In The St Hilda's Spotlight - Stuart Neville

Name:- Stuart Neville

Job:- Author

Website:- https://www.stuartneville.com  

Facebook:- https://www.facebook.com/stuartneville

X @stuartneville

Introduction:-

Stuart Neville is a Northern Irish author whose novel The Twelve (aka The Ghosts of Belfast) won the Mystery/Thriller category of the Los Angeles Times Book Prize in 2010. It also won the 2010 Spinetingler New Voice Category Award. It was also nominated for the 2010 Dilys, Anthony, Barry and Macavity awards.  It was also on the list of best novels in 2009 by both The New York and Los Angeles Times. He has also been shortlisted for an Edgar Award, CWA Dagger, Theakstons Old Peculier Novel of the Year as well as the Irish Book Awards Crime Novel of the Year.

He has published eleven novels (two under the pen name Haylen Beck) and a collection of short stories. The French-edition of The Twelve or The Ghosts-of-Belfast- Les Fantômes-de Belfast, won L- Prix Mystère de-la Critique du Meilleur Roman Étranger and The Grand Prix du Roman Noir Étranger. His first standalone novel Ratlines was shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger.  His novel Blood Like Mine has been shortlisted for the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger. Blood Like Ours which is the sequel, is due out in August 2025. Stuart Neville is also a member of the Fun Lovin’ Crime Writers where he plays the guitar as well as being a vocalist.

Current book? (This can either be the current book that you are reading or writing or both)

Blood Like Mine out now in paperback, Blood Like Ours coming late August.

Has any gothic book spooked you and if so which one and why

More modern horror than gothic, but Stephen King’s Pet Sematary scared me when I read it around the age of thirteen or fourteen.

Which two gothic writers would you invite to dinner and why?

Bram Stoker and J S Le Fanu so they could fight over who invented the vampire novel.

How do you relax?

Playing and making guitars. I’m just about to build a Telecaster for myself.

Which gothic book do you wish you had written and why?

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson is so thick with atmosphere and character, and it’s written with such a singular voice. It’s the kind of writing that makes me want to try harder.

If you were to write a gothic book where would you set it and why?

I have an unfinished book that I want to return to. It’s set in rural Northern Ireland at the end of the Second World War and it’s about a soldier who returns from the front having been severely wounded and finds his home village has transformed into something rather sinister.

How would you describe your latest published book?

Blood Like Mine is a slightly different take on the vampire novel. It asks the question, if vampirism was a real thing in our world, what would that be like? There are no magical powers, no fangs, just a mother and daughter caught in a horrific situation.

With Detecting the Gothic: tales from the Dark Heart of Crime Fiction the theme at St Hilda's this year, which are you three favourite gothic authors or books

The aforementioned We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson. The Private Memoir and Confessions of a Justified Sinner by James Hogg is an extraordinary work for its time. I’ll always have a soft spot for Stoker’s Dracula because I read it over and over as a kid.

Which 3 gothic films would you rewatch and why.

I saw David Eggers’ Nosferatu in the cinema and thought it was brilliantly fresh take on a story that’s been told so often. Freaks, directed by Tod Browning, is nearly a century old but is still a disturbing watch. Guillermo del Toro’s The Devil’s Backbone is a wonderful ghost story set against the Spanish Civil War whose most grotesque horrors are the living adults.

What are you looking forward to at St Hilda's?

I’m looking forward to seeing some of my writer friends, and visiting Oxford for the first time.

