Books to Look forward to from Orion Publishing

January 2018

Naomi Cottle finds missing children. When the police have given up their search and an investigation stalls, families call her. She possesses a rare, intuitive sense, born out of her own experience, that allows her to succeed when others have failed.  Young Madison Culver has been missing for three years. She vanished on a family trip to the mountainous forests of Oregon, where they'd gone to cut down a tree for Christmas. Soon after she disappeared, blizzards swept the region and the authorities presumed she died from exposure.  But Naomi knows that Madison isn't dead. As she relentlessly pursues the truth behind Madison's disappearance, shards of a dark dream pierce defences that have protected her for so long. If she finds this child, will Naomi ultimately unlock the secrets of her own life?  The Child Finder is by Rene Denfeld.

'Do you ever think there's maybe something that's gone wrong with the world?'  A man is found dead in one of the city's luxury homes. Homicide detective Ross Carver arrives at the scene when six FBI agents burst in and forcibly remove him from the premises.  Two days later...  Carver wakes in his bed to find Mia a neighbor he's hardly ever spoken to, reading aloud to him. He has no recollection of the crime scene, no memory of how he got home, and no idea that two days have passed. Carver knows nothing about this woman but as he struggles to piece together what happened to him, he soon realizes he's involved himself in a web of conspiracy that spans the nation.  And Mia just might know more than she's letting on…  The Night Market is by Jonathan Moore.

Robicheaux is by James Lee Burke.  Set against the backdrop of New Orleans, Detective Dave Robicheaux is fighting his demons to overcome his toughest case yet.  Powerful mob boss Tony Nemo has a Civil War sword he'd like to give to Levon Broussard, a popular local author whose books have been adapted into major Hollywood films. The sword's history can be traced back to Broussard's ancestors, and Tony figures it belongs to Levon. But Tony's intentions aren't so pure; he believes the gift will lead to a slice of Broussard's lucrative film adaptations.  Then there's Jimmy Nightengale, the young poster boy of New Orleans wealth and glamour. Jimmy's fond of Levon's work, and even fonder of his beautiful, enigmatic wife, Rowena. Tony thinks Jimmy can be a US Senator someday, and has the resources and clout to make it happen. There's something off about the relationship between these three men, and after a vicious assault, it's up to Robicheaux to uncover the truth.  Complicating matters is the sudden death of T.J. Dartez, the New Iberian local responsible for Robicheaux's wife's death, and all are looking to the detective as the murderer. Can Robicheaux clear his name before it's too late?

I'm guilty of many things.  Bethany Reston is happily married. But she's also having an affair with a famous client.  And no one can ever know.  But I'm innocent of murder.  When Bethany's lover is brutally murdered, she has to hide her grief from everyone.  But someone knows her secret. And then one day the threats begin.  With an ever-growing pile of evidence pointing to her as the murderer, the only way she can protect her secrets is to prove her innocence. And that means tracking down a killer.  The Guilty Wife is by Elle Croft.

You'd die for your family. But would you kill for them?  Family is everything.  So what if yours was being terrorised by a neighbour - a man who doesn't listen to reason, whose actions become more erratic and sinister with each passing day? And those you thought would help - the police, your lawyer - can't help you.  You become afraid to leave your family at home alone. But there's nothing more you can do to protect them.  Is there?  Fear is by Dirk Kurbjuweit

February 2018

Righteous is by Joe Ide. Super-smart sleuth Isaiah Quintabe - IQ to his friends - has built a mostly respectable life for himself, helping out friends and neighbours when he can and taking the occasional case to make ends meet. But there is one mystery that still haunts him almost ten years later - did his brother really die in a hit-and-run or was there more to the story behind his death?  IQ has been approached by his brother's former girlfriend Sarita, whose younger sister, an erratic DJ and gambling addict, has gone missing in Las Vegas - with a frightening loan shark, Chinese Triad gangsters, and her own deadbeat boyfriend hot on her tail. Accompanied once more by his fast-talking, don't-call-me-a-sidekick partner Dodson, IQ heads off for the casinos and massage parlours of Las Vegas. His quest takes an unexpected turn when he meets a criminal mastermind who knows something about the murky circumstances that surrounded his brother's death. But when Isaiah learns the truth, what will he do with it?

Sunny skies, sleep water...and a sinister corpse.  Flavia is enjoying the summer, spending her days punting along the river with her reluctant family. Languishing in boredom, she drags a slack hand in the water, and catches her fingers in the open mouth of a drowned corpse.  Brought to shore, the dead man is found to be dressed in blue silk with ribbons at the knee, and wearing a single red ballet slipper.  Flavia needs to put her super-sleuthing skills to the test to investigate the murder of three gossips in the local church, and to keep her sisters out of danger. But what could possibly connect the son of an executed killer, a far too canny police constable, a travelling circus, and the publican's mysteriously talented wife?  The Grave’s a Fine and Private Place is by Alan Bradley.

