Books to Look Forward to from Simon & Schuster

October 2020

With a killer on the loose. As the scorching summer sun beats down on St Mary’s in the Isles of Scilly, DI Ben Kitto and his team are training for the annual Swimathon, until they discover a body hanging from Pulpit Rock, dressed in a bridal gown. On a tiny island. An obsessive killer is hunting for female victims. Kitto has no choice but to stop anyone leaving St Mary’s, but soon another woman is attacked. Everyone is a suspsect. The killer must be a trusted member of the community. Kitto’s investigation is being watched closely, the killer always one step ahead, as the next victim is chosen . . . No One is Safe. Pulpit Rock is by Kate Rhodes.

When the body of a twenty-four-year-old man is found on Sunk Island, a quiet stretch of land in Yorkshire, two facts immediately stand out. First: the killer wanted the body to be found. Second,the dead man was a police officer, and he had been working undercover. Meanwhile,aimless 20-something Becca has multiple jobs to keep her head above water. At night, in the local pub, she serves punters and tries to work out what she wants to do with her life. One thing that keeps her going is Andy, a regular she always has a laugh with -and maybe something more. And then Andy vanishes. Becca is convinced that the shady manger of her pub has something to do with his disappearance. But in order to discover the truth, she'll have to put herself in danger. All for someone she doesn't truly know... Someone Who Isn't Me is by Danuta Kot.

The Couple in Room 13 is by John Rector. Seven strangers. One body. A decision that will change everything. Nate and Sara are broke – and on the run from the past. When a shady hitchhiker offers them cold hard cash for a lift, they can't afford to say no. But when the man dies in the back seat, with more than two million dollars in his possession, Nate and Sara are forced to make a difficult decision. And, with a blizzard closing in, trapping them for who knows how long in a motel with five strangers, it’s a decision they won’t be able to run from…

Following his brutal quest for revenge, former Navy SEAL James Reece has fled the United States, emerging deep in the wilds of Mozambique. But he can't stay hidden for long - when a string of horrific terrorist attacks plagues the Western world, the CIA tracks him down and recruits him. Now a reluctant tool of the United States government, Reece must travel the globe, targeting terrorist leaders and unravelling a geopolitical conspiracy that will have worldwide repercussions . True Believer is by Jack Carr.

November 2020

A Piece of My Heart is by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke. Television producer Laurie Moran and her fiancée, Alex Buckley, the former host of her investigative television show, are just days away from their mid-summer wedding, when things take a dark turn. Alex’s seven-year-old nephew, Johnny, vanishes from the beach. A search party begins and witnesses recall Johnny playing in the water and collecting shells behind the beach shack, but no one remembers seeing him after the morning. As the sun sets, Johnny’s skim board washes up to shore, and everyone realizes that he could be anywhere, even under water.

The Game is by Luca Veste. They know what you did. You receive a call, an email, a text – someone knows your secret and they want to ruin you. And they're out for blood. If you don’t do what they say, they’ll tell everyone what you’ve been hiding. They will come after you, destroy you, and they aren’t afraid to kill. It's time to play the game.

Kill the King is by Sandrone Dazieri. Reeling from a deadly bombing in Venice and her investigative partner Dante’s disappearance, Detective Colomba Caselli retreats to the rural countryside to nurse her wounds. When an autistic teenager appears in her yard, covered in blood, he leads her to a brutal crime scene where nothing is what it seems. As Colomba gets pulled into the investigation and the body count continues to grow, she is implicated in the violence. She is convinced that a powerful villain is working in the shadows to cause the carnage and frame her, but the only person who can help her is Dante—and he hasn’t been seen in over a year and is presumed dead. Colomba is sure he’s alive and out there somewhere, but will she find him before it’s too late? And can she clear her name and be free of the far-reaching legacy of the villain known as the Father...

