Forthcoming Books from Oneworld

 

January 2025

The dead won’t stay silent forever… Clara Woods has a secret. At the bottom of the garden is a flowerbed, long overgrown, where her murdered husband rests in peace – or so she always thought. Then the girls arrived. Lily and Violet, her adolescent nieces, are recently orphaned and in urgent need of care. Raising teenagers is certainly not what Clara had envisioned for herself, but they come with a hefty sum attached. There is only one problem: both girls are untrained witches. Lily can literally see how people feel. And young Violet can see the dead man wandering at the bottom of the garden. In fact, she can see all the dead and call them back. Soon, Clara finds herself surrounded by apparitions – and two girls who know far more about her dark past than they should. A war is waging in this house, and only one side can win… At The Bottom of The Garden is by Camilla Bruce. 

March 2025

March 2025

A Proper Mother is by Isobel Shirlaw. Ever since an ominous palm-reading on her honeymoon, Frankie has suspected that her youngest son, Michael, is different. From an early age he sees things no one else can. As he grows up – academically gifted, a musical prodigy and with an unshakeable religious faith – his mother can no longer deny there is something strange about him, or that it frightens her.  It is only when Frankie learns Michael is sliding into drugs and violence that she realises she can't keep ignoring the past. But by confronting her destructive marriage and her own responsibility for all that has gone wrong, she begins to see there is something darker at play. 

May 2025

A Deceit of Lapwings is by Steve Burrows. Three murder scenes; two causes of death; one body. It is a case that would challenge Domenic Jejeune even under the best of circumstances. But his DCS’s temporary absence means that Jejeune must work under Marvin Laraby, an ex-superior with whom he has a particularly fractious history. Jejeune and Laraby must work together to discover why a ruthless land contractor would want to invest in new bird migration software, and what possible interest the death of a birding app developer could be to the British intelligence services. With the appearance of Lindy’s ex boyfriend disrupting Jejeune’s private life, and Danny Maik dealing with divided loyalties, is this the case that finally defeats Domenic Jejeune?

Forthcoming Books from Verve Books

 January 2025

Gone To Earth is by Jane Jesmond. Still reeling from a life-threatening experience on the coast of Calais, daredevil climber Jen Shaw finds herself in Glasgow for a funeral, devastated with grief and in search of answers. As her dogged determination propels her closer to the criminal underworld than ever before, Jen and her family become the target of some dangerous and powerful people with links to the heart of Glasgow's Police Force. In the absence of anyone she can truly trust, Jen has no option but to rely on her own instincts and everything she's learnt from her close bond with police officer Nick Crawford for survival. Even if it means going undercover herself and disappearing into the city's dark underbelly.

March 2025

Death takes centre stage. Does the killer lie in the wings? An undercover assignment for the Bow Street magistrate sees Lizzie Hardwicke trade Mrs Farley's Bawdy House in Soho for life as a seamstress at a theatre on Drury Lane. Once there, she quickly realises that what goes on in the wings is much more intriguing than the theatrics being played out onstage... When a high-profile investor is brutally hanged at centre stage, Lizzie discovers the body and is once again thrown together with William Davenport, the magistrate\'s assistant with whom she is growing ever closer. The suspect list rivals any casting call, and Lizzie must use every trick hidden up her sleeve to see through all the performance and bring the culprit into the spotlight. The Corpse Played Dead is by Georgina Clarke.

Death and the Harlot is by Georgina Clarke. In a city built on secrets, who would kill to keep theirs hidden? The year is 1759, and London is shrouded in a cloak of fear. With the lawmen at the mercy of robbers and highwaymen, it's a perilous time to work the already dangerous streets of Soho. Lizzie Hardwicke is somewhat protected from the fray at Mrs Farley's Bawdy House, a reputable brothel. But then a wealthy customer is found brutally murdered... and Lizzie was the last person to see him alive. The magistrate's assistant, William Davenport, has no hard evidence against Lizzie, but his presence and questions make life increasingly difficult. Desperate to be rid of him and prove her innocence, Lizzie turns amateur detective, determined to find the true killer, whatever the cost. Yet as the body count rises, Lizzie realises that, just like her, everyone has a secret they will do almost anything to keep buried...

April 2025

London, June 1759. When a charmless civil servant takes his own life, few are interested in his death. But Lizzie Hardwicke, who plies her trade in the brothels of London whilst also working as an undercover sleuth for the magistrate, can see no reason why a man who had everything to look forward to would wish to end his life. Lizzie's search for answers takes her from the smoke-filled rooms of fashionable gambling houses, where politicians mix ambition with pleasure, to the violent streets of Soho, ready to erupt with riots in the sultry summer heat. All the while, she is navigating her complicated feelings for the magistrate's trusted assistant, Will Davenport, and a disturbing situation at home. Then a gambling house owner is brutally murdered, and Lizzie finds herself tangled in a chaos that she cannot control. The darkest of secrets threatens to turn Davenport against her forever; its exposure will send her to the gallows. Viper in the Nest is by Georgina Clarke.

Forthcoming Books from Simon & Schuster

 January 2025

Private investigator Elvis Cole and his enigmatic partner Joe Pike face a cryptic case and a terrifyingly unpredictable killer in this twisty, edge-of-your-seat thriller'. Traci Beller was only thirteen when her father disappeared in the sleepy town of Rancha, not far from Los Angeles. The evidence says Tommy Beller abandoned his family, but Traci never believed it. Now a super-popular influencer with millions of followers, she finally has the money to hire a new detective to uncover the truth. And that detective is Elvis Cole. Taking on a ten-years-cold missing person case is almost always a losing game, though Elvis quickly picks up a lead in Rancha when he learns that an ex-con named Sadie Givens and her daughter Anya might have a line on the missing man. But when he finds himself shadowed by a deadly gang of vicious criminals, the case flips on its head. Victims become predators, predators become prey, and when everyone is a victim, will it be possible to save them all? Calling on the help of his ex-Marine friend, Joe Pike, Elvis follows Tommy Beller's trail into the twisted, nightmarish depths of a monstrous evil, even as what he finds tests his loyalty to his clients, and to himself. But the truth must come out, no matter the cost. Elvis must face The Big Empty and see justice done. The Big Empty is by Robert Crais. 

She thinks it was murder. But if she can’t trust herself, can anyone else? Nancy North and her boyfriend Felix are making the move across London to Harlesden. A new flat, a new area, a new start. Because while Nancy is fine now, she wasn’t fine before. But settling into the new flat and meeting the new neighbours isn’t helped by Felix’s hovering concern. She is all right. She is sticking to her breathing exercises and doctor-prescribed help.  So, when their new neighbour Kira Mullan is found dead by suicide, Felix is understandably worried about Nancy’s frame of mind. But Nancy saw Kira the day before she died and she didn’t strike her as someone who was suicidal – she was upset and angry, yes, but was she upset and angry enough to take her own life?  Nancy is the only one convinced that there’s more to Kira’s death than has been discovered. But all the police and the neighbours see is a vulnerable woman who isn’t sure of what she saw, and might even be imagining things . . .  Is Nancy imagining things, or are there more questions that should be asked about the last days of Kira Mullan?   The Last Days of Kira Mullan is by Nicci French.

