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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.
This is a psychological thriller with real attitude, in fact, it might even be described as feisty. Meg and her daughter Grace are a true part of their community, the whole town is in shock when Meg is murdered and Grace discovered to be missing. Grace has been ill for years and may only have days to live without her medication, two local people desperate to save her, begin to investigate. This novel was inspired by the true life story of Dee Dee and Gypsy Rose Blanchard in the USA, can I suggest (insist!) that you don’t look it up until you’ve finished the book, I was very patient and I’m so glad that I waited! Each chapter either focuses on investigative journalist Jon, or neighbour Cara, and their individual tales open the storyline into a widescreen panorama. My thoughts sped in one direction and then another as I read, focusing on the small, the intimate, burrowing into the minds of the characters. Emily Elgar tells this intricate tale with assurance, suggesting, introducing, opening information for our reading minds to analyse. Grace is Gone is fascinating and thrilling tale, it becomes all the more haunting when you realise it's based on a true story.
This is a series that keeps on delivering, here we are at the fourth book, and it is just as addictive and original as the first, Six Stories. I really love the premise for this one, a chilling mix of the occult and an internet craze join the fabulous six stories format with online journalist Scott King. Six podcasts are delivered to us, to digest and form our own opinion after 24 year old vlogger Elizabeth Barton is found dead in The Vampire Tower on the Northumberland coast. Three young men were convicted in what they called a prank gone wrong, are they responsible? With the Beast from the East weather system and vampires haunting the pages, questions started whirling in my mind. As I read I felt as though a number of truths were being set free. As always Matt Wesolowski keeps a fabulously tight rein on the different voices, which so easily could run wild. Each character is unmistakable and I was able to hear them with sharp clarity. Beast is another winner of a read for me, if you haven’t yet joined in, what are you waiting for?!
A pretty fabulous first book in what I truly hope is a continuing crime series. Bestselling authors Thomas Enger and Jorn Lier Horst have teamed up to create not only some really interesting lead characters, but they also breathe fresh air into the fabulous tradition of Nordic Noir. A famous athlete fails to show at her autobiography book launch, when news blogger Emma Ramm finds signs of a struggle, police officer Alexander Blix begins a missing person enquiry that quickly turns more serious. As is usual with translated Orenda books, I just stepped straight in and read without a thought for the fabulous translation by Anne Bruce. Horst and Enger have set this novel firmly in the here and now, apart from the prologue which sets the scene for Blix. Death Deserved is a fast-moving, punchy, serial killer investigative novel with a whammy of an ending. If this is the first in the Blix and Ramm series, then here’s to many more!
Burning with an intense, provocative fire, this is a debut that doesn’t flinch from the troubled world it creates. 25 years ago, a 16 year old school girl and her teacher disappeared, now a journalist investigates the mystery at the heart of the boarding school. The prologue intrigues, answering a question while bursting open many more. I felt a seductive unsettling call and settled in. Three women sit centre stage in this story, the missing Louisa, her friend Victoria, and the journalist. I gained access to the school and sank into the heady highs and lows of teenage years. A veil of mystery covers Temple House, the school sits in both time periods, a chilling constant between the two. It is as much about the unsaid, the unseen, as it is what is revealed, and Rachel Donohue handles the balance with surety. The ending really spoke to me, it opened my thoughts and encouraged them to travel. I have no doubt that The Temple House Vanishing will stay with me for some time to come, it is an assured and compelling debut.
The James Marwood and Cat Lovett series is on my must-read list. If this series is new to you, do start with the truly fabulous The Ashes of London, I have thoroughly enjoyed all three so far, and each new book adds further flavour and intrigue. A body is found at the home of a courtier for Charles II and James is sent to quietly investigate. He knows the dead man, and he also knows who wished him dead… Cat Lovett. The two storylines for James and Cat up to now could almost be made into separate books, each independently as strong as the other. Here, James takes a larger portion of the spotlight, however Cat most definitely remains a focus of the story, and is never too far away. As usual Andrew Taylor lays a veritable reading feast before your eyes, the descriptive and historical treats ensured the words travelled straight from the page into my minds eye. The King’s Evil is a hugely entertaining, wonderfully readable and intelligent historical crime mystery novel, I simply can’t wait for the next in the series, The Last Protector.
In what is promising to be an assured series, Deadland sits as a gripping, fabulous read in its own right. Two 17 year old lads end up in a whole heap of trouble when they steal a mobile phone, meanwhile DS Alexandra Cupidi returns to investigate a severed limb, but without the rest of the body is there actually a murder to investigate? The first in this DS Alexandra Cupidi Investigation series by William Shaw is Salt Lane, with the standalone The Birdwatcher taking place before, but also linking to the series. So there are a couple of recommended stops to make before potentially embarking on Deadland. I just slipped straight into the storyline, I immediately felt at home, there was a fresh feeling of reality and I didn’t question, just read. DS Cupidi is a really strong lead, the relationship with her daughter adding a contrasting note of tension. There is a wonderful balance between the investigations taking place, and the story of Benjamin and Joseph, the links starting to tighten as the story progresses. Dungeness thrusts itself into the story, the social aspects substantial and compelling. Deadland is an absolutely fascinating read, one that I highly recommend and I have chosen it as one of my Liz Robinson picks of the month.