March 2018

King is a private detective, running his agency with the help of his daughter, Aja-Denise.  Broken by the brutality he suffered and committed while imprisoned for a crime he did not commit, his work and his daughter are the only lights in his solitary life.  When he receives a card in the mail from the woman who admits that she was paid to frame him all those years ago, King realizes that he has no choice but to take his own case.  Down the River unto the Sea is by Walter Mosley.  

'He was her child. The only one she'd ever have. It would kill her to learn that he was missing.'  Alex arrives home from holiday to find that her ten-year-old son Daniel has disappeared.  It's the first case together for Northumbria CID officers David Stone and Frankie Oliver.  Stone has returned to his roots with fifteen years' experience in the Met, whereas Oliver is local, a third generation copper with a lot to prove, and a secret that's holding her back.  But as the investigation unfolds, they realise the family's betrayal goes deeper than anyone suspected. This isn't just a missing persons case. Stone and Oliver are hunting a killer.  The Lost is by Mari Hannah.

A detective with no one to trust. A killer with nothing to lose.  18 months after the 'Ragdoll' murders, a body is found hanging from Brooklyn Bridge, the word 'BAIT' carved into the chest. In London a copycat killer strikes, branded with the word 'PUPPET', forcing DCI Emily Baxter into an uneasy partnership with the detectives on the case, Special Agents Rouche and Curtis.  Each time they trace a suspect, the killer is one step ahead. With the body count rising on both sides of the Atlantic, can they learn to trust each other and identify who is holding the strings before it is too late?  Hangman is by Daniel Cole.

This was meant to be the perfect honeymoon.  A five-star beach resort in Vietnam, with white sands, private villas and world-class cuisine.  A chance for newlyweds Amber and Ollie Graveney to recover from a tragedy that has left them on the verge of collapse.  Except things don't go as planned.  When Amber wakes up in hospital after a brutal attack, her husband is nowhere to be found.  Unable to come to terms with the police’s version of events, Amber returns to the scene of the crime.  She remembers that there was another couple during the night of the murder.  And the killer is still out there. The Other Couple is by Sarah J Naughton.

April 2018

It is summer 1989 and fifteen-year-old Clotilde is on holiday with her parents in Corsica. On a twisty mountain road, their car comes off at a curve and plunges into a ravine. Only Clotilde survives.  Twenty-seven years later, she returns to Corsica with her husband and their sulky teenage daughter. Clotilde wants the trip to do two things - to help exorcise her past, and to build a bridge between her and her daughter. But in the very place where she spent that summer all those years ago, she receives a letter. From her mother. As if she were still alive.  As fragments of memory come back, Clotilde begins to question the past. And yet it all seems impossible - she saw the corpses of her mother, her father, her brother. She has lived with their ghosts. But then who sent this letter - and why?  Time is the Assassin is by Michel Bussi.

They say I'm a murderer.   Six years ago, Kate Reynolds was found holding the body of her best friend; covered in blood, and clutching the knife that killed her.  I plead guilty. Kate has been in prison ever since, but now her sentence is up. She is being released.  But the truth is, I didn't do it.  There's only one person who can help: Private Investigator Madison Attallee, the first officer on the scene all those years ago.  But there's someone out there who doesn't want Kate digging up the past. Someone who is willing to keep the truth buried at any cost.  I, Witness is by Niki Mackay.

'What do you know about the Devil Mountain Killer?'  THEN Adeline Connor was the Devil Mountain Killer's final victim. After she was gunned down, the murderer disappeared and the killing spree ended.  NOW Carter Blake has been hired to do what he does best: to find someone. But this time he's hunting a dead girl - Adeline Connor's brother is convinced she's still alive.  But this town doesn't want an outsider digging up old business. And as Blake gets deeper into the case, it starts to become clear that the murders didn't ju st stop fifteen years ago.  The killer is on the hunt again.  Presumed Dead is by Mason Cross.

Devoted father or merciless killer?  His secrets are buried with him.  Florence Lovelady's career was made when she convicted coffin-maker Larry Glassbrook of a series of child murders 30 years ago. Like something from our worst nightmares the victims were buried...ALIVE.  Larry confessed to the crimes; it was an open and shut case. But now he's dead, and events from the past start to repeat themselves. Did she get it wrong all those years ago? Or is there something much darker at play?  The Craftsman is by Sharon Bolton.

