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Crime Books And Whodunnit
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The Disappeared
M.R. Hall
September 2010 Book of the Month.
This is the second case to feature the coroner Jenny Cooper, a divorcee, single mum of a difficult teenage son, a woman prone to anxieties and panic...
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/09/2010
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The Snowman
Jo Nesbo
September 2010 Book of the Month.
A thrilling crime novel from an author being heralded as the new Stieg Larsson. With Larsson having opened the door for many European writers...
Format: Paperback - Released: 19/08/2010
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Bloody Women
Helen FitzGerald
It’s not often you come across a thriller that is as funny as it is scary but here is such a book with the title a slight give away to the tone. When Cat tries to settle her pre-wedding nerves...
Format: Paperback - Released: 01/09/2010
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Long Time Coming
Robert Goddard
Luckily it hasn’t been a long time coming for the next gripping Robert Goddard novel and he is on top form in this new thriller. When Eldritch Swan is released from prison after 36 years he soon finds himself caught...
Format: Paperback - Released: 30/09/2010
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Act of Murder
Alan Wright
A marvellous Victorian murder mystery revolving around the world of magician’s after one is found dead in his hotel room. Rich in historical detail and a cracking plot as well, it will keep you guessing until the end.
Format: Paperback - Released: 23/06/2010
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Snobbery with Violence
M.C. Beaton
This is the first in a great new series of Edwardian murder mysteries. Lady Rose Summers makes the perfect heroine and when her father brings in Captain Harry Cathcart to investigate her scoundrel of a fiancé it soon transpires it...
Format: Paperback - Released: 26/08/2010
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Nine Dragons
Michael Connelly
A Harry Bosch one which is just brilliant. Not as complex as previous novels, but the same great pace and mounting tension, and an end I did not anticipate.
Comparison: Robert Crais, Lee Child, James Patterson.
Format: Paperback - Released: 30/08/2010
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Where the Dead Lay
David Levien
We meet PI Frank Behr of City of the Sun (excellent) again with linking cases that resolve some of Behr’s personal problems. At its centre is a mafia-like dysfunctional family, a vicious bunch brilliantly portrayed. This is indeed an...
Format: Paperback - Released: 02/09/2010
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The Way Home
George P Pelecanos
CWA Gold Dagger Finalist 2010.
CWA Judges’ comments: 'A remarkable portrait of a blue collar family whose son is struggling to break free from his criminal past.'
The Lovereading view...
A crime novel that focuses largely on the relationship between a father and...
Format: Paperback - Released: 26/12/2009
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Long Lost
Harlan Coben
Another great read from the master recently voted favourite crime genre author by viewers for ITV3’s Bestseller Dagger. It is a Myron Bolitar mystery, a character who has definitely improved with age, here off to Paris to unmask a very...
Format: Paperback - Released: 07/01/2010
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Fear the Worst
Linwood Barclay
An author who came to fame through the Richard and Judy chosen No Time for Goodbye, with his third gripping page-turner. A father hunts his missing daughter who appears to have led a double life. It’s small town America,...
Format: Paperback - Released: 08/07/2010
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Bolt Action
Charlie Charters
This begins an action adventure series which you really should be with at the start. It’s brilliant for Gerald Seymour and Frederick Forsyth fans, with a load of fascinating detail about airports, the military and hi-jacking, characters you...
Format: Paperback - Released: 02/09/2010
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The Dying Light
Henry Porter
CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Finalist 2010.
A chilling tale of what Britain could so easily become – a police state with stifling surveillances able to manipulate anyone. This raises the question of how far the state should interfere with our...
Format: Paperback - Released: 16/09/2010
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The Charming Quirks of Others
Alexander McCall Smith
October 2010 Good Housekeeping selection.
The Charming Quirks Of Others is the latest installment in Alexander McCall Smith’s Isobel Dalhousie series, which sees the Scottish sleuth becoming entangled in an investigation at a local boarding school.
Format: Hardback - Released: 02/09/2010
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Trick of the Dark
Val McDermid
October 2010 Good Housekeeping selection.