Blood Like Ours by Stuart Neville (Simon & Schuster) Published August 2025

You would do anything for your family . . . even if they are monsters. Rebecca Carter is back from the dead. Lost and terrified, she is gripped by two desperate urges ''' to find her daughter, and to sate her ravenous hunger. Alone in the wild, Monica Carter survives on whatever small prey she can hunt down. But she needs more. One night, drawn by the maddening scent of human blood, she encounters two young brothers, who call to her as Moonflower and tell her that if she comes with them, they will keep her safe. But Jacob and Willard Hendry are not what they seem. They know all about dying and disappearing – after all, it’s been almost three decades since they did the same. Rebecca’s hope for a reunion with her daughter turns to terror when she realizes that the brothers aren’t like Moonflower – they chose to be what they are, relishing the slaughter, and they are leaving an increasingly bloody trail in their wake. But as she chases them west, she isn’t alone on the road. FBI agent Sarah McGrath, haunted by the death of her partner Marc Donner moments after he killed Rebecca, is hot on her tail. McGrath wants answers, and she will stop at nothing to get them. But she never expected them to come from a shadowy figure within the Bureau . . .

Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville (Simon & Schuster) Out now

You'd do anything to protect your child. Even if she's a monster... On a snowy December night, single mother Rebecca Carter drives her van into a snowbank to avoid hitting an elk on a desolate mountain highway. She is at the end of her rope, out of money and food. Still, she refuses help from a man in a pickup truck—Rebecca’s adolescent daughter, Moonflower, is on the run from a grisly secret, and the last thing they can afford is to be remembered by anyone they meet. Meanwhile, Special Agent Marc Donner of the FBI has spent the better part of two years hunting down a gruesome serial killer who drains victims of blood before severing their spinal cords, leaving a trail of bodies across the country. As Agent Donner’s investigation brings him closer and closer to where Rebecca and Moonflower are hiding out, in the foothills of Colorado, the life that Rebecca has fought so hard to hold together for her daughter becomes increasingly imperiled.

 

Information on how to buy online tickets can be found here. The programme can be found here.

Books to Look Forward to from Simon and Schuster

July 2021 

My Best Friend's Murder is by Polly Phillips. There are so many ways to kill a friendship . . . You're lying, sprawled at the bottom of the stairs, legs bent, arms wide. And while this could be a tragic accident, if anyone's got a motive to hurt you, it's me. Bec and Izzy have been best friends their whole lives. They have been through a lot together - from the death of Bec's mother to the birth of Izzy's daughter. But there is a darker side to their friendship. And Bec is about to reach breaking point. Then Izzy's body is found at the bottom of the stairs. It could have been an accident - perhaps she fell - but if the police decide to look for a killer, Bec is certain she will be the prime suspect. Because she knows better than anyone that those closest to you can hurt you the most. And that someone can only be pushed so far before they snap . .

Deep in the wilds of Siberia, a woman is on the run, pursued by a man harboring secrets - a man intent on killing her. Half a world away, James Reece is recovering from brain surgery in the Montana wilderness, slowly putting his life back together with the help of investigative journalist Katie Buranek and his longtime friend and SEAL teammate Raife Hastings. Unbeknown to them, the Russian mafia has set their sights on Reece in a deadly game of cat and mouse. Savage Son is by Jack Carr

August 2021

The Heights is by Louise Candlish..He thinks he's safe up there. But he'll never be safe from you. The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Shad Thames, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn't know it existed if you weren't standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that's when you see a man up there - a man you'd recognize anywhere. He's older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it's definitely him. Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years. You know this for a fact. Because you're the one who killed him.

America is threatened by cyber attacks only one woman can put a stop to them running a double agent from inside the white house to spy on the russians is not easy, but hayley chill has never backed down from a challenge. Then suddenly her whole operation is at risk as a series of cyber-attacks are launched on Washington, D.C. Tasked by the covert organisation she works for to solve the situation, her hunt for the hacker takes her straight to the heart of the intelligence community. SAVAGE ROAD -address. The location of Fort Meade, headquarters for the NSA and Cyber Command. Hayley must stop the hacker quickly, before global politics is disrupted and World War III breaks out. But when she uncovers dark truths about her own past, her characteristic calm is threatened... Nothing is as it seems. Nobody can be trusted. Hayley Chill is on her own. Savage Road is by Chris Hauty