Books to Look Forward to from Simon & Schuster,

January 2020

When a man is found on a Norfolk beach, drifting in and out of consciousness, with no identification and unable to speak, interest in him is sparked immediately. From the hospital staff who find themselves inexplicably drawn to him; to international medical experts who are baffled by him; to the national press who call him Mr Nobody; everyone wants answers. Who is this man? And what happened to him? Neuropsychiatrist Dr Emma Lewis is asked to assess the patient. This is her field of expertise, this is the chance she's been waiting for and this case could make her name known across the world. But therein lies the danger. Emma left this same small town in Norfolk fourteen years ago and has taken great pains to cover all traces of her past since then.  But now something - or someone - is calling her back. And the more time she spends with her patient, the more alarmed she becomes.  Has she walked into danger?  Mr Nobody is by Catherine Steadman

Deep State is by Chris Hauty.  Hayley Chill isn't your typical West Wing intern. Ex-military and as patriotic as she is principled, she is largely vilified by her peers and lauded by her superiors - it's a quick way of making enemies.  It is Hayley who finds the body of the White House chief of staff, Peter Hall, on his kitchen floor having died from an apparent heart attack. It is also Hayley who notices a single clue which suggests his death was deliberate, targeted. That he was assassinated.  Unsure who to trust, Hayley works alone to uncover a wide-ranging conspiracy that controls the furthest reaches of the government. And Hall is just the beginning - the president is the next target.  Hayley must now do the impossible: stop an assassination, when she has no idea who the enemy is, all while staying hidden, with Peter's final words to her ringing in her ears: Trust no one. Because the Deep State will kill to silence her. And they are. It is entrenched. It is hidden. It is deadly.  Who can you trust?

February 2020

Firewatching is by Russ Thomas.  One wrong move. A body is found bricked into the walls of a house. From the state of the hands, it's clear they were buried alive and had tried to claw their way out before they died. Soon, the victim is linked to a missing person's case and DS Adam Tyler is called. Will ignite. As the sole representative of South Yorkshire's Cold Case Review Unit, Tyler recognises his role for what it is - a means of keeping him out of the way following an 'incident'. When this case falls in his lap, he grabs the opportunity to fix his stagnating career.  The City. When he discovers he has a connection to the case that hopelessly compromises him, he makes the snap decision not to tell his superiors. With such a brutal and sadistic murder to unpick, Tyler must move carefully to find out the truth, without destroying the case or himself.  Meanwhile, someone in the city knows exactly what happened to the body. Someone who is watching Adam closely. Someone with an unhealthy affinity with fire . . .

March 2020

It's sweltering in Charlotte, North Carolina, and Temperance Brennan, still recovering from neurosurgery following an aneurysm, is battling nightmares, migraines, and what she thinks might be hallucinations when she receives a series of mysterious text messages, each containing a new picture of a corpse that is missing its face and hands. Immediately, she's anxious to know who the dead man is, and why the images were sent to her.  An identified corpse soon turns up, only partly answering her questions.  To win answers to the others, including the man's identity, she must go rogue. With help from a number of law enforcement associates including her Montreal beau Andrew Ryan and the always-ready-with-a-smart-quip, ex-homicide investigator Skinny Slidell, and utilizing new cutting-edge forensic methods, Tempe draws closer to the astonishing truth.  But the more she uncovers, the darker and more twisted the picture becomes ...  A Conspiracy of Bones is by Kathy Reichs.

April 2020

Little Disasters is by Sarah Vaughan.  You think you have the perfect family.  But everything can be broken.  Liz and Jess have been friends for ten years, ever since they both started a family. But how well do they really know each other?  When Jess arrives at hospital with a story that doesn't add up, Liz is the doctor on call. Jess has devoted her life to family and home. But she is holding so many secrets. As the truth begins to emerge, Liz is forced to question everything she thought she knew: about Jess, and about herself.   When something feels so personal, how do you stay professional? 

