Look out for these! Hot picks for July and August 2013 – featuring Nele Neuhaus, the Audi of German crime writing, an espionage thriller and Peter Robinson’s new book

I spent last weekend at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing festival in Harrogate, together with my fellow Crime Warp bloggers,which is why this posting is a little late.  As I’m going to be away for part of August too, I’ve decided to do one post for July and August with five books that each offer something quite unique to readers.  Four of these books are available now, so there’s no excuse for not diving in and trying some of them straight away!

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Snow White Must Die by Nele Neuhaus  Nele Neuhaus is one of Germany’s top crime authors and if you read this book you’ll immediately see why. Tobias Sartorius returns home after completing his sentence for the murder of two local girls, one his girlfriend, known as Snow White.  Tobias and his father are ostracised and attacked by members of the local community, so detectives Kirkhoff and Bodenstein are assigned to monitor what’s happening in the community.  Then another girl goes missing and it’s obvious who is to blame.  Or is it?  Good characterisation, excellent plotting and a brisk pace make this a great read and you can immediately see why Neuhaus has sold so many books.   If this car were a book, it would undoubtedly be an Audi, except for one thing – at current prices it’s well within everyone’s price range at £5.37 on Kindle and in paperback at £7.99 in August

I Am Pilgrim by Terry Hayes  I picked up a sampler for this book at Harrogate and decided to try it – the only book I actually bought at Harrogate this year.  At a weighty 700 pages I settled in for a long read but it only took me three nights!  It’s a fast paced novel following former secret agent codenamed Pilgrim as he tries to track down Saracen, a fanatic, hell bent on destroying America, Israel and the House of Saud, in revenge for the unjust execution of his father.  The reader sees a mosaic of Pilgrim’s past and present as well Saracen’s trail to set in train his plan to bring human devastation to America.  And you guessed it, the only man that can find him is Pilgrim.  You follow Pilgrim’s progress seeing page by page his doggedness, determination and genuine intuition to find clues on the trail.  As he travels across the world and the clues are revealed, Pilgrim gets closer and closer to America’s nemesis Saracen, in a fantastic a race against time thriller. 

Her Last Breath by Linda Castillo  This book is centred on the American town of Painters Mill with its a sizeable Amish Community.  Sheriff, Kate Burkholder, a former Amish, has to deal with what seems like a routine but tragic accident – a speeding car hitting an Amish buggy, killing a deacon and his children.  The investigation reveals that this isn’t a drunken hit and run and to make things even more complicated, a hidden episode from Burkholder’s past comes to light, threatening the life she has built for herself since leaving the Amish many years ago.  I felt there was so much that was genuinely appealing about this novel; the small community setting, the Amish angle and that the motive for the crime turns out to be the one of the oldest ones of all.

A Killing Of Angels by Kate Rhodes  This is the second of Kate Rhodes’ books following behavioural psychologist Dr Alice Quentin.  During a stifling summer in London, a number of bankers have been murdered, all working for the successful Angel Bank.  Each body is left with the image of an angel and white feathers in the pocket.  After her previous experience, Quentin is determined to have no involvement with police work again   But detective Don Burns comes begging for help – he believes Quentin owes him a favour, so how can she refuse?  This is worth a go, but hopefully not just because you think that bankers being slaughtered is a case of just desserts!

Children of the Revolution by Peter Robinson (published 15 August)  I was somewhat luke warm about Robinson’s last book and when I got a preview copy of this book, I was quite uncertain about how good it would be.  My uncertainly is all gone and I was very pleased with this novel.  Banks takes on a case of a seedy, down at heel former college lecturer found dead with £5,000 in his pocket.  Did he fall or was he pushed?  As Banks investigates, he finds connections to the local aristocracy, the wealthy and powerful, who Banks is certain are not telling him the truth.  Banks is forcefully warned off by his superiors, who even suggest that perhaps he should think about retirement!  However, Banks and his team continue their investigation and uncover clues that connect the case back to the revolutionary movements of students and workers of the 1970s.  They bring to light a jigsaw of old lies, deceit and guilt that many want to remain hidden.  This book’s storyline of the past coming back to haunt people works really well and I think one that will resonate with many readers who remember what they did many years ago in the 1970s.  

I’ll be back in September with more hot picks, meantime, happy reading and please do look out for the posts about our time at the Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate over the coming weeks

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