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Find out moreEnter the criminal underworld and solve a complex case all from the comfort of your favourite reading nook. Have a look at our Crime/Mystery selection to get your hands on the latest and greatest case and get mystery solving! You might also be interested in our Thriller and Suspense categories.
With intense pace, an intriguing storyline, and fascinating characters, this is an incredibly readable crime thriller. When Sam Shephard starts to investigate a murder in Dunedin, New Zealand she soon realises that things aren't as obvious as they may first appear. This is such a fabulous series, with a vivid sense of place, great characters, and juicy crimes to solve, no-nonsense detective Sam Shephard often has to kick some serious ass. Do start with Overkill, and make your way through the series until you come to Bound, I’d advise starting at the beginning and reading in order just to enjoy the experience to its fullest. Sam appears to have mellowed just a tad, her relationship is evolving, but she is more than capable of standing up for herself when needed. The exchanges between Sam and her boss make me wince and then smirk if she manages to land a blow. Vanda Symon balances dramatic entertainment with penetrating storylines and Bound is another cracking and thoroughly enjoyable addition to a winner of a series.
With a smart writing style that combines lyrical and thoughtful with sharp and pacy, this thriller reads like a zingy dream. Public Prosecutor Chastity Riley and friends are celebrating a birthday in a 20th floor hotel bar in Hamburg when armed men take the occupants hostage. Meet the fourth in the rather fabulous Chastity Riley series. Two linked stories separated by time sit side by side. Short sharp shocks of chapters fizz into being. Simone Buchholz packs a hefty wallop into a relatively small number of pages. Her books always kiss difference, and encourage thoughts to whip in new directions. It almost felt as though there were parts in hiding, yet it all slots together. I simply adore the short and biting chapter headings, join them all together and they almost form a story in their own right. Rachel Ward as translator has again done a cracking job. Can you tell that I love this yet! Simone Buchholz has a style all of her own, and I can highly recommend Hotel Cartagena. The LoveReading LitFest invited Simone to the festival to talk about her kick-ass main character Chastity Riley and her latest book Hotel Cartagena. You can view the event by subscribing to the LitFest programme for as little as £6 per month - or you can pay per view. For just £2, go, see Simone in conversation with Paul Blezard and hear her stunning revelation. Check out a preview of the event here
This is a book that will keep you wonderfully off balance, it feels as though you are being trusted with an unsettling and dangerous secret. When Ada Howell turns 18 her wealthy godmother presents her with a gift that could allow her access to the world she she craves. The shocking aftermath of a sudden death appears to pave the way for her dreams, but the route she takes comes at a cost. Ada narrates, opening a disquieting window to her world and looking at herself without sentimentality. I felt that any feelings of compassion I had for Ada would have been slapped away and yet they remained. The nostalgic recollections and empathy she does have channel themselves into the house she grew up in and lost. Laura Vaughn has previously written for children and young adults, this is her first novel for adults. She writes with an understated eloquence, slowly allowing the intrigue and tension to build piece by delicate piece. There are a number of characters, each perfectly placed and adding to the feeling of claustrophobia that haunted the pages. I felt a shiver of foreboding as the ending began to slide into place, followed by satisfaction as I closed the last page. A well-written and rewarding read The Favour slips into shadowy thoughts and finds the darkness that dwells there.
The Gilded Cage by Camilla Lackberg is an intriguing psychological thriller and disturbing domestic noir. Faye seems to have it all – the perfect husband, the perfect daughter, the perfect house, the perfect life... Yet she’s spent much of her life running away from her very dark past. The book shows that no one really knows what goes on behind closed doors and who people really are. The book is set in the Swedish city of Stockholm. Its beautiful vivid descriptions. I felt as though I could see the characters and their surroundings. The narrative makes astute observations of people’s mannerisms and interactions, bringing the characters and story to life. The Gilded Cage switches between the past and present, following Faye and her husband Jack from the moment they met until the present day. This is a tale of love, friendship, betrayal and revenge, featuring secrets, lies, manipulation and shocking revelations. Faye certainly isn’t who her friends and family think she is – she’s craving love and attention from her often-distant husband and will do anything to get it. She’s very mixed up and very chilling – a character that’s difficult to warm to and one that you’ll love to hate. But is she really a psychopath and how much has she been shaped by her past? The Gilded Cage is a book that will thrill, shock and entertain its readers – and certainly not for the fainthearted!
