Books to Look Forward to From Little Brown Publishing (Incl Constable & Robinson, Sphere & Piaktus)

January 2020

The Woods is by Vanessa Savage.  Two girls went down to the woods but only one came back.  There's a lot from Tess's childhood that she would rather forget. The family who moved next door and brought chaos to their quiet lives. The two local girls who were murdered, their killer never found. In fact, the only thing she can't remember is the one thing she wishes she could.  Ten years ago, Tess's older sister died. Ruled a tragic accident, the only witness was Tess herself, but she has never been able to remember what happened that night in the woods.  Now living in London, Tess has resolved to put the trauma behind her. But when an emergency call from her father forces her back to the family home, Tess discovers that, sometimes, the past cannot be laid to rest .

February 2020

Abducted at thirteen.  Returned at twenty-eight.  Is it time to go back into the labyrinth?  A young woman named Samantha Andretti wakes up in a hospital bed.  Samantha was abducted when she was thirteen.  She was kept prisoner for fifteen years.  The man by her side, Dr. Green, believes that Samantha's memories contain the clues that will lead to the capture of her abductor. But why does she keep referring to a labyrinth? Outside the hospital, private investigator Bruno Genko does not have long to live. Bruno was assigned to Samantha's case many years ago, and now it is his chance to make amends.  Can Samantha be persuaded to go back into the labyrinth? And how did the man its the centre vanish so quickly?  Into the Labyrinth is by Donato Carrisi.

Pretty Guilty Women is by Gina Lamanna.  At the famously luxurious Serenity Spa & Resort on the Californian coast, guests arrive ready to celebrate what is set to be the wedding of the year.  Ginger is an overworked, under-pampered mother of three who's barely holding the family together when she learns a secret about her daughter that could ruin everything.   Lulu is a wealthy retiree with four ex-husbands, and a fifth on the way.  Emily harbours a dark secret, which she's become expert at forgetting with the help of a bottle of wine.  Kate is a powerhouse lawyer with her life in order - except for one little problem that won't go away.  Only twenty-four hours later a man is found murdered.  All Detective Ramone knows for certain is that these four women sit calmly across from him, offering four very different confessions, each insisting they acted alone. 

'Doctor Kent Abner began the day of his death comfortable and content'.  When Kent Abner - baby doctor, model husband and father, good neighbour - is found dead in his town house in the West Village, Detective Eve Dallas and her team have a real mystery on their hands. Who would want to kill such a good man? They know how, where and when he was killed but why did someone want him dead?   Then a second victim is discovered and as Spring arrives in New York City, Eve finds herself in a race against time to track down a serial killer with a motive she can't fathom and a weapon of choice which could wipe out half of Manhattan. Golden In Death is by J D Robb.

The dead don't always rest in peace . . .  On a stormy night in December, a tree is blown down on an isolated Devon farm. And when the fallen tree is dragged away a rucksack is found caught amongst the roots - and next to it is a human skeleton. And when the fallen tree is dragged away a rucksack is found caught amongst the roots - and next to it is a human skeleton.   The discovery of the body and the rucksack revives memories for DI Wesley Peterson. A young hitchhiker who went missing twelve years ago was last seen carrying a similar backpack. Suddenly a half-forgotten cold case has turned into a murder investigation.  Meanwhile, in the nearby village of Petherham, a famous TV psychic is found dead in suspicious circumstances whilst staying at a local guesthouse. Wesley's friend, archaeologist Neil Watson, is studying Petherham's ancient mill and uncovering the village's sinister history. Could the string of mysterious deaths in Petherham over a hundred years ago be connected to the recent killings?   As Wesley digs deeper into the case, it seems that the dark whisperings of a Burial Circle in the village might not be merely legend after all . . .  The Burial Circle is by Kate Ellis.

In The Crypt with a Candlestick is by Daisy Waugh.  Sir Ecgbert Tode of Tode Hall has survived to a grand old age - much to the despair of his younger wife, Emma. But at ninety-three he has, at last, shuffled off the mortal coil.  Emma, Lady Tode, thoroughly fed up with being a dutiful Lady of the Manor, wants to leave the country to spend her remaining years in Capri. Unfortunately her three tiresome children are either unwilling or unable (too mad, too lefty or too happy in Australia) to take on management of their large and important home, so the mantle passes to a distant relative and his glamorous wife.  Not long after the new owners take over, Lady Tode is found dead in the mausoleum. Accident? Or is there more going on behind the scenes of Tode Hall than an outsider would ever guess....?

Into The Valley is by James Craig.  To everyone's surprise, John Carlyle has been promoted to Commander. The new job comes with its own office, a PA, and a diary filled with meetings. Struggling to come to terms with the his new responsibilities, Carlyle finds his position threatened by investigative journalist Bernie Gilmore. Gilmore is digging into Carlyle's relationship with ex-drug dealer Dominic Silver and the pair's involvement in the killing of gangster Tuco Martinez. Carlyle hopes he can put Bernie off the scent but Dom favours more drastic measures. Meanwhile, Carlyle's new boss, Deputy Assistant Commissioner Michelle Mara, wants him to help out mysterious 'security consultant' Gregory Cosneau. Pining for his old job, Carlyle has to try and keep everyone happy, or face losing everything.