September 2021

Enemy at the Gates is by Vince Flynn and Kyle Mills. America is reeling from the national blackout that swept the nation, continuing to dig out of the power outage. And the new president is unlike any Mitch has worked with in the past; he is extremely dictatorial and sees cracks in America's democratic institutions that he believes can be exploited to put his family in power permanently. As Mitch backs away from the new president, he, in turn, questions Rapp's loyalty. Mitch decides to take a much needed break and moves to his house in Cape Town, where he gets pulled into a job with Nicholas Ward, the world's first trillionaire. It has been discovered that there is a mole in the CIA who's been digging through their systems for information on Ward so, after thwarting an attempt to kidnap him Uganda, Mitch makes it look like the abduction was successful. The hope is that this will give Rapp the freedom to track down the person who has been able to gain such deep access into the CIA's mainframe. Rapp, completely cut off from the agency, must uncover the identity of the mole and deal with him. But the situation is deeper and more complex than he ever could have imagined, involving the President of the United States himself.

The Unheard is by Nicci French. He did kill. Kill and kill and kill.' Tess's number one priority has always been her three-year-old daughter Poppy. But splitting up with Poppy's father Jason means that she cannot always be there to keep her daughter safe. When she finds a disturbing drawing, dark and menacing, among her daughter's brightly coloured paintings, Tess is convinced that Poppy has witnessed something terrible. Something that her young mind is struggling to put into words. But no one will listen. It's only a child's drawing, isn't it? Tess will protect Poppy, whatever the price. But when she doesn't know what, or who, she is protecting her from, how can she possibly know who to trust . . . ?

Miles Pussett is a former steeplechase jockey. Now he gets his adrenaline rush from riding down the Cresta Run, a three-quarter-mile Swiss ice chute, head first, reaching speeds of up to eighty miles per hour. Finding himself in St Moritz during the same weekend as White Turf, when high-class horseracing takes place on the frozen lake, he gets talked into helping out with the horses. It is against his better judgement. Seven years before, Miles left horseracing behind and swore he would never return. When he discovers something suspicious is going on in the races, something that may have a profound impact on his future life, Miles begins a search for answers. But someone is adamant to stop him - and they'll go to any lengths to do it . . . Iced is by Felix Francis.

Winter Counts is by David Heska Wanbli Weiden.  If you have a problem, if no one else can help, there's one person you can turn to.  Virgil Wounded Horse is the local enforcer on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota. When justice is denied by the American legal system or the tribal council, Virgil is hired to deliver his own punishment, the kind that's hard to forget. But when heroin makes its way onto the reservation and finds Virgil's nephew, his vigilantism suddenly becomes personal. He enlists the help of his ex-girlfriend and sets out to learn where the drugs are coming from, and how to make them stop.They follow a lead to Denver and find that drug cartels are rapidly expanding and forming new and terrifying alliances. And back on the reservation, a new tribal council initiative raises uncomfortable questions about money and power. As Virgil starts to link the pieces together, he must face his own demons and reclaim his Native identity. He realises that being a Native-American in the twenty-first century comes at an incredible cost.

November 2021

It has been two decades since 9/11. The enemy has been patient. The enemy has been learning. The enemy has been adapting. The enemy is ready to strike again . . . Former Navy SEAL James Reece must embark on a top-secret CIA mission of retribution twenty years in the making in this riveting and timely thriller that will leave you gasping for breath. The Devil's Hand is by Jack Carr.

Books to Look Forward to From Simon and Schuster

 February 2021

Nighthawking is by Russ Thomas. Sheffield's beautiful Botanical Gardens - an oasis of peace in a world filled with sorrow, confusion and pain. And then, one morning, a body is found in the Gardens. A young woman, dead from a stab wound, buried in a quiet corner. Police quickly determine that the body's been there for months. It would have gone undiscovered for years - but someone just sneaked into the Gardens and dug it up. Who is the victim? Who killed her and hid her body? Who unburied her? And who laid two ancient Roman coins over her eyes? In his quest to find her murderer, DS Adam Tyler will find himself drawn into the secretive world of nighthawkers: treasure-hunters who operate under cover of darkness, seeking the lost and valuable... and willing to kill to keep what they find. That which was lost... will always be found again.