If you had the power between life and death, what would you do?  Thea has a secret. She can tell how long someone has left to live just by touching them. Not only that, but she can transfer life from one person to another – something she finds out the hard way when her best friend Ruth suffers a fatal head injury on a night out. Desperate to save her, Thea touches the arm of the man responsible when he comes to check if Ruth is all right. As Ruth comes to, the man quietly slumps to the ground, dead. Thea realises that she has a godlike power: but despite deciding to use her ability for good, she can’t help but sometimes use it for her own benefit. Boss annoying her at work? She can take some life from them and give it as a tip to her masseuse for a great job. Creating an ‘Ethical Guide to Murder’ helps Thea to focus her new-found skills. But as she embarks on her mission to punish the wicked and give the deserving more time, she finds that it isn’t as simple as she first thought. How can she really know who deserves to die, and can she figure out her own rules before Ruth’s borrowed time runs out? An Ethical Guide to Murder is by Jenny Morris.

The Collaborators by Michael Idov. A brilliant young intelligence officer and a troubled heiress stumble into a global conspiracy that pits present-day Russia against the CIA in this electrifying, globetrotting spy thriller. Combining realistic thrills with sophisticated spycraft and witty dialogue, The Collaborators delivers a gut-punch answer to the biggest geopolitical question of our time. How exactly did post-Soviet Russia turn down the wrong path? Criss-crossing the globe on the way to this shocking revelation are disaffected millennial CIA officer Ari Falk, thrown into a moral and professional crisis by the death of his best asset, and brash, troubled LA heiress Maya Chou, spiralling after the disappearance of her Russian American billionaire father. The duo’s adventures take us to both classic and surprising locales – from Berlin and Tangier to Latvia, Belarus and a semi-abandoned technopark outside Moscow.

February 2025

Little Red Death is by A K Benedict. DI Lyla Rondell is on the case of a lifetime. Tasked with investigating a series of perplexing deaths, the only lead she has is that each appears to be based on a different classic fairy tale. Far from the stuff of bedtime stories, the press is having a field day with what they have named the Grimm Ripper Murders. But as the bodies stack up, Lyla’s whole world is about to flip on its head. Because the killer’s bloody trail stretches deep into her own origin story, and when she discovers the truth, nothing will ever be the same again. Faced with the fact that everything she knows is fiction, Lyla will have to take a little creative license of her own if she’s going to turn the final page on the killings . . . 

March 2025

The final days of Adolf Hitler are shrouded in mystery. What really happened in that Berlin bunker? And what happened next?  When Parker loses his faith and drops out of the seminary, he finds himself back in london and looking for work. Unable to find anything more respectable, he accepts an offer to work as amanuensis to a man of dubious character called Robinson. Robinson lives in a big house in Kilburn where he earns a living as a collector of historical objects. He specialises in Russian icons, old newspapers and other items of more dubious provenance. One of Parker’s duties involves meeting people who have an interest in purchasing the kinds of artefacts in which robinson specializes. While carrying out his assignments, he comes to realise that his grandfather and Robinson’s  father both have controversial war records. In fact, the more immersed he becomes in Robinson’s world in fact, the more he comes to realise that he is the inheritor of a personal history that leads into the darkest corners of 20th century history. With a cast of corrupt police officers, the Russian Mafiosi, catholic priests, Second World War bomber pilots, David Bowie, Eric Burdon from The Animals, Eva Braun, Heinrich Himmler and Adolf Hitler, Come In And Shut The Door is by Chris Petit.

In the glorious summer of 1914, Emily Grey, a young Cambridge undergraduate, is studying German in Heidelberg. While there she meets Hans, a philosopher with grey eyes and long lashes, who wins her heart and asks her to marry him. When the First World War intervenes, however, she is forced to return to England, leaving Hans behind to join the Imperial Navy. A year later, Emily is recruited to serve in a recently established government department. Commander Cumming, head of His Majesty’s newly-formed Secret Service — sometimes also known as MI6 — is keen to make use of Emily’s language skills. Assigned to interview an informer known as ‘The Dane’, she learns of a plot so audacious it has the potential to change the entire course of the war. At Rosyth in Scotland, the home of the British Grand Fleet, Emily must work undercover to locate the mole the heart of the British naval establishment. Who is the traitor known only by the codename ‘Heiffer’? And can she find him in time to prevent a military catastrophe that would spell disaster for the country she serves? No.2 Whitehall Court is by Alan Judd who has created a gripping thriller about the early days of MI6.

April 2025

The Other People is by C.B. Everett. And Then There Were None  meets The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle. Ten strangers. An old dark house. A killer picking them off one by one. And a missing girl who's running out of time. . . Ten strangers wake up inside an old, locked house. They have no recollection of how they got there. In order to escape, they have to solve the disappearance of a young woman. But a killer also stalks the halls of the house, and soon the body count starts to rise. Who are these strangers? Why were they chosen? Why would someone want to kill them? And who – or what – is the Beast in the Cellar? Forget what you think you know. Because while you can trust yourself, can you really trust The Other People?

DCS Kat Frank and AIDE Lock are back in a cutting-edge new thriller. The truth will always come out, but at what cost?  Fresh from successfully closing their first live case, the Future Policing Unit are called in to investigate when a headless, handless body is found on a Warwickshire farm. But as they work to identify the victim and their killer, the discovery of a second body begins to spark fears that The Aston Strangler is back. And as the stakes rise for the team, so do the tensions brewing within it. When DCS Kat Frank is accused of putting the wrong man behind bars all those years ago, AIDE Lock – the world's first AI Detective – pursues the truth about what happened with relentless logic. But Kat is determined to keep the past buried, and when she becomes the target of a shadowy figure looking for revenge, Lock is torn between his evidence-based algorithms and the judgement of his partner, with explosive results.   When everything hangs in the balance, it will all come down to just how much an AI machine can learn, and what happens when they do . . . Human Remains is by Jo Callaghan.

Carved in Blood is by Michael Bennett. It’s a chilly Auckland winter, but for Hana Westerman and her family, it is a time of excitement. Matariki is approaching – the small cluster of stars also known as the Seven Sisters is a sacred constellation in Māori culture, heralding a time of new beginnings. Hana’s daughter Addison is getting engaged and Hana’s new role within her community is going well. For once, life is good, peaceful.   But this Matariki brings unwelcome change. When Hana’s ex-husband Jaye, a high-flying Detective Inspector, is shot in what looks like a random hold-up, Hana offers her help to the senior police officer spearheading the investigation, DI Elisa Grey. With access to police intelligence, Hana makes a breakthrough that leads to a potential suspect with links to a Chinese organised-crime syndicate. But then Addison receives a phone call telling her that the police have the wrong man.  Was Jaye really just in the wrong place at the wrong time? Or is his shooting related to something else – an old undercover case deep in his past?  

