The Crime Warp

Shattered Souls by Delilah Devlin Shattered souls is an urban fantasy crime novel - the first I've read, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I found this easy to read with likeable characters and I thoroughly enjoyed my introduction to criminals in the form of Wraiths and Demons. Caitlyn O'Connell is a psychic ex cop who tries to douse her 'gift' with alcohol.  Then her ex- husband cop Sam Pierce forces her to assist in the investigation into their old mentor Harry's murder.  The reason he wants Cait   to help is that despite Harry's room being a bloodbath and locked from inside there is no body.  Cait soon finds Harry encapsulated in a mirror by a 'Wraith'.  Wraith Cait and Sam combine their efforts which leads them to investigate the disappearance of three young girls. I really enjoyed the way the paranormal investigation and the police investigation were co dependant.  The plot was intriguing and Devlin...

Blogger's Blag: Ms-Cosy-Crime meets.... As a kindle virgin, I decided to follow fellow blogger Roman's advice on how to maximize my kindle.   So, in preparation for a long coach trip I downloaded a few of my favourite authors then trolled through the under £2.99 section and selected a few cheapo's with Roman's 'for 99p you can't go wrong' running through my head. Armed with my kindle I settled down in my seat next to a delightful elderly lady who was heavily into cosy crime.   After a few minutes chat she got out her Werther's originals and her knitting and I got out my Kindle. Feeling quite proud of my gadget I spent some time enlarging the text and selecting from my 99p selection (suitably stored in a collection named 'cheapies') I opened Shattered Souls by Delilah Devlin. As I read I was conscious of Ms - Cosy - Crime reading over my shoulder (the clicking of needles never halted, nor did the sooking of Werther's). ...

This is the second of Claire McGowan’s books, but the first featuring forensic psychologist Paula Maguire.   The book’s been endorsed positively by writers including Peter James, Lee Child and even Ken Bruen, who I regard as one of the kings of Emerald Noir, so, let’s find out more! Paula is a successful forensic psychologist, specialising in tracking down missing people, but as expected somewhat of a maverick.   She returns to her home town of Ballyterrin, close to Northern Ireland’s border with the Republic, working as a specialist advisor to a new missing person’s team.   Maguire is soon deeply involved in two cases – the daughter of a local councillor and a traveller girl that have both gone missing.   There are also clues leading to a new evangelical mission in town and the recent suicide of another teenage girl in the locality.   As the investigation progresses, we start to find out more about Maguire’s past, particularly her missing mother a...

Interview with Lee Weeks Lee Weeks and her book cover    Lee Weeks is the creator of the Johnny Mann series of crime books which are set mainly in Hong Kong.  She has written the first in a new series of crime fiction set in Britain; Dead of Winter,   (check my review of this book). Lee's Books first two books  ;  The Trophy Taker  and The Trafficked are about human trafficking and Lee unflinchingly  portrays the  shocking atrocities of the trafficking trade in a realistic way.  I am honoured to be interviewing Lee who is herself a survivor of this reprehensible practice. Liz:   Hi Lee,  I've  been so excited about meeting you.   Although I’m a very recent convert to your books -  I've  only so far managed to read Trafficked and Kiss and Die, both of which had my emotions soaring from anger to sadness to helplessness. I now have you on my Priority Reading list    Trafficked was...

Dead Of Winter by Lee Weeks               Dead Of Winter is the first in a new series of books by Lee Weeks (author of the Johnny Mann series) and is set in London. 13 years ago police officer (and ex- army man) Callum Carmichael’s wife and child are brutally murdered along with his wife’s friend in a secluded holiday home.   The crime is never solved and, inconsolable with grief Carmichael retires to a farm in Yorkshire., Now a mother and child’s skeletons are discovered buried in another secluded holiday home and DNA evidence links the crime to the 13 year old murders. DC Ebony Willis informs Carmichael that the investigation into his wife and daughters death is reopened and Carmichael seething with vengeance sets off to mete out his own revenge on the culprits.   Meanwhile Willis and her DS Dan Carter pursue the villains with occasional assistance from Carmichael. Dead of Winter takes us from sc...

Here’s my April post, highlighting four books on my reading list.  This month’s choices feature three big name authors as well as a newbie writing partnership, which I believe has a lot of promise. Romancrimeblogger Nearly out – 25 April 2013 – Nightshade by Stephen Leather   I’ve read a number of Leather’s books and find that his writing has a way of quickly drawing you in and wanting to carry on turning the pages.  This is no exception, cleverly mixing the occult and reality.  The story begins with a man who shoots dead eight children and then commits suicide.  The police see it as an open and shut case, but more clues emerge, especially after a young girl rescued from her abductors says she can speak to “those beyond the grave”  However, things don’t bode well for the people in contact with this exceptional child. May 2013 – The Dying Hours by Mark Billingham   Yes, Thorne is back.  He’s been demoted to a uniform post...

This month sees the return of government ass asin Will Robie in David Baldacci's latest action book "The H it".  After another successful hit, Robie recieves a new mission , which will be his biggest challenge yet - kill Jessica Reel, a fe llow assasin, who has left a trail of death, including her handler .  Robie's mission is to set a trap - a killer to deal with a killer, but Robie soon wonders who he can actually tr u st in this murky undercover world. " The Hit " is set to be another bestseller for David Baldacci and f or one lucky Crime Warp reader, there's an opportunity to win a signed copy of this fantastic new book . J ust send an e-mail with " Baldacci Giveaway " in the title before midnight on Friday 3 May to: romancrimeblogger@gmail.com Names will b e drawn at rando m over the bank holiday weekend and I'll send the book out to a lucky Crime Warp reader the following week.  I'll also reply to everyone's email...

R: The Crime Warp’s latest interview is with Cath Staincliffe, writer of crime novels, TV scripts and even radio plays.   Hi Cath, welcome to the Crime Warp.   You’ll be glad to know I’ve not included any of the most commonly asked interview questions that you’ve already answered in your entry on the Murder Squad website! CS: Hello – and thanks for that! R: You were always strongly inclined towards arts and entertainment, especially with your work in Drama and as a community artist in Manchester.   What part did writing play in your professional life and did you always believe you would be a professional writer? CS: No, I never imagined I would be – though it was a dream of mine.   In my community arts work I did quite a bit of scriptwriting for community theatre pieces or I’d write linking material for cabarets or youth club shows and so on.   I’d always been drawn to writing – one of the options I took at university where I studied Dra...