May 2020

Los Angeles, December 4th - exactly three weeks until Christmas day. Angela Wood, a master in the art of pickpocket, has just finished for the day - six hundred and eighty-seven dollars - not bad for less than fifteen minutes work.  As she celebrates her profitable day with a cocktail, one of the patrons in the lounge she's in catches her attention by being rude to an old man. Angela decides to teach him a lesson, and steals the man's expensive-looking leather bag.  Inside is no money ... no laptop computer ... nothing of any value ... at least not to Angela. Just a black, leather-bound book, surprisingly heavy. Curiosity takes over and in the comfort of her apartment, Angela quickly leafs through the pages.  That is when the worst nightmare of her life begins.  This is no ordinary book.  Read it at your own peril.  Written in Blood is by Chris Carter.

Kill the King by Sandrone Dazieri and I Saw Him Die by Andrew Wilson are also due to be published in May 2020.

June 2020

The Other Passenger is by Louise Candlish.  You're feeling pretty smug about your commute to work by riverboat. No more traffic gridlock or getting stuck on the tube in tunnels (you're claustrophobic); now you've got an iconic Thames view, fresh air - a whole lifestyle upgrade. You've made new friends onboard - led by your hedonistic young neighbour, Kit - and just had your first 'water rats' Christmas drinks.  But the first day back after Christmas, Kit isn't on the morning boat. The river landmarks are all the same, but something's off. You disembark to find the police waiting. Kit's wife, Melia, has reported him missing and another passenger witnessed the two of you arguing on the last boat home after your drinks. Police say you had a reason to lash out at him. To kill him.  You protest. You and Kit are friends - ask Melia, she'll vouch for you. And who exactly is this other passenger pointing the finger? What do they know about your private lives? No, whatever coincidences might have occurred that night, you are innocent, totally innocent.  Aren't you?

When a string of horrific terrorist attacks plagues the Western world during the holiday season, the broader markets fall into a tailspin. The attacks are being coordinated by a shadowy former Iraqi commando who has disappeared into Europe's underground. The United States government has an asset who can turn the Iraqi against his masters: James Reece, the most-wanted domestic terrorist alive.  After avenging the deaths of his family and team members, Reece emerges deep in the wilds of Mozambique, protected by the family of his estranged best friend and former SEAL Team member. When a series of events uncovers his whereabouts, the CIA recruits him, using a Presidential pardon for Reece and immunity for the friends who helped him in his mission of vengeance.  Now a reluctant tool of the United States Government, Reece travels the globe, targeting terrorist leaders and unraveling a geopolitical conspiracy that exposes a traitorous CIA officer and uncovers a sinister assassination plot with worldwide repercussions.  True Believer is by Jack Carr.

Watch Him Die is by Craig Robertson.  Evil found its twin despite there being an ocean between Matthew Clelland and Ethan Garland.  One is dead but the dying has only just begun.  The search is on for dead bodies in Los Angeles. The hunt is on for live victims in Glasgow.  Meanwhile, the world is watching as a young man slowly dies in front of their eyes.

Books to Look Forward to From Simon & Schuster

January 2017

The Vanishing is by Sophia Tobin.  On top of the Yorkshire Moors, in an isolated spot carved out of a barren landscape, lies White Windows, a house of shadows and secrets. Here lives Marcus Twentyman, a hard-drinking but sensitive man, and his sister, the brisk widow, Hester. When runaway Annaleigh first meets the Twentymans, their offer of employment and lodgings seems a blessing. Only later does she discover the truth. But by then she is already in the middle of a web of darkness and intrigue, where murder seems the only possible means of escape...

 

You can run! Sam Wylde is a Close Protection Officer to the rich and powerful. In a world dominated by men, being a woman has been an advantage. And she is the best in the business at what she does. You can hide! She takes a job protecting the daughter of the Sharifs - Pakistani textile tycoons - but she realises that there is more to their organisation than meets the eye and suddenly she finds herself in danger. But only one person will keep you safe from harm! Now she is trapped underground, with no light, no signal and no escape. Dangerous men are coming to hurt her, and the young charge she is meant to be protecting. With time running out, can she channel everything she knows to keep them safe from harm...?  Safe From Harm is by R J Bailey.

