Forthcoming books to look forward to from Headline

A woman is dead and her fiance is serving a life sentence for a murder he didn't commit. Now PI Paige Holden holds the only piece of evidence that could see him freed, and she cannot take it to the police. With the help of disarming state attorney, Grayson Smith, Paige is determined to avenge the murdered woman and set an innocent man free. But Paige has only scratched the surface of a cover-up far deadlier than she could ever imagine. A string of mysterious deaths of women with a shared past sets Paige on the trail of a ruthless killer. The problem is, the killer's on her trail too ... No One Left To Tell is by Karen Rose and is due to be published in January 2012.

The Gods of Gotham is the debut novel by Lyndsay Faye and is due to be published in March 2012. August 1845 in New York; enter the dark, unforgiving city underworld of the legendary Five Points...After a fire decimated a swathe of lower Manhattan, and following years of passionate political dispute, New York City at long last formed an official Police Department. That same summer, the great potato famine hit Ireland. These events would change the city of New York for ever. Timothy Wilde hadn't wanted to be a copper star. On the night of August 21st, on his way home from the Tombs defeated and disgusted, he is plotting his resignation, when a young girl who has escaped from a nearby brothel, crashes into him; she wears only a nightdress and is covered from head to toe in blood. Searching out the truth in the child's wild stories, Timothy soon finds himself on the trail of a brutal killer, seemingly hell bent on fanning the flames of anti-Irish immigrant sentiment and threatening chaos in a city already in the midst of social upheaval. But his fight for justice could cost him the woman he loves, his brother and ultimately his life...

September 1566. William Harley, Clarenceux King of Arms, lives quietly with his family in London, with a document in his possession that could destroy the state. The aged Lady Percy, Countess of Northumberland, has not given up trying to find it. Nor has she forgotten how he betrayed her and the Catholic cause - she has spent the last two years planning her revenge. But then eloquent and adventurous courtier, John Greystoke suddenly seems most concerned for Clarenceux's safety. And why, on behalf of the government, does Francis Walsingham have spies watching Clarenceux's house day and night? When his wife and his daughter go missing, Clarenceux finds himself on the run with his other young daughter, hunted by Lady Percy's agents. He knows he must finally destroy the document, even if it should cost him his life - but how can he, until he has renuited his family? The Final Sacrament is by James Forrester and is due to be published in July 2012.

Catch Me is the latest novel in the D.D. Warren series by Lisa Gardner. IN FOUR DAYS, SOMEONE IS GOING TO KILL ME...At 8pm on 21st January, twenty-eight year old Charlie Grant believes she is going to be murdered and she wants Boston's top homicide detective, D.D. Warren, to handle her death investigation. Confronting D.D. at her latest crime scene, Charlie lays her cards on the table. For each of the last two years, one of her childhood friends has been murdered leaving Charlie as the only one of the three friends to remain alive. But as D.D. delves deeper in to the details of Charlie's case, she begins to question the young woman's story. Because Charlie can now outfight and outrun anyone she meets and D.D.'s instinct is that she's hiding a secret. A secret so explosive that Charlie herself may turn out to be the biggest danger of all...BUT THE SON OF A BITCH HAS GOT TO CATCH ME FIRST. Catch Me is due to be published in February 2012.

Ice Force is the fourth book in the Death Force series plunges the elite squad of hardened mercenaries into a deadly battle for survival in the frozen wastelands of the Arctic. A plane carrying a Russian oil billionaire has crashed mysteriously in the Arctic in the middle of a brutal winter. Nobody knows why, nor can they locate the aircraft's black box. With only days left before the signal switches itself off, the men from 'Death Force' are hired by a rival billionaire to make one last desperate bid to find the black box. But when they finally locate the plane, they also uncover a deadly secret. This was no ordinary crash. There's a reason why the black box went missing. And soon they find themselves on the run for their lives, battling an unseen enemy, across the world's most terrifying landscape. Caught up in a vast conspiracy to control the world's last great reserves of oil, the men from 'Death Force' must fight the most overwhelming odds they have ever faced just to stay alive. Ice Force by Matt Lynn is due to be published in January 2012.

