Books to Look Forward to From Headline

 January 2022

Opals… In the desolate outback town of Finnigans gap, police struggle to maintain law and order. Thieves pillage opal mines, religious fanatics recruit vulnerable youngsters and billionaires do as they please. Bodies… Then an opal miner is found crucified and left to rot down his mine. Nothing about the miner’s death is straight-forward, not even who found the body. Homicide detective Ivan Lucic is sent to investigate, assisted by inexperienced young investigator Nell Buchanan. But Finnigans Gap has already ended one police career and damaged others, and soon both officers face damning allegations and internal investigations. Have Ivan and Nell been set up, and if so, by whom? Secrets… As time runs out, their only chance at redemption is to find the killer. But the more they uncover, the more harrowing the mystery becomes, and a past long forgotten is thrown into scorching sunlight. Because in Finnigans Gap, nothing stays buried for ever. Opal County is by Chris Hammer.

Real Easy is by Marie Rutkoski. It’s 1999, and Samantha has danced for years at the Lovely Lady strip club. She’s not used to taking anyone under her wing – after all, between her disapproving boyfriend and his daughter, who may as well be her own child, she has enough to worry about. But when Samantha overrides her better judgment to drive a new dancer home, they are run off the road. The police arrive at the scene of the accident – but find only one body. Georgia, another dancer, is drawn into the investigation as she tries to assist Holly, a detective with a complicated story of her own. As the point of view shifts from police officers and detectives to club patrons, the women circle around a list of suspects, all the while grappling with their own understanding of loss and love. As they get closer to the truth they must each confront a fundamental question: How do women live their lives knowing that men can hurt them?

February 2022

All That Lives is by James Oswald. An archaeological dig at the old South Leith parish kirkyard has turned up a mysterious body dating from around 700 years ago. The experts wonder if she wasn’t murdered and dumped, but some suspect that this gruesome discovery is a sacrifice, placed there for a specific purpose. Then a second body is unearthed. This victim went missing only thirty years ago – but the similarities between her death and the ancient body’s suggest something even more disturbing. Drawn into the investigation, McLean finds himself torn between a worrying trend of violent drug-related deaths and uncovering what truly connects these bodies. When a third body is discovered, and too close for comfort, he begins to suspect dark purpose at play – and that whoever put them there is far from finished.

March 2022

Winter, 1607. A man is struck down in the grounds of Battle Abbey, Sussex. Before dawn breaks, he is dead. Home to the Montagues, Battle has caught the paranoid eye of King James. The Catholic household is rumoured to shelter those loyal to the Pope, disguising them as servants within the abbey walls. And the last man sent to expose them was silenced before his report could reach London. Daniel Pursglove is summoned to infiltrate Battle and find proof of treachery. He soon discovers that nearly everyone at the abbey has something to hide – for deeds far more dangerous than religious dissent. But one lone figure he senses only in the shadows, carefully concealed from the world. Could the notorious traitor Spero Pettingar finally be close at hand? As more bodies are unearthed, Daniel determines to catch the culprit. But how do you unmask a killer when nobody is who they seem? Traitor in the Ice is by K J Maitland.

April 2022

It Starts at Midnight is by Harriet Tyce. New Year’s Eve, when the clock strikes twelve. A lavish party in one of Edinburgh’s best postcodes is sent spiralling into chaos when two guests fall tragically from the roof, impaled on the cast iron railings below. For Tess, it was about more than reuniting with long lost friends. Recently diagnosed with an illness that could be terminal, it was her last chance to make things right. Having grown apart from her husband Marcus, she knew this would be the perfect opportunity to renew their vows, surrounded by everyone they love. Their time is running out. Tess’ closest companion Sylvie knows this better than anyone. She’s trying desperately to offer her friend some closure from the guilt that has plagued them both for decades. But as midnight approaches and the countdown begins, it becomes clear that someone doesn’t want a resolution. They want revenge.

From the detective who helped catch the Golden State Killer, a memoir about investigating America's toughest cold cases, and the rewards - and toll - of a life spent solving crime. For a decade, from 1973, The Golden State Killer stalked and murdered Californians in the dead of night, leaving entire communities afraid to turn off the lights. Then he vanished, and the case remained unsolved. In 1994, when cold-case investigator Paul Holes came across the old file, he swore he would unmask GSK and finally give these families closure. Twenty-four years later, Holes fulfilled that promise, identifying 73-year-old Joseph J. DeAngelo. Headlines blasted around the world: one of America's most prolific serial killers had been caught. That case launched Paul's career into the stratosphere, turning him into an icon in the true-crime world. But while many know the story of the capture of GSK, until now, no one has truly known the man behind it all. In Unmasked: Crime Scenes, Cold Cases & My Hunt for the Golden State Killer Paul Holes takes us through his memories of a storied career and provides an insider account of some of the most notorious cases in contemporary American history, including Laci Peterson's murder and Jaycee Dugard's kidnapping. But this is also a revelatory profile of a complex man and what makes him tick: the drive to find closure for victims and their loved ones; the inability to walk away from a challenge - even at the expense of his own happiness. This is a story about the gritty truth of crime solving when there are no 'case closed' headlines. It is the story of a man and his commitment to his cases, and to the people who might have otherwise been forgotten.

June 2022

The Gatekeeper is by James Byrne. Dez’ Limerick is a “retired” British mercenary, checking out sunny Southern California when he finds himself in the wrong place at the right time, interrupting the kidnapping attempt of a military equipment corporation CEO’s daughter. Helping her to uncover a deadly plot buried within her own company, Dez exposes a sinister conspiracy that turns out to be bigger, more dangerous, and more personal at every explosive turn. 