March 2020

Forced Confession is by John Fairfax.  William Benson.  Criminal barrister.  Convicted murderer....  Convicted of murder sixteen years ago, William Benson is ostracised by the establishment and his family. Supported by a close-knit group including solicitor Tess de Vere, he's defied them all and opened his own Chambers. Now he faces the case of his life - and the terminal illness of Helen Camberley who helped him leave his prison life behind   Jorge Menderez, a doctor from Spain, has been found dead in a deserted warehouse in East London. A troubled man, he'd turned to counsellor Karen Lynwood seeking help. Now Karen's husband, John, is accused of his murder. Who is Menderez, and why did he come to London? Benson is defending the couple against seemingly impossible odds, while secrets from his own past threaten to overwhelm him.

This day never happened.  You hear me?  By a frozen lake, ten-year-old Jesse waits for his father.  It's New Year's Day, and his dad promised a fresh start.  But Jesse messed it all up.   And that's when he meets the woman.  In the months ahead, the woman's sudden disappearance sets off a chain of events in Whale Bay, spanning out like fracture lines into the lives of her husband, the detective trying to solve her case, and of Jesse and his family - a young boy cracking like ice under the weight of a terrible secret. How A Woman Becomes a Lake is by Marjorie Celona and is a  chilling literary mystery that asks what happens when we are failed by the ones we love.

Grace is Gone is by Emily Elgar.  Meg and her daughter Grace are the most beloved family in Ashford, the lynchpin that holds the community together. So when Meg is found brutally murdered and her daughter missing, the town is rocked by the crime. Not least because Grace has been sick for years - and may only have days to live.  Who would murder a mother who sacrificed everything, and take a teenager away from the medication that could save her life? Everyone is searching for an answer, but sometimes the truth can kill you . . .

Black Rain Falling is by Jacob Ross.  On the Caribbean island of Camaho, forensics expert Michael 'Digger' Digson is in deep trouble.  His fellow CID detective Miss Stanislaus kills a man in self-defence - their superiors believe it was murder, and Digger given just six weeks to prove his friend is innocent.  While the authorities bear down on them, Digger and Miss Stanislaus investigate a shocking roadside murder, the first tremors of a storm of crime and corruption that will break over Camaho at any moment.

Victorian London, 1882. Five years ago, crusading lawyer Cage Lackmann successfully defended Moses Pickering against a charge of murder. Now, a body is found bearing all the disturbing hallmarks of that victim - and Pickering is missing. Did Cage free a brutal murderer?  Cage's reputation is in tatters, and worse, he is implicated in this new murder by the bitter detective who led the first failed case. Left with no other alternative, Cage must find Pickering to prove his innocence.   His increasingly desperate search takes him back to the past, to a woman he never thought to see again, and down into a warren of lies and betrayals concealed beneath Holland Park mansions and the mean streets of Whitechapel - where a murderer, heartbreak and revenge lie in wait.  The Graves of Whitechapel is by Claire Evans.

When Shadows Fall is by Alex Gray.  When his old friend and former colleague is shot dead at his home, Detective Superintendent William Lorimer is devastated. And his problems are only just beginning. It's not long before two further deaths are reported: both victims ex-policemen.   It's clear this is a targeted campaign against their own, yet with no other link between the victims to identify the killer, Lorimer's police team are starting to panic. Who will be next?  Lorimer knows he must keep his cool if he is to solve the case. But with time running out before the next attack, he's struggling to ignore the sickening question at the back of his mind:  Will he get to the killer, before the killer gets to him?

Liberation is by Imogen Kealey and is inspired by the true story of Nancy Wake, whose

husband was kidnapped by the Nazis and became the most decorated servicewoman of the Second World War.  To the Allies she was a fearless freedom fighter, special operations super spy, a woman ahead of her time. To the Gestapo she was a ghost, a shadow, the most wanted person in the world with a five-million Franc bounty on her head.   Her name was Nancy Wake.  Now, for the first time, the roots of her legend are told told in a thriller about one woman's incredible quest to save the man she loves, turn the tide of the war, and take brutal revenge on those who have wronged her

Who do you turn to, when everyone's a stranger and you stop believing what your own eyes see?  Finnie Doyle and Paddy Lamb are leaving city life in Edinburgh behind them and moving to the little town of Simmerton. Paddy has landed a partnership in a local solicitors and Finnie's snagged a job as a church deacon. Their rented cottage is quaint; their new colleagues are charming, and they can't believe their luck.But witnessing the bloody aftermath of a brutal murder changes everything. They've each been keeping secrets about their pasts. And they both know their precious new start won't survive a scandal. Together, for the best of reasons, they make the worst decision of their lives.  And that's only the beginning. The deep, deep valley where Simmerton sits is unlike anywhere Finn and Paddy have been before. They are not the only ones hiding in its shadow and very soon they've lost control of the game they decided to play...  Strangers at the Castle is by Catriona McPherson.