Fans of a good thriller will enjoy Trick Of The Dark by crime writer Val McDermid, in which a shamed psychiatrist find herself drawn into a murder case that has taken place at her old Oxford...
Format: Hardback - Released: 02/09/2010
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Rupture
Simon Lelic
September 2010 Debut of the Month.
CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Finalist 2010.
It has been some time since I picked up a first novel that I literally couldn’t put down but this...
Format: Paperback - Released: 03/09/2010
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Nothing To Lose
Lee Child
Jack Reacher arrives in a small American town called Despair, adjacent to Hope! Made welcome by the powers in charge, he joins up with a woman police officer to find out what is happening at a large metal recycling plant...
Format: Paperback - Released: 09/04/2009
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Assassin
Tom Cain
There are many Jack Reacher wannabes but there are none, in my opinion, to touch him. However, the hero here, Sam Carver, in his third outing, comes mighty close. He is a retired MI6 hit man and now he’s been...
Format: Paperback - Released: 19/08/2010
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The Hound of the Baskervilles
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The terrible spectacle of the beast, the fog of the moor, the discovery
of a body: this classic horror story pits detective against dog. The Hound of the Baskervilles gripped readers when it was first serialised
and has continued to hold its...
Format: Paperback - Released: 05/07/2001
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Bryant and May on the Loose
Christopher Fowler
The seventh novel to feature the eccentric London detectives Bryant and May, and this is just as strange and compelling as the others. These books are a joy to read, clever, humorous, sensitive, informative and exciting. They also make you...
Format: Paperback - Released: 24/06/2010
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Here you will find book reviews and 1st chapter extracts from the well-established crime writers like P D James and Ruth Rendell, creators of Dalgliesh and Wexford, Peter Robinson with Banks, the gritty like Ian Rankin's Rebus or the good double-acts like Reginald Hill's Dalziel and Pascoe, but try someone new like Christopher Fowler's wonderfully cantankerous Bryant and May or move into the country, the Peak District, with Stephen Booth or the West Country with Hilary Bonner. Maybe the Americans are your poison, Private Eyes like Sara Paretsky's V I Warshawski, tough guys like James Patterson's Alex Cross, or the thoughtful like Jeffrey Deaver's Lincoln Rhyme.
Perhaps hard-boiled crime noir is your area, Authors like James Ellroy and George Pelecanos, or you'd like to try someone new like a recent Crime Writers' Association John Creasy First Novel winner, Mark Mills.
You can order all our crime novels online at discounted prices.
Member of a Reading Group? - Buy 5 or more copies of any single title and get an extra 5% discount!
A selection of authors who will feature in this Lovereading category include: |
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Case Histories
Kate Atkinson
Wow! You are in for a treat here. Kate has a tremendous reputation but in my mind she has never really lived up to Behind the Scenes at the Museum,...
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One Good Turn
Kate Atkinson
A queue at the Edinburgh Festival witness a supposed act of “road rage” so begins a wonderfully convoluted plot with twists and turns, humour and surprises which, very satisfactorily, goes...
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The Death List
Paul Johnston
July 2007 Book of the Month.
Incredibly gripping and guaranteed to keep you guessing. If you are going to buy a crime book this month...
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The Soul Collector
Paul Johnston
Paul Johnston certainly likes to throw red herrings in to the mix in his intricate crime novels and this one has plenty to keep you...
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When Will There Be Good News?
Kate Atkinson
Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger 2009.
CWA Judges’ comments: ‘A multifaceted and thought-provoking
exploration of the aftermath of a savage family killing.’
Winner of the Richard & Judy Best Read 2009.
Reviewed...
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The Godfather
Mario Puzo
The ultimate gangster book and yet this is not just a story of the mafia in the 1940’s but also a story about family. Don Corleone, The Godfather, is a...
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Devil in Disguise
Julian Clary
This is Julian Clary’s second novel and is just as delicious as his first, Murder Most Fab. He creates fabulous characters full of secrets and inner turmoil, but ultimately...