March 2021

Danger and dissent stalk the streets and taverns of Elizabethan England. The Queen's chief spymaster, Francis Walsingham, and his team of agents must maintain the highest levels of vigilance to ward off Catholic plots and the ever-present threat of invasion. One operative in particular - a young Cambridge undergraduate of humble origins, controversial beliefs and literary genius who goes by the name of Kit Marlowe - is relentless in his pursuit of intelligence for the Crown. When he is killed outside an inn in Deptford, his mysterious death becomes the subject of rumours and suspicion that are never satisfactorily resolved. Years later, Thomas Phelippes, a former colleague of Marlowe's and a man once much valued by Walsingham, finds himself imprisoned in the Tower. When he is visited by an emissary of the new king, however, it becomes clear that his long fall from favour may be reversed if he will furnish his monarch with every detail he is able to recall about his murdered friend's life and death. But just what is it that so fascinates King James about the famously mercurial playwright-spy, and does Phelippes know enough to secure his own redemption? A Fine Madness is by Alan Judd.

April 2021

Joe Goldberg is back. And he's going to start a family even if it kills him. Joe Goldberg is done with cities, done with the muck and the posers, done with Love. Now, he's saying hello to nature, to simple pleasures on a cosy island in the Pacific Northwest. For the first time in a long time, he can just breathe. He gets a job at the local library - he does know a thing or two about books - and that's where he meets her: Mary Kay DiMarco. Librarian. Joe won't meddle, he will not obsess. He'll win her the old fashioned way . . . by providing a shoulder to cry on, a helping hand. Over time, they'll both heal their wounds and begin their happily ever after in this sleepy town. The trouble is . . . Mary Kay already has a life. She's a mother. She's a friend. She's . . . busy. True love can only triumph if both people are willing to make room for the real thing. Joe cleared his decks. He's ready. And hopefully, with his encouragement and undying support, Mary Kay will do the right thing and make room for him. You Love Me is by Caroline Kepnes.

So you want to read crime with a dose of black humour and strong, violent-when-necessary heroines? Do you like women who don’t take any sh*t? Then this book is definitely for you. Think Villanelle – but she’s on your side. Nikki Griffin, our bookseller-by-day, badass PI-by-night heroine, is back in One Got Away by S. A. Lelchuk.

Someone Who Isn't Me is by Danuta Kot. When everyone hides the truth, who do you turn to? Becca's had a hard time of it, but she has finally got her life together. She has a nice little flat, a steady job pulling pints, and she's even seeing someone new: Andy, who keeps his private life to himself but is always good for a laugh. And then Andy vanishes. When his body turns up on isolated Sunk Island, Becca learns Andy wasn't just another punter. He was a police officer, deep undercover, investigating a drugs ring that he believed operated out of Becca's pub. Staggered by the betrayal, Becca turns to the only person she thinks she can trust: her foster mum, Kay. But Kay has problems of her own. She's just moved into a short-term let in the hopes of finding some peace and quiet. But peace and quiet are hard to come by on Sunk Island . . . Before long, both women are drawn into a terrifying world of drugs, money and death.

Vanished is by James Delargy. Lorcan and Naiyana are desperate to move their young family far away from the hustle and bustle of modern city life. The abandoned town of Kallayee seems like the perfect getaway: no one has lived there for decades. It will be peaceful. Quiet. Secure. But life in Kallayee isn't quite as straightforward as they hope. Lights flicker at night. Car tracks appear in the dust even when the family hasn't driven anywhere. And six-year-old Dylan is certain he can hear strange sounds. Lorcan and Naiyana refuse to leave. No one can talk sense into them. And now, no one can talk to them at all. They've simply vanished.