The Pottery Cottage Murders is by Carol Ann Lee and Peter Howse.  For three days Billy Hughes played psychological games with Gill Moran and her family, while secretly murdering them one by one. Blizzards hampered the police manhunt, but they learned where the dangerous criminal was hiding and closed in on the cottage. A desperate car chase ensued, ending with a shoot-out and the killer's death. There was just one survivor.   The plot for a great crime novel? No, it all actually happened in January 1977.  The Pottery Cottage Murders is a gripping, fast-paced account of a criminal case that reads like fiction but is terrifyingly true. What took place at a family home on the Derbyshire moors in 1977 made the name Pottery Cottage synonymous with horror: an address briefly as infamous as 112 Ocean Avenue in the US town of Amityville, where a young man had murdered his entire family three years earlier, and the home of married killers Fred and Rosemary West on Cromwell Street in Gloucester.   Afterwards, the determination of sole survivor Gill Moran to prevent any written or dramatic accounts of the case saw 'Pottery Cottage' largely vanish from public consciousness, yet those events changed British history. Now in her eighties, Gill has finally given permission for her story to be told - by the former Chief Inspector who saved her life over forty years before.

April 2020

In the second instalment in the Detective Varg Novels, Ulf and his team investigate a

notorious lothario - a wolf of a man whose bad reputation may, much to his chagrin, be all bark and no bite.  The Department of Sensitive Crimes, renowned for taking on the most obscure and irrelevant cases, led by Ulf Varg, their best detective, is always prepared to take on an investigation, no matter how complex. So when Ulf is approached by the girlfriend of Trig Oloffson, who claims her beau (the infamous bad boy of Swedish letters) is being blackmailed, Ulf is determined to help. The case requires all of Ulf's concentration, but he finds himself distracted by his brother's questionable politics and meteoric rise within the Moderate Extremist Party and by his own constant attraction to his married co-worker Anna. When Ulf is then tasked with looking into a group of dealers exporting wolves that seem decidedly domestic, it will require all of his team's investigative instincts and dogged persistence to put these matters to bed.  The Talented Mr Varg is by Alexander McCall Smith.

Seven Lies is by Elizabeth Kay.  It all started with one little lie . . .  Jane and Marnie have been inseparable since they were eleven years old. They have a lot in common. In their early twenties they both fell in love and married handsome young men.   But Jane never liked Marnie's husband. He was always so loud and obnoxious, so much larger than life. Which is rather ironic now, of course.  Because if Jane had been honest - if she hadn't lied - then perhaps her best friend's husband might still be alive . . .This is Jane's opportunity to tell the truth, the question is:  Do you believe her?

Venetian Gothic is by Philip Gwynne Jones.  It is November 2nd, 2017. All Souls Day. On the Day of the Dead, the citizens of Venice make their way to the cemetery island of San Michele to pay their respects to the departed. When an empty coffin is unearthed in the English section of the graveyard, a day of quiet reflection for Nathan Sutherland becomes a journey into the dark past of a noble Venetian family.  A British journalist, investigating the events of forty years previously, disappears. A young tourist - with an unhealthy interest in Venice's abandoned islands- is found drowned in the icy lagoon.  A terrible secret is about to be brought to light, and a deadly reckoning awaits on Venice's Isle of the Dead

May 2020

Signs of Murder is by David Wilson.  Criminologist David Wilson returns to his home town of Carluke in Lanarkshire, to revisit a story of an unsolved murder that continues to haunt its past. It's a story that anyone growing up there had embedded in their DNA.  Officially though, this isn't an 'unsolved murder'. A suspect was found guilty by a jury of his peers and so, as far as anyone official is concerned, this murder has been 'solved'. The 'murderer' has even now done his time, and been released from prison.  But Carluke has always known that a young man was wrongly convicted. This book is a search for the truth.

When Ethan Flynn, charismatic vocalist of supergroup Stigma, is electrocuted by his own guitar in front of 175,000 witnesses on the Pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival, suspicion falls on his tyrannical twin, Tyrone.  Leading the murder investigation is Buddhist detective, Vincent Caine, and his partner, DI Shanti Joyce. To Shanti's consternation the pair have become known as 'the go-to team for weird stuff in the West Country' and few crimes come weirder than this. Amidst the pulsating beats of the festival, the unlikely duo struggle to untangle the wildly conflicting statements of minders, lovers, drug-fuelled roadies, and dodgy divas.  Against the mystical backdrop of Glastonbury Tor and the tiny Somerset village of Kilton, the terrifying trail leads Shanti and Caine from clairvoyant Tarot readings to the cryptic lyrics of a lost song, cunningly concealed by the tragic superstar.  Can the unlikely mix of Shanti's down-to-earth pragmatism and Caine's intuitive sleuthing skills solve this most singular of murders? Is the future of the world's greatest festival in peril? And what happens when two consummate professionals are forced to share a tent in the steamy heat of summer?  Festival of Death is by Laurence Anholt.