Bone of Contention is by Blake Mara. Louise and the Pack are back in another pawfully intriguing mystery . . .  When Yaz and her dog Hercules find a dead man on a bench along the canal with chicken bones lying around him, she immediately calls Louise – and the police. The case is odd: a chicken bone has been forcibly rammed down the victim’s throat, and the last person to see him was their friend – and Pack-mate – Claire. When the police take Claire into custody, the Pack mobilise, determined to find the real killer. The trail leads them to the new Cluckin’ Good Chicken shop, who not only have a gang that loiter outside, smoking weed and harassing passers-by, but have also managed to create issues with the locals. As the Pack's investigation into the chicken shop progresses, establishing links with organised crime that might possibly connect to the local council, Louise and her friends find themselves in mortal danger. Can the Pack sniff out the killer and get to the bones of the mystery? 

June 2025

Spring 1945. The war is nearly over, but the wounds are still fresh, and for​ the picturesque village of Larkwhistle in the New Forest, it’s a time of​ great change and great sorrow. ​ Jill Metcalfe receives the news of her brother Henry’s death from his friend, US Army Officer Jack Stafford. Henry had been on a mission in France and had discovered some vital information, but it was information he was unable to give to Jack before he was killed at the rendezvous point. Jack has come to the village in the hopes that Henry’s cryptic last note will lead to a clue to the traitor he was searching for. With Jill at his side, they begin to investigate. ​But someone doesn’t want them looking into what happened to Henry. And when a body is discovered, it seems like there might be more to this little village – and its inhabitants – than first meets the eye. ​Because the war might be over, but the killing hasn’t stopped. The New Forest Murders is by Matthew Sweet.

Hotel Ukraine is by Martin Cruz Smith. When Arkady Renko is charged with investigating the murder of Alexei Kazasky, the Deputy Minister of Defence, he knows he has to tread carefully. Alexei Kazasky is a high-profile politician and has a complicated relationship with Putin. This investigation clearly has Kremlin approval, but, as with everything in Russia, things are not always what they seem. Already preoccupied with his developing Parkinson’s, Arkady finds he has more to worry about. The war in Ukraine is gaining momentum, and his son Zhenya has become involved with the Black Army, a Russo-Ukrainian group of hacktivists. Moreover, as Arkady digs deeper into Kazasky’s murder, he realizes that the man’s death may have been more politically motivated than he first assumed. Now it seems that the people behind the killing have him firmly in their crosshairs – but this time Arkady’s life is not the only one on the line.

Forthcoming books From Bitter Lemon Press

January 2025 

Runaway Horses is by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini. Siena, one of Italy's most beautiful cities, visited by all discerning travellers to Tuscany, is feverishly preparing for the Palio, a horse race dating back to the Middle Ages held every summer in the centre of the town. Milanese lawyer Enzo Maggione and his wife Valeria are unwittingly caught up in the maelstrom of plots, counterplots and bribes surrounding the race. They are even witnesses to the violent death of Puddu, the Palio's most celebrated jockey, found dead the day before the race. A murder mystery, a hilarious portrait of a fading marriage and a decadent society, and a history of the Palio all rolled up into one brilliant novel. What begins as a listless excursion to a medieval equestrian competition turns into a hallucinatory nightmare for Maggione and his wife, awakening their dormant libido for each other but, more dangerously, for others in their entourage. The death of the jockey is only one of the mysterious goings-on to be solved. It soon becomes clear that there are no bystanders in the Palio.

February 2025

The Best Enemy is by Sergio Olguin. A new investigation by Verónica Rosenthal, the audacious Buenos Aires journalist. Andrés Goicochea, a former director of the magazine where she works, and his ex-partner have been executed in cold blood. Her boss, Patricia, is in the hospital with a bullet in her lung. The authorities are trying to pass the murders off as a burglary gone wrong. Veronica has her doubts. The magazine’s investigation of a high-level corruption scandal seems more likely to have triggered the violence. A scandal perhaps influential Argentine businessmen perhaps involved with an Israeli linked to atrocities committed in Gaza years ago.

March 2025

Hunkeler, now a retired inspector of the Basel police force, is hospitalized and sharing a room with Stephan Fankhauser, an old acquaintance terminally ill with cancer. One night, a groggy Hunkeler wakes up to see a young nurse administering an injection to his friend. The following day Fankhauser is found dead. There was no autopsy, and Fankhauser was quickly cremated. Hunkeler resolves to get to the bottom of the matter. His maverick investigation will threaten Switzerland's carefully honed reputation of neutrality during WWII. Hunkeler's Secret is by Hansjorg Schneider.

May 2025

The story begins in 1989 on the Dalmatian Coast of Croatia. The investigation into a young woman’s disappearance falters as Yugoslavia plunges into a fratricidal war. Another three decades will pass before the truth is revealed. Inspector Gorki Šain, haunted by his failure to unravel the case the first time, returns to solve the crime in 2017. We are barely two months before the fall of the Berlin Wall, only “an instant” before the shift from one world to another, the shift toward tragedy for a country ultimately forged by war. Red Water is by Jurica Pavičić.

Forthcoming Books from Baskerville Press (John Murray)

 February 2025

Dirty Money is by Charlotte Philby. Ramona Chang. An investigative journalist turned private detective, Ramona's final scoop left her with a target on her back. Now in hiding, she is living in a run-down flat in east London. But when her latest case looking into an upmarket escort agency takes a dark turn, she needs information only accessible to those in power. Detective Sergeant Madeleine Farrow. A high-flying operative at a government agency, it's the day of her fiftieth birthday when Madeleine finds out that she has been given the lead on an investigation into corruption on a global scale. But when she finds her case mysteriously blocked from the inside, she needs someone on the outside, capable of moving undetected. As Ramona and Madeleine's cases collide, can the unlikely allies find justice for multiple victims within the capital's hotbed of lies and deception?

June 2025

Death has come to her doorstep . . . Retired nurse, avid gardener, renowned cake maker and fearless sleuth Miss Hortense has lived in Bigglesweigh, a quiet Birmingham suburb, since she emigrated from Jamaica in 1960. She takes great pride in her home, starching her lace curtains bright white, and she can tell if she's being short-changed on turmeric before she's taken her first bite of a beef patty. Thirty-five years of nursing have also left her afraid of nobody, be they a local drug dealer or a priest, and an expert in deciphering other people's secrets with just a glance. Miss Hortense uses her skills to investigate the investments of the Pardner network - a special community of Black investors, determined to help their people succeed. But when an unidentified man is found dead in one of the Pardner's homes, a bible quote noted down beside his body, Miss Hortense's long buried past comes rushing back to greet her, bringing memories of the worst moment of her life, one which her community has never let her forget. It is time for Miss Hortense to solve a mystery that will see her, and the community she loves, tested to their limits. A Murder for Miss Hortense is by Mel Pennant.