The tide’s coming in. Every wave seems to lap a little higher. Erasing, bit by bit, the traces of what I did. Kenna arrives in Sydney to surprise her best friend. But Mikki and her fiancé Jack are about to head away on a trip, so Kenna finds herself tagging along for the ride. Sorrow Bay is beautiful, wild and dangerous. A remote surfing spot with waves to die for, cut off from the rest of the world. Here Kenna meets the people who will do anything to keep their paradise a secret. Sky, Ryan, Clemente and Victor have come to ride the waves and to disappear from life. But what did they leave behind? And how will they feel about Kenna turning up unannounced? As Kenna gets drawn into their world, she sees that everyone has their own fears to overcome and secrets to hide. What has her best friend got involved in and can she protect her? Because there’s one thing that each member of the tribe keeps telling her: nobody ever leaves. A word of warning. This place isn’t perfect, nor are the people here. There’s a darkness inside all of us and The Bay has a way of bringing it out. Everyone here has their secrets but we don’t go looking for them, because sometimes it’s better not to know. The Bay is by Allie Reynolds.

Pandora's Box by Erin Kinsley

 Imagine you’ve found the perfect gift for someone you love. 

As you wrap it in well-chosen paper, tie round a ribbon and write your message on the card, you’re full of anticipation of their pleasure when it’s opened. And as you hoped, they’re delighted with your choice, thanking you with warm smiles and a hug. 

Except that weeks later, your gift derails their whole life.

An unintended gift of a poisoned chalice is at the heart of my third emotional thriller, Missing, when a young woman on uneasy terms with her sister buys her a present potentially spring-loaded with more misfortunes than Pandora’s box. 

Like most crime writers, I’m intrigued by every kind of mystery, from the true identity of Jack the Ripper to the unsolved disappearance of Claudia Lawrence. And that love of mysteries makes me unapologetically a fan of Long Lost Family, a TV programme popular on both sides of the Atlantic, whose speciality is re-uniting mothers with children they were forced to give up for adoption decades ago, and siblings separated at birth. Participants often contact the programme after years of fruitless searching, and are frequently overwhelmed to find themselves in emotional meetings before the closing credits roll. 

But how does Long Lost Family so often succeed in tracking people down where its hugely invested and committed participants have previously failed? Simply because it solves these ‘cold cases’ using a very contemporary tool: a home-test DNA kit.

DNA testing has come a long way in the thirty years since it was first used in the UK to secure a conviction in a court of law. The case was the killing of Dawn Ashworth by Colin Pitchfork, a baker from Leicestershire. Ultimately, Pitchfork was convicted of two murders, described by the judge at his trial as ‘particularly sadistic’, and his release from prison this summer (2021) is the cause of some controversy. Sentenced today rather than under 1980s law, his crimes would have attracted a whole-life tariff.

From that point forward, DNA testing began to take a central role in crime detection, and also became more commonplace in the area of family law, to establish paternity. Before long, genealogy sites like Ancestry.com took the short step to packaging DIY kits aimed at the burgeoning numbers of people researching their personal history and family trees. 

Sounds like a cool and unique gift, wouldn’t you say? A simple test and an eight-week wait could save you years of trawling through census records online, or scouring the ledgers of ancient parish records in cold and draughty churches to trace your elusive ancestors. 

What could possibly go wrong?

Well, for some people – including the sisters in Missing – a DNA test reveals shocking information, opening cans of worms that can’t be resealed and undermining carefully curated family secrets. 

Of course, those digging for their roots have always run the risk of uncovering potentially uncomfortable truths - the date of a marriage only days before a birth (or no record of any marriage at all), a death from syphilis or addiction, maybe a dishonourable mention in a newspaper report of court proceedings – but whatever was hidden was usually far back in the past.

But an unexpected DNA test result impinges on people still very much alive, and for some they throw up deeply troubling insights, proving that at a molecular level, they’re not the person they thought they were. 

What happens when it turns out your uncle is your father, your mother isn’t your mother or your brother shares no blood with you at all? Those on the receiving end of unexpected results are bewildered and confused. Often, they want answers to new questions they may never get, especially if those with knowledge are already dead. Then, whether they like it or not, they’ve inherited the family secret, and must make the decision whether to share it, or keep it to themselves as it’s been kept from them. 

The knowledge those kits offer is intriguing and enticing, but just like Pandora’s box, it might be better not to lift the lid. 

There is such a thing as too much information, and sometimes, ignorance is bliss. 

Missing by Erin Kinsley (Headline) Out Now

A mother walks into the sea... and never comes back. Why? One perfect summer day, mother of two Alice walks into the sea . . . and never comes back. Her daughters - loyal but fragile Lily, and headstrong, long-absent Marietta - are forcibly reunited by her disappearance. Meanwhile, with retirement looming, DI Fox investigates cold cases long since forgotten. And there's one obsession he won't let go: a tragic death twenty years before. Can Lily and Marietta uncover what happened to their mother? Will Fox solve a mystery that has haunted him for decades? As their stories unexpectedly collide, long-buried secrets will change their lives in unimaginable ways.

Creating Characters by Karen Hamilton

The initial idea for my books starts with the hint of a character who gradually develops, both consciously and subconsciously. I try to create protagonists who are very morally complex. They make poor decisions and then continue to justify their questionable behaviour via their internal thoughts as they attempt to justify their actions. They all pass a point where it becomes easier for them to continue along a certain path rather than to back down and admit they may have made a mistake. I personally love writing in the first person. I like the immediacy of working through my characters’ warped thought processes; it’s worryingly good fun.

For every book, I go to ‘therapy’ in character. (A service called Characters on the Couch). I find the insight gained into the backgrounds I have created for each character an invaluable tool of reference whilst building their worlds and figuring out how they would authentically react in various scenarios. 

The character spark for my first novel, The Perfect Girlfriend, came about when I was working as cabin crew. I was changing out of uniform one day at Heathrow before travelling home on public transport. Whilst doing so, I experienced this strong sense of returning to anonymity as I changed into my jeans and t-shirt and it made me think about our work personas. With the protagonist, Juliette, I wanted to create someone who wasn’t merely hiding her true self at work, she was doing so in all areas of her life.