After months trapped at sea with her now ex-husband, Mia Fallon is trying to re-build her life. The past few months she's thought only of revenge, but when the police arrive to tell her he's been murdered, she feels no relief.   As the investigation focuses on his new wife, Rachel, Mia becomes obsessed with what happened on the night of the murder. Because someone else knows the truth. And they know Mia wasn't where she says she was...  The One That Got Away is by Egan Hughes. 

June 2020

The Geometry of Holding Hands is by Alexander McCall Smith.  Isabel Dalhousie applies her moral philosopher's mind to wrongdoings in Edinburgh, and will have to call upon her powers of deduction and her unflappable moral code to unravel another mystery in this latest novel from his Isabel Dalhousie series.  In Edinburgh, rumours and gossip abound. But Isabel knows that such things can't be taken at face value. Still, the latest whispers hint at mysterious goings-on, and who but Isabel can be trusted to get to the bottom of them? At the same time, she must deal with the demands of her two small children, her husband and her rather tempestuous niece, Cat, whose latest romantic entanglement comes - to no one's surprise - with complications. Even with so much going on, Isabel, through the application of good sense, logic and ethics, will, as ever, triumph.

Trying - and failing - to keep his head down and to stay out of trouble, ex-con Zaq Khan agrees to help his best friend, Jags, recover a family heirloom, currently in the possession of a wealthy businessman. But when Zaq's brother is viciously assaulted, Zaq is left wondering whether someone from his own past is out to get revenge. Wanting answers and retribution, Zaq and Jags set out to track down those responsible. Meanwhile, their dealings with the businessman take a turn for the worse and Zaq and Jags find themselves suspected of murder.   It'll take both brains and brawn to get themselves out of trouble and, no matter what happens, the results will likely be deadly. The only question is, whether it will prove deadly for them, or for someone else . . . ? Stone Cold Trouble is by Amer Anwar.

The Curator is by M W Craven.  It's Christmas and a serial killer is leaving displayed body parts all over Cumbria. A strange message is left at each scene: #BSC6.  Called in to investigate, the National Crime Agency's Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw are faced with a case that makes no sense. Why were some victims anaesthetized, while others died in appalling agony? Why is their only suspect denying what they can irrefutably prove but admitting to things they weren't even aware of? And why did the victims all take the same two weeks off work three years earlier?  And when a disgraced FBI agent gets in touch things take an even darker turn. Because she doesn't think Poe is dealing with a serial killer at all; she thinks he's dealing with someone far, far worse - a man who calls himself the Curator.  And nothing will ever be the same again . . .

Reykjavik detective Gunnhildur Gisladottir tries not to believe in ghosts. But when Helgi, one of her team is certain he's seen a man who had been declared dead more than fifteen years ago, she reluctantly gives him some unofficial leeway to look into it.  Has the not-so-dead man returned from the grave to settle old scores, or has he just decided to take a last look around his old haunts?  Either way, there are people who have nursed grudges for years, hoping for a reckoning one day. Even the rumour of his being alive and kicking is enough to spark a storm of fury and revenge, with Gunnhildur and Helgi caught up in the middle of it.  Cold Malice is by Quentin Bates.

The Mimosa Tree is by Ovidia Yu.  Mirza, a secretive neighbour of the Chens in Japanese Occupied Singapore, is a known collaborator and blackmailer. So when he is murdered in his garden, clutching a branch of mimosa, the suspects include local acquaintances, Japanese officials -- and his own daughters.  Su Lin's Uncle Chen is among those rounded up by the Japanese as reprisal. Hideki Tagawa, a former spy expelled by police officer Le Froy and a power in the new regime, offers Su Lin her uncle's life in exchange for using her fluency in languages and knowledge of locals to find the real killer.  Su Lin soon discovers Hideki has an ulterior motive. Friends, enemies and even the victim are not what they seem. There is more at stake here than one man's life. Su Lin must find out who killed Mirza and why, before Le Froy and other former colleagues detained or working with the resistance suffer the consequences of Mirza's last secret.

Scottish Highlands, 1958.  Britain is awash in Cold War anxiety as Mirabelle Bevan heads for the Highlands on a holiday to visit Superintendent Alan McGregor's family. More glamorous than she expected, the Robertsons welcome her with open arms and an array of cocktails, but she has scarcely arrived when the body of an American fashion buyer turns up brutally murdered, plunging the local village into disarray and sending shockwaves around the close, Highland community.   Mirabelle can't resist investigating, but what she finds lays the limitations of her feelings for McGregor bare and calls into question the loyalties of all those around her from the Robertson's housekeeper Mrs Gillies to the family of the dead woman. What started as a relaxing break in scenic surroundings soon spirals into a week fraught with danger. As the press descend on the Robertson's Highland estate, it rapidly becomes clear that things are not as black and white as they first appeared and Mirabelle can't count on anyone . . . Highland Fling is by Sara Sheridan.  