Forthcoming Books from Orion Publishing

 January 2025

Notes on a Drowning is by Anna Sharpe. Alex knows she risks getting fired from her law firm if she takes on another unpaid case, but when she hears Rosa's desperate voice at the other end of the phone, she knows she has to help: the body of Rosa's shy teenage sister, Natalia, has been dragged, lifeless, from the Thames. Alex can't help but think of her own missing little sister. She knows how a lack of answers can eat you alive. Kat has worked hard to become Special Adviser to the Home Secretary, and is eager to finally put the dark and tragic part of her past behind her. But when she discovers a series of cover-ups, she begins to wonder whether her seemingly perfect new boss could be involved. Then she she's shocked to discover a letter that raises worrying questions about a girl found drowned in London... Natalia. There are complex and painful reasons for Alex and Kat not to work together, but when it becomes clear that there are powerful people involved in Natalia's death, and that other girls are at risk, Alex and Kat must overcome their differences to find answers. Will they save the girls and discover the truth? Or will the high-powered players in this game stop Alex and Kat for good?

Adrianna, heir to the multimillion dollar Kensington nightclub empire, is planning her dream wedding - a lavish ceremony funded by exclusive sponsors, on the Kensington's private tropical island Elysium. There's only one flaw in her perfect plans. Elysium holds traumatic memories as the place where she was kidnapped and held hostage for three days on her 21st birthday - a case that was never solved... When a bridesmaid is murdered the night before the dress fitting, it soon becomes clear that Adrianna won't be able to get hitched without a hitch. The body is staged in a gruesome display, chillingly reminiscent of Adrianna's kidnapping. When forensic expert Holly becomes embroiled in this alien world, the secrets that have dogged the bride and her bridesmaids since childhood start to come out. The answers lie on Elysium, if Holly can find her way into this playground of the rich and famous - and more importantly, if she can get out of it alive... The Bridesmaid is by Cate Quinn

The Time of the Fire is by Emma Kavanagh Northern California, end of summer. Fire Hazard Severity Zone: Very High. A mysterious death. On the anniversary of her mother's death, CEO-in-waiting Robyn Sandoval goes for a morning run. She knows her father - a local fire fighting hero - is desperate to speak to her, to tell her something he wants her to know before she starts her new job leading the corporation that owns most of their Northern Californian town of Destino. But when Robyn arrives, she finds him dead. A devastating fire. Meanwhile, after months of drought, a freak forest fire ignites on the mountain ridge looming over the town. Destino has never burned; its unique position protected by the seemingly insurmountable barrier of the ridge, a favourable wind direction, and a belief long held by the community that they are categorically safe. A life split in two. Robyn is shaken to the core by her father's death, and her life is shattered in two, the fabric of her reality shorn by the sheer force of her grief. The next time she wakes, everything is different: her father is alive, and there's no sign of the fire on the ridge. To understand what is happening, she has to confront not only the secrets of her past but both versions of her present. Because back in her world, the fire is spreading and the time to find answers is running out...

They've faked your child's death. And if you don't give them what they want, they'll make it a reality. Things have been difficult for annie since her husband left; her teenage daughter, Ifsla, has become a ghost of her former self. Annie's terrified that Isla might do something desperate, and she'll lose her, too. So when Annie receives a video of herself crying at Isla's funeral, her blood runs cold. Confused and horrified, Annie races upstairs to check on Isla, who is alive and well. The video has been faked. But who sent it and what do they want? One dark truth soon becomes clear: Annie is the latest in a string of parents being blackmailed, and Isla will be killed if Annie goes to the police or if she fails to give the sender what they want. Annie has a deadly choice: comply with the demands, or try to unmask the dangerous criminal. Your Child Next is by M J Arlidge and Andy Maslen

February 2025

The Naming of the Birds is by Paraic O'Donnell. 'Some wrong was done long ago. It can never be righted, and it has not been forgotten. Someone remembers it.' London, 1894. Inspector Henry Cutter is in an unconvivial temper. Then the murders begin. The first to die is Sir Aneurin Considine, a decorated but long-retired civil servant, is found dead amongst his beloved orchid collection, killed by a wound inflicted with surgical precision. Soon, other victims suffer similar fates. More men in powerful positions; more murders that are gruesome but immaculately orchestrated. The perpetrator comes and goes like a ghost, leaving only carefully considered traces. Hot on the tails of this invisible adversary are Inspector Cutter, along with his hapless but endlessly enthusiastic sidekick, Sergeant Gideon Bliss. But as the pressure mounts, victims will start to look like perpetrators, murderers like truth-tellers, long-hidden failings will come resurface, and not even their very selves are safe from suspicion.

It's New Year's Eve in Edinburgh when Emily sees Nicky. Or at least she thinks she does. He looks, laughs, and moves just like Nicky. But how can that be? Nicky died when they were teenagers, in an accident on a remote road up in the Highlands... didn't he? A week later, Emily sees the man again. He says his name Nicholas. This man not only looks like an adult version of her friend, but he also knows things that only Nicky should know. As her encounters with Nicholas become more frequent and her fixation intensifies, the truth becomes murkier, and more unsettling. Is Emily being haunted, is she going mad - or is something altogether darker going on... One Came Back is by Rose McDonagh.

March 2025

Decisions were made: I made them. Violence was done: I did it. Crime scenes were fled: I fled them. People were hurt: I hurt them. Someone was loved: I loved them. Not everything I did was bad. Just most of it. A scholarship kid with straight As and big dreams, Evie Gordon always thought she was special, that she'd be someone. But after graduating from an elite university, she finds herself drowning in debt and working as an SAT tutor for the super-rich of Los Angeles. Everything changes one Sunday, when she arrives for a weekly lesson at the Victors' Beverly Hills mansion to discover pure carnage: the bloody remains of Mr. and Mrs. Victor sullying their beautiful back garden, and a woman crying for help from within the walls of the family's estate.  Within moments, Evie and the woman go from bystanders to suspects to fugitives. Anointed the new Charles Manson by the press, a bloodthirsty ninety-nine percenter hoping to spark a class war, Evie is finally someone. At the heart of a nationwide manhunt, Evie is desperate to clear her name. But first she'll have to break down the barriers of her new companion - who is inscrutable, surprisingly skilled at being on the run, and quickly becoming the most important person in Evie's upside-down life. Killer Potential is by Hannah Deitch.