The Bone Code is by Kathy Reichs. A storm has hit South Carolina, dredging up crimes of the past. En route to Isle of Palms, a barrier island off the South Carolina coast, forensic anthropologist Temperance Brennan receives a call from the Charleston coroner. During the storm, a medical waste container has washed up on the beach. Inside are two decomposed bodies wrapped in plastic sheeting and bound with electrical wire. Chillingly, Tempe recognizes many details as identical to those of an unsolved case she handled in Quebec fifteen earlier. With a growing sense of foreboding, she flies to Montreal to gather evidence and convince her boss Pierre LaManch to reopen the cold case. She also seeks the advice-and comfort-of her longtime beau Andrew Ryan.  Meanwhile, a storm of a different type gathers force in South Carolina. The citizens of Charleston are struck by capnocytophaga, a bacterium that, at its worst, can eat human flesh. Thousands panic and test themselves for a rare genetic mutation that may have rendered them vulnerable. Shockingly, Tempe eventually deduces not only that the victims in both grisly murder cases are related, but that the murders and the disease outbreak also have a common cause . . .

May 2021

Mia, a burgeoning actress, heads to LA where she meets Emily at an audition.  When Emily disappears, leaving behind her belongings, Mia decides to search for her. But LA is a world of falsity and hidden identities and Mia doesn't know who she can trust.  Her search for the truth soon becomes more complicated, and more dangerous, than she ever could have imagined, dragging her further into a world that can chew you up and spit you back out . . The Disappearing Act is by Catherine Steadman.

Get inside the mind of a real life bomb disposal expert. Left reeling from the disappearance of his daughter and ex-wife, staff sergeant dom riley is a haunted man. After spending months investigating, he has exhausted nearly all leads in his hunt for answers. As Riley decides to make one final push for the truth, it emerges that multiple bombs are on board a civilian cruise ship and he is sent in to neutralise the threat. The mission is perilous before it's even begun, requiring a low-altitude parachute jump, a manoeuvre he has only completed in training - but it's not the journey, nor the bombs themselves, that pose the real threat. In fact, in travelling halfway across the Atlantic, Riley will ultimately learn that the danger is much closer to home. Operation Black Key is by Kim Hughes. 

The Heights is by Louise Candlish. He thinks he's safe up there. But he'll never be safe from you. The Heights is a tall, slender apartment building among the warehouses of Shad Thames, its roof terrace so discreet you wouldn't know it existed if you weren't standing at the window of the flat directly opposite. But you are. And that's when you see a man up there a man you'd recognize anywhere. He's older now and his appearance has subtly changed, but it's definitely him. Which makes no sense at all since you know he has been dead for over two years.You know this for a fact. Because you're the one who killed him.

Criminal Activity detected in Camden

Simon & Schuster held their 2^nd annual Crime Showcase, following the success of last year’s event [which was hosted in the Phoenix Artists Club in London’s West End].

To showcase their 2018 Crime / Thriller list, Simon and Schuster brought their guests to Camden, North London. Joining Mike Stotter, Ayo Onatade and I, were fellow journalists / bibliophiles Chris Simmons [Crimesquad], Karen Robinson [The Sunday Times], John Coates [The Express], Barry Forshaw, Jake Kerridge [The Telegraph], John Dugdale [The Guardian and Sunday Times], Rony Campbell and her colleagues from Breakaway Reviews – as well as many booksellers and bloggers.

Apart from the Publicity and Editorial Teams, many of the Simon and Schuster authors were present, including Felix Francis, Kate Rhodes, Andrew Wilson, Luca Veste, Chris Carter and Craig Robertson. It was good to congratulate the R J Bailey writing duo for their Barry Award Nomination, and Sarah Vaughan for scaling the UK book charts with ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL.

This year Jo Dickinson and her colleagues had much to celebrate as last year Chris Carter made No 1 in the UK with The Caller. We have enjoyed Chris’ dark tales for some time now, and he produced an essay for our readers which is available here. 

Also present was Andrew Wilson, the writer of the definitive biography of Patricia Highsmith [‘Beautiful Shadow’]. Andrew Wilson’s upcoming Murder Mystery featuring Dame Agatha Christie has been gathering excitement as has Craig Robertson’s dark thriller THE PHOTOGRAPHER, which our reviewer Maureen Ellis described as –

Craig Robertson writes with such ease and clarity, that even though the subject deeply unpleasant, he compels the reader ever onwards. The characters are strong and completely believable, though the plot is dark and very gritty, the evidence is slowly revealed until the reader is driven headlong to the excellent climax – breathless.