Forthcoming Books from Little Brown and Constable Robinson

June 2017

London. 1894. 'I am not a detective, chief constable.' 'No, but you are a poet, a freemason and a man of the world. All useful qualifications for the business in hand.' So says Police Chief Macnaghten to Oscar Wilde, in a Chelsea drawing room in the company of Arthur Conan Doyle. The business they are gathered to discuss is none other than the case of Jack the Ripper, the most notorious murderer in England. And thus the three men set out to solve one of the world's most famous mysteries - the ultimate truth about the identity of Jack the Ripper. Case Closed is Arthur Conan Doyle's account of the events of 1894, the year of the return of Jack the Ripper.   Jack the Ripper: Case Closed is by Gyles Brandreth.

July 2017

The Hidden Room is by Stella Duffy.  Life is good for Laurie and Martha. They have three great kids, a much-loved home in the countryside, and after years of struggle, Laurie's career as an architect is taking off at last. Everything's perfect. Except, it isn't. Someone is about to walk into their happy family and tear it apart. Laurie has been hiding from him for years. The question is, now that he's found her, can she keep her family safe? And just how far will she go to protect them?

The life she wanted wasn't hers. Everyone has an idea of what their perfect life is. For Agatha, it's Meghan Shaughnessy's. These two women from vastly different backgrounds have one thing in common - a dangerous secret that could destroy everything they hold dear. Both will risk everything to hide the truth, but their worlds are about to collide in a shocking act that cannot be undone.  The Secrets she Keeps is by Michael Robotham.

Dead in the Dark is by Stephen Booth.  How do you prove a murder without a body? Ten years ago, Reece Bower was accused of killing his wife, a crime he always denied. Extensive police searches near his home in Bakewell found no trace of Annette Bower's remains, and the case against him collapsed. But now memories of the original investigation have been resurrected for Detective Inspector Ben Cooper - because Reece Bower himself has disappeared, and his new wife wants answers. Cooper can't call on the Major Crime Unit and DS Diane Fry for help unless he can prove a murder took place - impossible without a body. As his search moves into the caves and abandoned mines in the isolated depths of Lathkilldale, the question is: who would want revenge for the death of Annette Bower?

When Louise Williams receives a message from someone left long in the past she feels sick. Maria Weston wants to be friends on Facebook. Because Maria Weston has been missing for over twenty years. She was last seen the night of a school leavers' party, and the world believes her to be dead. Particularly Louise, who has lived her adult life knowing herself responsible for Maria's disappearance. But now Maria is back. Or is she? As Maria's messages start to escalate, Louise forces herself to reconnect with the old friends she once tried so hard to impress, to try to piece together exactly what happened that fateful night. But when another friend's body turns up in the woods outside their old school, Louise realises she can't trust anyone and that she must confront her own awful secret to discover the whole truth of what happened to Maria .... Friend Request is by Laura Marshall.

The Fallen is by Ace Atkins.  Mississippi sheriff Quinn Colson had to admit he admired the bank robbers. A new bank was hit almost every week, and the robbers rushed in and out with such skill and precision it reminded him of raids he'd led back in Afghanistan and Iraq when he was an army ranger. In fact, it reminded him so much of the techniques in the Ranger Handbook that he couldn't help wondering if the outlaws were former Rangers themselves.  And that was definitely going to be a problem. If he stood any chance of catching them, he was going to need the help of old allies, new enemies, and a lot of luck. The enemies he had plenty of. It was the allies and the luck that were going to be in woefully short supply.

Soot is by Andrew Martin.  York, 1799. In August, an artist is found murdered in his home - stabbed with a pair of scissors. Matthew Harvey's death is much discussed in the city. The scissors are among the tools of his trade - for Harvey is a renowned cutter and painter of shades, or silhouettes, the latest fashion in portraiture. It soon becomes clear that the murderer must be one of the artist's last sitters, and the people depicted in the final six shades made by him become the key suspects. But who are they? And where are they to be found? Later, in November, a clever but impoverished young gentleman called Fletcher Rigge languishes in the debtor's prison, until a letter arrives containing a bizarre proposition from the son of the murdered man. Rigge is to be released for one month, but in that time, he must find the killer. If he fails, he will be incarcerated again, possibly for life. And so, with everything at stake, and equipped only with copies of the distinctive silhouettes, Fletcher Rigge begins his search across the snow-covered city, and enters a world of shadows...

