Tuesday 16 January 2024

Forthcoming Books from Michael Joseph

 January 2024

The Actor is by Chris MacDonald. . At long last, Adam Sealey has an Oscar within reach. Working with his controversial former mentor, Jonathan, he's given the performance of a lifetime, and he almost believes it might be worth the cost. Because Adam subscribes to "the method". It's the secret that the world's greatest actors swear by - digging into their darkest, most personal traumas to bring a role to life. And Adam's greatest trauma is worse than most. Losing his mother when he was just a boy. A forced choice between the success he craved and the girl he loved. And that night back in drama school, the night of Adam's darkest secret, when everyone knows about the dead body, but nobody suspects the truth. And then he gets a message: someone knows. And if they tell, everything Adam's worked for will come crashing down.

Welcome to Hampshire, 1795, where a young Jane Austen has her sights set on securing a marriage proposal from the dashing Tom Lefroy at a local ball. But when a shocking discovery is made - a milliner's lifeless body tucked away in a linen closet - Jane finds herself embroiled in an unexpected murder mystery. As she races against the clock to clear her beloved brother Georgy's name, Jane uses her sharp wits to navigate the treacherous waters of society, unmasking secrets and unearthing hidden motives along the way. With every twist and turn, Jane's determination to solve the case deepens. And if she fails, her brother will face the ultimate punishment - the hangman's noose. Join Jane on her quest for justice as she faces down danger, deceit, and scandal amidst her own friends and neighbours. Will she uncover the truth in time, or will the real killer go free? One thing's for certain - in Hampshire, nothing is as it seems. Miss Austen Investigates is by Jessica Bull.

February 2024

The Fury is by Alex Michaelides 'There were seven of us in all, trapped on the island.One of us was a murderer...' On a small private Greek island, former movie star Lana Farrar - an old friend - invites a select group of us to stay. It'll be hot, sunny, perfect. A chance to relax and reconnect - and maybe for a few hidden truths to come out. Because nothing on this island is quite what it seems. Not Lana. Not her guests. Certainly not the murderer - furiously plotting their crime... But who am I? My name is Elliot Chase, and I'm going to tell you a story unlike any you've ever heard.

Lone Wolf is by Gregg Hurwitz. An assassin in freefall. Following a career in which he was always the most dangerous man in the room, ex-government assassin Evan Smoak is the last person his friends should ever have to worry about. But when Evan, formerly codenamed Orphan X, drops out of sight they’re concerned. They were right to be. A personal crisis has left him on his knees. A reclusive billionaire. If anyone remembered his first name they never cared to use it. But Allman’s lack of empathy hasn’t proven any barrier to building a tech empire whose tentacles reach into every aspect of people’s lives. And in the rush to praise his genius, no one’s asking what it could mean for humanity. Nor what Allman’s got coming next. A killer at large. Someone is leaving a trail of dead in their wake. Apparently chosen at random, their deaths dressed up as accidents or suicides. The woman responsible is known only as the Wolf and looks to be every bit Evan’s equal. She now has him in her sights. How does it all connect? What is at stake? And will Evan rediscover the instinct and skill he needs to prevail? Or die trying . . .


Six writers. Five detectives. Four days. Three weapons. Two murders. One train... When the Australian Mystery Writers' Society invited me to their crime-writing festival aboard the Ghan, the famous train between Darwin and Adelaide, I was hoping for some inspiration for my second book. Fiction, this time: I needed a break from real people killing each other. Obviously, that didn't pan out. The program is a who's who of crime writing royalty: the debut writer (me!), the forensic science writer, the blockbuster writer, the legal thriller writer, the literary writer, the psychological suspense writer. But when one of us is murdered, six authors quickly turn into five detectives. Together, we should know how to solve a crime. Or commit one... But how do you catch a killer, when all your suspects know how to get away with murder? Everyone on This Train is a Suspect is by Benjamin Stevenson. 

March 2024

The Wrong Sister is by Claire Douglas. Tasha has always felt in the shadow of her older sister, Alice. Their lifestyles couldn't be more different; Alice is married to wealthy entrepreneur Kyle and has a high-flying career, Tasha is married to her childhood sweetheart and lives in a Bristol suburb with their four-year-old twins. When Alice realises that Tasha is struggling - with money, the kids, losing her identity - she suggests they do a lifeswap for a week. Alice and Kyle will come to stay at Tasha's terraced house to look after the twins, while Tasha and Harry spend the week in Alice and Kyle's Venice apartment. But a few days in, it all goes terribly wrong. Tasha receives a phonecall to say Alice is in hospital and Kyle is dead after an intruder broke into their house. They think it must have been a burglary gone wrong. Until a note arrives through the letterbox saying It was supposed to be you. Who was there that night, and why? Is it really Tasha they are targeting? And can these two sisters find the answers they need, or are they about to stumble upon something more sinister?

April and Eddie have taken a wrong turn. They're on a long dark road, late at night, and they see a woman up ahead, clearly in trouble. They stop and pick her up. It's only once she's in the car that they see the blood. And then they see the headlights, and at last, the woman speaks, her voice faint. "I'm sorry, he's coming." Murder Road is by Simone St James. 

April 2024

The Gathering is by C J Tudor. A small Alaskan town. A missing boy. A brutal murder. A detective brought in from out of state to assist the former sherriff who investigated a similar murder twenty-five years ago. But are they hunting a twisted psychopath - or something even more terrifying?








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