Ace Atkins talks to Shots Magazine

 

I was finalising my ‘Favourites of 2025’ crime and mystery fiction for Jeff Peirce’s The Rap Sheet, when like an unexpected incoming ICBM, Ace Atkins’ EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD landed on my desk from Little Brown UK [via an Advanced Readers Copy from William Morrow Imprint of HarperCollins US].

This changed everything –

Sometimes black humour is the only way to cope with the horrors of a possible nuclear war. Ace Atkins delivers laughs aplenty that overlay a terrifying cold war thriller. Readers who grew up in the 1980s will smirk at many of the popular culture references that Atkins peppers in this page-turner.

The novel elegantly traverses the American cities of Atlanta and Washington. The year is 1985 where the Cold-War will reach its icy conclusion in Geneva. America and Russia’s Nuclear Arms Race pivots on a meeting between Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev. The veracity of the so-called American ‘Star Wars’ program [S.D.I.] will be determined at that meeting. The conclusion will be an escalation or a de-escalation of the nuclear stockpile as each side will decide if ‘Mutually Assured Destruction’ is likely or does America’s Strategic Defence Initiative give Washington the upper-hand?

A deadly game of cat-and-mouse is in play as the Geneva Meeting looms heavily on both the Russian and American secret services.

Atkins peppers his hefty thriller with an oddball assortment of players.

The complexity and darkness of the narrative are balanced by equal doses of gentle humour and farce that striate the novel, making it very moving and at times tragically sad. But it is thought-provoking at all times.

Not unlike the recent Travis Kennedy comedic thriller [The Whyte Python World Tour], Atkin’s latest is equally life affirming.

A wonderful book filled with weird insights into the machinations of an absurd reality that masks the dangers of existence.

Read More HERE

So, Ace Atkins’ extraordinary novel sat high up on my top crime / mystery thrillers of 2025 – at The Rap Sheet 

To be totally honest, it was Ace Atkins continuation of Robert B Parker’s Spencer novels many years ago that brought his work to my eye. I had been a reader of Parker’s Spencer novels for many years, and paid my dues to him and his wife Joan at Bouchercon Albany in 2013, when I moderated a panel discussion about his work, and the shadow he cast over the genre. It culminated with me reading a letter I received from Joan Parker – which is archived at Jeff Peirce’s The Rap Sheet 

After putting Ace Atkin’s EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD down, I had a few questions. Despite being ultra-busy, on a promotional tour, he kindly agreed to a chat for his British Readers – which we present here -

Ali: Welcome to Great Britain’s Shot Magazine. Before we talk about your EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD can you tell us a little about your youth, and were your family ‘bookish’ people?

Ace: Not very bookish at all! My father was a professional (American) football coach, and we moved around quite a lot. He mainly had books about football strategy, but my mother kept a decent book collection that followed us around from city to city. I recall one house – in Buffalo, New York – where the previous owner left us a sizable library. Some good stuff that I have still with me today. Later on, I became a used bookstore regular. My sons will inherit a massive book collection whether they want them or not.

I was very involved in sports. But I would have much rather been reading. I started collecting books at a very early age.

AK: ……..and what lead you into journalism?

AA: I always knew I wanted to be a novelist and being a journalist seemed like the best training ground. I was very fortunate that I got into the last days of solid print journalism in the States. I started at the very bottom and worked my way up the beat I always wanted – crime. I learned most of what I know about cops and investigations during those years. I also had some terrific editors who helped shaped my voice and style. Mainly I learned how to get to the point and tell a decent story.

AK: And so what led you to start your own writing? And what books influenced you to pursue writing as a career?

AA: I blame it all on Ian Fleming! I had always liked books, and I read all that was required by school. But nothing captured my attention like Fleming. I recall being in middle school and a kid in my class was reading Goldfinger. He said if you like the Bond movies, the books are one hundred times better. And he was he right! Once I finished with Fleming, I read John Gardner, John le Carré, Len Deighton, Clive Cussler, and Frederick Forsyth.

Spy novels led the way to classic crime, and I later got into Robert B. Parker, Elmore Leonard and George V. Higgins. And of course, Chandler and Hammett.

AK: Tell us a little about Devil’s Garden and your interest in Dashiell Hammett?