Russian Roulette is by Sara Sheridan. Brighton 1956 When Mirabelle's on-off boyfriend, Superintendent Alan McGregor, is taken off a gruesome murder case because the key

suspect is an old school friend, Mirabelle steps in to unravel the tangle of poisoned gin, call girls and high stakes gambling that surrounds the death. It isn't long before McGregor's integrity is called into question and Mirabelle finds herself doubting him. So when a wartime hero's body turns up on the Sussex Downs, she is glad that McGregor is caught up in a mystery of his own as Brighton's establishment closes ranks. Mirabelle is in a dangerous situation though and she doesn't have McGregor watching her back on this one. And when the dead man on the Downs turns out to have been a member of a deadly thrillseekers club, related to the earlier murder, Mirabelle is determined to uncover the truth and free the innocent people who are bearing the brunt of the cover up. As her relationship with McGregor reaches breaking point, she has to draw on all her wartime experience to stand up for what she believes in - even if it means their relationship may not survive.

Where She Went is by B E Jones. TV journalist Melanie Black wakes up one morning next toa man she doesn't remember. It's not the first time - but he ignores her even though she's in his bed. Yet when his wife walks in with a cup of tea he greets her with a smile and to her horror, Melanie comes to realise that no one can see or hear her - because she is dead. But has she woken up next to her murderer? And where is her body? Why is she an invisible and uninvited guest in a house she can't leave; is she tied to this man forever? Is Melanie being punished in some way, or being given a chance to make amends? As she begins to piece together the last days of her life and circumstances leading up to her own death it becomes clear she has to make a choice: bring her killer to justice, or wreak her own punishment on the man who murdered her. 

August 2017

When charred human remains are discovered in the driver's seat of a burning car, DCI Carol Jordan and psychological profiler Tony Hill are brought in to investigate. They soon discover that what appeared to be a terrible accident is, in fact, murder. Delving deeper into the case, they begin the dangerous hunt for a most sinister killer with the power to inflict untold fear and pain on their victims.  Insidious Intent is by Val McDermid.

In 1360 a deputation from Cambridge ventures to the Suffolk town of Clare in the hope that   The Habit of Murder is by Susanna Gregory.

the wealthy Elizabeth de Burgh has left a legacy to Michaelhouse. Yet when they arrive they discover that the report of her death is false and that the college seems destined for bankruptcy. Determined to see if some of its well-heeled citizens can be persuaded to sponsor Michaelhouse, Matthew Bartholomew, Brother Michael and Master Langelee become enmeshed in the town's politics. They quickly discover that a great many other people in Clare have recently met untimely deaths. These killings, combined with the arrogance Lady de Burgh has shown over the refurbishment of the church and the grotesque behaviour of some of her entourage, have created a dangerous restlessness in the town: an atmosphere intensified when yet more murders occur. One of the victims is a fellow traveller of the Michaelhouse contingent, and Matthew Bartholomew and Brother Michael feel honour-bound to identify his killer. It is a hunt which takes them deep into Clare's murky foundations and which threatens their own survival as well as that of their beloved college.

When a mysterious figure appears on the village green on a cold November day in Three Pines, Armand Gamache, now Chief Superintendent of the Sûreté du Québec, knows something is seriously wrong. Yet he does nothing. Legally, what can he do? Only watch and wait. And hope his mounting fears are not realized.  From the moment its shadow falls over Three Pines, Gamache suspects the creature has deep roots and a dark purpose. When it suddenly vanishes and a body is discovered, it falls to Gamache to discover if a debt has been paid or levied.   In the early days of the investigation into the murder, and months later, as the trial for the accused begins in a Montreal courtroom on a steamy day in July, the Chief Superintendent continues to struggle with actions he’s set in motion, from which there is no going back. “This case began in a higher court,” he tells the judge, “and it’s going to end there.”  And regardless of the trial’s outcome, he must face his own conscience.  Glass Houses is by Louise Penny.

Blame is by Jeff Abbott.The crash that killed him Two years ago, Jane Norton crashed her car on a lonely road, killing her friend David and leaving her with amnesia. At first, everyone was sympathetic. Then they found Jane's note: I wish we were dead together. A girl to blame From that day the town turned against her. But even now Jane is filled with questions: why were they on that road? Why was she with David? Did she really want to die? The secrets she should forget Most of all, she must find out who has just written her an anonymous message ...I know what really happened. I know what you don't remember.

The Weight of Angels is by Catriona McPherson.  What secrets do the dark bones of Dundrennan Abbey hold? A year ago, she was happily married, bringing up her beloved son, running her successful beauty salon and living with her loving husband in her dream house. Now Ali McGovern's dreams are slipping away and all her old ghosts are coming back to haunt her. A job at Howell Hall, the private psychiatric facility near her rented cottage and the ruined abbey, seems too good to be true. But why has the couple who run the place employed her when she is clearly not qualified to do it? How can they afford to pay her so well? And what are they hiding? When a body is discovered in a shallow grave by the abbey on Ali's first day at work, it feels like one last horror. But it's just the beginning of her descent into a nightmare world she never imagined existed so close to home.