My second novel, The Last Wife, tells the story of Marie, a troubled and envious woman, prone to lying, who takes over the life of her dead best friend, Nina, only to discover that she didn’t know her friend quite as well as she thought. The character spark came about when I was setting up a book group in my local village. While researching the type of books commonly read at book clubs, I was very surprised to stumble across online stories of book groups which didn’t seem as friendly or inclusive. It got me thinking about Marie’s character, how she could try and shoehorn herself into Nina’s old life, by joining the village book group Nina had created and taking over the running of it. 

My third novel, The Ex-Husband, is about Charlotte, a former con artist who finds the roles are reversed when a former victim seeks revenge. The character spark was something quite different: towel art. My husband used to work away on ships and on one trip, one of the housekeeper’s was fantastic at creating unique towel art. My husband would send me photos and this made me think (not sure what this says about me or my mind) what if, instead of the towel art being a welcome sight on your bed each night, what if it was something sinister? Something which made a character fearful and if so, why such a thing would happen. In The Ex-Husband, whilst Charlotte is trapped onboard a superyacht in the middle of the Caribbean Sea, she finds towel art shaped into a skull with dark seashells for eyes and teeth on her cabin bed.

In my fourth, as yet untitled novel, the protagonist, Florence, is struggling with identity and her true place in the world. The spark for this idea loosely came about not long after someone close to me received a dementia diagnosis. It brought about a strong desire in me to look back on my own childhood and maybe consider the impact living in different countries had on my love of travel and writing. 

I’m sometimes asked if any of my characters are based on real people and although the answer is no, life experiences of my own naturally do creep in. Juliette in The Perfect Girlfriend is a flight attendant. The Last Wife is set in New Forest, an area I know well. I loved the idea of the vast, stunning forest as a setting. Marie is a photographer and I spent time with a local photographer, learning the basics. The Ex-Husband was written during lockdown, so I’m sure it was definitely wishful thinking to set the book in the Caribbean! The research I did into scams and con artists was another fascinating world to explore.

One theme I recently noticed is that all my female protagonists’ names end in ‘e.’ Juliette, Marie, Charlotte and Florence. It wasn’t done consciously but I quite like that this link occurred, despite the books all being stand-alones. 

The Ex-Husband by Karen Hamilton (Wildfire, £16.99) Out Now

Charlotte and Sam were partners. In life, and in crime. They never stole from anyone who couldn't afford it. Wealthy clients, luxury cruise ships. It was easy money, and harmless. At least, that's what Charlotte told herself, until the world caved in on her. But now, years after she tried to put that past life behind her, it comes rushing back when her estranged ex-husband Sam suddenly goes missing - and someone threatens to expose what they did. Desperate to escape whoever is tormenting her, Charlotte takes a job as events planner for an engagement party onboard a superyacht in the Caribbean. For a while, her plan seems to have worked, nothing but open ocean and clear skies ahead. Until it becomes clear that she's no longer a thousand miles away from harm. Because whoever is behind it all is onboard too. And now there's nowhere left to run.

More information about Karen Hamilton and her books can be found on her website.  You can also find her on Twitter @kJHAuthor

Books To Look Forward To From Headline Publishing

June 2021

Death on Stage is by Caroline Dunford. It is 1914 and war is underway. A group of French actors has become trapped in Britain and some of them are seeking political asylum, among these is a mathematician with whom Euphemia's friend, Mary, has been corresponding. He joined the troupe with the express intention of making it to Britain and to Mary before the war began. Euphemia's new commander sends her undercover to the theatre where the company is finishing its run, and he instructs Fitzroy to remain on medical leave. But Fitzroy has never been one to obey orders. Meanwhile, Euphemia's husband, Bertram, lies critically ill in hospital and Euphemia must employ all her strength to stay focussed on her mission. With actors and agents playing roles both on and off stage, the toughest challenge is knowing who to trust...

July 2021

Rogue Asset is by Andy McDermott. Alex Reeve was Operative 66. A former special ops soldier and one of the UK's deadliest weapons, he was a member of the secretive SC9 - an elite security service with a remit to neutralise the country's most dangerous enemies. Falsely accused of treason, Reeve was forced to hide in the shadows as the brutal assassins he once trained alongside sought to eliminate the 'rogue asset' at any cost. But tricked into revealing himself, Reeve is suddenly dragged into a lethal conspiracy involving the British state, shadowy Russian agents...and his own father. If there's one man who can survive...it is Operative 66.

Seven friends gather at a castle in the Scottish Borders. One last girls' weekend before Georgina's wedding. Near the castle, through a path in the woods, is a loch. After a few drinks, they head down to the water to take photos. The loch is wild, lonely, and stunningly beautiful. They set their camera to self-timer and take some group shots. Later, looking back at the pictures, they see something impossible.Behind them, eyes wide, a small, drenched boy emerges from the water. But none of them saw him, and nobody knows where he went. They're miles from the nearest town. How did he get there? Where did he go? As the weekend unravels and terrible secrets come to light, it soon becomes clear that their perfect weekend is turning into a perfect nightmare. They're desperate to leave - but someone won't let them. Down by the Water is by Elle Connel.

The Shetland Sea Murders is by Marsali Taylor. While onboard her last chartered sailing trip of the season, Cass Lynch is awoken in the middle of the night by a Mayday call to the Shetland coastguard. A fishing vessel has become trapped on the rocks off the coast of one of the islands. In the days that follow, there's both a shocking murder and a baffling death. On the surface there's no link, but when Cass becomes involved it is soon clear that her life is also in danger. Convinced that someone sinister is at work in these Shetland waters, Cass is determined to find and stop them. But uncovering the truth could prove to be deadly . .

I Know What You've Done is by Dorothy Koomson. What if all your neighbours' secrets landed in a diary on your doorstep? What if the woman who gave it to you was murdered by one of the people in the diary? What if the police asked if you knew anything? Would you hand over the book of secrets? Or ... would you try to find out what everyone had done?

