Books to look forward to from Orion

All I Did Was Shoot My Man is the fourth instalment in Mosley’s soon-to-be classic Leonid McGill series In the shadow worlds of New York, PI Leonid McGill is still struggling to ‘go from crooked to slightly bent’. When Zelda Grisham, a woman falsely imprisoned by evidence McGill had planted, reappears in his life, the detective hires a hotshot attorney to help clear her name. Little does he know that powerful enemies are still watching Zelda’s every move. All I Did Was Shoot My Man is due to be published in March 2012.

If someone rich wants you dead, nothing can protect you Lauren Cawley disappears days before her second birthday but she is never found, leaving James Lomax, the lead investigator, broken. Twenty years on, Lomax has retired, and his son Tom, a private investigator, receives a mysterious phone call: heiress Sara Eaton’s mother has just passed away, and moments before her death Sara’s mother whispered something to her: Lomax. Tom alone can unlock the terrible secret that Sara’s mother hid. The new but currently untitled novel by Tim Winship is due to be published in July 2012.

Sean Reilly and Tess Chaykin return in an edge-of-your-seat story that reaches from the present day back to 1800s Mexico. Sean and Tess find themselves in a race against the clock, against drug kingpins, and even against the DEA, to merge two divergent trails; one several hundred years old, the other as current as a heartbeat, which together may lead humanity to the brink of annihilation. The Devil's Elixir is by Raymond Khoury and is due to be published in January 2012.

The author of Spies of the Balkans returns Paris, 1939. Europe is in the clutches of the Phoney War and behind closed doors, operatives are engaged in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Frederick Stahl, an American matinee idol, arrives in Paris to shoot a film. His celebrity allows him to cross Europe’s closed borders, and as the continent teeters on the verge of destruction, he becomes a man very much in demand…The Spies of Paris is by Alan Furst and is due to be published in June 2012.

Misery Bay: it’s a beautiful place to die Set amidst the lakes and woods of Northern Michigan, Misery Bay is an icily gripping thriller of murder, madness and revenge. An old mystery re-emerges when what seems like a tragic suicide turns out to be the first of a bizarre series of killings. A dark family history is gradually uncovered and the hunt for a very unusual killer begins...Misery Bay is by Steve Hamilton and is due to be published in January 2012.

A top nuclear scientist turns homicidal, taking an innocent family hostage. Gideon Crew is called in to talk the man down. When the authorities discover the scientist’s body is radioactive, and that he had recently embraced Islamic extremism, all hell breaks loose, and Gideon is charged with tracking down a rogue nuclear device...or something even worse. Gideon's Corpse is by Douglas Preston & Lincoln Child and is due to be published in January 2012.

Stay Close is by Harlan Coben and is due to be published in April 2012. On an unremarkable suburban street a seemingly ordinary woman quietly despairs of the fantasy she has woven around herself, and wonders why we must choose just one life. Close by, a paparazzo looks through some photographs and sees something he shouldn’t. And a cop investigating the mysterious disappearance of a number of men begins to see a pattern..

It’s the week before Christmas when a lone robber, armed with an AK-47, bursts into a busy Glasgow post office. He is aided by one of the customers who, as if by prior arrangement, he then guns down. Searching for a connection between the two men, Detective Alex Morrow discovers that no corner of the city is safe, and her involvement will go deeper than she could ever have imagined... The new but currently untitled Denise Mina novel is due to be published in June 2012.

Joe Pike is back with a vengeance in the new thriller from the international bestseller When the police tell a wealthy industrialist that her missing son has faked his own kidnapping, she hires Elvis and Joe, who find out the boy and his secret girlfriend have been taken. When Cole goes undercover to try to return them, he himself is taken. Now it is up to Pike to retrace Cole’s steps, through the murderous world of human traffickers… Taken is by Robert Crais and is due to be published in March 2012.

