The Crime Warp

Just when you thought that every plot has been plotted, every character type drawn, along comes Jane Steele, heroine extraordinaire. Penned by Edgar Award nominee Lyndsay Faye, this engaging and well researched novel set in 19 th Century England was inspired by Jane Eyre.

It’s now almost that time of year when you start thinking about sitting outside with a book whiling away an afternoon reading.  Although we’re not quite there yet – I found it distinctly chilly outside at the weekend – I thought I’d let you know about three books I've recently read that are really worth looking out for.  These are all highly recommended and would keep you pretty well glued to the garden chair even if it did get chilly! Hard Cold Winter by Glen Erik Hamilton .  I came across Van Shaw last year in Glen Erik Hamilton’s first novel Past Crimes , when Van Shaw was tracking down who murdered his grandfather.  In this new novel, Van Shaw is firmly back in civilian life when Willard, an old criminal acquaintance of his grandfather’s calls in a favour.  Willard niece hasn’t been seen for several days and he asks Van Shaw to find her and make sure she is safe.  After a trek to the remote log cabin where Willard’s niece and her boyfrie...

Breaking Dead is the debut novel from Corrie Jackson and features Sophie Kent, an investigative journalist who is still coming to terms with the death of her brother. During her investigations into the murder of a 14 year old boy she encounters Natalia, a Russian model. Natalia has a nasty bruise on her face and has obviously been the victim of violence. Natalia opens up to Sophie and tells her that she was raped. Before Natalia can disclose the name of her attacker she gets cold feet. Later that night Sophie receives a strange text directing her to the Rose Hotel. As she arrives she discovers that the body of a young woman has been found in one of the rooms. She is shocked to find out that it is Natalia. Sophie learns that hours earlier Natalia had attended a glitzy party at the hotel, to celebrate the start of London fashion week. Sophie is eager to discover what happened to the young model, ...

Corrie Jackson is spending some time with us today. Her novel, Breaking Dead, the first of her Sophie Kent series is due to be released on 21st April. My Working Day by Corrie Jackson. 6am: I drag myself into my running gear. I’m desperate to get back in shape after having my daughter, Evie, six months ago. The Serial podcast distracts me from the sound of my screaming lungs. 7-8: A total blur. Child + baby + school run = hell. There’s no amount of caffeine in the world that makes this hour more palatable. 8: I brainstorm plot ideas while walking the dog in the woods. I scare really easily, which is a problem when you’re a crime writer. There’s a gruesome woods scene in my debut thriller, Breaking Dead , and I always think how ironic it would be if I met the same fate. Although it might bump up sales, no? 9: I’m at my desk, come hell or high water. My office is tucked away at the top of the house. My four-year-old doesn’t know I work from home. When I come d...

‘Recalls Harlan Coben - though for my money Jackson is the better writer.’ The Guardian A TAPPING AT MY DOOR DAVID JACKSON Published by Zaffre, 7 th April 2016 2016, hardback, 18.99 eBook published 7 th April 2016, £8.99 From the bestselling author of Cry Baby, A Tapping at My Door is the first of a brilliant and gripping police procedural series set in Liverpool. Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore— While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of someone gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door... -- The Raven , Edgar Allen Poe Home alone one evening, Terri Latham is disturbed by a persistent tapping at her back door. She's relieved to discover the culprit is a raven, and tries to shoo it away. What she doesn't know is that it is the prelude to a terrifying attack - Terri’s body is found in her garden the next day with her eyes gone ...

Have you ever compiled a fantasy dinner list? Top of mine would be Flavia Albia, the indomitable informer who uncovers all sorts of nefarious ongoings in Ancient Rome. Coming from Britain, she has the objectivity and observational skills of an outsider and having experienced real suffering as a child, she is under no illusions about human nature. Smart and perceptive, she is at home in all walks of life – which is just as well as in this case her investigations take her to a dangerous neighbourhood.

Young Adult crime fiction is a particular delight of mine.  Whether it's a psychological thriller, a mystery, a police procedural or an all out fast- paced race against time.  Here are just a few of the offerings in the YA market at the moment.

If you ever wanted to discover what a Zentai suit, a munch and wet sheets are, then now is your chance to find out.  MJ Arlidge's new DI Helen Grace novel takes her a little too close to the life she wants to keep secret, at all costs, from her police colleagues.  In Little Boy Blue  we see Helen Grace at her most vulnerable and find her at odds with even her most loyal colleagues...