Mother Midnight is by Paul Doherty. 1312. Sir Hugh Corbett, Keeper of the Secret Seal, has returned from the West Country to find Westminster in chaos. Edward II has fled in an attempt to protect his favourite from the wrath of his noblemen; and a royal clerk has been found dead, poisoned in a locked chamber. Drawn into a maze of murder both at Westminster and at the Convent of Saint Sulpice, where young novices have started to disappear, Corbett quickly establishes a connection between the two mysteries. As other killings follow, Corbett's investigation leads him to a high-class brothel and its sinister owner, Mother Midnight. Challenged to a duel and hunted by a guild of ruthless assassins, Corbett and his loyal henchmen, Ranulf and Chanson, face a sea of troubles. And Corbett must call upon his wit and ingenuity to halt the tide of disaster that threatens to engulf him.

A black father, a white father. Two murdered sons. A quest for vengeance. Ike Randolph left jail fifteen years ago, with not so much as a speeding ticket since. But a Black man with cops at the door knows to be afraid. Ike is devastated to learn his son Isiah has been murdered, along with Isiah's white husband, Derek. Though he never fully accepted his son, Ike is broken by his death. Derek's father Buddy Lee was as ashamed of Derek being gay as Derek was of his father's criminal past. But Buddy Lee - with seedy contacts deep in the underworld - needs to know who killed his only child. Desperate to do better by them in death than they did in life, two hardened ex-cons must confront their own prejudices about their sons - and each other - as they rain down vengeance upon those who hurt their boys. Razorblade Tears is by S A Cosby.

The Truth-Seekers Wife is by Anne Granger. It is Spring 1871 when Lizzie Ross accompanies her formidable Aunt Parry on a restorative trip to the south coast. Lizzie's husband, Ben, is kept busy at Scotland Yard and urges his wife to stay out of harm's way. But when Lizzie and her aunt are invited to dine with other guests at the home of wealthy landowner Sir Henry Meager, and he is found shot dead in his bed the next morning, no one feels safe. On Lizzie's last visit to the New Forest, another gruesome murder took place, and the superstitious locals now see her as a bad omen. But Lizzie suspects that Sir Henry had a number of bitter enemies, many of whom might have wanted him dead. And once Ben arrives to help with the investigation, he and Lizzie must work together to expose Sir Henry's darkest secrets and a ruthless killer intent on revenge...

The House of Death is by Peter Tremayne. Ireland. AD 672. The Feast of Beltaine is approaching and the seven senior princes of the kingdom of Muman are gathering at Cashel to discuss King Colgu's policies. Just days before the council meets, Brother Conchobhar, the keeper of the sacred sword, is found murdered. Sister Fidelma and her brother Colgu fear that the killer had been trying to steal the sword that symbolises the King's authority to rule. And as rumours begin to spread of an attempt to overthrow Colgu, news reaches Cashel that a plague ship has landed at a nearby port, bringing the deadly pestilence to its shores. Amid fear and panic, Fidelma, Eadulf and Enda must work together to catch a killer as the death toll starts to mount...

August 2021

Murder at the Seaview Hotel is by Glenda Young. In the charming Yorkshire seaside town of Scarborough, a murder is nothing to sing about... After the death of her husband Tom, Helen Dexter is contemplating her future as the now-sole proprietor of the Seaview Hotel. There's an offer from a hotel chain developer to consider, but also a booking from a group of twelve Elvis impersonators, a singing troupe called Twelvis. Tom loved Elvis and for Helen this is a sign that she should stay. But the series of mysterious events which follow, suggests that the developer is not going to give up easily. Then, shortly after Twelvis arrive, one of the group disappears. His body is found floating in a lake, with his blue suede shoes missing. Could the two be connected? With the reputation of the Seaview on the line, Helen isn't going to wait for the murderer to strike again. With her trusty greyhound Suki by her side, she decides to find out more about her guests and who wanted to make sure this Elvis never sang again.

I Shot the Devil is by Ruth McIver I used to think that I'd escaped Southport . . .Now I realised, Southport had been coming for me all this time. Erin Sloane was sixteen when high school senior Andre Villiers was murdered by his friends. They were her friends, too, led by the intense, charismatic Ricky Hell. Five people went into West Cypress Woods the night Andre was murdered. Only three came out. Ativan, alcohol and distance had dimmed Erin's memories of that time. But nearly twenty years later, an ageing father will bring her home. Now a journalist, she is asked to write a story about the Southport Three and the thrill-kill murder that electrified the country. Erin's investigation propels her closer and closer to a terrifying truth. And closer and closer to danger.

Death Comes to Bishops Well is by Anna Legat. When Sam Dee moves to the beautiful Wiltshire village of Bishops Well, he expects a quiet life of country walks and pub lunches. OK, so his new neighbour, Maggie Kaye, is a little peculiar, but she's very nice - and his old pal Richard Ruta lives just down the road. But when Richard throws one of his famous parties, things take a sinister turn. Sam, Maggie and the rest of the guests are dumbfounded when Richard falls down dead. A horrible tragedy - or a cunningly planned murder? With a village full of suspects - and plenty of dark secrets - just who exactly would want to bump off their host? Is there a connection to another mysterious death, nearly twenty years before? Armed with her local knowledge, Maggie - with Sam's reluctant but indispensable help - is soon on the case. But when the body count starts to rise, will sleepy Bishops Well ever be the same again?

A mother walks into the sea... and never comes back. Why? One perfect summer day, mother of two Alice walks into the sea . . . and never comes back. Her daughters - loyal but fragile Lily, and headstrong, long-absent Marietta - are forcibly reunited by her disappearance. Meanwhile, with retirement looming, DI Fox investigates cold cases long since forgotten. And there's one obsession he won't let go: the tragic death of an infant twenty years before. Can Lily and Marietta uncover what happened to their mother? Will Fox solve a mystery that has haunted him for decades? As their stories unexpectedly collide, long-buried secrets will change their lives in unimaginable ways. Mssing is by Erin Kinsley.