Protection is by G J Moffatt and is due to be published in July 2012. Denver PD Homicide Detective Jake Hunter stands at the gates of the County Jail and watches as Chase Black, the man he is certain is guilty of the brutal serial murder of five families, walks free on a technicality. Ignoring the directions of his superiors, and with the help of contacts at the FBI in Quantico, Hunter embarks on an investigation that leads him to the sleepy Colorado town of Dillon and the killing of a prominent local family. The killer's methods bear an uncanny resemblance to the murders Black was accused of. But Black is in London promoting the book he wrote while in prison. So who is the copycat killer that Hunter and the local cops are chasing in Dillon? After an assault at a book signing, Black's lawyer hires the UK's best bodyguards - Alex Cahill and Logan Finch. Yet the more time Logan spends on the security detail with the charismatic Black, the less convinced he becomes of his guilt. As the net closes on the killer in Dillon, it becomes clear that a violent psychopath is hunting Black and Logan finds himself caught between his duty to a client who may be a notorious serial killer and the instinct to survive the increasingly deranged individual that wants him dead.

The Chalk Girl is by Carol O’Connell and is due to be published in January 2011. The little girl appeared in Central Park: red-haired, blue-eyed, smiling, perfect - except for the blood on her shoulder. It fell from the sky, she said, while she was looking for her uncle, who turned into a tree. Poor child, people thought. And then they found the body in the tree. For NYPD detective, Kathy Mallory, there is something about the girl that she understands. Mallory is damaged, they say, but she can tell a kindred spirit. And this one will lead her to a story of extraordinary crimes; murders stretching back fifteen years, blackmail and complicity and a particular cruelty that only someone with Mallory's history could fully recognise. In the next few weeks, Kathy Mallory will deal with them all...in her own way.

What would you do if the man you love was accused of murder? Bad things never happen to Charlotte. She's living the life she's always wanted and about to marry wealthy banker, Dan. But Dan's been hiding a secret, and the pressure is pushing him over the edge. After he's arrested for the vicious killing of a nightclub owner, Charlotte's future is shattered. Then she opens her door to Keisha, an angry and frustrated stranger with a story to tell. Convinced of Dan's innocence, Charlotte must fight for him - even if it means destroying her perfect life. But what Keisha knows threatens everyone she loves, and puts her own life in danger. DC Matthew Hegarty is riding high on the success of Dan's arrest. But he's finding it difficult to ignore his growing doubts as well as the beautiful and vulnerable Charlotte. Can he really risk it all for what's right? Three stories. One truth. They all need to brace themselves for the fall. The Fall is a debut novel by Claire McGowan and is due to be published in February 2012.

Nine hundred and seventy three days. Thinking. Planning. Waiting for the perfect moment. Former Marine James Bishop will only have one opportunity to make his prison break. And one chance to prove that he isn't responsible for the murders that put him inside. Three years ago Bishop was the leader of an elite close protection team hired to protect a millionaire and his daughter. After being attacked, Bishop regained consciousness to find seven bodies strewn throughout the millionaire's Long Island mansion - including those of his two charges - and a mountain of evidence guaranteed to send him down for murder. But to find out who set him up and why, Bishop needs to be free. After three years of wrongful imprisonment, James Bishop makes a daring escape with only one thing on his mind: to find the member of his team who set him up and make him pay. But when the man he’s hunting snatches Jenna Falstaff, the only person who believes in his innocence, Bishop must stay one step ahead of everybody in order to rescue her. After which he’ll inflict his own brand of justice on the man responsible. And now the time has come to make his move. The Wrong Man is the debut novel by Jason Dean and is due to be published in May 2012.

Evil stalks an idyllic retreat...A tranquil Spanish village by the sea is the perfect place for Primavera Blackstone to raise her ten-year-old Tom, son of the late lamented Oz, especially when they are joined by his nephew, tyro pro golfer Jonny Sinclair. But when her best friend Shirley introduces her new man, Patterson Cowling, he seems to be a trouble magnet. A casual thief tries to pick his pocket and is found a few days later with his face blown off. A bloody coincidence, or does Patterson Cowling have a past to protect? As the body count rises, and Primavera becomes den mother to an extended golfing family, it seems that homicide is par for the course, and that hazards lie in wait for everyone. Can she save the day, or is the game just too rough? As Easy as Murder is by Quintin Jardine. And is due to be published in January 2012. Also due to be published in June 2012 by Quintin Jardine is Funeral Note the latest book in the Bob Skinner series. After a tip-off, a man's body is exhumed from a shallow grave in Edinburgh. Murder surely, yet he died from natural causes, so, case closed? Indeed was there ever a case? But Chief Constable Skinner and his people keep on digging. Who was the man, why was he buried so reverentially, and by whom? Meanwhile corruption is discovered within the force, and an investigation launched. Immersed in crises, his marriage heading for the rocks, Skinner finds his very career hanging in the balance, its fate beyond his control. In a tale seen through the eyes of each of its leading players, Quintin Jardine, lays mystery upon mystery until the greatest threat of all those facing the Chief is revealed, and a deadly race begins. Can he win out, or will his life implode?