Highly recommended.

So before too long, Jo Dickinson welcomed the guests to the 2018 Simon and Schuster Crime Fiction Showcase, which we have captured on video below -

And so it was time to mingle, with wine, beer and canapes flowing as calmly as the conversation; as between slugs of wine, we had a look at was coming from this important publishing house.

After thanking the Simon and Schuster team it was time to head back into a dark and frosty London night, clutching a goody bag and the memories of a wonderful party with our friends and colleagues from Literature’s darkest niche – Crime and Thriller.

We present a series of photographs from the party.

For more information about the Simon and Schuster Crime Fiction List Click HERE

Photographs © 2018 A Karim 

Michael Jecks - 36 and not out.

From the quill of Michael Jecks...

"On Thursday 4th June, BLOOD ON THE SAND will be published. It’s the second in the trilogy about the Hundred Years War, and a sequel to FIELDS OF GLORY. Where FIELDS was about the grand march that led to the battle of Crécy, BLOOD is about the siege of Calais, the battle to hold the Scottish invasion, a siege in Champagne … and quite a lot more besides. It’s less of a crime novel and more of a spy and warfare story which we (my editor and I) have high hopes for. So, if you are interested in a thumping great exciting book for the beach this summer, order your copy now!

It’ll be available in trade paperback and in all ebook formats.

If you would like a little taster, if you go to my page at  http://www.michaeljecks.co.uk/titles.html you will find a link to THE BOY’S REVENGE, which is a free short story based on one of the characters in the book, but which also includes the first few chapters of BLOOD ON THE SAND, so you can download the short and get a free taster of the novel too. 

Have a great summer and happy reading!"

 

 

You can buy your copy here

Books to Look Forward to from Simon & Schuster

A freak accident in rural Wyoming leads the Sheriff's Department to arrest a man for a possible double homicide, but further investigations suggest a much more horrifying discovery - a serial killer who has been kidnapping, torturing and mutilating victims all over the United States for at least twenty-five years.  The suspect claims he is a pawn in a huge labyrinth of lies and deception - can he be believed?  The case is immediately handed over to the FBI, but this time they're forced to ask for outside help.  Ex-criminal behaviour psychologist and lead Detective with the Ultra Violent Crime Unit of the LAPD, Robert Hunter, is asked to run a series of interviews with the apprehended man.  These interviews begin to reveal terrifying secrets that no one could've foreseen, including the real identity of a killer so elusive that no one, not even the FBI, had any idea he existed ...until now.  An Evil Mind is by Chris Carter and is due to be published in July 2014.

Hostage is by Kristina Ohlsson and is due to be published in September 2014.  Shortly after a crowded New York-bound flight takes off from Stockholm, a bomb threat is found on board.  Anonymous hijackers demand that the Swedish government revoke its decision to deport a Moroccan man.  If their demands are not met, the plane will explode if it attempts to land.  The US and Swedish governments must choose between negotiating with terrorists in order to save the four hundred passengers held hostage at thirty thousand feet, or to stand their ground and pursue the deportation of a possibly innocent man.  Fredrika Bergman, familiar with the deportation case through her work in the Justice Department, now returns to the police force to act as a liaison between Police Superintendent Alex Recht, and the abrasive Eden Lundell, agent with the Security Service's counter-terrorism unit.  But they soon realize that the plot behind the hijacking is far more complex than anyone initially thought.  As the hours pass, the team are running out of options, and the plane is running out of fuel…

Trust in Me is by Sophie McKenzie and is due to be published in September 2014.  Julia has always been the friend that Livy turns to when life is difficult.  United fifteen years ago by grief at the brutal murder of Livy's sister, Kara, they've always told each other everything.  Or so Livy thought.  So when Julia is found dead in her home, Livy cannot come to terms with the news that she chose to end her own life.  The Julia that Livy knew was vibrant and vivacious, a far cry from the selfish neurotic that her family seem determined to paint her as.  Troubled by doubt but alone in her suspicions, Livy sets out to prove that Julia was in fact murdered.  But little does she realise that digging into her best friend's private life will cause her to question everything she thought she knew about Julia.  And the truth that Livy discovers will tear the very fabric of her own life apart.