Intelligent and thrilling with a fierce bite attached, this is a highly recommended read. As DI Zigic and DS Ferreira investigate the murder of a doctor from an all-female detention centre, a violent criminal is released on a technicality, he has a grudge against police, and they know he will strike again. Entering an established series out of sync can be bewildering, so it something I don’t often enjoy doing. This though, can most definitely be read as a standalone novel, and of course, I now want to go back and read the rest of the Zigic and Ferreira series! Within a few pages, I was not only invested in the characters, I felt as though I knew them. I thoroughly enjoyed being alongside the team as they worked. Eva Dolan faces society issues and problems head-on and this feels incredibly readable while also being whip-smart. Between Two Evils is an eloquent and gripping read with assured attitude, winning it one of my Liz Robinson picks of the month.
The eleventh book in the Tony Hill and Carol Jordan series, from No. 1 bestselling author Val McDermid. 'We are all creatures of habit. Even murderers...' When human remains are discovered in the grounds of an old convent, it quickly becomes clear that someone has been using the site as their personal burial ground. But with the convent abandoned long ago and bodies dating back many years, could this be the work of more than one obsessive killer? The investigation throws up more questions as the evidence mounts but, after their last disastrous case, Tony Hill and Carol Jordan can only watch from afar. As they deal with the consequences, someone with a terrifying routine is biding their time - and both Tony and Carol find themselves closer to the edge than they have ever been before . . . Masterful and filled with suspense, this is the most electrifying, heart-racing thriller yet from number one bestseller and queen of crime Val McDermid.
This high-octane, smart, whip-sharp novel is one heck of a reality and fantasy clash. It perhaps shouldn’t work, but it does, it really really does and has popped itself on my list of favourite reads. Meet Vern, he is currently hiding out in a Louisiana swamp, he doesn’t trust anyone, loves his vodka, has a thing for Flashdance, oh, and he’s a dragon. Having lived a few thousand years he really doesn’t need the escalating feud between Squib Moreau and crooked Officer Hooke to spoil his peace and quiet. This is the first novel for adults from the bestselling author of the Artemis Fowl series, Eoin Colfer. I feel as though Highfire has been waiting for me, to welcome it to my bookshelves. The balance between the different genres is beautifully done. Different emotions skittered through me as I read, there’s violence aplenty, and some wicked smirks waiting to be found too. Highly entertaining and exciting, Highfire is my kind of book, in fact if you could marry books, I’d be Mrs Highfire in no time!
HARRY HOLE IS ABOUT TO FACE HIS DARKEST CASE YET. Harry is in a bad place: Rakel has left him, he's working cold cases and notorious murderer Svein Finne is back on the streets. THE FIRST KILLER HARRY PUT BEHIND BARS IS OUT TO GET HIM. Harry is responsible for the many years Finne spent in prison but now he's free and ready to pick up where he left off. A MAN LIKE HARRY BETTER WATCH HIS BACK. When Harry wakes up with blood on his hands, and no memory of what he did the night before, he knows everything is only going to get worse . . .
The gritty new thriller from the Queen of Crime Drama and the fifth book in the Sunday Times bestselling Jane Tennison series. Jane Tennison has worked hard to become the first female detective ever post to the infamous Flying Squad, or 'the Sweeney'. But the Dirty Dozen is a notorious boys' club, and Jane's new colleagues make it clear that they don't think a woman is up to the dangers of the job. Dealing with some of London's most ruthless armed criminals, who think the only good cop is a dead cop, is no joke. Determined to prove she's as good as the men, Jane discovers from a reliable witness that a gang is going to carry out a massive robbery. But she doesn't know who they are, or where and when they will strike . . .
The stunning new thriller from No. 1 Sunday Times bestseller Stuart MacBride. One down... A dark night in the isolated Scottish countryside. Nicholas Wilson, a prominent professor known for his divisive social media rants, leaves the house with his dog, as he does every night. But this time he doesn't come back... Two down... The last thing Inspector Logan McRae wants is to take on such a high-profile case. But when a second man vanishes in similar circumstances, the media turns its merciless gaze on him, and he has no choice. Who's next? Then body parts start arriving in the post. Someone out there is trying to make a point, and they're making it in blood. From number one bestseller Stuart MacBride comes a thrilling new novel which will keep you on the edge of your seat from the first page to the last.
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.