The Grapevine is by Kate Kemp. Australia, 1979. It's the height of summer and on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac a housewife is scrubbing the yellow and white chequered tiles of her bathroom floor. But all is not as it seems. For one thing, it's 3 a.m. For another, she is trying desperately to remove all traces of blood before they stain. Her husband seems remarkably calm, considering their neighbour has just been murdered. As the sun rises on Warrah Place, news of Antonio Marietti's death spreads like wildfire, gossip is exchanged in whispers and suspicion mounts. Twelve-year-old Tammy launches her own investigation, determined to find out what happened, but she is not the only one whose well-meaning efforts uncover more mysteries than they solve. There are secrets behind every closed door in the neighbourhood - and the identity of the murderer is only one of them . . .Richly atmospheric and simmering with tension, The Grapevine is an acutely observed debut novel about prejudice and suspicion, the hidden lives of women, and how the ties that bind a community can also threaten .

What brings people together often throws them apart especially when it involves family. Ordinarily a close and loyal unit, the relationnships between detectives David Stone and Frankie Oliver is stretched to a breaking point when, without hwe knowledge he embarks on an investigation into the tragic open-unsolved murder of her sister. The past and present will collide with devastating consequences. A Truth More Painful than Murder is by Mari Hannah.

Murder at the Palace is by N R Daws. When one of the ladies in residence at Hampton Court Palace fails to answer her maid's call in the morning, Mrs Lydia Bramble, palace housekeeper, is called in to investigate. What Mrs Bramble finds sends shockwaves through the whole palace: Miss Philomena Franklin, slumped over her desk, a knife in her back.  With the police determined to bark up the wrong tree, Mrs Bramble decides to take up her own investigation with the help of Miss Franklin's maid. After all, as servants, they know just how many dangerous secrets and secret squabbles the genteel residents of the palace apartments harbour.

April 2025 

A Darker Side of Paradise is by R J Ellory. A masterful, gripping serial-killer thriller covering three killers over four decades, and the dogged police officer who tracks them down across small-town America. Rachel Hoffman enters a cat and mouse chasewith a shadowy killer who taunts her with passages from Dante's inferno. Over forty years of her life will be ripped apart and changed in her search for the truth. 

All Jay wants is to start again, to set himself up in a small, quiet town where no one knows him. Because here, no one will let him forget what they think he did the day his neighbour died in Flat 401. He just needs to keep doing what he's always done: treat people with kindness and respect, and try to stay out of trouble. But when a threatening note makes its way into the hostel he's forced to call home - Everyone is going to know what you really did - his hope for a fresh start begins to crumble. Jay fears that the secret he's fought so hard to hide, that he went to prison to protect, might finally come out. How far is he willing to go to keep his freedom alive? And with a shadowy figure from his past tracking Jay's every move, perhaps it's not just his freedom Jay should be worried about being taken from him, but his life... Flat 401 is by Kingsley Pearson.

The Castle is by John Sutherland. Alex and Pip are in desperate need of an escape. Their stressful roles as hostage negotiators are eased only by the fact that they get to come home to each other every night. When an old friend invites the couple up to the Scottish Highlands for an extended break, Alex and Pip jump at the chance. It's the rest they both need. But soon after they arrive at the castle, they hear the sound of gunshots, and their perfect escape turns into a perfect nightmare. The remote mountainous landscape is now the setting for a terrifying kidnap plot targeting one of the other guests. In the desperate hours that follow, Alex and Pip must call on all their years of negotiating experience to keep everyone alive. But with Pip gravely injured and the net closing in, it might be her life that needs saving most of all...

Venice is alive with the magic and bustle of Carnevale. A city of mysterious masks and gorgeous palaces, of riches, patricians, intellectuals and artists. And amidst it all, something new is being born: magnificent voices are soaring above the spires, astonishing costumes are being crafted, and audiences are being transported, for the first time, by the power of the Opera. And beneath it all: espionage, organised crime, and murder. Swordsman Richard Hughes has arrived on the banks of the Grand Canal looking for a simpler life, only to be plunged - alongside Phillip de Chambray, a remarkable woman unable to show her true self - into the thick of the murkiest, most dangerous European politics, at a moment when someone is trying to destroy the opera, and Venice itself. The Venetian Heretic is by Christian Cameron.

May 2025

Game, Set and Murder is by Judy Murray. Four close friends. One big secret. On a hot midsummer day in the Surrey countryside, close friends Kristin, Vee, Bibi and Hailey are celebrating their Ladies' Team victory at the exclusive Royal Oaks Tennis Club. But when their oh-so-charming coach, Jeremy, collapses after tucking into a carefully decorated sponge cake, it seems the season isn't just ending with a championship trophy - but with a murder. Off the court, it's clear that each of the four women has been keeping a dark secret, but surely no one would wish Jeremy dead? Or perhaps revenge truly is a cake best served cold...

You love your family. They make you feel safe. You trust them. But should you...? Exhausted mum Natalie struggles to put baby Erin down for the night, her tiredness exacerbated by the party preparations for her eldest's 16th birthday. It's supposed to be a joyful celebration, but the family is stretched to breaking point. As the alcohol flows at the birthday party, tensions come to a head. Later, there is widespread horror and panic when baby Erin disappears. Eventually the missing child is found in nearby woods, but any relief is short lived. Erin is rushed to ICU at the local hospital, a criminal investigation into her abduction and attempted murder begins. SIO Max Fleming tears this once loving family apart, as he investigates the crime. Minute by minute, hour by hour, he dissects the events of that fateful night, as a host of secrets and lies are revealed. This will be a party to remember. For all the wrong reasons. The Mistake is by MJ Arlidge and Lisa Hall 

June 2025

Death on Set (Location) is by Richard Coles. Canon Daniel Clement is back. In the spring of 1990, we return to Champton, where the characters we've come to love are all aflutter as a glamorous movie set takes over the village. As the actors don their bonnets, gowns and crowns, a murder interrupts filming on set - and it's an ingenious murder. Can Daniel solve the mystery with help from his sidekick Detective Sergeant Neil Vanloo - even when things are so sticky between them?

Margate is in the grip of a heatwave when David Whitehouse stumbles across the mysterious story of a local woman who lived on the ground floor of Saltwater Mansions, a block of flats not far from the sea. On paper, Caroline Lane was unremarkable. She paid her mortgage every month. She always paid her bills. But nobody had seen or heard from her for 13 years, and no one had ever come looking. She had disappeared completely. David quickly becomes as fascinated by this missing woman as the residents of Saltwater Mansions, all of whom have their own theories to share, and their own unique stories to tell. As his obsession grows, David unearths vital clues that private detectives and amateur investigators alike have failed to spot. But the closer he gets to the truth, the clearer it becomes that this mystery was never meant to be solved, and that some stories don't want to be told. What if this one was never about Caroline Lane at all? From acclaimed and award-winning author David Whitehouse, Saltwater Mansions is an astonishing work of creative non-fiction blending reportage and memoir to explore the extraordinary hidden lives of ordinary people, the impact of grief, and the dangerous allure of taking true crime stories into our own hands.