Savage Magic is by Lloyd Shepherd and is due to be published in August 2014.  It's 1814 and the streets of London's Covent Garden are at the centre of a dark trade, enticing rich, and poor alike with a cocktail of gin and beer and sex.  Behind their own fashionable private doors in the surrounding parishes a group of aristocratic young men are found murdered, all of them wearing the mask of a satyr, all of them behind locked doors with no signs of entry.  Constable Charles Horton's investigation into these violent crimes begins, quite by chance, at Thorpe Lee House in Surrey, where accusations of witchcraft have swept the village.  What connects these broken London men, savage with the pursuit of pleasure, and a country village awash with folklore and talk of burning witches?  The answers lie, yet again, under lock and key, in a madhouse for the deranged, where Horton's wife Abigail seeks refuge from her disordered mind.  In this world of witchcraft and madhouses, whores and aristocrats, it's a savage magic indeed that holds its victims in its thrall.  Lloyd Shepherd's most ambitious novel to date is a triumph of the imagination.  His rich cast of characters weaves a hugely satisfying story of depth, insight, and exquisite drama.

Quantico-trained forensic investigator Reilly Steel is back in the country of her birth.  Unsure about both her future and her position within the Dublin police force, Reilly hopes that a relaxing stay at the Florida beach home of her old FBI mentor Daniel Forrest will help get her thoughts together.  When Daniel's son, policeman Todd Forrest, is called to the scene of a gruesome murder where the body of a beautiful woman has literally been torn in two, he is stopped in his tracks.  Not just because of the grotesque and theatrical nature of the crime but because he recognises the victim as Daniel's goddaughter.  In an attempt to find swift resolution on her old friend's behalf, Reilly finds herself drawn into the investigation.  And when another disturbing murder occurs soon after, Reilly can't help but feel that she has come across something like this before.  But where? The answer becomes apparent at a third crime scene - the killer is visually re-enacting some of the most famous murder scenes in screen history and posting his 'work' online for his followers and the whole world to see.  Will the investigative team be able to find the murderer before his thirst for 'screen immortality' drives him to kill again?  And will Reilly's brief hiatus in the US force her into a decision about her future in Dublin, and the unfinished business she has there?  The Watched is by Casey Hill and is due to be published in December 2014.

Kick Lannigan, 21, is a survivor.  Abducted at age six in broad daylight, the police, the public, perhaps even her family assumed the worst had occurred.  And then Kathleen Lannigan was found, alive, six years later.  In the early months following her freedom, as Kick struggled with PTSD, her parents put her through a litany of therapies, but nothing helped until the detective who rescued her suggested Kick learn to fight.  Before she was thirteen, Kick learned marksmanship, martial arts, boxing, archery, and knife throwing.  She excelled at every one, vowing she would never be victimized again.  But when two children in the Portland area go missing in the same month, Kick goes into a tailspin.  Then an enigmatic man Bishop approaches her with a proposition: he is convinced Kick's experiences and expertise can be used to help rescue the abductees. Little does Kick know the case will lead directly into her terrifying past…  One Kick is by Chelsea Cain and is due to be published by August 2014.