Deep Blue is by Alan Judd. During a time of political disruption and rising anti-nuclear sentiment, MI5 discovers that an extremist fringe group, Action Against Austerity, appears to have links to an established political party while planning sabotage using something or someone called Deep Blue. Banned from investigating British political parties, the head of MI5 seeks advice from Charles Thoroughgood, his opposite number in MI6. Agreeing to help unofficially with the case, Charles must delve deep into his own past, to an unresolved Cold War case linked to his private life. Using the past as key to the present, he soon finds himself in a race against time to prevent a plot which is politically nuclear ...

February 2017

Kill the Father is by Sandrone Dazieri. When a woman is beheaded in a park outside Rome and her six-year-old son goes missing, the police unit assigned to the case sees an easy solution: they arrest the woman's husband and await his confession. But the Chief of Rome's Major Crimes unit doubts things are so simple. Secretly, he lures to the case two of Italy's top analytical minds: Deputy Captain Colomba Caselli, a fierce, warrior-like detective still reeling from having survived a bloody catastrophe, and Dante Torre, a man who spent his childhood trapped inside a concrete silo. Fed through the gloved hand of a masked kidnapper who called himself 'The Father', Dante emerged from his ordeal with crippling claustrophobia but, also, with an unquenchable thirst for knowledge and hyper-observant capacities. All evidence suggests that 'The Father' is back and active after being dormant for decades. Indeed, he has left tell-tale signs that signal he's looking forward to a reunion with Dante. But when Columba and Dante begin following the ever-more-bizarre trail of clues, they grasp that what's really going on is darker than they ever imagined.

Francesca was widowed a year ago. Since then she has focused on her children, trying to soothe their grief as well as her own. Her husband and father never quite saw eye to eye but no one could have cared more for her in the past year than her close-knit family. Finally, she feels she might be ready to move on with life. Until she is contacted out of the blue by someone who says he must get information to her. That her husband's death wasn't what it seemed. And that her family know more than they say ...Who can Francesca trust? And what will happen to her if she puts her faith in the wrong person?  The Black Sheep is by Sophie McKenzie.

The Caller is by Chris Carter. After a tough week, Tanya Kaitlin is looking forward to a relaxing night in, but as she steps out of her shower, she hears her phone ring. The video call request comes from her best friend, Karen Ward. Tanya takes the call and the nightmare begins. Karen is gagged and bound to a chair in her own living room. If Tanya disconnects from the call, if she looks away from the camera, he will come after her next, the deep, raspy, demonic voice at the other end of the line promises her. As Hunter and Garcia investigate the threats, they are thrown into a rollercoaster of evil, chasing a predator who scouts the streets and social media networks for victims, taunting them with secret messages and feeding on their fear.

March 2017

The Last Night at Tremore Beach is by Mikel Santiago.  He'd seen the danger coming. And now it's here...When Peter Harper, a gifted musician whose career and personal life are in trouble, comes to northwest Ireland and rents a remote cottage on beautiful, windswept Tremore Beach, he thinks he has found a refuge, a tranquil place in a time of crisis. His only neighbours for miles around are a retired American couple, Leo and Marie Kogan, who sense his difficulties and take him under their wing. But there's something strange about the pair that he can't quite figure out. One night during one of the dramatic storms that pummel the coast, Peter is struck by lightning. Though he survives, he begins to experience a series of terrifying, lucid and bloody nightmares that frame him, the Kogans and his visiting children in mortal danger. The Harper family legend of second sight suddenly takes on a sinister twist. What if his horrifying visions came true, could tonight be his last...?