AA: I had a college professor who introduced me to the Roscoe “Fatty” Arbuckle scandal of 1921. I was absolutely fascinated by the early days of the film business and old San Francisco (my family also lived in San Francisco when I was very young). But it was years later when I heard that Hammett had been a Pinkerton detective assigned to the Fatty Arbuckle case. There wasn’t much to go on. A bit here and there from Hammett and a rare interview with his detective partner. But I’m a huge Hammett fan and found him to not only be a brilliant writer but a wonderful character.

I was very lucky to have become friends with a man named David Fechheimer. David was a real-life private eye in San Francisco and the very first to do serious research on Hammett. He knew Hammett’s wife Jose and interviewed Hammett’s partner at the Pinkerton’s. He was a huge help to me while working on the novel.

AK: …and what led you into continuing the Spenser novels by the late Robert B. Parker?

AA: I give all the credit to my longtime editor at Putnam, Neil Nyren. For whatever reason, Neil tossed my hat into the ring when it was known the Parker family wanted the Spenser books to continue. Even though I was from the South and not Boston, Neil saw something in my work that reminded him of Parker. Or just knew how much I loved – and knew – those books.

When Parker’s editor reached out about me working on sample chapters, she offered to send me several of his books to get more familiar. I told her I had all of them, even first editions wrapped in Mylar. And I didn’t need any prep! I started into the first fifty pages and that became Lullaby.

AK: While penning the Robert B. Parker Spenser novels – in what appears to be your most prolific period, you also penned the Quinn Colson novels – can you tell us about that time.

AA: Whew. It’s all a bit of a blur. My children were very young and I welcomed the work and the challenge of writing two novels a year. I had a lot of fun switching up rural Tibbehah County, Mississippi, and gritty Boston. I would write half the year about my own backyard and then fly up to Boston to switch gears.

The location and characters were never an issue. But it was important for me to write Spenser in Parker’s voice. If I didn’t do that, I felt the series wouldn’t last. But it adds another level of difficulty to write a story in another person’s voice and style. So I had to make decisions based on what Parker would do. Not always how I might have told the story.

I had fun. But it was a lot of work. A book a year is much more manageable schedule for me right now.

AK: So coming back to today, tell us what made you embark on such a complex narrative as EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD? Was it an initial idea - and you followed the muse; or did you plot extensively?

AA: When I started to make a list of novels I wanted to write after the series, EWTRTW was at the very top. It’s set in a time and a place I knew very well: 1980s Atlanta. I was exactly the age of one of the main characters, Peter Bennett, who was deeply fascinated by spy fiction. Once I had the key premise of a boy who believes his mom is dating a KGB assassin, the narrative started to roll.

AK: How did you manage to keep track of the vast array of characters that populate the narrative? Ensuring they remain distinct in the reader’s mind?

AA: Before I dug into writing, I figured out who all would be telling this story. Peter was the start because, essentially, he was me as a young teen. And then Dennis X. Hotchner, the disenchanted pulp writer. Hotch is heavily based on the late, great Ralph Dennis, who wrote wonderful crime novels set in 1970s Atlanta. And then came Vitaly Yurchenko, the real-life KGB defector who was big news in 1985. I found his true story extremely interesting.. He defected to the U.S. and then escaped his CIA handlers and went back to the Soviet Union. It’s always been a mystery of what he was really doing.

Each of these characters were sharply defined in my mind from the start and ended up dictating how the story would flow.

AK: There is humour in your work, sometimes it’s deftly placed but in EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD, there is broad farce, can you tell us a little about striating humour in a thriller narrative?

AA: I’ve always liked writers who find can balance comedy with drama. I’m a big fan of Kate Atkinson. She’s a brilliant comedic writer who can also tear your guts out. I also was greatly inspired by my late friend Elmore Leonard who never gave much credit to writers who “couldn’t write funny.”

I think humor is always around us. Even in dark or desperate times. For me finding the balance is key. And I think a great deal of it comes from my newsroom background. Newspaper writers could often find comedy in the darkest situations.

AK: You have a cynical eye with the multi-faceted ‘people’ that populate EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD, would that cynicism stem from your journalistic background?

AA: Ah, this led right into this question. Yes! Absolutely. For most of my journalism career I worked the crime beat for The Tampa Tribune. I wrote stories about grifters and thieves, morally compromised public officials. One of my stories was about the district attorney in Tampa who was addicted to betting on dog races. His spokesperson later became the current U.S. Attorney General! Our government is so endlessly corrupt and morally twisted these days, you have to laugh. If not, as someone who looks for truth, it will drive you insane.

AK: What books and films have you recently enjoyed?