The Ex-Husband is by Karen Hamilton. Charlotte and Sam were partners. In life, and in crime. They never stole from anyone who couldn't afford it. Wealthy clients, luxury cruise ships. It was easy money, and harmless. At least, that's what Charlotte told herself, until the world caved in on her. But now, years after she tried to put that past life behind her, it comes rushing back when her estranged ex-husband Sam suddenly goes missing - and someone threatens to expose what they did. Desperate to escape whoever is tormenting her, Charlotte takes a job as events planner for an engagement party onboard a superyacht in the Caribbean. For a while, her plan seems to have worked, nothing but open ocean and clear skies ahead. Until it becomes clear that she's no longer a thousand miles away from harm. Because whoever is behind it all is onboard too. And now there's nowhere left to run.

The closer you get to the truth, the more dangerous it gets. FBI Agent Tom Hunter has been chasing down leads to find the brutal cult that damaged some of his closest friends. They managed to escape to tell their stories, but Eden's location has always remained a mystery.Liza Barkley is struggling with her feelings for Tom and wonders if their friendship can survive the secrets they've kept from one another. But they may be forced to confront the truth when a chance to help the investigation puts Liza directly in the line of fire. When the perpetrator of an attempted sniper attack on Liza and her friends is discovered to be one of the cult's leaders, DJ Belmont, it becomes clear that he is out to get revenge on the victims who escaped Eden's clutches.But there is one person who has always had control over DJ, and who no one outside of Eden has ever glimpsed: cult leader Pastor. When a serious injury forces Pastor to seek help outside the confines of the Eden, Tom and his team finally have a chance to bring the cult down. But DJ Belmont has his own plan, and is not going to stop until he gets what he wants... Say Goodbye is by Karen Rose.

The Night Singer is by Johanna Mo. You've no idea what you're dredging up. You're going to ruin everything. Hanna Duncker has returned to the remote island she spent her childhood on and to the past that saw her father convicted for murder. In a cruel twist of fate her new boss is the policeman who put him behind bars. On her first day on the job as the new detective, Hanna is called to a crime scene. The fifteen-year-old son of her former best friend has been found dead and Hanna is thrown into a complex investigation set to stir up old ghosts. Not everyone is happy to have the daughter of Lars Duncker back in town. Hanna soon realises that she will have to watch her back as she turns over every stone to find the person responsible...

Also published in August The Great Shroud by Vera Morris and Murder After Midnight by Lesley Cookman.

September 2021

The Last Train to Gipsy Hill is by Alan Johnson. Gary Nelson has a routine for the commute to his rather dull job in the city. Each day, he watches transfixed as a beautiful woman on the train applies her make up in a ritual he now knows by heart. He's never dared to strike up a conversation . . . but maybe one day.Then one evening, on the late train to Gipsy Hill, the woman who has beguiled him for so long, invites him to take the empty seat beside her. Fiddling with her mascara, she holds up her mirror and Gary reads the words 'HELP ME' scrawled in sticky black letters on the glass. From that moment, Gary's life is turned on its head. He finds himself on the run from the Russian mafia, the FSB and even the Metropolitan Police - all because of what because this mysterious young woman may have witnessed. In the race to find out the truth, Gary discovers that there is a lot more to her than meets the eye...

Daniel Pitt is defending an old college professor from Cambridge, who has been accused of plagiarism, when a series of brutal murders occurs on the streets of London. The rainy-day slasher, as the crazed killer becomes known, violently attacks his victims in the pouring rain and then removes one of their fingers before leaving the bodies. Daniel's dear friend Miriam fford Croft, newly qualified as a pathologist, is tasked with examining the bodies for clues and when Special Branch warn the police to stop investigating one of the victims, Daniel finds himself reluctantly drawn into this haunting mystery... Three Debts Paid is by Anne Perry.

Last Seen Alone is by Laura Griffin. When they face the most baffling missing person's case of their careers, a fiercely ambitious lawyer and a homicide detective have no one to turn to for help except each other.Up-and-coming attorney Leigh Larson fights for victims of sexual extortion, harassment, and online abuse. She is not afraid to go after the sleaziest targets to get payback for her clients. Leigh is laser-focused on her career - to the exclusion of everything else - until a seemingly routine case and a determined cop turn her world upside down. Austin homicide detective Brandon Reynolds is no stranger to midnight callouts. But when he gets summoned to an abandoned car on a desolate road, he quickly realizes he's dealing with an unusual crime scene. A pool of blood in the nearby woods suggests a brutal homicide. But where is the victim? The vehicle is registered to twenty-six-year-old Vanessa Adams. Searching the car, all Brandon finds is a smear of blood and a business card for Leigh Larson, attorney-at-law. Vanessa had hired Leigh just before her disappearance, but Leigh has no leads on who could have wanted her dead. Faced with bewildering evidence and shocking twists, Leigh and Brandon must work against the clock to chase down a ruthless criminal who is out for vengeance.

Ghosts of the West is by Alec Marsh. When daring journalist Sir Percival Harris gets wind of a curious crime in a sleepy English town, he ropes in his old friend Professor Ernest Drabble to help him investigate. The crime is a grave robbery, and as Drabble and Harris pry deeper, events take a mysterious turn when a theft at the British Museum is soon followed by a murder. The friends are soon involved in a tumultuous quest that takes them from the genteel streets of London to the wide plains of the United States. What exactly is at stake is not altogether clear - but if they don't act soon, the outcome could be a bloody conflict, one that will cross borders, continents and oceans...Meanwhile, can Drabble and Harris's friendship - which has endured near-death experiences on several continents, not to mention a boarding school duel - survive a crisis in the shape of the beautiful and enigmatic Dr Charlotte Moore?

Prisoner is by S R White. 24 Hours after leaving his cell he was dead. Can she find out why? When a man is found savagely 'crucified' amidst a murky swamp in northern Australia, detective Dana Russo and her team are called to a shocking scene. The victim is a convicted rapist, just released from prison, who years earlier committed an atrocious crime yards from where he was killed. Who murdered him - and why? With several potential leads, the investigation quickly becomes more complex, and sinister, than anyone imagined. And Dana realises she'll have to confront her own troubled past to understand the true motives of the killer...

