December Selection, Three Entertaining Holiday Reads

The Promise by Alison Bruce

This sixth DC Gary Goodhew police procedural takes us to the back streets of Cambridge, a town not usually considered to be so dangerous and violent. In the aftermath of a case gone wrong, Goodhew has lost his mojo. He is reluctant to return to work following his injury, until he finds out that Ratty, a homeless man he had befriended, has been beaten to death. More cerebral than your average copper, Goodhew manages to navigate through some complicated and seemingly unrelated incidents. Is he as clear-headed though in understanding his own life and family problems? Look out for lots of mystery!

Published in hardback (£19.99) and ebook in 2016 by Constable.

An Unfinished Murder by Ann Granger

Not many authors get to combine characters from two different series into one book! After a hiatus of several years, the popular Markby and Mitchell combo are back, this time to help Campbell and Carter (Ann Granger’s more recent series). Superintendent Alan Markby is now retired and living with his wife Meredith Mitchell in an old Victorian vicarage. He is lured into an investigation of an old missing persons case by his gardener who mentions remembering seeing a dead body when he was a child. For Ann Granger fans, this is a welcome addition to her list, and if are you are new to her work, and if your life is going through a stressful patch, then this book would bring welcome light relief. Put the kettle on, crack open a pack of your favourite biscuits and you are all set.

Published in hardback (£20.99), ebook and audio in 2018 by Headline

It Was Her by Mark Hill

A superb and much darker novel set in London by Mark Hill, a relative newcomer, to complete today’s selection. More of a multi-layered psychological thriller than straight-forward police procedural, It Was Her explores murders left in the wake of a troubled orphan from Georgia. DI Ray Drake and DS Flick Crowley not only have to investigate this complex and troubling case, they are weighed down by their own difficulties and personal troubles. If you are a police officer , are you not sworn to uphold justice and truth? But what if that conflicts with loyalty to your work partner and boss? No one ever escapes their past.

This second book featuring Drake and Crowley was published in paperback (£8.99) and audiobook in 2018 by Sphere.