AA: The Big Empty by Robert Crais. Hatchet Girls by Joe Lansdale. I read the new Kate Atkinson, Death at the Sign of the Rook, earlier this year. Also Saint of the Narrows Street by William Boyle and King of Ashes by S.A. Cosby. As far as film, I loved One Battle After Another, another story that balances comedy and social commentary. I also really enjoyed Blue Moon with Ethan Hawke about songwriter Lorenz Hart. A very smart, very sharp film. And of course, Sinners. A brilliant film set right here in Mississippi.

 

Above: 25 Minute Video interview at Square Books 2nd December 2025

AK: And what’s next for Ace Atkins?

AA: That is the big question! I’m simultaneously working on a nonfiction true crime project based in Tennessee and Mississippi and a new novel set in Florida. I think Florida is the epicentre of modern American corruption and insanity. It’s a place that constantly calls me back as a writer.

AK: Thank you for your time and insight – we loved EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD.

AA: Thank you very much! So glad you enjoyed the book. So much fun to return to the ‘80s.

Shots Magazine would like to thank Amy Richardson of Little Brown UK for organising this interview, and Ace Atkins for his time and insight.

If you haven’t finalised your Christmas Gift buying. I’d urge you to pass Ace Atkins’ EVERYBODY WANTS TO RULE THE WORLD to your friends.

More information on the work of Ace Atkins is available HERE and an excellent [and detailed] interview by the legendary Texan Bibliophile and Writer Scott Montgomery is available HERE it delves deep into the background to Ace Atkins’ latest novel. It is well worth your time.

Forthcoming books from Swift Press

The Persian by David McCloskey Kamran Esfahani, a Persian Jewish dentist from Stockholm, dreams of starting afresh in California. To finance his new life, he agrees to spy for Mossad in Iran, working with a clandestine unit tasked with sowing chaos and sabotage inside the country. When he's captured by Iranian security forces, Kamran is compelled to confess his experiences as a spy, in a testimonial dealing not only with the security of nations, but also with revenge, deceit, and the power of love and forgiveness in a world of lies. Mixing suspense with strikingly cinematic action, David McCloskey takes readers deep into the shadow war between Iran and Israel, delivering propulsive storytelling and riveting tradecraft.

In post-war Oxford, secrets lie behind every door. In 1947, with rationing still biting and the black market thriving, university don C.S. ‘Jack’ Lewis finds himself pulled into a mystery straight from one of his friend Dorothy Sayers’ novels. Susan Temple, his brightest student, has hidden herself away at Rake Hall — a hostel for unmarried, outcast mothers – and hasn’t been heard from since. With no experience beyond catching the occasional student plagiarist, Lewis is hardly a detective. But when Susan’s absence continues to haunt him, he teams up with her concerned friend Lucy and together they delve into the disturbing rumours of a nasty racket at Rake Hall. Can Lewis’s nose for the truth separate fact from fiction? The Mystery at Rake Hall is by Maureen Paton.

Presumed Guilty is by Scott Turow. In a sequel to Presumed Innocent, the book that redefined the legal thriller, judge and lawyer Rusty Sabich returns to the courtroom to defend his step-son against a racially-charged murder indictment as the boy’s life – and perhaps Rusty’s last chance at happiness – hang in the balance. Rusty is a retired judge attempting a third act in life with a loving soon-to-be wife, Bea, with whom he shares both a restful home on an idyllic lake in the rural Midwest and a plaintive hope that this marriage will be his best, and his last. But the peace that’s taken Rusty so long to find evaporates when Bea’s young adult son, Aaron, living under their supervision while on probation for drug possession, disappears. If Aaron doesn’t return soon, he will be sent back to jail. Aaron eventually turns up with a vague story about a camping trip with his troubled girlfriend, Mae, that ended in a fight and a long hitchhike home. Days later, when she still hasn’t returned, suspicion falls on Aaron, and when Mae is subsequently discovered dead, Aaron is arrested and set for trial on charges of first degree murder. Faced with few choices and even fewer hopes, Bea begs Rusty to return to court one last time, to defend her son and to save their last best hope for happiness. For Rusty, the question is not whether to defend Aaron, or whether the boy is in fact innocent – it’s whether the system to which he has devoted his life can ever provide true justice for those who are presumed guilty.