After an accident that nearly kills her, Emily and her husband, Freddie, move from London to a beautiful Dartmoor country house called Larkin Lodge. The house is gorgeous, striking―and to Emily, something about it feels deeply wrong. Old boards creak at night, fires go out, and books fall from the shelves, and all of it stems from the terrible presence she feels in the third-floor room. But these things happen only when Emily's alone, so are they happening at all? She's still medically fragile; her postsepsis condition can cause hallucinatory side effects, which means she can't fully trust her own senses. Freddie doesn't notice anything odd and is happy with their chance at a fresh start. Emily, however, starts to believe that the house is being haunted by someone who was murdered in it, though she can find no evidence of a wrongful death. As bizarre events pile up and her marriage starts to crumble, Emily becomes obsessed with discovering the truth about Larkin Lodge. But if the house has secrets, so do Emily and her husband. And they live here now. We Live Here Now is by Sarah Pinborough.

July 2025

Into the Fire is by M J Arlidge. Nowhere to hide. No-one to turn to. Nothing to lose.Helen Grace is sure she made the right decision to quit the force. Until the day she looks out from her window to see a desperate young woman being beaten by two thugs. Still a force to be reckoned with, Helen races into the night and strikes the men down. For a moment, it feels like she doesn't need her badge to do good, but as she leads the girl to safety, she's struck from behind, regaining consciousness just in time to see the victim being dragged into a white van. Helen's determined to find the woman and save her, but even begging her former colleagues to help gets her nowhere. It's clear it'll be up to her alone to make the rescue. Taking matters into her own hands, Helen uncovers more women connected to the first who need her help. But fighting crime as a maverick is a dangerous game. One that could cost Helen her life, and the life of those she holds most dear...

At the beginning of the twentieth century, as America grapples with forces of human and natural violence more powerful than humanity has ever seen, Bessie Holland yearns for the love that she has never known. She finds a soulmate and mentor in a brilliant but tormented suffragette English teacher, who inspires Bessie to fight the forces of evil that permeate her world. Watching the vast Texas countryside being destroyed by an oil company and a menacing figure with a violent past, Bessie is prepared to defend her home and her family. But when she accidentally kills an unarmed man to defend her father Hackberry, she must flee to New York. There, her older brother introduces her to boys who will grow into gangsters, but as children admire and respect Bessie's spirit and fortitude as she is cast into a gangland that yearns for justice and mercy. A welcome return to the beloved Holland series and populated with characters both radiant and despicable, Don't Forget Me, Little Bessie is by James Lee Burke and is an epic story of a remarkable young girl who fights against potentially overwhelming forces.

Matchmaking for Psychopaths is by Tasha Coryell. Alexandra was expecting a nice evening with her fiancé for her birthday. Instead, her best friend is sitting next to her man, and what's worse: They're in love. To escape her relationship troubles, Alexandra throws herself into her job where she works as a matchmaker for psychopaths-a label that the clients themselves are unaware of-and becomes entangled with two of her most recent clients, both of whom have mysterious pasts that inspire Alexandra to breech work protocol and spend time with them outside of the office. One of them, Rebecca, becomes a candidate to take on the role of Alexandra's new best friend, while the other, Aidan, claims that he's her soulmate, despite her insistence that her significant other is going to return in time for their scheduled wedding. When her fiancé goes missing and threatening packages begin arriving at her doorstep, Alexandra has to figure out who is trying to target her and how it relates to her own dark past. Can she trust her instincts as a matchmaker or has she set herself up with her enemy?

When Isla Hanson's husband, Jerry, dies, leaving his entire estate to her, she knows she'll be set for life. But contrary to the belief of his wealthy friends and business associates, who all seem to think she was only ever interested in him for the money, Isla truly loved Jerry and struggles to imagine life without him. With no children of her own, and no real family to speak of, Isla is grateful for the support of her best friend, Tia. But when a strange woman and child appear at the funeral, Isla's entire world is turned upside down, and she is shocked to learn that the loving husband she dedicated fifteen years of her life to might have been living a double-life all along. The Child is by Mandasue Heller.

Forthcoming books from Little Brown Publishers

 January

Detective Galileo, returns in a case where hidden history, and impossible crime, are linked by nearly invisible threads in surprising ways. The body of a young man is found floating in Tokyo Bay. But his death was no accident-Ryota Uetsuji was shot. He'd been reported missing the week before by his live-in girlfriend Sonoka Shimauchi, but when detectives from the Homicide Squad go to interview her, she is nowhere to be found. She's taken time off from work, clothes and effects are missing from the apartment she shared. And when the detectives learn that she was the victim of domestic abuse, they presume that she was the killer. But her alibi is airtight-she was hours away in Kyoto when Ryota disappeared, forcing Detectives Kusanagi and Utsumi to restart their investigation. But if Sonoko didn't kill her abusive lover, then who did? A thin thread of association leads them to their old consultant, brilliant physicist Manabu Yukawa, known in the department as "Detective Galileo." With Sonoko still missing, the detectives investigate other threads of association-an eccentric artist, who was Sonoko's mother figure after her own single mother passed; and an older woman who is the owner of a hostess club. And how is Sonoko continuing to stay one step ahead of the police searching for her? It's up to Galileo to find the nearly hidden threads of history and coincidence that connect the people around the bloody murder- which, surprisingly, connect to his own traumatic past-to unravel not merely the facts of the crime but the helix that ties them all together. Invisible Helix is by Keigo Higashino.

The Bone Fire is by Martina Murphy. A fatal fire in a holiday let on Slievemore, Achill Island, leaves one person dead and another missing. Deemed arson, DS Lucy Golden and her team are tasked with solving the murder and locating the missing woman, Moira Delaney. As the case develops, the pressure builds when it transpires that Moira's father is a gangland figure, a suspect in three unsolved murders. If Lucy doesn't uncover what happened that morning in Slievemore, he will deploy his men to deal out his own sort of justice. Things get even more complicated when a laptop is uncovered that could ruin all that Lucy holds dear. And as the net on the suspect tightens, Lucy faces a hard choice - will she use it to save herself and bring a murderer to justice, or bury it and save her family and her career?

Dead men sometimes do tell tales. When the death of an old friend calls him back to Northern Ireland, Connor Fraser sees it as a way to distract himself from his growing troubles at home in Stirling. He's estranged from his partner, Jen, and can't seem to find a way to bridge the growing gap between them. Meanwhile, his beloved grandmother's health is deteriorating, while all Connor can do is watch on helplessly. But, after spotting three familiar faces at the funeral, faces with ties to Northern Ireland's bloody past, Connor quickly learns that there's a lot more to the death of his old friend than just a random traffic accident. But before he can properly investigate, he's lured into a trap and attacked. Pursued by ruthless professionals who don't care if they bring Connor to their powerful masters alive or dead, he must go off grid and on the run. As he tries to untangle the web of deceit and lies that has ensnared him, Connor is faced with choices and losses that threaten to break him. With his back to the wall, can he unravel a mystery from the past that could shatter the peace of the future, before it's too late? Exit Wounds is by Neil Broadfoot. 

