The Crime Warp

I recently reviewed a young adult books for the blog and Wild Sky a YA Paranormal thriller was one of them.  http://thecrimewarp.blogspot.co.uk/2015/09/book-reviews-best-of-young-adult-crime.html   Read on for an extract from this novel (release date 6th Oct 2015) and the chance to take part in a raffle. Summary Skylar is a girl with extraordinary power. A girl with a mission to use her Greater-Than gifts to stop the makers of Destiny from getting people hooked on their deadly drug. But Sky is still mastering her new abilities, and her first mission to destroy a Destiny lab leaves her best friend addicted to the drug. For a few days Cal will be able to walk again – until it kills him. Time is running out for Sky to save the world without sacrificing her friends, to become truly Greater-Than...

I rarely blog about true crime, but this novelisation of Stefan Thunburg's family history is just mind boggling and captivating.  The Father, is about four brothers who grow up under the thumb of a violent father. Three of the brothers for "The Military Gang" a daring team of robbers who targetted banks and armoured cars in a series of audacious heists in the 1990s.  The fourth brother is the exception, studying at art schools, instead of taking part in hold ups.  The novel vividly recounts life growing up in an atmosphere that is often depicted in the novels we read, but I'm sure few could  comprehend living in this way.  As a father, I've helped my children learn, showing them the best way to do lots of things from writing neatly in their homework books, to DIY - Thunburg's father did too, but his range of topics was different, including precise instructions on how to make Molotov Cocktails!   The quality of the novel has undoubtedly benefited f...

From the author of Wink Murder , The Silent Ones  is a deliciously complicated compelling psychological thriller. What intrigued me most about The Silent Ones was Knight's unusual take on the usual psychological serial killer thriller combined with the brilliant series of twists that left me absolutely gob smacked.  Knight writes with heart and perception and tells a damn good story into the bargain.

My latest selection of Young Adult  crime fiction is as diverse a selection as I've ever had.  It ranges from books about serial killers to schizophrenia, from romantic mysteries to supernatural thrillers.  Don't miss these books they're brilliant!

David Harewood's cousin Marla gave birth to a still born child nearly a year ago so when David turns up at her house to discover her feeding a baby who she says was given to her by an angel and finds blood smears on the door he is understandably concerned.  When he finds a flier with an uptown address on it David suspects he's found the babies family, however when he arrives at the address he finds the mother murdered and suddenly Marla is in a lot of trouble.

From the futuristic world of JD Robb's Eve Dallas, sizzling with sex and crime to the complexities of Kendra elliots FBI Agent Ava McLane and her hellish relationship with her dsysfunctional twin and a serial killer who targets 21 year old twins.

First One Missing is an exceptional novel.  Cohen's grasp of human nature in all its forms grips you from the start and doesn't let go... and then, of course, there are the twists that unexpectedly thump you in the stomach winding you because you just don't expect it.   Suspenseful, emotional and bloody good!

I find inspiration comes from many different sources. I read the newspapers and watch the news and process the facts as they are presented to me. It tends not to be one particular news item which inspires me but over time a character or part of a plot will develop in my imagination and it’s about taking the time to listen to those snippets and, of course, noting them down. Then eventually a pattern will emerge and the ‘form’ of the story will become clear.

Release date 3rd September 2015 When Mark Haedyear, a convicted torturer and murderer, escapes  while attending his mother's funeral a series of events occurs which make DI's Wheeler and Ross wonder if the events are linked. 

When Charlie Yates arrives in Texarkana to cover the murder of young couples at a local make out spot, he knows he’s been well and truly sidelined from his job as a crime reporter for a New York newspaper.   Yates has a volatile and violent temper, a flawed character as you’d expect, but he’s also a true journalist – he knows the stories that sell newspapers and isn’t afraid to dig up the truth to get the story.   He’s quick to talk and meet with people, pick up clues and relentlessly follow them up, even if his methods are sometimes a tad…well let’s say what do you expect of a journalist?   As the novel develops, Yates also starts to mix personal and professional – not a good idea, but you can see why he’s attracted to Lizzie, and not just because she’s the latest victim’s sister!     

With only a few weeks left to lounge around on the beach, entertain the kids and sit with a glass of wine and a good book out doors here's a round up of a few more summer reads to terrify, entertain and enthrall you: chilling psychological thriller,  a childhood come back to haunt you, familial secrets and a cold case resurfaced.