My Favourite reads of 2025

Kings of Ashes by S A Cosby (Headline)

A son returning home. A dangerous debt. Secrets about to ignite . . . and a family consumed by flames. Roman Carruthers left the smoke and fire of his family's crematory business behind in his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia. He is enjoying a life of shallow excess as a financial adviser in Atlanta until he gets a call from his sister, Neveah, telling him their father is in a coma after a hit-and-run accident.  When Roman goes home, he learns the accident may not be what it seems. His brother, Dante, is deeply in debt to dangerous, ruthless criminals. And Roman is willing to do anything to protect his family. Anything. A financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, Roman must use all his skills to try to save his family while dealing with a shadow that has haunted them all for twenty years: the disappearance of their mother when Roman and his siblings were teenagers. It's a mystery that Neveah, who has sacrificed so much of her life to hold her family together, is determined to solve once and for all. As fate and chance and heartache ignite their lives, the Carruthers family must pull together to survive or see their lives turn to ash. Because, as their father counselled them from birth, nothing lasts forever. Everything burns.

Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan (Bonnier Books)

Q is out of MI6 and into a new world of deceit and death. After Q (aka Major Boothroyd) is unexpectedly ousted from his role with British Intelligence developing technologies for MI6's OO agents, he finds himself back in his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water. His childhood friend, renowned quantum computer scientist Peter Napier, has died in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a cryptic note. The police seem uninterested, but Q feels compelled to investigate and soon discovers that Napier's ground-breaking work may have attracted sinister forces . . . Can Q decode the truth behind Napier's death, even as danger closes in?

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani (Profile Books)

'This is a work of fiction. This is not a confession.' Lucas Cole is a bestselling writer. A quiet and unassuming man, he's a beloved celebrity in his small town. Lucas Cole is also a serial killer. Nathan Cole has always known the truth about his father. But it isn't until Lucas is found dead that Nathan discovers The Midnight King, his father's fictionalised account of his hideous crimes, hidden in a box of trinkets taken from his victims. Trinkets that include a ribbon belonging to a missing girl who disappeared only days before Lucas's death. Now, Nathan must deal with the consequences of keeping his father's secret. But The Midnight King holds Nathan's secrets as well as Lucas's, and he is not the only one searching for the truth...

Clown Town by Mick Herron (John Murray Press)

Spies lie. They betray. It's what they do. Slow horse River Cartwright is waiting to be passed fit for work. With time to kill, and with his grandfather - a legendary former spy - long dead, River investigates the secrets of the old man's library, and a mysteriously missing book. Regent's Park's First Desk, Diana Taverner, doesn't appreciate threats. So when those involved in a covert operation during the height of the Troubles threaten to expose the ugly side of state security, Taverner turns blackmail into opportunity. Over at Slough House, the repository for failed spies, Catherine Standish just wants everyone to play nice. But as far as Jackson Lamb is concerned, the slow horses should all be at their desks. Because when Taverner starts plotting mischief people get hurt, and Lamb has no plans to send in the clowns. On the other hand, if the clowns ignore his instructions and fool around, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault. But they're his clowns. And if they don't all come home, there'll be a reckoning.

The Darkest Winter by Carlo Lucarelli (Orenda Books)

Bologna, 1944. World-weary Comandante De Luca is tasked with investigating three brutal murders, with the lives of ten Italian hostages on the line. In November 1944, in the worst winter ever known in Bologna, in the depths of the war, the bomb-scarred streets are home to starving refugees who have fled the advancing Allies. The Fascist Black Brigades, the officers of the S.S. and the partisans of the Italian Resistance compete for control of the city streets in bloody skirmishes. Comandante De Luca, who has proved himself “the most brilliant investigator” in Bologna, but who is now unwillingly working for the Political Police in a building that doubles as a torture facility, finds himself in trouble when three murders land on his desk: a professor shot through the eye, an engineer beaten to death, and a German corporal left to be gnawed on by rats in a flooded cellar. De Luca must rapidly unravel all three cases with ten lives on the line: ten Italian hostages who will face a Nazi firing squad if the corporal’s killing is not solved to the German command’s satisfaction. As he navigates a web of personal and political motivations – his life increasingly at risk – De Luca will not stop until he has uncovered the dangerous secrets concealed in the frozen heart of his city.

