The Crime Warp

On a recent trip to Amsterdam I nipped into a bookshop and asked if they could recommend any good Dutch Crime fiction. After some discussion the three assistants agreed that   The Dinner was the best. I'd already read We Need To Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver and had previously avoided The Dinner for it's similarity in subject matter but decided this time to give it a go. From the above reference you'll have realised that both these books explore the theme of children from seemingly 'normal' backgrounds committing atrocious acts. Herman Koch, actor,and author In Koch's The Dinner two cousins commit an act of violence which although recorded on CCTV they remain unidentified by all but their own parent and 'The Dinner' is the venue for the parents to discuss what they should do.  Paul the father of the apparent ringleader, Michel is the narrator and during the course of the lengthy very posh dinner, the strained relations between him, his m...

I’ve been blogging on The Crime Warp for eighteen months now and written my “Look out for these!” post each month recommending up to four titles that I think are worth trying.   This month, I’m highlighting only one book through a more in depth review – The Truth About the Harry Quebert Affair by Joel Dicker - a novel that just blew me away.   I’ve read a lot of books this year, but this one stands out as genuinely extraordinary.   It’s a weighty book set principally in Somerset, New Hampshire, a real piece of small town America, where the body of 15 year old Nola Kellergan who disappeared 33 years ago is dug up in the garden of author Harry Quebert’s seaside home.   Who killed Nola?   Well, it looks like an open and shut case, especially as a manuscript of Quebert’s first novel is found with the body and Quebert admits that he was deeply in love with Nola all those years ago.   Confused and alone, Quebert contacts his old friend and protég...

David Mark Sorrow Bound by David Mark is the third in the Aector McAvoy series. If you've not come across the huge Scot of caber tossing physique now is really the time to do so because Marks is rapidly becoming one of my favourite crime writers and I'm already getting a bit antsy for the next Aector McAvoy Amazon:Kindle £2.09            HB £13.54 In  Sorrow Bound  McAvoy is reluctantly attending counselling after the events of the previous book ( Original Skin) .  However, he remains typically silent till the last session when he reveals a long kept secret with repercussions for him and his family.  Meanwhile, his  wife   makes an enemy of one of Hull's new coke dealers, also putting the family at risk.   The main plot  begins when an obscure link is discovered between two very different murders.  As the police investigate, the body count builds and McAvoy...

Chris Ewan has a good writing pedigree – he’s won awards for his The Good Thief’s Guide to… series, plus a first novel award for his standalone novel Safe House . Dead Line is set in Marseilles and centres on Daniel Trent, a hostage negotiator who finds his fiancé has gone missing.   Trent is convinced that Jerome Moreau, a dodgy character if there ever was one, is responsible, so decides to take the law into his own hands.   His plan is to kidnap Moreau and by using some unorthodox persuasion techniques, find out where Aimee is.   The only problem with this cunning plan is that Moreau himself is kidnapped, leaving Trent no choice but to find and rescue Moreau to be able to find and rescue Aimee. Dead Line is a fast and pacey thriller, with a good plot that keeps you hooked to the end.   A number of high profile authors such as Ann Cleeves and Simon Kernick have already written very favourable reviews of this novel.   So, rather than ...

The 'Bunny Boiler'  psychological thriller often has jealousy or envy at it's heart. These emotions  provoke dramatically  unhinged behaviour leaving the viewer or reader astounded by what the human mind can make happen.   During Easter  I thought an alternative to cute Easter bunnies was in order - Well we are The Crime Warp aren't we? So here you have my top eight  'Bunny Boilers' in no particular order. 1/ Fatal Attraction The play is currently at The Theatre Royal Haymarket This film/play was perhaps the first of it's kind, with an actual 'Bunny Boiler' scene in it.   On Amazon the DVD is £3.25 or    £12.75 for Blueray A single sexual indiscretion with a woman who becomes unhinged by jealousy and targets his family with increasing violence when he refuses to continue the dalliance had me on the edge of my seat throughout. Couldn't bear to put a real bunny being boiled.  I'm not that warped ...