Joe Byrne is an army bomb disposal expert whose addiction to risk almost cost him his life on numerous occasions. Miracuously, he survived his final tour in Afghanistan, but his luck had already run out. The day before he arrived home for good, his wife Kate was killed in a car crash. Left to bring up their daughter Chloe on his own, Joe is determined to be an ordinary father and take no more risks with what is precious to him. Until an ambitious CIA operative he knew in Afghanistan makes him an offer he can't refuse. Intelligence picked up in Afghanistan suggests that the security services' worst nightmare could be a reality: the existence of a white, Anglo-saxon suicide bomber. The most likely suspect seems to be an embittered and unbalanced Army vet, with experiences not dissimilar from Joe's, and he is therefore the perfect choice to enroll in a clinic for soldiers who have suffered psychological damage in Afghanistan in order to discover the bomber - especially since if he doesn't, he could find Chloe has been taken away from him. But as Joe's investigation takes him from London to Milan, to Bagram, and Gaza, it becomes clear that a plan much more shocking and ingenious than even the CIA could have imagined is underway, and Joe - and Chloe - have become an integral part of it. If he wants to save his daughter, Joe is going to have to learn to gamble with people's lives once again. The new but currently untitled Peter Grimsdale novel is due to be published in July 2012.

Flesh and Blood is the debut novel by Mark Peterson. When ambitious young Detective Sergeant Minter joins Brighton’s elite crime squad, his new boss makes it very clear he’s not welcome. Meanwhile, their biggest case is going belly-up, and when an undercover cop is shot dead it soon becomes clear that the problem with the investigation lies close to home. As past and present converge, Minter must fight to uncover the truth, and bring a betrayer to justice. Flesh and Blood is due to be published in March 2012.

Happy Days is the 12th and final Faraday & Winter novel and brings the series to a devastating and exciting close DI Faraday is gone, and Portsmouth’s embattled police force attempts once and for all to nail the one man he was always desperate to bring to justice – violent drug baron Bazza McKenzie. Happy Days is by Graham Hurley and is due to be published in February 2012.

The stunning new historical thriller from Alex Scarrow the author of October Skies. Locked in an eerily quiet room on the sinking Titanic, a dying man tells a young girl his life story as the ship begins to sink. It all starts in Whitechapel, London in 1888, as the Ripper murders begin… The Candle Man is due to be published in April 2012.

An exciting new voice in crime from one of Germany’s most popular authors. In the tranquil northern seaside town of Scarborough, a student is found murdered. For months, the investigators are in the dark, until they are faced with a copy-cat crime. Detective Valerie Almond is on the case, but all is it not as it first appeared and she is led towards a dark secret. Horrified at her discovery, Valerie realises that she may be too late... The Other Child is by Charlotte Link and is due to be published in March 2012

Paul Garrison Robert Ludlum’s The Janson Command is the first book in an exciting new series featuring Paul Janson, the hero of The Janson Directive. Reformed from his days of assassination and international conspiracy, Paul Janson has a new mission. Working with kickass sharpshooter Jessica Kincaid, he helps rehabilitate disenchanted covert operatives. Janson takes a job to rescue a kidnapped doctor, but when his plans go haywire, Janson realises he may have been fighting for the wrong side... The Janson Command is due to be published in May 2012.

The Followers is by Michael Marshall. An intelligent and page-turning thriller from the international bestseller It should have been the greatest day of David’s life. A trip to New York, wife by his side, to visit his new publisher. But on the way back to Penn Station, a chance encounter changes all of that. He bumps into a stranger who covertly follows him, and then, just before they board their train home, passes by him close enough to whisper: 'Remember me'. The stranger follows them back to where they live, and it isn't long before David realises that this man wants something from him...something very personal, that he may have no choice but to surrender. Meanwhile, back in New York, ex-lawyer John Henderson does his girlfriend Kristina a favour and agrees to talk to Catherine Warren, an acquaintance of hers who believes she's being stalked by en ex-lover. But soon John realizes that Catherine's problem is more complex than anyone realized... There are people out there in the shadows, watching. They are the followers. And they’re about to turn. The Followers is due to be published in June 2012.

How well do you really know your own child? When a teenaged boy is discovered stabbed to death in the woods adjoining the local high school, a wave of shock ripples through the suburban community of Newton. District attorney Andy Barber is used to dealing with murder and its after-effects, but when evidence emerges that ties his son Jacob to the crime, suddenly Andy faces a very different challenge: preventing his son from being convicted of murder. Defending Jacob is by William Landay and is due to be published in February 2012.

Down the Darkest Road is by Tami Hoag and is due to be published in January 2012. Dr Ethan Stark has made his living studying murderers. Is it nature or nurture that makes a monster? It’s a trip that will bring him back into the life of Tony Mendez, a retired cop who can’t give up on cold cases, and Anne Leone, the victim who survived Ethan’s father. As the key players gather, it seems that one way or another, a monster is about to be unleashed...

