Look out for these - Hot picks for March 2013

Here’s my March post, highlighting some of the books I’ve got on my reading list.  This month’s choices mix a very well established author, a new author and a curiously captivating whodunit set in 1930’s Moscow.  I’m so taken by these three books, that I’ll be posting full reviews of each one in the coming months.

Romancrimeblogger

Just out - 14 March 2013 – Bleed Like Me by Cath Staincliffe

I posted a positive review of Cath Staincliffe’s Scott and Bailey prequel last year and was delighted to see a second book in the series.  The plot in this second novel revolves around trying to find a missing father and his two sons, as the father is linked with three murder victims found stabbed in their beds.  The case is made more complex by the personal lives of the investigating trio of Scott, Bailey and their DCI Gill Murray, all of whom are struggling to deal with personal crises whilst trying to find out where the missing family has got to.  I’m not sure yet how this book relates to the TV programmes, as I didn’t watch series 2, but I’ll make sure I cover this off in the full book review.

I’ll also be posting an interview with Cath Staincliffe in April, so please do watch out for that too.

If you don’t want to shell out for the hardback or use Kindle, the paperback is out on 23 May.

April 2013 – Dark Dawn by Matt McGuire

Originally published a year ago, Constable & Robinson are reissuing this book, which is an excellent first novel, following acting Detective Sergeant John O'Neill.  O’Neill investigates the death of a teenager who has been kneecapped before being murdered.  In 2005, nobody wants to admit this is a paramilitary killing, so O’Neill is on his own, trying to identify the dead boy and track down his killers.  The book is an extremely perceptive take on the new Northern Ireland and the criminality that remains hidden there.  If you like your books dark and gritty, this is definitely one for you.

May 2013 – The Twelfth Department by William Ryan

This is the third of William Ryan’s books following Captain Korolev, set in 1930’s Moscow.  Korolev is a police investigator, looking forward to a week’s leave and a visit from his young son, who he’s not seen for years.  Korolev is suddenly recalled when a prominent scientist is shot dead in his apartment, but within hours finds himself pushed aside as the secret police take over the investigation.  Korolev is recalled again when another scientist is brutally murdered, but finds his investigation caught between two warring Colonels in the secret police, with one finding a very personal way of “influencing” Korolev. 

I’ll be back in April with more hot picks to look forward to, meantime, happy reading and please do leave any comments you have about these books on the blog.

Romancrimeblogger