Midnight Streets by Phil Lecomber (Titan Books)

When Cockney private detective George Harley saves a young girl's life on a dark London night in 1929, he doesn't realise it marks the beginning of an investigation which will change his life forever. The incendiary book which inspired the girl's abduction also seems to be linked to a series of grisly murders that are taking place on Harley's patch, and though he's delighted to be asked by Scotland Yard to help find the killer before they strike again, he could do without the local razor- and cosh-wielding mobsters thinking he's in the police's pocket. Set during the Golden Age of Crime Fiction, Harley's world is a far cry from the country house of an Agatha Christie whodunnit. This working-class sleuth does his 'sherlocking' in the frowsy alleyways and sleazy nightclubs of Soho - the city's underbelly - peopled with lowlife ponces, jaded streetwalkers, and Jewish and Maltese gangsters: a world of grubby bedsits, all-night cafes, egg and chips, and Gold Flake cigarettes. Here, the midnight streets are black as pitch and, as Harley finds himself embroiled in the macabre mysteries of a city in which truth is as murky as the pea-souper smog and the sins are as dark as stout porter beer, he begins to realise he may never find a way out.

The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly (Orion)

Following his "resurrection walk" and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty. Representing the victim's family, Mickey's case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy's digging ultimate delivers the key witness, a whistle-blower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake. It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM's Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called "the knight's sacrifice." Haller will take a similar gambit in court to defeat the mega forces of the AI industry lined up against him and his clients.

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman (Faber & Faber)

Meet Mrs Blossom. . .  A widow who has never left the US. A grandmother with a knack for blending in A lottery winner with an unexpected fortune. Determined to finally see the world, she's starting with a cruise along the Seine. Just twenty-four hours into Mrs Blossom's trip, however, a man is dead, a precious artefact is missing, and a mysterious stranger is claiming her life is in danger. Surrounded by luxury food, quaint towns and people with staggeringly high net worth, she has no idea who she can trust. But maybe blending into the background has its perks - whoever is responsible will never see this most unlikely of detectives coming.

The Good Liar by Denise Mina (Vintage Publishing)

Blood spatter expert Doctor Claudia O’Sheil’s evidence put a killer behind bars – or so everyone thinks. Since the trial, Claudia has learned a horrific truth: her evidence and her testimony were wrong. Now as she takes the stage to give a speech before London’s elite specialists, Claudia has to choose: keep lying and leave the wronged killer behind bars or stand up, tell the truth and rip her life apart.

Strange Pictures by Uketsu

A Japanese mystery horror bestseller, revolving around a series of creepy drawings, in which the reader is the detective - from the Youtube sensation Uketsu. A series of drawings made by a young woman before her death. A child's disturbing picture of his home. A desperate sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments. Each contains a chilling warning. Each reveals a terrible secret, hidden in plain sight. Uketsu's eerie mysteries have captivated millions of readers. Can you find the clues in these strange pictures and uncover the sinister truth that connects them all?

Moscow Underground by Catherine Merridale (HarperCollins Publisher)

Moscow, 1934. When the body of an archaeologist connected to the construction of the glittering new Moscow subway is discovered in a deserted mansion, Procuracy Investigator Anton Belkin initially wants nothing to do with the case. It will mean asking difficult questions of the wrong people, and Anton has a reason to keep his head down. But he has not reckoned with Vika, his former lover and now a powerful member of the secret police, who is adamant Anton is the best man for the job. Deep underground, Anton discovers a priceless secret. Yet excavating it will mean disturbing a complex web of political and personal rivalries, deceptions and betrayals. Soon Anton must make a choice between the truth, and everything else he holds dear.

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd Robinson (Pan Macmillan)

'That’s the trouble with stories, especially the ones you write for yourself. Sometimes you think they've ended, when they've barely begun . . .' London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in what looks like a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. Her confectionery shop on Piccadilly is barely turning a profit and Henry Fielding, the famous author and new magistrate, is threatening to confiscate the money in her husband’s bank account, because he believes it might be illicitly acquired. Even those who claim to be Hannah’s friends have darker intent. Only William Devereux seems different. A friend of her late husband, Devereux helps Hannah unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his death. But their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip, and draws Henry Fielding’s attention her way, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder . . .

Honourable mentions go to the following as well.

Hang on St. Christopher by Adrian McKinty

Rain slicked streets, riots, murder, chaos. It's July 1992 and the Troubles in Northern Ireland are still grinding on after twenty-five apocalyptic years. Detective Inspector Sean Duffy got his family safely over the water to Scotland, to "Shortbread Land." Duffy's a part-timer now, only returning to Belfast six days a month to get his pension. It's an easy gig, if he can keep his head down. But then a murder case falls into his lap while his protégé is on holiday in Spain. A carjacking gone wrong and the death of a solitary, middle-aged painter. But something's not right, and as Duffy probes, he discovers the painter was an IRA assassin. So, the question becomes: Who hit the hit man and why?