Every Vow You Break is by Julia Crouch and is due to be published in March 2012. The Wayland family - Lara and Marcus and their three children - leave England to spend a long, hot summer in Trout Island, Upstate New York. Lara, still reeling from an abortion that Marcus insisted on, hopes the summer away from home will give her time to learn to love her husband again. A chance meeting at a party reacquaints the family with Marcus's old actor friend, Stephen, with whom Lara once had an affair. Lara feels herself drawn towards Stephen and they pick up their secret relationship where they left off. Lara knows she's playing a dangerous game; what she doesn't know is that it's also a deadly one.

Payback Time is by Geraint Anderson and is due to be published in June 2012. When City high-flyer Bridget, recently fired from her bank, is found dead outside her high rise apartment, her colleagues assume she's committed suicide. Cityboy Steve Jones is outraged and he and five City workmates decide to take revenge. They hatch an ingenious plan to sabotage her firm and succeed in bringing it to its knees. After wildly celebrating their success, Bridget's boyfriend Fergus insists they take down a much more prominent bank. But soon the gang are being targeted by the police and financial regulators. There must be a rat in their midst but, if so, who? Steve investigates and digging deeper realises he could be on the trail of a murderer. Suddenly there's a distinct possibility that an even bigger revenge is being planned and this time the pay back is heading in his direction...

Temple of the Gods is by Andy McDermott and is due to be published in January 2012. Archaeologist Nina Wilde's life has fallen apart. Her husband, ex-SAS soldier Eddie Chase is on the run, falsely accused of murder, and her only distraction has been investigating the origin of three strange statues stolen from her just before Eddie's disappearance. When Nina discovers they may be relics from the lost civilisation of Atlantis, it's clear that she has to get her head back in the game, and fast. Eddie, meanwhile, tries to stay ahead of the authorities as he hunts the man responsible for his fugitive status across the globe. A mysterious benefactor offers the information he needs - but the price will put him in direct conflict with his wife. When Nina learns that a Japanese industrialist has obtained the statues on the black market she immediately heads to Tokyo meet him, unaware that Eddie is already on his way. Their arrival unleashes a chain of events that could have devastating consequences for the world, setting Nina and Eddie on their most dangerous quest ever - with the future of humanity itself at stake...

A killer is on the loose ...In 2010, the CIA officers in Afghanistan's Kabul Station received information from a reliable source regarding the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. But when they followed the informant to bin Laden's apparent location, they discovered it was a deadly trap. The man blew himself up, taking the chief of station and several senior officers with him. Two years later, the station still hasn't recovered and the situation has deteriorated. Every initiative meets with failure. No one knows who to trust. In desperation, John Wells' old CIA bosses ask him to go over and investigate. Reluctantly, Wells agrees but what he finds when he gets there is more than a station in disarray. There is a full-blown military drug-smuggling operation underway, and worse, a traitor is leaking information to the Taliban. Americans are dying, and an American is responsible - and this is just the beginning. Only Wells stands in the traitor's way ...for now. The Shadow Patrol is by Alex Berenson due to be published in April 2012.

How far do you go to rescue your child? Paul van Niekirk, a successful white South African is held up at gun-point when driving his new BMW. He's dragged out and his abductor drives off in his car. It's an everyday car jacking. Except his nine-month old daughter is in the back seat. As a pacifist, Paul is reluctant to carry a gun, but he descends into the heart of darkness of his country determined to find his child. He uncovers a criminal gang involved in people trafficking and discovers in himself a capacity for violence. When the trail goes cold, he is on the verge of losing everything but finds redemption in the most unlikely circumstances. Moving from the enclaves of Johannesburg's northern suburbs to the throbbing heart of Soweto's informal settlements, Paul is forced to confront the changing political and social landscape of the new South Africa, questioning his own values as his perfect life crumbles around him. Held Up is by Christopher Radmann and is due to be published in July 2012.

