Books to look forward to from Quercus

Robert B Parker's legendary private eye Spenser returns in Sixkill. When the body of a girl who has been strangled is found in the hotel room of movie star Jumbo Nelson Spenser is asked by his lawyers to find out whether or not he committed the murder so that they can work out a

plan to get him off. Not only does Spenser not like Jumbo Nelson, but he also has an

assortment of hanger-ons to contend with. There is Sixkill a Cree Indian who wasted away his football talent because he could not control his temper and who know uses alcohol as a substitute and a cold-blooded assassin who may be Spenser's most dangerous foe yet. If Sixkill can turn

his life around then Spenser may have just have found the ally that he needs. Sixkill will be published in April 2011.

Trashed is the first crime novel by Anna Smith. When the body of a young teenage hooker is washed up on the beach near Glasgow it barely makes the headlines. But the young girl in question was only fourteen years old and living in a children's home so how did she wind up dead. One of the dead girl's friends gives tabloid journalist Rosie Gilmour a tip-off that is

explosive

but too hot to print. As she digs deeper her investigation exposes a ordid tale of corruption and child abuse that goes to the very top. However, there are also those that will stop Rosie from revealing the truth. Trashed is due to be published in May 2011.

The Dinosaur Feather is by Sissel-Jo Gazan and is due to be published in May 2011. Just two weeks away from defending her thesis and Anna Bella Nor's supervisor is found dead in his office with his severed tongue on his bloodied shirtfront and a copy of her thesis in his lap. Police Superintendent Soren Marhauge is assigned to investigate the matter. Helland the supervisor had been infected with a rare parasite that only an expert would have access to. But when a fellow graduate friend of Nor's is also murdered it appears that the killings are linked to Nor herself. But as Marhauge investigates it is clear that there is competition for academic success and dark secrets abound in the faculty.

In The Bone Yard (which is a Body Farm thriller) Dr Bill Brockton and his team investigate the murky past of a reform school for boys, when a number of shallow graves are unearthed. As they investigate and draw nearer to the truth they find that some prominent people have skeletons in their closet that they do not want revealed. Furthermore, the ghosts of the past are still present. The Bone Yard is by Jefferson Bass and is due for publication in April 2011.

The Watermen is the start of a new historical crime series set against the backdrop of the 18th Century docklands. Boylin a cruel villain holds sway in the Port of London. His face is scarred and he holds Captain Tom Pascoe responsible for his disfigurement. When they meet again

Pascoe has become River Surveyor for the newly formed marine police with orders to investigate the sudden fall in government revenue. Pascoe is certain that Boylin is behind this but has no evidence to prove this. The Watermen follows the two adversaries as they pit their wits against one another. The Watermen is by Patrick Easter and is due to be published in March 2011.

In Flashback it is 2036 America and ex-cop Nick Bottom is about to receive a proposition. Dependency on Flashback has taken all that he holds dear. All that he has at the moment are his memories. Now a powerful magnate Hiroshi Nakamura needs Nick's services and his memories. As the head of the original unsolved murder of Nakamura's son it appears that six years later his flashbacks may hold the key. But as he digs deeper it becomes harder to trust those around him and what does the death of Nakamura's son have to do with the death of his wife? Flashback is by Dan Simmons and will be published in March 2011

For thirty-two years, archaeologist Julius Gabriel studied the Mayan calendar, a 2,500 year old enigma that predicts the Apocalypse. His research lead him to a number of theories but when he dies they die with him and are subsequently ridiculed and discredited. Eleven years later his son Michael must escape from an insane asylum where he has been falsely imprisoned. With the help of a part-Mayan intern he must travel to the Yucatan Peninsula where he believes he can find the evidence to prove his father's theory and at the same time convince the world of the global

catastrophe that is approaching. The Mayan Prophecy is by Steve Alten and is due to be published in March 2011.

After an assassination goes wrong ex-soldier turned mercenary Sonja Kurtz finds herself alone in the African wilderness. Elsewhere groups of revolutionaries are plotting to destroy a dam being erected in the Delta and also attempt to bring about a change of government in Zimbabwe. Kurtz finds herself crossing paths with documentary presenter Sam Chapman who is desperate to cover the story but he has been stranded and deserted by his crew. Kurtz on the other hand has other things on her mind like blowing up the dam. The Delta is by Tony Park and is due to be published in March 2011.

CWA Dagger in the Library Winner Colin Cotterill starts a new series with Killed at the Whim of a Hat. When crime reporter Jimm Juree is forced to follow her family's move to a fishing village she is convinced that her career is over, but that is until a local palm oil plantation owner finds two bodies (one of them wearing a hat) whilst digging a well. A monk is also murdered in the nearest town with no apparent motive but there appears to be a link with this killing and others that have taken place around the world. Suddenly Jimm's life takes on new meaning and becomes a lot more dangerous. Killed at the Whim of a Hat is due to be published in March 2011.

Breach of Trust is the second book in the Jason Kolarich series. This time around Jason finds himself investigating the murder of a key witness in a criminal case that he tried. Jason had forced the witness to testify and believes that this lead to his murder. When his investigations leads him to an obscure agency in state government before he realises it Jason finds himself not only in the middle of a high level conspiracy and fraud but also a covert federal investigation. Breach of Trust is by David Ellis and is due to be published in February 2011.

When a brutal murder takes place on the Isle of Lewis it bears all the hallmarks of a similar murder that happened in Edinburgh. Police Detective Fin Macleod is sent to investigate the killing. Fin grew up on the Isle of Lewis so his return there represents a journey home and into his past. With the islanders performing the hunting of the gugas a savage custom that is no longer necessary for survival it appears that whilst they cling to it in the face of the demands of modern morality after all this time demand may have begun for another sacrifice. The Black House is by Peter May and is due to be published in February 2011.

The Rembrandt Secret is the debut crime novel by Alex Connor.

Marshall Ziegler's father ran a gallery in London. Something which he had studiously ignored until his father is brutally attacked and left for dead. Now Marshall needs to know every last detail of his life. He discovers that his father knew a dark secret that was at the heart of Rembrandt's life and it is a secret that could destroy one of the world's must lucrative industries. Someone does not want that secret out in the open and they are killing in an increasingly brutal manner in order to keep it hidden. Can Marshall get to the truth before the killer and can he stay alive long enoughto do so especially since he is not sure whom to trust! The Rembrandt Secret is due to be published in January 2011.

The third novel to feature forensic archaeologist Dr Ruth Galloway is The House at Sea's End by Elly Griffiths. Having just returned from maternity leave, Ruth Galloway is struggling to combine work with motherhood. When six bodies are found buried at the foot of a cliff Galloway is put on the case. However Galloway and DCI Nelson who is running the case have unfinished business. Tests reveal that the bodies are from Southern Europe killed some sixty years ago. When a further body washes up on the beach Galloway and Nelson that there is still someone alive who does not want the events that happened sixty years ago revealed. The House at Sea's End is published in January 2011.