The Crime Warp

The Other Mrs Miller by Allison Dickson A well-received domestic thriller which is full of suspense and twists by the American author Allison Dickson. Do we judge children by the reputation of their parents? Are you ever free from the legacy of your parents? Is there an evil nasty gene that is passed on from one generation to the next? I certainly hope not, but some books make you think. A number of readers have described this as a darkly humorous book, especially the second part. If you are able to suspend your disbelief and find domestic treachery intriguing, you will find this novel hugely entertaining. Published in trade paperback by Sphere in July 2019, £13.99 A Secret Life by Christobel Kent I’ve always envied people who are not afraid to make mistakes. I’ve known people to take terrible risks and get away with it, yet, in a similar situation, I’m convinced I’d get into huge trouble. Responsibility weighs heavily on my shoulders and I feel like a stick...

Fall Down Dead by Stephen Booth Some of you might enjoy walking holidays at the Peak District. Careful when the fog descends, all kinds of creepy things could happen, you could even die. DI Ben Cooper is suspicious when Faith Matthew falls to her death. Not only does he have to try to figure out if she was murdered, but there is an internal investigation involving DS Diane Fry which threatens Cooper himself. What will happen to the ever popular police duo? The internationally bestselling author Stephen Booth has won the CWA Dagger and the popular Cooper and Fry series is now in development for television. First published in August 2018 by Sphere.   The Death Knock by Elodie Harper Some of you might enjoy weekend breaks in East Anglia, it’s on my bucket list. But what if you meet a serial killer, one that kidnaps people before murdering them? Ever wondered what it's like being held by a psychopath? The police refuse to face that possibility, but journalist Fran...

Take Me In by Sabine Durrant From the author of Lie With Me another cracking thriller. If you read this on summer holiday, on the beach and if you have kids, watch them. Carefully. Tessa and Marcus are on holiday with their only son and this boy nearly drowns in the sea. He is rescued by a stranger, a disconcerting man who uses their gratitude to worm his way into their lives. But what does he want, what does he expect? The sense of foreboding is not misplaced. The best psychological thrillers involve misdirection and menace and here you get it in spades. Published in hardback, eBook and audio book by Mulholland Books in 2018. How it Happened by Michael Koryta This is where police procedural meets cutting edge gritty hard core. FBI agent Rob Barrett interviews a drug addicted single mother with the reputation of being a liar and trouble maker who confesses to involvement in a series of gruesome murders. Apart from Barrett no one believes her, especially when th...

How well do you know your partner? A former flat mate of mine was wildly in love with her boyfriend. One day, when he was back in his home town visiting his family, he had a bad accident and ended up in hospital. She drove miles to be with him, but when she got to the hospital, there was an attractive young woman sitting by his bed holding his hand, and she wasn’t his sister! I’m not kidding. It’s not hard to see where the authors of the three novels I’m going to introduce get their stories from. Most families have secrets, some darker than others. And sometimes these secrets lead to betrayal, violence and murder. We are afraid of the threatening stranger, of being attacked by someone we don’t know. But how many of us ever think that the greater danger is hiding in plain sight, close to us? Released in January 2019, Vanessa Savage’s The Woman in the Dark is a haunting psychological thriller. It not only involves a relationship with dark secrets, but a move to a house that ...

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). Superin...

The Deaths of December by Susi Holliday ‘Have yourself a deadly little Christmas’ … an advent calendar is delivered to a police station. Each window contains the photo of a crime scene. Why would someone want to draw attention to murders? Dealing with the fall-out of a serial killer are a seasoned officer DS Eddie Carmine aka Scrooge – ‘…anything that can distract me from the hell that’s Christmas is a good thing’ and the new girl on the block, Becky, who loves Christmas. The dynamic between these two suggests this might be the first book of a new series of sparkling police procedural books. Published November 2017 by Mulholland Books / Hodder The Absence of Guilt by Mark Giminez If you like thrillers, then you might enjoy this American take on an impending ISIS attack on the Super Bowl. District Judge A. Scott Fenney, one of the last truly moral men among the jackals of the legal profession, has to tread the difficult line between imprisoning a suspect who mig...