An addictive, thrilling, supernatural crime novel and the first in what promises to be a fabulous new series. The death of a woman is classed as murder, the policing team can’t work out how the killer entered the room, and a sinister element suggests the supernatural is at work. This, the first in the Rose Gifford series really does pack a punch, as well as introducing us to Rose and the UCIT (a secret police department), it also sits as a cracking story in its own right. With a spooky first chapter C.S. Green then introduces the policing team. Creepy layers build on creepy layers, yet it isn’t overplayed and all feels plausible. I was hooked enough, bearing in mind the tag of: “Even in your dreams, he’ll find you,” to continue reading right through into the night. You’ll discover that Rose has her own problems to deal with, she feels as relatable as can be, and I was firmly on and by her side as I read. I want to learn more about the UCIT and can’t wait for the next in the series. Sleep Tight is a satisfyingly enthralling read, and stimulating as heck, it just had to be included as one of my Liz Picks of the Month
SOMETIMES GROWING UP MEANS FACING YOUR DEMONS The son of a struggling single mother, Jamie Conklin just wants an ordinary childhood. But Jamie is no ordinary child. Born with an unnatural ability his mom urges him to keep secret, Jamie can see what no one else can see and learn what no one else can learn. But the cost of using this ability is higher than Jamie can imagine - as he discovers when an NYPD detective draws him into the pursuit of a killer who has threatened to strike from beyond the grave. LATER is Stephen King at his finest, a terrifying and touching story of innocence lost and the trials that test our sense of right and wrong. With echoes of King's classic novel It, LATER is a powerful, haunting, unforgettable exploration of what it takes to stand up to evil in all the faces it wears.
Sequel to The Fragility of Bodies, Sergio Olguin’s The Foreign Girls is loaded with edgy cliff-hangers, underpinned by an exposure of femicide and political corruption, and propelled by the fearless drive of a headstrong, bourbon-drinking investigative journalist. Seeking rest and recuperation after the brutal events of The Fragility of Bodies, Verónica Rosenthal is taking time out in her cousin’s isolated, upscale property when she befriends a pair of foreign female tourists and winds up having sex with one of them. Tragedy strikes when the young women are murdered at a swanky party and Verónica determines to find out whodunit. With their bodies discovered next to burned-out candles and a dead animal - perhaps pointing to a religious ritual - the first suspect is a local Umbanda priest, but when Verónica uncovers connections to government and the wealthy elite, a lethal cat and mouse game cranks up as she’s pursued by vengeful adversaries from her past and the present. Laying bare the vicious ways women are abused as pawns in conflicts between criminals, this is a full-on white-knuckle ride of a thriller.
Bold, provocative and thought-provoking, this is the fifth of the Six Stories series, however you can actually read Deity as a standalone. Scott King investigates the rumours and accusations against a pop star after his death. Each novel stands as an individual tale, though of course reading the first book, Six Stories, sets the scene beautifully and there are links to be found through the series. When I start a new Six Stories, it always takes a moment for me to settle in again, to sink into the differences that makes this series such a refreshing read. I almost feel that the transition from my reality to the beat of the story is a necessary one. It helps cement the voices I hear in my head and feel in my thoughts as I read. The individual characters appear with Scott King’s comments and asides, and allow you to ponder, to piece together your own understanding. The darkness within comes from the subject matter and the chilling folklore that weaves and wields its magic. I thoroughly enjoy this smart and thoughtful series, and Deity joins the ranks, standing as a linking but separate tale. So, a round of applause for Matt Wesolowski please.