Perry Christo is a PI with a past.  A one-time NYPD homicide cop, his career was ruined when a cops-on-the-take scandal ripped through the department.  Though innocent, Perry had no way to prove it, and when he lost his job it was the last nail in the coffin of a strained marriage - his wife left him and took their young daughter with her.  In order to drown his anger and grief, Perry throws himself into mindless work as a private investigator for petty crimes.  But one day, a call from an Upper East Side matron, Julia Drusilla, throws his world upside down.  Julia needs Perry to track down her stunningly beautiful yet hopelessly aimless daughter, Angelina, who has disappeared.  Her 21st birthday is around the corner and she is set to inherit her grandfather's considerable wealth.  But as Perry digs deeper into the case, into one suspect after another, he discovers that Angelina may have more to her story than anyone may have realized, and that the person who has threatened her life is now coming after him.  Inherit the Dead is a seamless thriller with contributions from some of the biggest names in crime fiction including John Connolly, Mark Billingham, Sarah Weinman, Val McDermid, Charlaine Harris, Lawrence Block, Alafair Burke and Dana Stabenow to name a few.  Inherit the Dead is due to be published in September 2014.

Frozen Grave is by Lee Weeks and is due to be published in November 2014.The first body is found in London's East End - a middle-aged woman, brutally murdered.  The second body turns up in a disused quarry, attracting the attention of DI Carter and DC Willis.  They had interviewed the dead man, JJ Ellerman, about his links to the first crime, and somebody wanted to stop him talking.  And then the third body is found, and it becomes clear a serial killer is on the loose.  What connects the victims?  And who will the killer go after next?

Precious metal: the secrets of The Silversmith's Wife

Today's guest blog is by debut author Sophia Tobin whose novel The Silversmith's Wife is published today by Simon and Schuster.  She previously worked in Bond Street for an antique dealer specialising in silver and jewellery and currently works for the Worshipful Company of Goldsmiths.  The Silversmith's Wife was shortlisted for the Lucy Cavendish College Fiction Prize.

 

When I started writing The Silversmith's Wife, I was immersed in its mystery, just as my characters were - I didn't even know the identity of the murderer until I finished the first draft. But the one thing I knew, right from the beginning, was that the victim of that murder would be a silversmith, and the setting would be eighteenth-century London.

This is down to one individual. During my work for an antique dealer, I developed a fascination for Thomas Heming – an eighteenth-century silversmith – and my research into him introduced me to his world, so rich in dramatic possibilities. As part of my research, I went to visit his grave, and was surprised by what I found. I had read his will; I knew he had married twice, and that his second wife was buried with him. But the only name on the memorial plaque was his. In reality, there could have been many reasons for this, but it sparked my imagination and sent it tumbling off down one particular route. What if you married an ambitious man, and disappointed him, so that he wanted to write you out of the history of his life?  What kind of secrets would lie within such an unhappy marriage?

My fascination with the silver world also links to my fascination with the metal itself. An eighteenth-century silver candlestick is a piece of history, and a witness to it; I can't help but imagine the people who, over the centuries, have held it in their hands. It is also a work of art, designed according to the artistic tastes of the time, and crafted by someone who served a challenging apprenticeship to earn their skills. If you go one step further, and imagine the world of the people who sold it, you might see a goldsmiths' shop on Bond Street, it's shelves glittering with precious metal, a target for high-paying customers, but also for thieves.

So for me silver, and its story, combines history, art and a certain dangerous glamour, which I find irresistible.

All of these elements inspired The Silversmith's Wife. Set in London in 1792, it asks the reader to walk along the busy, and sometimes dangerous, streets of London, which are populated by rich and poor, masters and servants. Pierre Renard has served his apprenticeship, and risen to own a shop in Bond Street. Such a feat has taken skill, tenacity and intense ambition; he is a complex character, at the heart of a network of contacts that stretches from manufacturing silversmiths in the City to rich customers in Berkeley Square. When Pierre is found dead, everyone in that network falls under suspicion. But is it his wife, Mary, who has the most to hide?  A night-watchman, a lady's maid, and another silversmith who Mary first met long ago all have their part to play in the story, as we learn the dark secret at the heart of Mary and Pierre's marriage.

I hope the reader of The Silversmith's Wife sees a glint of silver here and there as they read, and feels some of the fascination I feel for it. Amidst this story of murder, love, and secrets, is the story of this precious metal – and the way in which it shaped the lives of those who made and sold it.

You can find more information about Sophia on her website.  You can also follow her on Twitter @SophiaTobin1.  You can also see some images and objects that inspired her book on Pintrest.