Look out for these! May’s hot picks shows that no matter where you are – Edinburgh, London or Amsterdam - there is no escape from the past.

This month’s hot picks are a lively trio of novels, all from established authors, all with a theme of the past catching up with people in a surprising way.  Another thing in common is that today (24 May) you can pick all three books up on Kindle for less than £5 – yes, all three together for less than a fiver.  So here’s what you get for your money…

 

The Devil’s Playground (Stav Sherez)  This is a tenth anniversary re issue of Sherez’ debut novel, which still reads as sharp as it did when it was first published.  Amsterdam detective Ronald Van Hijn is faced with yet another dead body – homeless Jake Colby.  The ninth victim of the serial killer?  Hijn doesn’t believe it, as the previous eight victims were all beautiful women.  The only clue on the body is contact details for Englishman Jon Reed.  Hijn asks Reed to come to Amsterdam to identify Colby’s body, perhaps to provide some clues as to Colby the tramp and whether there is some connection to the spate of murders or not .  The answer turns out not to be in the present, but in the brutal past of sixty years ago.

Kill and Tell (Adam Creed)  This is Creed’s fourth outing for DI Staffe, continuing a line of novels with solid characters and plots.  Staffe is facing two challenges – tracking down kidnap victim, reformed criminal Carmelo Trapini and what to do about his colleague DI Pulford, in prison and awaiting trial for the murder of Jady Golding, who so very nearly killed Staffe.  A delicate balancing act for Staffe, whose superiors are almost happy for Pulford to go to prison.  Just as it seems things can’t get trickier, you guessed it, something from Staffe’s past appears and “puts a gun to his head”.

The Dead Beat (Doug Johnstone)  The first day at work can be quite daunting, but should be a happy occasion.  Things don’t quite turn out like that for intern Martha, whose journalistic ambitions are firmly squashed when she’s put on the obituaries desk at Edinburgh newspaper, The Standard.  Almost immediately, she takes a call from a former employee, who pours his heart out to Martha and then shoots himself.  Shocked by this event, Martha starts to search for answers to why the man tried to kill himself, which leads to Martha unlocking her own past, from memories of her hated father and her mother, through the music scene they inhabited in the early 1990’s.  It’s a nice novel that has music nostalgia, mixed in with mystery and crime.

 

That’s all for this month – please do keep an eye out for my new reviews and recommendations – something about Iceland soon, more techno thrillers and perhaps even an interview…watch this space!

Romancrimeblogger