thrust of criminal…

iBook Kindle Print Reviews

The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves

By DeathBecomesHer

17 October, 2025

Crime fiction lovers were bereft when Jimmy Perez left the Shetland stage in Wild Fire in 2018. But we’re a patient lot, and seven years later our dour detective is back, but on a different Scottish archipelago – Orkney! These days, Jimmy is happily settled…

Crime Fiction Lover

About author

Mark Billingham wins the 2026 CWA Diamond Dagger Award

Better Off Dead by Sean Watkin

DeathBecomesHer: Top five books of 2025

The Nancys and the Case of the Missing Necklace by RWR McDonald

The Black Wolf by Louise Penny

We Create Monsters by Martin Sterling

The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly

The Killing Stones by Ann Cleeves

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