May 2018

In the slums of Nairobi there is a place where the fires burn constantly and the stench of decay never fades. Dandora, the city's dumping ground, is filled with shadowy figures the world has left behind. Here too are rumours of the night runners - those said to be possessed by spirits, or the devil.  Detective Mollel understands what it means to be an outsider. Born in a Maasai village and forever at odds with the corrupt ranks of the city police, he is drawn to the case of a Fatima, a young girl who has gone missing in the slum. His search takes him deep into Nairobi's underworld, from rap clubs to voodoo healers, and to the lair of the self-styled overlord of Dandora. He learns that Fatima is not the first person to have disappeared, and to find out what has happened to her, Mollel must open his mind to things he cannot see...  Night Runners is by Richard Crompton.

THE SERIAL KILLER ISN'T ON TRIAL.  HE'S ON THE JURY...  They were Hollywood's

hottest power couple. They had the world at their feet. Now one of them is dead and Hollywood star Robert Solomon is charged with the brutal murder of his beautiful wife.  This is the celebrity murder trial of the century and the defence want one man on their team: con artist turned lawyer Eddie Flynn.  All the evidence points to Robert's guilt, but as the trial begins a series of sinister incidents in the courtroom start to raise doubts in Eddie's mind.  What if there's more than one actor in the courtroom?  What if the killer isn't on trial? What if the killer is on the jury?  Thirteen is by Steve Cavanagh.

June 2018

My name is Kate.  I volunteer at a Missing Persons helpline - young people who have run away from home call me and I pass on messages to their loved ones, no questions asked.  I don't get many phone calls, and those I do are usually short and vague, or pranks.  But this morning a girl named Sophie called.  I'm supposed to contact her parents to let them know their child is safe.  The problem is, Sophie isn't safe.  And Sophie is my daughter.  Where the Missing Go is by Emma Rowley.

Sleeper 13 is by Rob Sinclair.  He was their weapon.  Now they're the target.  As a child he was smuggled to the Middle East from his London home, to be trained as one of the most elite insurgent soldiers of his generation.  For years he was forced to do things no child should do, for a cause he couldn't believe in.  But while his brothers were preparing to kill, he was looking for a way out.  Now, on the eve of the deadliest simultaneous terrorist attacks Europe has ever seen, he'll finally get his chance.  He will break free and hunt down those responsible for making him a monster.  He must draw on all his training, all of his deadly skills to survive.  He is Sleeper 13.

Eighteen years ago Martha said goodbye to best friend Juliet on a moonlit London towpath.  The next morning Juliet's bike was found abandoned at the waterside.  She was never seen again.  Nearly two decades later Martha is a TV celebrity, preparing to host a new crime show... and the first case will be that of missing student Juliet Sherman. After all these years Martha must reach out to old friends and try to piece together the final moments of Juliet's life.  But what happens when your perfect friends turn out to be perfect strangers...?  Beautiful Liars is by Isabel Ashdown.

July 2018

The morning after Sophie's mother was attacked and her nanny was murdered, the police found her father's car abandoned in a field above the Channel with bloodstains on its seats.  He has been missing ever since.  His friends insist on his innocence. Like Colin, they are wealthy and connected, and had the means to help him disappear.   Nearly thirty years later, Sophie infiltrates their circle to learn the truth about their and her father's secrets.  The Double Life is by Flynn Berry.

How do you solve a puzzle when there are no pieces?  When an attractive, well-dressed woman is found dying on a Chelsea street, it seems clear to DS Thea Walsh that this murder will be one that is wrapped up quickly.  The policing murder manual describes the golden hour, that window in time in which the most critical information can be gathered and they have the best start. The witness who found her reacted quickly and respected the crime scene.  And then there is the victim herself. She is wearing a wedding ring and has recently had a child, so someone will be looking for her. She is, to all intents and purposes, the perfect victim.  Until she isn't. Because what if your perfect victim has no name?  What if the woman that everyone should be looking for, can't be found?  A Perfect Victim is by Emma Kavanagh.

Lies Sleeping is by Ben Aaronovitch.  PC Peter Grant has a new case, and it’s going to take London by storm.  There’s a confrontation coming, and the Faceless Man may never be more dangerous than when he is cornered.

The Tattoo Thief is by Alison Belsham.  A policeman on his first murder case.  A tattoo artist with a deadly secret. And a twisted serial killer sharpening his blades to kill again...  When Brighton tattoo artist Marni Mullins discovers a flayed body, newly-promoted DI Francis Sullivan needs her help. There's a serial killer at large, slicing tattoos from his victims' bodies while they're still alive. Marni knows the tattooing world like the back of her hand, but has her own reasons to distrust the police. So when she identifies the killer's next target, will she tell Sullivan or go after the Tattoo Thief alone?