The Tarot talks ...but is anyone listening? In the heart of South West London, just a short stroll from the Thames, lies a single row of cottages. Residents may come and go but they all have one thing in common: Tinderbox Lane - small, enclosed, unknown to any iPhone or supermarket delivery van - is the place they call home. Foremost among the residents is Dolly Greene: divorced and permanently broke, she shares her tiny house with her 21-year-old daughter Pippa, who can't afford to leave. Aside from Pippa, the other constant in Dolly's life is her Tarot business, and when Dolly reads the cards for the magnificently voluptuous and highly-sexed Nikki on a stiflingly hot summer's day, her Tarot patter is interrupted by a sudden vision - a flash of Nikki's face, covered in blood and bruises. Death hangs over her - but there is an etiquette to reading Tarot and Dolly will not talk of murder to her client. A few days later when the body of a battered woman is washed up by Chiswick Bridge, Dolly is haunted by the belief that Nikki's time may have come up ...but can she be sure? How far is Dolly prepared to go to act on her intuition? And will Sergeant Raff Williams, the officer assigned to investigate the murder, think Dolly's hunch insane?  The Prime of Ms Dolly Greene is by E V Harte.

A rising political storm is threatening to engulf De Vries and the stability and security of Cape Town.  As the legacy of El Nino scorches Cape Town, threatening it with drought, fire and civil disorder, the city is gripped by two horrific crimes: an explosion in the tourist centre, and the gruesome murder of a seemingly random victim.  In his investigation, Colonel De Vries of the Special Crimes Unit discovers a frightening back story and developing pattern of criminality, and comes to believe that there is more than one killer on the loose, each one with a connection to a man who, as a child, drowned his sister and destroyed his family.  Newly promoted investigator Lieutenant Mike Solarin, working with De Vires, discovers a trail to the perpetrators of the bomb in the city but, when he is recalled and the incident branded work of extremists, he pursues an alternative route, calling into question the role of the political elite, the media, and the police themselves.  Now sharing the single belief that there must be justice at any cost as they struggle to represent victims of so many atrocities.  De Vries and Solarin fight – against gathering forces – to save their city and their country.  Apostle Lodge is by Paul Mendleson.

September 2017

Secrets in Death is by J D Robb.  No one is going to miss Larinda Mars. A ruthless gossip queen with a lucrative sideline in blackmail, there's no lack of suspects when she's murdered in a fashionable New York bar. With so many people wanting her dead, it's going to be a tough case to crack. Lieutenant Eve Dallas may not like this particular victim, but it's her duty to bring the killer to justice. As she digs deeper into Larinda's mysterious past, it becomes clear the reporter had a unique talent for uncovering secrets. Including ones very close to home for Eve and her husband Roarke...Someone was willing to commit murder to keep their secrets hidden. And with Eve now working to uncover the truth, she and her team are heading into serious danger.

Precious Ramotswe has always idolised her father, the late Obed Ramotswe. She feels that she knows all about his life - but does she? Sometimes our parents surprise us, and we discover that things were not quite what we thought them to be. And the same goes for Mma Makutsi, Mma Ramotswe's feisty assistant, who also makes certain discoveries about her own past that cause some surprise. The placid world of the No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency is further disturbed by the arrival in Gaborone of somebody whom Mma Ramotswe - and Mr J.L.B. Matekoni, for that matter - definitely do not want to see. Of course calm eventually prevails - as it always does in the timeless world of these remarkable ladies. Tea is served, and life continues.  The House of Unexpected Sisters is by Alexander McCall Smith.

Never Let You Go is by Chevy Stevens.  She thought she'd escaped him forever. But will he ever let her go? Eleven years ago, Lindsey Nash fled into the night with her young daughter, leaving an abusive relationship behind. Her ex-husband ended up in jail and Lindsey started a new life. Now, Lindsey is older, wiser and believes she has cut all ties with the past. But when Andrew is released from prison, strange things start happening. Lindsey's new boyfriend is threatened, her home invaded and her daughter followed. Her ex-husband denies all knowledge, but Lindsey is convinced he's responsible. 

It's 1920, and Louisa Cannon dreams of escaping her life of poverty in London, and most of all her oppressive and dangerous uncle. Louisa's salvation is a position within the Mitford household at Asthall Manor, in the Oxfordshire countryside. There she will become nurserymaid, chaperone and confidante to the Mitford sisters, especially sixteen-year-old Nancy - an acerbic, bright young woman in love with stories. But then a nurse - Florence Nightingale Shore, goddaughter of her famous namesake - is killed on a train in broad daylight, and Louisa and Nancy find themselves entangled in the crimes of a murderer who will do anything to hide their secret.  The Mitford Murders is by Jessica Fellowes.

Sleep Like a Baby by Charlaine Harris.