October 2021

A Christmas Legacy is by Anne Perry. Gracie Tellman is preparing for Christmas with her husband and three young children when Millie Foster calls upon her. As a maid at Harcourt House, Millie is terrified that sinister goings-on, including the disappearance of food from the kitchens, will lead to her unfair dismissal, and she begs Gracie to investigate the situation. With the promise that she will be back in time for Christmas, Gracie takes Millie's place in the Harcourt household, never imagining the discovery she then makes. For the servants have been keeping a secret and their efforts are about to be rewarded in the most extraordinary way...

November 2021

Vine Street is by Domnic Nolan. SOHO, 1935. Sergeant Leon Geats's patch.A snarling, skull-cracking misanthrope, Geats marshals the grimy rabble according to his own elastic moral code. The narrow alleys are brimming with jazz bars, bookies, blackshirts, ponces and tarts so when a body is found above the Windmill Club, detectives are content to dismiss the case as just another young woman who topped herself early. But Geats - a good man prepared to be a bad one if it keeps the worst of them at bay - knows the dark seams of the city. Working with his former partner, mercenary Flying Squad sergeant Mark Cassar, Geats obsessively dedicates himself to finding a warped killer - a decision that will reverberate for a lifetime and transform both men in ways they could never expect.

Also published in November Good Cop, Bad Cop by Simon Kernick and Deadline by Quintin Jardine.

 

‘Writing up a Storm’ by KJ Maitland

 

The train stranded in the snow, the hotel on an island in a thunderstorm, or the remote village cut off by a landslide – they are classic set ups employed by generations of novelists and screenwriters. You assemble a cast of disparate characters, lure them to an isolated place and ensure freak weather or some other natural disaster prevents them from escaping or summoning help. These plots work so well, because they put the characters under stress, create danger and, just like disasters in real life, bring out the best and the worst in people.

In most of these scenarios, the weather or natural disaster is there to create a crucible in which to trap the characters and watch them fight it out like rats in a cage. But often there is only limited interaction between the characters and the weather or disaster. The focus is on the interplay between the characters inside the crucible. One brave soul will probably go for help, and we will see them stagger back inside defeated, covered in snow. The tension will be ratcheted up when the storm cuts the lights and phone – never an excuse a medieval crime writer has to invent. But the weather or disaster is really the scenery, the cage, and the ‘sympathetic background’ that we all remember from school essays. But for me, weather extremes and disasters can become the warp thread through which the plot is woven, rather than simply the background to it. I like to think of these disasters as living characters within the plot, with their own moods and personalities. 

Real disasters or extreme weather has been the starting point and core inspiration for the most of my historical thrillers. ‘Company of Liars’ was set in 1348, the year of the first outbreak of the Black Death in England. The plague, though it is not their principal enemy, is viewed by the characters as a beast, a creature following their scent, which they try to outrun as it pursues them across England. Creating the sense that the disease is an animal who is hunting them, even as they try to escape a human killer, helps to heighten the atmosphere of fear and threat felt by the characters. 

But the weather is equally important in this novel. In 1348, it rained every day from Midsummer’s Day until Christmas. That’s what drove people to congregate indoors and spread the pneumonic version of the plague which devasted England. But I wanted the readers to feel that the rain is a sullen and moody companion trudging along beside the characters. At times, they try to ignore the miserable grouch, yet he is always there, annoying them. I hoped the readers would get a sense of how sapping the constant rain must have been both to body and spirit. Of course, if in a novel the rain comes at the end of a prolonged drought then it would be an entirely different character and personality.

In contrast, ‘The Plague Charmer’ is set 1361, during the 2nd wave of the Black Death which, unlike the first, targeted the young and fit. The characters in this novel were not travellers on the road, but trapped in a village, and each viewed the plague in different ways, just as in life every person relates differently to the same individual. Some perceived the plague as a malevolent cloud that could sense your fear and would be drawn to you. Others regarded it as a vengeful angel leading them triumphantly into battle and cutting down their enemies. The former jester in the novel tells the readers – ‘The owls knew it was coming. The villagers knew it was coming. Even I knew it was coming.’ Whatever form it takes, for all of the characters in the novel, this plague is not simply a sickness but a sentient presence, which makes it more unnerving and adds another layer of menace to the deadly pandemic.

My new Jacobean thriller, ‘The Drowned City,’ opens with a real historical event, the Bristol tsunami which, in January 1606, devastated the south west coast of England and Wales. I could have used the flood as a classic crucible setting, a group of villagers marooned by water, struggling to survive. But this was a disaster that sent shock waves through the whole country, even in places untouched by the giant wave, and with it came the fear that the massive destruction of ports and shipping would leave England open to invasion. 

Those characters who live by the coast view the sea storming onto the land as a jealous mistress who feels neglected and must be placated. Others regard the giant wave as a monster or golem summoned by the Devil. Some see it as a savage guard dog that God has been holding back but has now unleashed to drive out the wicked. How each character personifies the flood in turn influences how they perceive the flood victims – the dead must have been sinners; the dead were innocents murdered by those who summoned the monster; the dead were simply unlucky. 

While both flood and fire destroy, a flood also reveals the buried corpses, ‘like a fanatical preacher determined to cleanse the world and expose all that was hidden. A man’s chamber pot hung upon a church cross; a bloodstained shift fluttered from a treetop; a forbidden holy relic was dumped on a drowned pig.’ And so, in the novel, the flood also becomes a character bent on exposing the secretive underworld of Jacobean treachery and spies.

An author doesn’t need to spell out to readers the character and personality of the weather or disaster as they imagine it. In ‘Company of Liars’, I don’t explicitly use the image of a crotchety curmudgeon when describing the rain. But if the novelist can imagine it as a living entity, and ask themselves what guise it would present to each of the human characters, then weather and disasters can become much more than a device to explain why the lights have gone out.