February

With his lover imprisoned in a Russian gulag, the Gray Man will stop at nothing to free her in. A winter sunrise over the great plains of Russia is no cause for celebration. The temperature barely rises above zero, and the guards at Penal Colony IK22 are determined to take their misery out on the prisoners - chief among them, one Zoya Zakharova. Once a master spy for Russian foreign intelligence, then the partner and lover of the Gray Man, Zakharova has information the Kremlin wants, and they don't care what they have to do to get it. But if they think a thousand miles of frozen wasteland and the combined power of the Russian police state is enough to protect them, they don't know the Gray Man. He's coming, and no one's safe. Midnight Black is by Mark Greaney.

Hamish Macbeth:Death of a Smuggler is by M C Beaton with R W Green. All Hamish Macbeth ever really wants is a quiet life in the peaceful surroundings of his home in the Highland village of Lochdubh. Unfortunately for him, the time he would normally find most relaxing, after the tourists have gone and before the winter sets in, turns out to be far from peaceful. The new love in his life, Claire, is keen for them to take a holiday and Hamish is mulling over the idea when his newly-assigned constable arrives, presenting Hamish with both a surprise and a secret. Getting to the bottom of the secret becomes the least of Hamish's problems when, at the opening of the revamped village pub, he meets a family who have a score to settle with a sinister man who has mysteriously gone missing. Discovering a murdered woman's body puts further pressure on Hamish, especially when it becomes clear that the murdered woman and the missing man were linked, although their true identities become yet another mystery.  To Hamish's horror, he then finds himself working on the murder case with the despicable Detective Chief Inspector Blair, his sworn enemy, who has been drafted in under curious circumstances. With a growing list of suspects, ever more bewildering circumstances and Blair hindering him at every turn, Hamish must find the murderer before anyone else falls victim. 

Lt. Eve Dallas is back with a murder case with its roots in loyalty, treachery, espionage and the long shadow of war... gHis passport reads Giovanni Rossi, retired businessman. But decades ago, during the Urban Wars, he was part of a small, secret organization called The Twelve. Responding to an urgent summons from an old compatriot, he returns to New York. To his death... Bonded in Death is by J D Robb

March

The Mouthless Dead is by Anthony Quinn. A powerful and gripping crime novel based on the Wallace Murder, a national cause célèbre of the 1930s and still unsolved today. One night in 1931 William Wallace was handed a phone message at his chess club from a Mr Qualtrough, asking him to meet at an address to discuss some work. Wallace caught a tram from the home he shared with his wife, Julia, to the address which turned out, after Wallace had consulted passers-by and even a policeman, to not exist. On returning home two hours later he found his wife beaten to death in the parlour. The elaborate nature of his alibi pointed to Wallace as the culprit. He was arrested and tried, found guilty of murder and sentenced to hang, but the next month the Court of Criminal Appeal sensationally overturned the verdict and he walked free. The killer was never found. Fifteen years on, the inspector who worked the case is considering it once more. Speculation continues to be rife over the true killer's identity. James Agate in his diary called it 'the perfect murder', Raymond Chandler said 'The case is unbeatable. It will always be unbeatable'. And on a cruise in 1947, new information is about to come to light.

Lazarus Man is by Richard Price. In Lazarus Man, Richard Price, one of the greatest

chroniclers of life in urban America, creates intertwining portraits of a group of compelling and singular characters whose lives are permanently impacted by the disaster. East Harlem, 2008. In an instant, a five-story tenement collapses into a fuming hill of rubble, pancaking the cars parked in front and coating the street with a thick layer of ash. As the city's rescue services and media outlets respond, the surrounding neighborhood descends into chaos. At day's end, six bodies are recovered, but many of the other tenants are missing.  Anthony Carter--whose miraculous survival, after being buried for days beneath tons of brick and stone, transforms him into a man with a message and a passionate sense of mission.  Felix Pearl--a young transplant to the city, whose photography and film work that day provokes in this previously unformed soul a sharp sense of personal destiny.  Royal Davis--owner of a failing Harlem funeral home, whose desperate trolling of the scene for potential "customers" triggers a quest to find another path in life.  And Mary Roe--a veteran city detective who, driven in part by her own family's brutal history, becomes obsessed with finding Christopher Diaz, one of the building's missing.

Acts of Malice is by Alex Gray. DSI William Lorimer first meets Meredith St Claire when he is giving a careers talk at his goddaughter's school. The popular and glamorous drama teacher is distraught, begging him to investigate her fiancé's recent disappearance, but with a report already made to the relevant authorities, there's nothing more Lorimer can do.  But then a body is discovered on the outskirts of Glasgow. Guy Richmond was a wealthy and charismatic actor, adored by everyone. Or so it first seems. But as Lorimer and his team are drawn deeper into the peculiar world of professional theatre, they find themselves caught in a web of confidences and rivalry, thwarted dreams and ruthless ambition. For it seems the finest actors of all are those with the darkest secrets to hide.

Even on the most desirable street, there's a dark side . . .The Hill is the kind of place everyone wants to live: luxurious, exclusive and safe. But now someone is breaking and entering these Cheshire homes one by one, and DS Leo Brady suspects the burglar is looking for something, or someone, in particular. Over the border in Wales, DC Ffion Morgan recovers the body of an estate agent from the lake. There's no love lost between Ffion and estate agents, but who hated this one enough to want her dead - and why? As their cases collide, Ffion and Leo discover people will pay a high price to keep their secrets behind closed doors . . . Other People's Houses is by Clare Mackintosh.

Death on the Adriatic is by Georgina Stewart. In the picturesque Slovenian seaside resort of Koper, on the Adriatic shore, a body is found in a lonely, rocky spot on a coastal path. When it is identified as that of a police inspector, Ivan Furlan, his brother is arrested without further investigation, since it is well known that the brothers had fallen out over inherited property. Then a whistle-blower sends an anonymous message to headquarters in the capital, Ljubljana, asking for urgent assistance to prevent a miscarriage of justice, and Petra Vidmar, the youngest serving female police inspector in the Slovenian police, is despatched to sort things out.

April 2025

The Margaret Code is by Richard Hooton. 89-year-old Margaret has lived on Garnon Crescent all her life, except for those few years she never talks about. She knows all the neighbours; their hopes, their heartbreaks.  Only recently, Margaret's memory isn't what it used to be. She is sure Barbara, her best friend and neighbour, told her something important. Something she was supposed to remember.  When Barbara is found dead, Margaret determines to recover her missing memory. She and her grandson James begin to investigate, but soon strange incidents occur in her home. Margaret's daughter thinks her memory is getting worse, but Margaret knows somebody wants her out of the way. Because Margaret holds the key to solving this crime. If only she could remember where she put it.