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The Complaints
Ian Rankin
August 2010 Book of the Month.
The complaints of the title is the ‘Complaints and Conduct Department’, a section of the police force...
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I'm Not Scared
Niccolo Ammaniti
An international bestseller, this almost painfully lucid picture gives a terrifying insight into what happens when nine-year-old Michele makes a terrifying discovery in an old farmhouse on one ordinary hot,...
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The Devil's Acre
Matthew Plampin
Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 8 August 2010.
A gem of an historical novel with plenty of intrigue and plotting. Set in Victorian England the plot revolves...
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Shadowplay
Karen Campbell
CWA Gold Dagger Finalist 2010.
CWA Judges’ comments: 'A strongly realised female protagonist in
a substantial Glasgow police procedural. Anna Cameron is caught between
the personal and the professional pitfalls of power and...
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Started Early, Took My Dog
Kate Atkinson
Another outing for Jackson Brodie in Atkinson's next crime novel. She seems to really be getting in to her stride with this series and as each book can be read...
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The Blue Demon
David Hewson
August 2010 Book of the Month.
Fans of the Italian-based Nic Costa series will find this, the eighth, a bit different from the...
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Maps of Hell
Paul Johnston
Another compelling read from the author of The Death List and The Soul Collector. Crime writer Matt Wells is back and in trouble once again, not knowing how...
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Ravens
George Dawes Green
Two likely lads out on a road-trip stop at a gas station and discover the local town has a multi-million dollar lottery winner. They spot an opportunity and hatch a...
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The Cobra
Frederick Forsyth
The twelfth novel from this master of thriller writing. In the Cobra, ex CIA man Paul Devereaux is given a licence to stop the drug cartels by whichever means necessary....
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Think of a Number
John Verdon
I can’t believe this is a first novel. It is extremely good, full of great characters, tension and intrigue. Trying to work out the puzzles and mysteries keeps the pages...
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Innocent
Scott Turow
CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Finalist 2010.
CWA Judges’ comments: 'A masterful legal thriller exploring personal responsibility and the damage wrought by malice. Expertly handled sequel to Presumed Innocent.'
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Acts of Violence
Ryan David Jahn
CWA John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger Finalist 2010.
CWA Judges’ comments: 'A very accomplished debut, a gripping thriller based on a real event in 60’s America. Moving quickly from perspective to...
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A Loyal Spy
Simon Conway
CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Finalist 2010.
CWA Judges’ comments: 'A powerful and hugely enjoyable thriller
that races between the Middle East, Africa, Scotland and London. Dense
and raw with an elaborate plot...
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The Month Before's Featured Books
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The Camel Club
David Baldacci
Heart-stopping suspense and breathtaking action built around a jaw-dropping White House conspiracy, The Camel Club is a genuine classic from one of America's most exciting thriller writers.Comparison:
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Child 44
Tom Rob Smith
Longlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2010.
February 2009 Book of the Month.
Winner of the CWA Ian Fleming...
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In the Dark
Mark Billingham
Shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2010.
Shortlisted for the CWA Gold Dagger 2009.
CWA Judges’ comments: ‘A cutting, topical take on drug crime in contemporary London,...
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Doors Open
Ian Rankin
Shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2010.
CWA Hall of Fame Dagger 2009.
This is the first book since we said a sad farewell to Rebus and...
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The Crossing Places
Elly Griffiths
Shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2010.
August 2009 Book of the Month.
This is the author’s first venture...
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The Surrogate
Tania Carver
Shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2010.
September 2009 Debut of the Month.
Warped, sick, gruesome and very good,...
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The Anniversary Man
R.J. Ellory
This man is incapable of writing a mediocre book. All are, without doubt, first class. Here a serial killer in New York is copy-catting past killings. One man, a crime...
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Still Midnight
Denise Mina
Just look at the reviews for this author. Her peers love her, the press love her, have you heard of her? Well, it is time you did. She writes about...