Barbara Nadel's gripping new Turkish crime novel Dead of Night tackles the treacherous and seedy underworld of Detroit's gang warfare. Inspectors Cetin Ikmen and Mehmet Suleyman from Istanbul are sent to a policing conference in Detroit, but little can prepare them for the corruption that lies at its heart. When Ezekial Goins, an elderly man of Turkish descent approaches them to crack the long-unsolved murder of his son, a quiet trip takes a far more sinister turn. As they delve deeper into the case, the pair find themselves immersed in a terrifying world of inter-gang drug war and racial prejudice that puts them in mortal danger, and forces Ikmen to confront some demons of his own... Dead of Night is due to be published in January 2012.

Circle of Shadows is by Imogen Robertson and is due to be published in April 2012 A locked room. A dark threat. A place of poisonous lies. Germany, 1784. Daniel Clode cannot say whether or not he killed the woman. They were found together in a locked room, dressed for the Carnival. But what of the strange madness he feels, and how did she drown on dry land? Harriet Westerman knows Daniel is not a murderer; her sister would not have married such a man. She and the reclusive anatomist Gabriel Crowther must travel to the Duke of Maulberg's Court to save him from the silken, venal plotting of the castle, and from the axeman's steel. But their journey across Europe brings them to an alien and capricious land, full of lies and shadows, where no one can be trusted.

Not since Jack the Ripper terrorised London has there been such a gruesome crime scene. By all accounts acid-tongued Vita Berlin had not a friend in the world, but who did she cross so badly to end up arranged in such a grotesque tableau? One look at her apartment turned charnel house is enough for hard-bitten LAPD detective Milo Sturgis to summon The Crime Reader. But even Alex Delaware's finely honed skills may be stymied when more slayings occur in the same ghastly fashion . . . yet with no apparent connection between the victims. And the only clue left behind--a blank page bearing a question mark. Milo is under pressure to end the bloody spree and prevent a citywide panic when he discovers a link between the victims. Meanwhile, Alex navigates the secretive world of mental health treatment, from the sleek office of a Beverly Hills therapist to a shuttered mental institution where he once honed his craft; and where an unholy alliance between the mad and the monstrous may have been sealed in blood. As each jagged piece of the puzzle fits into place, an ever more horrific portrait emerges of a sinister mind at its most unimaginable - and an evil soul at its most unspeakable. 'This one was different,' Alex observes at the start. This one will haunt The Crime Reader's waking life, and his darkest dreams, long after its end. Victims is by Jonathan Kellerman and is due to be published in March 2012.

Deity is by Steven Dunne and is due to be published in May 2012. When four Derby College students are reported missing, few in Derby CID, least of all DI Damen Brook, pay much attention. But then a film on the internet is discovered purporting to show the students committing mass suicide. If it's real, why did they kill themselves when they had such bright futures ahead of them? If the suicides are faked, why the set up and where are the students? And if they're dead and have been murdered, who on earth could have planned such a bizarre and tragic end to their promising lives? Combining intricate forensics with meticulous detection and the warped psychology of a psychopath.

Mike Ford was following his father into a life of crime, when he chose to go straight and instead worked his way through Harvard Law School. Now he's landed the ultimate job with the Davies Group, a powerful political consulting firm run by the charismatic Henry Davies. Rubbing shoulders with Washington's heavyweights and with more money and privileges than he's ever imagined, Mike believes that everything has finally come right. But he's about to discover that power comes with a price. Henry Davies is looking for a protege for a crucial deal that must go right at any price. Mike soon learns that being on the side of the lawmakers doesn't mean your work is legal. And there's no place for a moral code when you're on the devil's payroll. The 500 is by Matthew Quirk and is due to be published in June 2012. It is a fast-paced thriller that takes the reader on a journey through the corridors of power to the crack dens of Washington and the corrupt underbelly of American politics. The screen rights to The 500 have been acquired by 20th Century Fox.

A Particular Eye for Villainy is the fourth book in the Victorian crime series to feature Inspector Ben Ross and his wife Lizzie. When one of Ben's neighbours is bludgeoned to death in his sitting room, Ben and Lizzie discover that there is a lot more to Mr Thomas Tapley than meets the eye - and more than one person who would benefit from his death... A Particular Eye for Villainy is by Ann Granger and is due to be published in June 2012.