Friday 14 January 2011

Books to look forward to from Simon and Schuster

A master killer calling himself the Sandman is out for revenge in the USA. He's slaughtering not just one person but whole families and complete neighbourhoods, unleashing devastating explosions nationwide, and watching the horror unfold on a sophisticated network of surveillance cameras. No one know why he is committing his crimes. But Jack Casey - ex-FBI profiler and now cop in a posh Boston suburb - knows this: the Sandman wants him in the middle of the case, and wants him to suffer...even more than when a psychopath's unspeakable crime shattered his own life. Jack's lover knows nothing of his shocking past, but the Sandman has found him and his cutting-edge electronic devices are silently monitoring Jack's every move. Possible motivations for the Sandman's crimes come gradually to light, and Jack begins to wonder if the evil he is fighting emanated from his own side of the law. Deviant Ways is by Chris Mooney and is due to be published in May 2011.

Murder detective Chief Inspector John Luther is a near genius, he is brilliant, he is instinctive he’s obsessional and also dangerous! DCI John Luther has an exceptional clearance rate. He commands outstanding loyalty from both friends and colleagues. But there are rumours that he is bad. Not corrupt or on the take but tormented. Luther seethes with a hidden fury that at times he can barely control. Sometimes it sends him to the brink of madness making him do things that he should not; things that are way beyond the limits of the law. Luther: The Calling is by Neil Cross and is the first in a new series of novels featuring DCI John Luther as portrayed recently by Idris Elba. Luther: The Calling is due to be published in August 2011.

Charlie Howard, gentleman thief and famous crime-writer, has gone straight. But holing himself up in a crumbling palazzo in Venice in an attempt to concentrate on his next novel hasn't got rid of the itch in his fingers. And to make matters worse, a striking Italian beauty has just broken into his apartment and made off with his most prized possession, leaving a puzzling calling card in its place. It looks as though kicking the habit of a lifetime will be much more of a challenge than Charlie thought. Sneaking out into Venice's maze of murky canals, and trying not to relish being back on the job too much, Charlie's efforts to be reunited with his treasured first-edition of The Maltese Falcon quickly embroil him in a plot that is far bigger and more explosive than he could ever have imagined. But by the time he finds himself bundling his first ever hostage into a trunk on a speedboat and on the run from the polizia he has to admit that he is in way too deep. The Good Thief’s Guide to Venice is by Chris Ewan and is due to be published in April 2011.

Face of the Devil is by N J Cooper and is due to be published in April 2011. It is a ferociously stormy night on the Island when fifteen year old Suzie, as she hurries to board her uncle's boat after a secret meeting with her boyfriend, is brutally stabbed to death.. She is discovered by locals, held in the blood-smeared arms of Olly Matken, a schizophrenic teenager who grew up holidaying on the Island with Suzie's family. 'I didn't hurt her!' he says. 'All I did was protect her from the devil.' When psychologist Karen Taylor sees DCI Charlie Trench's name flash up on her mobile phone, she knows that she ought to ignore the call, but curiosity and, although she won't admit it, a dangerous attraction to the brooding detective, send her headlong into a deeply troubling case. Karen must decide; is Olly capable of murder? His psychologist doesn't think so, but the boy's own father seems to want to see his son charged. The only way to prove his innocence is to find out the identity of Olly's devil ...so long as Karen can keep the demons from her own past at bay too.

When a whole block is torn down in central Minneapolis to make way for a new housing development, an unpleasant surprise is unearthed. The bodies of two girls, wrapped in plastic, are discovered underneath an old house. It looks like they've been down there a long time. Lucas Davenport knows exactly how long. In 1985, Davenport was a young cop just about to be promoted out of uniform, despite a reputation for playing fast and loose with the rules. A superb undercover guy, he was part of the massive police effort that followed the kidnapping of two girls who were never found again, dead or alive. The searches turned up nothing, so when the suspected kidnapper was killed in a shoot-out, the case was closed. But not for Davenport. He'd gotten deep into the case, and while he was convinced the suspect knew something, he didn't think he was the perpetrator - something just felt off. He argued hard about it to his bosses, but nobody wanted to hear. Until now. With the bodies discovered, the case is dusted off, just to tie a bow around it - but there's something wrong with the evidence. There are indications of tampering. Police tampering. And as Davenport investigates, it becomes clear: It wasn't just the bodies that were buried, but the truth - and there are a lot of people with a very strong stake in that truth never being uncovered. Buried Prey is by John Sandford and is due to be published in July 2011.

King’s Gold is by Michael Jecks and is due to be published in May 2011. As the year 1326 draws to a close, London is in flames. King Edward II is a prisoner, and the forces of his vengeful queen, Isabella, and her lover Sir Roger Mortimer, are in the ascendant. The Bardi family, bankers who have funded the King, must look to their future with the Queen, steering a careful course between rival factions - if, that is, they can keep themselves alive. Others, too, find their loyalties torn. Guarding the deposed King on behalf of Mortimer, Sir Baldwin de Furnshill and Bailiff Simon Puttock find themselves entangled in a tightening net of conspiracy, greed, betrayal and murder.

No comments: