The Crime Warp

As Red as Blood by Salla Simukka is the first story in the thrilling Nordic crime series The Snow White Trilogy , an international sensation that has been published in 46 countries worldwide. Simukka masterfully weaves dark elements of fairytales into a compelling Nordic thriller. 'Fans of Nesbø and Larsson won't be disappointed' Publishers Weekly ‘The first in the Snow White trilogy, this is a gripping and engrossing story featuring a strong and courageous heroine. Set against a wintry Finnish backdrop, this is an intriguing and brilliantly crafted thriller which keeps the reader absorbed right to the end.’ Booktrust This was my first foray into YA, and I think I have found a new favourite character in Lumikki Andersson. When Lumikki stumbles on thousands of euro's drying in the darkroom at her high school She finds herself drawn into a deadly game, one that she never wanted to get into. She likes to be alone, she doesn't want to get involved in...

The Missing Hours is a delight to read.  It starts with the poignant grief of a child coping with the death of her father and her heightened anxieties when she realises her mother is missing.  A fantastic opening that set the bar high for the rest of the novel... thankfully Kavanagh pole vaulted the bar with aplomb.

Set in Plymouth, Two Evils by Mark Sennen skilfully interweaves two parallel investigations with a crime from the past that has far reaching consequences.  Sennen's descriptions evoke the variety of settings along the estuary; isolated tracts of land, secluded waterways and fishing boats docked in yards.  This is a very topical story, handled sensitively.

  In The Cold Dark Ground is my favourite crime book of 2016 so far.  A bombardment of emotions, a grippingly twisty plot, beautifully witty dialogue and characters I would kill to have created.  It was fantastic to be snuggled up in the company of old friends: long suffering DI Logan McRae, irascible, comical DCI Roberta Steel, and gothic tattooed Samantha (Logan's girlfriend)

Most of the books I read in the crime and thriller genre are pretty serious, whether its serial killers, black widows or just homicidal maniacs.  So when I saw this book and read the write up it piqued my curiosity and I wondered whether it would like up to expectations. 

What’s more appropriate reading for the merry month of May than a cosy crime book entitled, May Day Murder? In fact, finding a corpse tied to a maypole in the village of Whitstable on the Kent coast sets the scene nicely. If you feel that your neighbourhood is too full of strange or challenging characters, then consider Whitstable, where Pearl’s mother Dolly is feistier than even my mother and everyone has to be considered a suspect.  If you like the TV series ‘Midsummer Murders’, then May Day Murder should be right up your alley, except that in this book we are only dealing with one dead body. Fetching sleuth and restaurateur Pearl investigates when fading actress Faye Marlow is stabbed to death at a party she was catering for. She has to be subtle about her enquiries though, as it’s actually DCI Mike McGuire’s job to find out who did it and he doesn’t like interference with official police business - not even if the person interfering is so attractive and can cook! By th...

DCI Ericka Foster is recovering from a personal tragedy resulting in the death of her husband, a fellow officer, in the line of duty.   Foster is brought in to head up a high profile investigation into the death of Sir Simon Douglas’s daughter Andrea Douglas-Brown.

The Crime Warp is so lucky to have dragged Mark Billingham away from novel writing and his collaboration with  My Darling Clementine in their The Other Half tour, to answer a few questions for us about his latest novel Die Of Shame

Do you feel you never fulfilled your potential, that you are merely treading water or marking time? Inject some excitement into your life by meddling in a dangerous web of intrigue, stick your nose in where it’s not wanted, like in a dangerous smuggling ring, for example. At least that’s what the Reverend Hardcastle, vicar in Romney Marsh, Kent does. I guess midlife crisis in 1796 affected people in pretty much the same way as it does today. If it makes you reach for the bottle more often than is good for you, if you are disillusioned with your stalled career and are pining for excitement and a way to use your considerable acumen and intelligence, then you and Reverend Hardcastle have much in common. In ‘The Body on the Doorstep’ it’s hard to tell what adds more frisson to our protagonist’s life: the uncovering of a dastardly plot, the discovery of a murdered body on his doorstep or the collaboration with the lively widow Mrs Chaytor. It’s a dangerous business gathering info...