KJ Maitland’s new Jacobean crime-thriller series, set in world of spies and fugitive priests, begins with The Drowned City, published by Headline, 1^st April 2021.

KJ Maitland has previously written eight medieval thrillers under the name of Karen Maitland, and also writes as one of the Medieval Murderers.

The Drowned City by K J Maitland (Out Now)

1606. A year to the day that men were executed for conspiring to blow up Parliament, a towering wave devastates the Bristol Channel. Some proclaim God's vengeance. Others seek to take advantage. In London, Daniel Pursglove lies in prison waiting to die. But Charles FitzAlan, close adviser to King James I, has a job in mind that will free a man of Daniel's skill from the horrors of Newgate. If he succeeds. For Bristol is a hotbed of Catholic spies, and where better for the lone conspirator who evaded arrest, one Spero Pettingar, to gather allies than in the chaos of a drowned city? Daniel journeys there to investigate FitzAlan's lead, but soon finds himself at the heart of a dark Jesuit conspiracy - and in pursuit of a killer.

Martina Cole Receives 2021 CWA Diamond Dagger

 

Martina Cole is the recipient of the highest honour in British crime writing, the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Diamond Dagger.

The long-reigning Queen of Crime Drama is a publishing powerhouse. Martina has written 25 novels, all published by Headline, seventeen of which reached No.1 and her books have collectively spent over 4 years in the bestseller charts. Total sales stand at over 17 million copies, making her Britain’s bestselling female crime writer and with The Faithless she became the first British female adult audience novelist to break the £50 million sales mark since Nielsen Bookscan records began. Her books have been translated into 31 languages and adapted for multiple stage plays and television series.

Martina’s own story is as remarkable as any bestseller plot. Martina grew up on an Essex council estate and Ronnie and Reggie Kray once visited her family’s home when she was a child.

The youngest of five children in a large, poor, Irish Catholic family, she attended a convent school, where her struggle against authority started; this culminated in two expulsions. She finished school at 15 with no qualifications; was married at 16, divorced at 17 and pregnant at 18. A single mum, she struggled to bring up her son, Chris, taking on waitressing jobs.

Aged 21, she lost both her parents and started to write her iconic debut novel, Dangerous Lady, but it wasn’t until she was 30 that she gave up her job and decided to devote herself seriously to writing and finished the manuscript. Dangerous Lady caused a sensation when it was published in 1992 – and the rest is history.

Martina is a passionate advocate for prisoner rehabilitation and visits prisons to give writing classes. She often quips to her classes: ‘there’s one thing you’ve got that all writers want – time’. It’s therefore no surprise her books are the most requested in Her Majesty’s prison libraries, and the most stolen from bookshops.

The Diamond Dagger award recognises authors whose crime-writing careers have been marked by sustained excellence, and who have made a significant contribution to crime fiction writing.

The CWA Diamond Dagger is selected from nominations provided by CWA members. Martina Cole joins icons of the genre who have been recognised with the accolade, including Ruth Rendell, Lee Child, Ann Cleeves, Ian Rankin, PD James, Colin Dexter, Reginald Hill, Lindsey Davies, Peter Lovesey, and John Le Carré.

Martina said: “It means so much to me to be receiving this prestigious award from my peers at the CWA. I can’t believe it’s nearly thirty years since Dangerous Lady was published - some people dismissed me as an Essex girl and a one-book wonder – but as one of my favourite songs goes: ‘I’m still here’!”

Linda Stratmann, Chair of the CWA, said: “We are delighted to award the Diamond Dagger to a crime-writing legend.”

Maxim Jakubowski, Hon CWA Vice Chair, said: “A much-overdue reward for a major crime author who has often been badly overlooked by the critical establishment. Martina has single-handedly created a new crime genre and brought so many new readers on board, and has always been a vocal supporter of her fellow writers in word and deed.”

Cherie Jones on writing How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House

I came to write ‘How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House’ at the urging of a voice on the bus. At the time, I was on the 472 bus to Thamesmead, on the last leg of the long commute back home from Brixton in London, where I (then) worked for a refugee charity.

I was exhausted that night on the bus, and didn't particularly feel like listening to anyone, but Lala sat inside my head and started to talk to me, anyway.

As I learnt during the course of the remaining 45 minutes of that bus-ride, Lala, like me, was from Barbados, like me she was a mother, like me she was the ‘one’ of the estimated one in three women worldwide who experience domestic violence at the hands of an intimate partner and endure a cycle of running and return as a result. These facts, in themselves, did not make her remarkable, what made her remarkable was her resilience, her calm quiet, the halting, almost apologetic way in which she spoke, as if she knew I was tired but could not leave me alone unless she was sure that I’d heard her, that I understood and accepted what she was asking me to do.

What she was asking me to do was write her story. 

Domestic violence, and especially violence against women, is a continuing social problem in the Caribbean. The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, in a statement at the end of her visit to Barbados in April, 2012 ¹ said

“Domestic violence against women and children, and sexual harassment, occur all over the world. However, reports suggest that they are particularly serious problems here in Barbados and in other Caribbean countries, and rape is shockingly commonplace…” 

Ingrained social attitudes to gender and power contribute to a culture of silence about domestic violence in the Caribbean. The physical abuse of women was traditionally (and to an extent remains) an accepted part of local culture – widely practiced but rarely talked about. I had always been aware of women within my family who were being abused – the wife of a beloved uncle, for example, who was reportedly regularly beaten with the butt of a gun. In whispered conversations I wasn’t supposed to overhear, female relatives chastised her for her sullen demeanour and her feisty retorts to a husband whose demanding work hours made his meanness understandable, her inability to submit less so. 

At the same time, the Caribbean is the exotic paradise of postcards, a place of pink powdery beaches and clear blue water. It occurred to me that the paradise of the affluent tourist was simply a backdrop for the horror suffered by some of the women who served them daily. A paradisical beach became the setting for Lala’s story to be told.