Secrets only survive in the dark. When journalist Ben Harper is asked to help re-examine an unsolved murder case from thirty years ago, he immediately agrees. It's not just that the victim was also a journalist, murdered after she'd published a series of shocking interviews with victims of domestic abuse. It's also that he understands all too well the need of victim's daughter, Doctor Uma Jha, for answers. But it's not long before their investigation leads to threats being made on Uma's life. Ben needs to unravel this crime before it's too late, but instead he finds himself tangled in a web of lies and deception. After all, a crime like murder has implications for many people. People who have been keeping secrets for thirty years, and will do whatever it takes to protect them. Nine Hidden Lives is by Robert Gold.

Major Bricket and Circus Corpse is by Simon Brett. Introducing a new but not-so-amateur sleuth from another peaceful English village with an alarmingly high death rate! Meet Major Bricket, an infrequent resident of Highfield House in Stunston Peveril, Suffolk. In the past the Major's work assignments, frequently in foreign countries, have prevented him from spending much time there and a result, there is an air of mystery around him while everyone in the village speculates on the nature of his occupation. But now the Major has retired and has come home for good in his open-topped little red sports car... and what a homecoming it is, for lying spreadeagled on his lawn in the summer sunshine is the corpse of a clown. Coincidence that the circus has come to Stunston Peveril for the annual four-day village fair? Yet none of their quota of clowns is missing - or at least, nobody is saying. Or is the body that of an unfortunate early guest at the village's highlight of the social calendar, the Fincham Abbey Costume Ball? Fortunately Major Bricket's past clandestine career means that he is now very well placed to solve the mystery of the dead clown on his camomile lawn...

The Dead City is by Michael Russell. In this dead city, the vultures are circling... Berlin 1944. The beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. And the beginning of a dark journey for Garda detective Stefan Gillespie as he makes his way through war-ravaged Europe to the German capital. He carries secret instructions for the Irish ambassador, who is clinging on in the growing chaos - even though it's time to get out. Bombs fall and bodies fill the streets. People starve. The true horrors of Nazi terror are everywhere now... and the Russians are coming. As Stefan searches for an Irishman trapped in Berlin who has betrayed his country and his friends, who cares if people are murdered along the way? And Stefan has to ask himself if saving one life matters in this devastation. And if it does, is it worth him risking his own?

May 2025

Pam, Nancy and Shalisa once imagined retirement would mean setting aside their worries, picking up their margaritas, and lying back in a hot tub. Right up until their husbands lost their life savings in a reckless investment. Now, with the men on their last nerve, the life insurance policies are starting to sound more appealing than growing old together. But enlisting the help of the local barber/hitman isn't just the most daring thing Pam, Nancy and Shalisa have done in years - it's also where the trouble really begins. Because the friends don't realise their husbands have a plan of their own. And there's no turning back now . . . From the first laugh to the final twist, The Retirement Plan is full of characters who will steal your heart while plotting their dark deeds. The Retirement Plan is by Sue Hincenbergs.

The One You Least Suspect is by Brian McGilloway. Katie lives a quiet life. She likes her small Derry neighbourhood. She likes her job as a barmaid at O'Reillys. And she loves her daughter, Hope. But everything changes when she is approached by two detectives. They want Katie to tell them the things she hears at work. To become their informant. In this city, Katie knows the dangers of talking to the police. Yet with Hope's safety at risk should she refuse, she is trapped between two impossible choices. Crossing the O'Reilly brothers could cost her everything. Her only chance of survival is if she can remain the one that they least suspect . . . A gripping, heart-wrenching thriller that explores the fine line between right and wrong, justice and revenge, and how you choose your side when everyone is guilty . . .

Hidden Nature by Nora Roberts is a new novel about an injured cop fighting to bring down a pair of twisted killers. When a woman mysteriously vanishes, leaving her car behind in a supermarket parking lot, injured police officer, Sloan Cooper, determines to keep herself busy looking for any similar cases. She finds them, spread across three states. Men and women, old and young―the missing seem to have nothing in common. But the abductions keep on coming. It will take every ounce of Sloan's endurance to get to the dark heart of this bizarre case―and she's willing to risk her life again if that's what it takes...

June 2025

Death of a Diplomat is by Eliza Reid A remote Icelandic island. A diplomatic dinner party. And a murderer in the midst. The stakes at dinner couldn't be higher. The Canadian embassy are visiting a remote Icelandic island and the great and the good have gathered to welcome them. But beneath the glamour, tensions are bubbling. When the deputy Canadian ambassador is poisoned at dinner, suspicion falls on everyone present, but particularly on the ambassador himself. Jane, the ambassador's wife, knows that she has to solve the murder if she is to save her husband and her marriage. But Jane knows better than anyone that, when it comes to protecting scandalous secrets, there are no lengths to which people won't go.  So soon the question becomes: can she track down the killer before they strike again?

What the Night Knows is by Mark Billingham. "Three dead coppers, Tom, maybe four by lunchtime." The targeted murder of four officers is only the first in a series of attacks that leaves police scared, angry and, most disturbingly of all, vengeful. As Tom Thorne and Nicola Tanner dig into the reasons for the violence, a deeper darkness begins to emerge: the possibility that these murders are payback. The price paid for an unspeakable betrayal. To uncover the truth, Thorne will be forced to question everything he stands for. He can trust nobody, and the shocking secrets revealed by one terrible night will fracture his entire world.

Four strangers on a train. An unlikely introduction: 'Actually I'm a Murderer.'Set in the north-east of England in the seventies, the lives of an actor, tech pioneer and political advisor are thrown into turmoil when sharing a carriage with an unremarkable little man with round glasses, on the night train back to Newcastle. By the end of the following day, one of them will be dead, one will turn blackmailer and another forced to commit a crime. And all of them will be under the astute and watchful observation of Aline, the local police officer with her own agenda to fulfil... And then the body count begins to rise which begs the question - just how many actual murderers are out there... and who will be the next victim? Actually I'm a Murderer is by Terry Deary.

Closer Than She Thinks is by Zoe Lea. Louise never thought she'd be the sort of woman to have an affair. She's a good wife, a good mother and a good daughter - even if she is far from happy. But everything changes when Louise crosses paths with Oscar, a man fifteen years her junior. She knows what they're doing is wrong, but she just can't stop... When odd messages begin to arrive, it seems clear that someone has been watching Louise, and that they know her secret. They don't just want Louise to stop her affair with Oscar though - they want much more. And they will stop at nothing to get it.

As the daughter of a London crime boss, PC Philomena McCarthy walks a thin blue line keeping the two sides of her complicated life apart. On patrol one night she discovers a child in pyjamas, wandering alone. Taking Daisy home, Phil uncovers the aftermath of a deadly home invasion, as three miles away a prominent jeweller is found strapped to an explosive in his ransacked store. The crimes are linked, and all the evidence points to Phil's father as the mastermind. Phil's two worlds are colliding, trapping her in the middle of a vicious gang war that will threaten her career and everyone she loves. Who can she trust - the badge or her own blood? The White Crow is by Michael Robotham.

Also to be published in June is The Third Light by M W Craven.