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The Kindest Thing
Cath Staincliffe
A stunning novel that looks in to the controversial topic of assisted suicide. When a woman helps her husband to die she finds herself in the dock for murder. This...
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Dead Tomorrow
Peter James
Shortlisted for the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2010.
Peter James is shortlisted for the CWA Dagger in the Library 2009 - the prize awarded for an author's...
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Stone's Fall
Iain Pears
Featured on The TV Book Club on More4 on 25 July 2010.
Shortlisted for the inaugural Walter Scott Prize for historical fiction 2010.
A brilliantly plotted novel tracing back through John Stones’s...
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Dead Like You: Unabridged Audiobook
Peter James
This is an unabridged audiobook title.
This is the 6th Roy Grace thriller. Grace finds himself investigating crimes that bear similar characteristics to some unsolved crime over ten years...
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Bad Things Happen
Harry Dolan
July 2010 Debut of the Month.
Extremely well written debut of murder, suicide, blackmail and red-herrings. It’s all set round the publication of...
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True Blue
David Baldacci
Always one for great characterisation David Baldacci brings us Mason (Mace) Perry. Mace was once a cop but after being framed for a crime she didn’t commit she is now...
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Death on the Nile
Agatha Christie
The wonderful Hercule Poirot works his magic in this murder mystery set in the exotic location of Egypt.
July 2010 Guest Editor Louise Candlish on Agatha Christie...
I read this when...
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The Twelve
Stuart Neville
July 2010 Debut of the Month.
The shout-line on the cover reads “Twelve Murders, Twelve Ghosts, Twelve Demands for Vengeance” and so our...
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Kiss and Die
Lee Weeks
Lee Weeks is one of those authors who is really coming in to her own with her gritty and gripping crime thrillers. This latest see’s a serial killer targeting adulterous...
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Pretty Little Things
Jilliane Hoffman
In short chapters with the story told from the perspective of the main characters, this tense thriller builds at a frantic rate. It illustrates the perils of internet chat rooms...
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The Fourth Assassin
Matt Rees
The fourth in the Omar Yussef series, Israeli’s historian-cum-sleuth who here comes to New York, ill equipped for so cold a winter, to give a lecture to the UN on...
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The Taken
Inger Ash Wolfe
Stars a near to retirement DI Hazel Micallef who cares little for correct procedure. I met her in The Calling and loved her. It’s grisly stuff.
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Three Weeks to Say Goodbye
C. J. Box
A cracking thriller that kept me guessing right through to the end. Even when I began to get an idea about what linked everyone together, there were still plenty of...
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The Assassin's Prayer
Ariana Franklin
Another fabulous historical mystery featuring Adelia Aguilar from The Mistress of the Art of Death series. Franklin always provides plenty of rich historical detail as well as believable, scandalous,...
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Blue Heaven
C. J. Box
Cracking, pacey and well written thriller focusing on a group of retired Los Angeles policemen. One who is trying to solve the murder case he can’t let drop, the others,...
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Truth
Peter Temple
Peter Temple seems to get darker and darker in his storylines. In Truth not only is there brutal murder and torture but a bleak look at the way
society is becoming...
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Hour Game
David Baldacci
With the same ex-Secret Service agents, King and Maxwell, who featured in Split Second, Baldacci delivers a serial killer tale with an impressive body count! A dysfunctional small town...
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First Family
David Baldacci
King and Maxwell are called in to help when the President’s niece is kidnapped. Adding to the intrigue this is not the first time that the first family have been...
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Simple Genius
David Baldacci
I have a lot of time for this author who is now really concentrating on his career and going to produce at least two (on occasions three) novels a year...
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Split Second
David Baldacci
The first in the King and Maxwell series where the two protagonists are brought together by similar circumstances that ended both their careers. A great thriller, Baldacci does his research,...
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The Gentlemen's Hour
Don Winslow
CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger Finalist 2010.
CWA Judges’ comments: 'An engaging Californian surfing thriller by a writer who deserves greater recognition. Sparky and entertaining.'
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