The Girl in the Green Dress is by Cath Staincliffe.  How far would you go to protect your child? Can you really keep them safe? What if who they are puts them at risk? And what if they have blood on their hands? Teenager Allie Kennaway heads off for Prom night, cheered on by dad Steve and her little sister Teagan. But Allie never comes home, beaten to death in an apparent hate crime because of her transgender identity. As police investigate the brutal murder, a crime that has appalled the country, one parent is at her wit's end with her son's behaviour. Are his outbursts and silences hiding something much darker than adolescent mood swings? And if her suspicions are correct, then what does she do? Another parent will fight tooth and nail to save his boy from the full force of the law. After all, blood is thicker than water and everyone should look after their own. But if he succeeds then Allie and her family will never get the justice they deserve. A groundbreaking story of love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, in a world of change.

October 2017

The Well of Ice is by Andrea Carter. Mid-December in Glendara and solicitor Benedicta 'Ben' O'Keeffe is working flat-out on the usual raft of sale closings before Christmas, so the last thing she needs is a complaint about noise emanating from the Oak pub. The one bright spot on the horizon is the anticipation of her first Christmas with Sergeant Tom Molloy. In Dublin to close another sale, she walks out onto the street. Two trams pass each other, and staring at her from across the tracks is Luke Kirby, the man who killed her sister. He approaches her, remorseful, conciliatory, plausible. She walks away. But as she does so, he says something that chills her to the bone. Back in Inishowen, Glendara is in chaos. The Oak has burned down. To make matters worse Carole Kearney, the Oak's barmaid, is missing. And then on Christmas morning, a walk up Sliabh Sneacht results in a gruesome discovery: a body found face-down in the snow. While Molloy and Ben try to find answers, someone is planning a revenge which will have devastating consequences for at least one of Glendara's residents.

Death in the Stars by Frances Brody.

Agatha Raisin and the Witches’ Tree is by M C Beaton.  Toil and trouble in store for Agatha! Cotswolds inhabitants are used to bad weather, but the night sky is especially foggy as Rory and Molly Devere, the new vicar and his wife, drive slowly home from a dinner party in their village of Sumpton Harcourt. They struggle to see the road ahead - but then screech to a halt. Right in front of them, aglow in the headlights of their car, a body hangs from a lightning-blasted tree at the edge of town. But it's not suicide; Margaret Darby, an elderly spinster of the parish, has been murdered - and the villagers are bewildered as to who would commit such a crime, and why. Agatha Raisin rises to the occasion, delighted to have some excitement back in her life as if truth be told, she was getting bored of the long run of lost cats and divorces on the books. But Sumpton Harcourt is an isolated and unfriendly village, she finds a place that poses more questions than answers. And when two more murders follow the first, Agatha begins to fear for her reputation - and her life. That the village has its own coven of witches certainly doesn't make her feel any better...

The Burnings is by Julian Lees.  With discovery comes certain death...When Australian Jillian Parker's scorched remains are discovered in her burnt-out car Ruud Pujasumarta and his team are brought in to investigate what appears at first to be a routine homicide. But when Canadian citizen Anita Dalloway's charred body is found a few days later Ruud finds a banner unfurled by the corpse's feet. A verse from the Quran is scribbled across it, calling for unbelievers to be burned. The killer is targeting Christians. And the team's suspicions are confirmed when a third body, that of English backpacker Emily Grealish, turns up with the same M.O. But who is responsible? Is it the senior Australian diplomat from the embassy who was obsessed by the first victim? The Imam who preaches Sharia law? The Indonesian three-star military general taking backhanders and living a life of luxury in Jakarta? Or the local drug dealer with a score to settle? But Ruud is suspicious that the killer may be someone much closer to home, someone Ruud has trusted for many years. What unravels is a terrifying chain of events for Ruud. And what he discovers puts his and those around him lives in danger.

November 2017

An atmospheric novel about the disappearance of Anna, fifteen, on a cold night in a small town in the Italian mountains close to the Slovenian border. Vogel, a policeman specialising in murder cases, has two suspects: a lonely literature professor who could be connected to the crime; and a teenage boy tracked down via Anna's diary. In true Carissi style, the lines blur between policemen and murderer and Vogel is a potential suspect in the case of Anna's death. Surrounding all this is a media storm with the girl's family at its centre - it culminates in a television interview between Vogel and the professor and a strange and shocking revelation about Anna's death.  The Girl in the Fog is by Donato Carrisi.

Dark Places is by Roberta Kray.  Lolly has always known her mum was different. Sometimes Angela Bruce was ill in a quiet sort of way, but other times she roamed the Mansfield estate shouting about whatever had wormed its way into her head that day. Either way, Lolly was on her own so she learned how to look after herself pretty quickly. Mal Fury has never got over the disappearance of his daughter all those years ago. He hadn't entirely given up hope though because the police never found Kay's body. So when his private investigator turns up a lead that connects Kay to Lolly, Mal needs to find out more. But in doing so, he's delving into a decades-old mystery that could throw Lolly's entire world into chaos ....