Murder at Worlds End by Ross Montgomery (Penguin Random House)

Secrets, murder and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo - an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogerian - hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world. Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley's Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom - every window, chimney and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within... By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow. All eyes turn to Steven Pike, Tithe Hall's newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn't commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, 80-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she's been waiting for. Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges and rising terror to unmask the killer before it's too late.

The Good Nazi by Samir Marchado de Machado (Pushkin Press)

A zeppelin leaves Nazi Germany bound for Rio de Janeiro. For those on board it's a luxury holiday, until one of them is murdered. Police Detective Bruno Brückner, travelling on the airship, is immediately asked to investigate - and soon discovers that the murdered man was not the proud Nazi he claimed to be. What's more, he was carrying a stash of banned 'degenerate' material. As Brückner interviews his fellow passengers - a wealthy baroness, an antisemitic doctor, a debonair Englishman - his inquiries will uncover a startling story of fake identities, queer love and revenge, where nothing is as it appears, until finally the secret of the 'good Nazi' is revealed...

The Burning Ground by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage Publishing)

In the Burning Ghats of Calcutta where the dead are laid to rest, a man is found murdered, his throat cut from ear to ear. The body is that of a popular patron of the arts, a man who was, by all accounts, beloved by all: so what was the motive for his murder? Despite being out of favour with the Imperial Police Force, Detective Sam Wyndham is assigned to the case and finds himself thrust into the glamorous world of Indian cinema. Meanwhile Surendranath Banerjee, recently returned from Europe after three years spent running from the fallout of his last case, is searching for a missing photographer; a trailblazing woman at the forefront of the profession. When Suren discovers that the vanished woman is linked to Sam's murder investigation, the two men find themselves working together once again - but will Wyndham and Banerjee be able to put their differences aside to solve the case?

Forthcoming books from Transworld

 

January 2026

It Should Have Been You is by Andrea Mara. Have you ever sent a message to the wrong person? Susan sends her sister a gossipy message about their neighbour. But she accidentally posts it on the neighbourhood WhatsApp group instead. It’s an innocent mistake that could happen to anyone, but rumours quickly spread and the backlash spirals. Soon that one wrong message leads to murder. A local woman is found dead, but when Susan listens to the news report, she realises that the victim had the same address as her but in a different part of town. The killer may have got the wrong victim - they may be coming for her next.

You have one new follower. Esther first sees Ted walking in a park in London. They lock eyes and for a fraction of a second, she feels something she’s never felt before. She starts by reading up about his life in Canada and his work as an actor. Then she watches every interview with him online. It isn’t long before she’s joined Ted’s fan site online where her and the ‘Tedettes’ stalk his every move. When Ted gets a new celebrity girlfriend, Esther decides that things have gone far enough. She leaves her husband, takes all their savings, and buys a one-way ticket to Canada. After all, Ted might not know it yet, but they are meant to be together – he just needs a little bit of persuading. Esther is Now Following You is by Tanya Sweeney

February 2026

A Bad, bad place by Frances Crawford. What happened to the dog walker who found the body? Glasgow, 1979. Twelve-year-old Janey won’t take her dog, Sid Vicious, for a walk. Not anymore. It’s Sid’s fault she found the murdered woman. Janey claims she can’t remember what she saw at the abandoned railway, but the police think she’s hiding something. And they’re not the only ones interested. Fear and rumour rip through the tight-knit community of Possilpark. Janey and her nana, Maggie, are dragged into the hunt for a murderer. And Maggie’s struggle to keep her beloved granddaughter safe becomes ever more desperate. Because Janey’s memories can’t stay hidden forever. And neither can the killer…

March 2026

Denver Brady claims to be the most successful serial killer of our time – and that’s precisely why you’ve never heard of him. But with the publication of How to Get Away With Murder, his manual for aspiring serial killers, that’s about to change. When a copy of Denver's book is found at a crime scene, DI Samantha Hansen is given the job of tracking down the elusive author. As Denver and Sam’s stories unfold and converge, it becomes clear that there’s more to both than meets the eye. And once Denver’s book goes viral, the pressure to find and bring him to justice brings Sam to breaking point. But in this dark and twisted tale, who is hunting whom? How to Get Away With Murder is by Rebecca Philipson.