April 2017

From the author David Grann comes Killers of the Flower Moon: An American Crime and the birth of the FBI, a true-life murder story which became one of the newly-created FBI's first major homicide investigations. In the 1920s, the richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma. After oil was discovered beneath their land, they rode in chauffeured automobiles, built mansions and sent their children to study in Europe. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off. The family of an Osage woman, Mollie Burkhart, became a prime target. Her relatives were shot and poisoned. And this was just the beginning, as more and more members of the tribe began to die under mysterious circumstances, and many of those who dared to investigate the killings were themselves murdered. As the death toll climbed, the FBI took up the case. It was one of the organisation's first major homicide investigations and the bureau badly bungled it. In desperation, its young director, J. Edgar Hoover, turned to a former Texas Ranger named Tom White to unravel the mystery. Together with the Osage he and his undercover team began to expose one of the most chilling conspiracies in American history.

Innocent or guilty Her time is running out ...The air is hazy and grey with gunpowder smoke. Everyone has been shot but me. I haven't got so much as a bruise ...Maja Norberg has spent nine months in jail awaiting trial for a shooting in her school. Among those killed were her boyfriend and her best friend. Now the time has come for her to enter the courtroom ...But is Maja a demonised victim - or cold-blooded killer?  Quicksand is by Malin Persson Giolito.

All by Myself Alone is by Mary Higgins Clark. Fleeing a disastrous and humiliating arrest of her husband-to-be on the eve of their wedding, Celia Kilbride, a gems and jewellery expert, hopes to escape from public attention by lecturing on a brand-new cruise ship - the Queen Charlotte. On board she meets eighty-six-year-old Lady Emily Haywood, "Lady Em," as she is known throughout the world. Immensely wealthy, Lady Em is the owner of a priceless emerald necklace that she intends to leave to the Smithsonian after the cruise. Three days out to sea Lady Em is found dead - and the necklace is missing. The list of suspects is large and growing. Celia sets out to find the killer, not realising that she has put herself in mortal danger before the ship reaches its final destination...

May 2017

'I wouldn't scream if I were you. Unless you want the whole world to learn about your husband and his mistress.' Agatha Christie, in London to visit her literary agent, boards a train, preoccupied and flustered in the knowledge that her husband Archie is having an affair. She feels a light touch on her back, causing her to lose her balance, then a sense of someone pulling her to safety from the rush of the incoming train. So begins a terrifying sequence of events. Her rescuer is no guardian angel; rather, he is a blackmailer of the most insidious, manipulative kind. Agatha must use every ounce of her cleverness and resourcefulness to thwart an adversary determined to exploit her genius for murder to kill on his behalf. A Talent for Murder is by Andrew Wilson.

June 2017

Defectors is by Joseph Kanon.  Moscow, 1961. Stalin has been dead for eight years. With the

launch of Sputnik, the Soviet Union's international prestige is at an all-time high. Former CIA agent Francis 'Frank' Weeks, the most notorious of the defectors to the Soviet Union, is about to publish his memoirs, and what he reveals is reportedly going to send shock waves through the West. Weeks' defection in the early 50s shook Washington to its core - his betrayal rippled through the State Department, prompting frantic searches for moles and forcing the resignation of Simon, Frank's brother and best friend. So when a Soviet agency approaches Simon, now a publisher in New York City, with a controversial proposition to publish his brother's memoirs, he finds the offer irresistible since it will finally give him the chance to learn why his brother chose to betray his country. But what he discovers in Moscow is far more than he ever imagined ...

How do you vindicate a deceased, self-proclaimed killer? A criminal lawyer in Stockholm, Martin Benner sees himself as a man who has it all. Then Bobby T barges into his office one day, demanding his help. Bobby says he's the brother of Sara Tell, a young woman dubbed 'Sara Texas' by the tabloids after she confessed to five brutal murders some time back - three in Sweden, and two in Texas. Six months ago, she shocked everyone when she escaped from pre-trial custody and leapt off a bridge to her death. But Bobby says she was innocent. He needs Martin's help to clear her name and to find Sara's son, Mio, who he says disappeared around the time of her death. As Martin and Lucy, the partner in his firm, delve deeper into the case, their pursuit of the truth takes them across the ocean to Texas, where the pieces of the puzzle slowly fall into place. But before Martin can continue his investigation, he receives some devastating news that turns his world upside down...  Buried Lies is by Kristina Ohlsson.