‘Whatever happens, don’t go to war.’ The message received by MI6 and the CIA is clear. The reasons for it unknown. And so Will Cochrane, the West’s most capable intelligence operative, is despatched to infiltrate a remote Siberian submarine base to uncover the truth. The enemy, though, were warned of his arrival. Will is pitched against the most dangerous adversary he has ever faced, spy vs spy. And he will need all of his unique skills, strength and ruthlessness to prevail. Sentinel is by Matthew Dunn and is due to be published in July 2012.

The star of hit television series Justified and the novels, Riding the Rap, Pronto and the story Fire in the Hole returns. Raylan Givens is back, this time with a federal warrant to serve on a dealer named Angel Arenas. The state troopers are impressed when he struts into the convict’s hotel room without drawing his gun, but Raylan soon finds that Angel’s already been the victim of a bigger crime… Raylan is by Elmore Leonard and is due to be

Gone Girl is by Gillian Flynn and is due to be published in May 2012. On the morning of their third wedding anniversary, Charlie walks downstairs to discover his wife is missing. Charlie considers Amy a missing person and is terrified for her life. But the police see the scene a different way. Charlie must clear his name, but what he doesn’t tell the authorities is that their lives were not as perfect as they seemed.

The Dark Room...It’s the place where fear comes from... DI Andrew Hicks thinks he knows all about murder. For Hicks, however horrific the act is, the reasons for one human being to kill another are ultimately all too explicable. But soon he realises that he is dealing with a type of killer he has never faced before, and he must confront the truth about himself – and the fact that some murders begin in much darker rooms than he ever imagined. Dark Room is by Steve Mosby and is due to be published in May 2012.

Madigan is a good cop – the only problem is he’s heavily in hock to drugs kingpin Sandia. He concocts a plot to repay him – with his own money – but when he is forced to kill his co-conspirators, and a child gets caught in the crossfire, Madigan is in over his head. But the one piece of luck he gets is the person assigned to investigate the whole mess... A Dark and Broken Heart is by RJ Ellory and is due to be published in May 2012.

Talking to the Dead is by Harry Bingham and is the first in a new crime series due to be published in June 2012. For rookie detective constable Fiona Griffiths, her first major investigation promises to be a tough initiation. Fiona, however, has secrets of her own. She is still recovering from a crushing psychological breakdown, and the feelings which haunt her are constantly threatening to undermine her mask of normality. In solving the murders of Janet and April Mancini, can she begin to start solving the riddles of her own past?

The Child Thief by Dan Smith and is due to be published in April 2012. In the snow, death is not the coldest thing out there... December 1930, Western Ukraine. A stranger arrives in Luka’s village, pulling a sled bearing the bodies of two children. In a fervour, the villagers lynch the stranger, but when calm is restored one of the village children has vanished. Luka sets out to find her, but it soon becomes clear the man who took her is a skilful hunter using the kidnapped child as bait in his violent game.

Gone in Seconds is debut crime thriller written by British forensic psychologist A J Cross. When the skeleton of a young woman is found, evidence suggests that it is that of teenager Molly James, who went missing five years ago. Forensic psychologist Dr Kate Hudson is called in to investigate, and the deeper she digs the dirtier the clues get. When a second set of remains is unearthed Kate suspects they’re looking for a repeater, a killer who will not stop until they are caught…Gone in Seconds is due to be published in July 2012.

Asbury Park is by Rob Scott and is due to be published in January 2012. A twisted supernatural thriller from a master storyteller Homicide Detective Sailor Doyle is recuperating after the events of 15 Miles. Struggling to overcome his drug addiction and rebuild his marriage, Doyle seeks refuge in a century-old hotel. There he begins to investigate a mysterious drowning from years ago...

The Chosen Seed, the final book in The Dog-Faced Gods trilogy by Sarah Pinborough and comes to its thrilling conclusion in February 2012. Former DI Cass Jones is on the run and moving closer to finding the truth about The Bank and the mysterious Mr Bright. But for both sides the net is closing in. Sarah Pinborough’s series combines the streetwise grime of a George Pelecanos mystery with the near-future dystopian setting of Richard Morgan.

When Dragon Island is seized by a brutal terrorist force, the Army of Thieves, the fate of the world hangs in the balance. But there are no crack units close enough to get to Dragon in time. Except for a small equipment-testing team up in the Arctic led by a Marine captain named Schofield, call-sign Scarecrow. The ultimate hero is back, facing the ultimate army of villains. Scarecrow and the Army of Thieves is by Matthew Reilly and is due to be published in February 2012.