An incredibly smart, taut, and pacy crime thriller set in Norway. An unsolved kidnapping thrusts itself back into play when police officer Alexander Blix and investigative journalist and blogger Emma Ramm are caught up in an explosion on New Years Eve in Oslo. The Blix and Ramm Series is a blast of pure reading entertainment from Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger, internationally best-selling Norwegian authors who joined forces to create this series. Death Deserved was a cracking start and Smoke Screen just cements this pair as a formidable writing duo. I also just want to do a shout out to translator Megan Turney, this is so easy to read that I didn’t stop to think that it was translated. The immediate hook at the start set my mind racing, and it didn’t let up until the end. Flashbacks are effectively used to highlight important back stories. The two main characters are independently interesting and capable of carrying the tale, and the links from each of their plot lines gradually fuse together to create an explosive end. Smoke Screen is an enthralling continuation in a series that I can highly recommend.
A wonderful addition to one of my favourite series, if you have a somewhat suspect and dark sense of humour and can cope with a serial killer telling you her story then step right up! Rhiannon is on the run and stuck on a cruise ship as it heads into the Mediterranean. She attempts to take on a new persona, will she succeed or will she be sucked back into a killing spree? You most definitely need to have read the first two books in this series (Sweetpea and In Bloom) before embarking on Dead Head. Rhianna’s, ahem sorry… Rhiannon’s story begins to turn in a different direction, and I welcomed this path. Her kill lists remains, however her murderous mojo appears to have wandered off for a tea break. I still smirked, I still snorted with laughter, and I still found a deliciously wicked story. C.J. Skuse has the most sharp and smart writing style, balancing humour and absurdity with insightful and penetrating reasoning. The yo-yo effect from horror to compassion to incitement had me questioning my own judgement! Strutting to become a Liz Pick of the Month, it joins its sisters with style. Dead Head is a book you can escape into, it’s refreshingly different, and twisted as heck.
DCI Vera Stanhope returns in The Darkest Evening, the ninth novel in No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller Ann Cleeves's phenomenally popular series. The darkest nights can hide the deadliest secrets . . . Driving home during a swirling blizzard, Vera Stanhope's only thought is to get there quickly. But with the snow driving down heavily, she becomes disorientated and loses her way, eventually stumbling on another car abandoned on the road. With the driver's door open, Vera assumes the driver has sought shelter but is shocked to find a young toddler strapped in the back seat. Afraid they will freeze, Vera takes the child and drives on, arriving at Brockburn, a run-down stately home she immediately recognizes as the house her father Hector grew up in. Inside Brockburn a party is in full swing, with music and laughter to herald the coming Christmas. But outside in the snow, a young woman lies dead and Vera has a new case. Could she be the child's mother and, if she is, what happened to her?
'One of the great series of British crime fiction' --- THE TIMES It's 1996. Detective Sergeant Tom Thorne is a haunted man. Haunted by the moment he ignored his instinct about a suspect, by the horrific crime that followed and by the memories that come day and night, in sunshine and shadow. So when seven-year-old Kieron Coyne goes missing while playing in the woods with his best friend, Thorne vows he will not make the same mistake again. Cannot. The solitary witness. The strange neighbour. The friendly teacher. All are in Thorne's sights. This case will be the making of him . . . or the breaking. The gripping prequel to Mark Billingham's acclaimed debut, Sleepyhead, Cry Baby is the shocking first case for one of British crime fiction's most iconic detectives.
From the suave to the sleazy, the saint to the sinner; from the sensitive to the sanguine, the sexy to the squalid, we just can’t resist a good sleuth. Here you’ll find immersive crime stories to feed your fascination for conspiracy, your love for psychological sorcery, to make your hairs stand up on the back of your neck, to make your blood run cold and adrenaline fill your nervous system. Whether you’re after a classic like; Poirot (Agatha Christie), Rebus (Rankin) or Morse (Colin Dexter); or a more contemporary crime confrontation from the likes of, Michael Connelly, Gillian Flynn or J.A Lance, there’s something here to float the most demanding of boats. Have a look at our Books of the Month from this and previous months for a head start to a great next read.