Look out for these - December edition

 

This is the second of my monthly columns highlighting some of the books that I’ve got on my reading list that I think are worth looking out for.  It’s by no means a complete or comprehensive list of what’s being published, just my ideas about a few books which I’d recommend watching out for

Romancrimeblogger

Already published 

Meltwater (Fire & Ice 3) by Michael Ridpath - This is the third in a series of books set in Iceland centred on Magnus Jonson, who left America and is now living and working as a detective in Iceland.  Ridpath always find a strong up to date theme for his books – this one centres on FreeFlow, a group of internet activists committed to freedom of information.  The book features an activist’s murder, and if that isn’t enough, there are scandalous “goings on” in the church and of course family conflict chez Jonson.  Plenty to warm up that cold island!  If you’re unsure whether to try this book - sample chapters are available at his website:

http://www.michaelridpath.com/meltwater-chapters-one-two.html

December 2012

Scorpion’s nest by M J Trow, who is taking a break from his quirky series of books about the schoolmaster cum amateur detective, Peter “Mad Max” Maxwell.  Instead, we have the fourth in his Kit Marlowe series, where Marlow is working undercover at a college in Rheims, searching for a catholic traitor hiding there.  However, his mission is far more complex than he first thinks as the community has recently fallen victim to a number of violent deaths.  Can Marlowe get to the bottom of the mystery before he gets fatally stung himself?

January 2013

Broke by Mandasue Heller.  Commentators say Heller’s books are perfect for fans of Martina Cole so it’s not surprising that Cole herself has written positively about Heller’s pervious novel.  In Broke, Amy is married to Mark, a man who can’t resist girls but successfully resists holding down a job and just about anything else that involves responsibility.  Amy finds out how bad a gambler Mark is when the debt collector comes knocking and makes her an offer to pay off Marks’ debts – ugh!  If that wasn’t enough Amy then finds out someone is trying to steal her man.  Let him go I say – good riddance to bad rubbish – easy for me to say, but Amy’s a fighter and won’t let go!  It will get nasty, very nasty, I promise.

Ultimatum by Simon Kernick  - Another all action thriller by Kernick, which starts at 8am with a bomb blast in a London café.  To make sure that the bomber’s intentions are clear, the bombers phone a radio station minutes later warning of a second blast about to happen and issue their ultimatum – demands that must be met by 8pm … or else.  If you liked DC Tina Boyd – yes, she’s back, with only twelve hours to stop the terrorists.  Set a weekend aside at the end of January for this - like all of Kernick’s books, it’ll be non-stop after just a couple of pages!

February 2013

Eye contact by Fergus McNeill, published in paperback in February – a debut novel with an intriguing “hook”.  If you’re tired of reading about serial killers, whose victims are chosen for the oddest reasons or murdered in ever more implausible ways I suggest you try this book.  Once “the game” begins, Robert Naysmith selects his victims purely on the basis of who is the first person to make eye contact with him.  When someone makes eye contact, they don’t have long to live.  It’s a good idea that promises a lot.  If you can’t wait until February for the paperback, hardback and Kindle versions are already available.

Happy reading everyone!

Romancrimeblogger