When I got off the bus, and home, I wrote as I always do, longhand, from the first line of the last page of a ring bound red Royal Mail notebook, writing towards the front. This became a ritual I repeated for several nights, through several drafts, droughts of inspiration, crises of conscience and the glitter of other, less wrenching writing projects. Through it all, Lala would talk to me. Until one day, somewhere around the end of the the third draft, she fell silent.

Much as I’ve listened for her I’ve never heard from Lala again. I do not know whether she is dead or alive now, whether she is still haunted by a gruesome murder on a beach in Paradise. I am not aware of whether she still bears the scars she has told me about or whether a rusty-haired rasta called Tone has managed to meet her again, whether his love has made her forget how she got those scars.

I wish the best for Lala, but I understand that her silence does not matter now. Only the story needs to speak.

There was just one thing Lala asked me on that bus, and that was if I could write the part of her story she had told me about- that one summer in 1984 when her life changed forever.

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House is my first novel. It is a work of fiction – and it is also my way in which I answered 'yes'.

How the One-Armed Sister Sweeps Her House by Cherie Jones (Published Headline Publishing) Out Now 

In Baxter's Beach, Barbados, Lala's grandmother Wilma tells the story of the one-armed sister, a cautionary tale about what happens to girls who disobey their mothers. For Wilma, it's the story of a wilful adventurer, who ignores the warnings of those around her, and suffers as a result. When Lala grows up, she sees it offers hope - of life after losing a baby in the most terrible of circumstances and marrying the wrong man. And Mira Whalen? It's about keeping alive, trying to make sense of the fact that her husband has been murdered, and she didn't get the chance to tell him that she loved him after all.

More information about the author can be found here and you can follow her on Twitter at @csajthewriter.

1^ UN News Centre at http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=41723 (accessed on 10 March, 2015)

M J Arlidge on evolving your protagonist

In the dim and distant past, when we were still allowed to travel, I attended a book event in Thessaloniki. It was a quiet Tuesday night in the provincial Greek city and I must confess to being a little nervous about the attendance level - the fear of an empty store never quite leaves an author. As it turned out, I needn’t have worried, the good folk of Thessaloniki turned out in force and a boisterous event ensued.

It was at the end of the evening that things became particularly spirited. As I added my signature to her purchase, a middle-aged lady engaged me in conversation, expressing her strongly-held opinions about D.I. Helen Grace, my series protagonist. Gripping my arm, she declared: “Helen Grace must get married. And she must have babies. She must be happy…” I was slightly taken aback, but happy to chat, and five minutes later, I got my arm back. Turning to the next customer, I was surprised to see that this lady had a perplexed and unhappy expression. Leaning in close, she whispered: “Helen Grace must never get married. It would be a betrayal of her character….”

I left the event with a slightly bruised arm and plenty to chew on. For these two readers had inadvertently hit upon the key challenge faced by any series writer - how to develop and evolve your protagonist, whilst somehow keeping him or her exactly the same? How do you move their story, their life, their character on, whilst simultaneously keeping hold of the characteristics, flaws and personality that drew readers to your creation in the first place?

It’s an issue that’s been at the forefront of my mind of late, as I pondered where to take Helen Grace next. As I sat down to write the ninth instalment of the series, All Fall Down (out June 11th), I found myself facing a difficult dilemma. At the end of the previous book, Helen had found herself in a fledgling relationship, with fellow officer DS Joseph Hudson. As loyal readers will know, this is an unusual situation for Helen. Because of her difficult family background, her disastrous history with men and her innate desire for privacy, romantic liaisons have been few and far between. So how should I play this one out? Would this end up being yet another near miss for Helen? Or could it be the start of a new chapter for Helen? A new life involving love, commitment or even – whisper it – marriage and kids? A few books ago this would have seemed impossible, but now…?

Such new vistas are exciting for a writer. What would Helen be like in a monogamous, fulfilling relationship? What would she be like if she fell pregnant? Being a parent fundamentally alters your outlook on life, so wouldn’t it be fun to explore this  change through my series protagonist? It would no doubt be a challenging, illuminating journey…yet what if it somehow “neutered” her? What would Helen be like if she suddenly had to worry about childcare, or a husband waiting at home, or kids’ birthday parties and the school nativity? Would this be a step too far for a woman who spends her life chasing down vicious serial killers? Would I have lost something by taking her down this path?

Many august crime writers have wrestled with this dilemma, coming to very different conclusions as to the best route forward. Lee Child took the bold and brilliant decision not to age his protagonist Jack Reacher, making him an ageless, mythic hero, dispensing justice wherever he goes. Sadly, I’ve missed that boat with Helen, who’s proved unable to cheat the ageing process, so perhaps I should follow the lead of Ian Rankin and Michael Connolly. Their brilliant creations, John Rebus and Harry Bosch, have aged more or less in real time, so their physicality, attitude, abilities have changed over the years. Their drive and desire for justice has remained undimmed, of course, but both have had to adapt to changing conditions (as they stepped away from being a police officer) and growing personal limitations, leading to an interesting deepening of their characters. Or perhaps I should take a lead from long form TV drama (my day job) – where the golden rule for any series protagonist is that you take them on a long, difficult journey over the arc of the story…only to land them right back where they started come the end.

There is no correct answer, of course, no right path for Helen. But one thing is certain - whichever route I choose in All Fall Down, one Greek lady will be left disappointed.

All Fall Down by M J Arlidge (Headline)

"You have one hour to live."  Those are the only words on the phone call. Then they hang up. Surely, a prank? A mistake? A wrong number? Anything but the chilling truth... That someone is watching, waiting, working to take your life in one hour.  But why?  The job of finding out falls to DI Helen Grace: a woman with a track record in hunting killers. However, this is A case where the killer seems to always be one step ahead of the police and the victims.  With no motive, no leads, no clues - nothing but pure fear - an hour can last a lifetime...

All Fall Down  by M.J Arlidge is published in hardback by Orion Books on 11th June