April 2026

The Red Scorpion is by Tom Bradby Life for Dr Laura Strong shouldn’t be this hard. Nights working thankless A&E shifts. A much-loved handicapped brother to look after. Loan sharks at her door. She needs a miracle to stop her life collapsing around her. The arrival of South American coffee magnate Rafael Fernandez appears to be the answer to her prayers. A devoted father with a sick son requiring a 24/7 care, he is prepared to pay any price for expertise he can trust. But if something appears to be too good to be true, then it probably is. Behind the façade of Rafa’s gilded existence lies a dark family history which he has been doing his best to avoid – until the death of his estranged father brings it crashing back into his – and Laura’s – world. What had at first seemed to be a remarkable escape from an impossible situation now threatens to destroy everything Laura cares about. Friendless and far from home, she must rely on her own instincts to find a way out of this terrifying new landscape. Sometimes it’s easier to trust the devil you know…

May 2026

In the centre of New York stands the city’s most notorious library. It has a history of mysterious disappearances and freak accidents. But tonight, it opens its doors to welcome a group of strangers for an exclusive after-hours tour. The famous author. The journalist. The professor. The bookseller. The architect. They are here to see a legendary book – one of the most valuable in the world. But each visitor also has other, more sinister reasons, for being in the library after dark. As the tour takes them deeper into the building, one of the guests meets a gruesome, inexplicable end – and the others realise they are living on borrowed time. The search for the murderer forces them to confront awful truths about themselves and decide which secrets are worth dying – or killing – to keep. The Library after Dark is by Ande Pliego.

June 2026

The Lover is by Mary Watson. You never know what happens behind closed doors. Rafe seems like your perfect man – intelligent, charming, attractive. He also happens to be your boss. You go back to his house one night and fall asleep in his arms, believing you are meant to be together. But when you wake, you reach out for him and feel something cold beside you. Rafe is dead – murdered in bed as you lay next to him – and everyone is going to think you did it…

Forthcoming books from Duckworth Books

January 2026

Inspector Henry Tibbett is taking a much-needed holiday from his job at Scotland Yard with his wife Emmy. Headed for a spot of skiing in the Italian Dolomites and some first-class people-watching, Tibbett’s worries blissfully melt away. That is, until a fellow guest who boards the ski lift alive at the top of the mountain is found dead when the lift touches bottom. Another dead body turns up, and then another, and it becomes clear that murder has come to the mountain. Dead Men Don't Ski is by Patricia Moyes.

February 2026

I'll be the Monster is by Sean Gilbert. The college bars were shuttered. Parties banned. Suicide watch was the new normal. And yet, outside, the air was sweet. Trees exploded in white and pink. Birds sang through long, pastel dusks. When I think of that time, I think of pale skin and outrageous blossoms. I think of choices. A homicidal couple embarks on a luxury holiday to save their marriage. After years of secrets and self-restraint, they’ve reached breaking point. But three days into the trip, they run into Benny, an acquaintance from their Cambridge days. And Benny is desperate to reminisce about a time – and a person – they would rather forget.

The Sunken Sailor is by Patricia Moyes . Inspector Henry Tibbett and his wife, Emmy, are enjoying a holiday on a friend's yacht, lazily sailing from one little English sea-town to the next. It should all be delicious indolence... except that Tibbett can't stop thinking about death. Well, one death in particular. The death of a local sailor. And he really can't stop thinking about it when it starts looking as though the drowned sailor is somehow connected to the robbery at a nearby manor house.

March 2026

Vengeance is theirs and theirs alone.But who will deal the fatal blow? Young Nancy Ratcliffe is on the run. Her father had sought refuge for his family with the Brethren, led by the charismatic but dangerous Prophet. But now her father is gravely ill, and even the sooty streets of Victorian London hold less terror for Nancy than the brutality of Brethren Hall. Meanwhile, Spider is biding her time. Wrapped in dreams and visions, she paces the dark corridors and hidden staircases of the crumbling house she grew up in. The man who murdered a part of her disappeared many years ago, but still she hopes for revenge. Spider, Spider is by L.C. Winter

In the plush Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, law officers from many countries are assembled to discuss the control of drug smuggling. Among them is the intrepid Inspector Henry Tibbett, who is representing Britain and is using the occasion to combine business and a holiday with his wife, Emmy. It is a wonderful opportunity. That is until Tibbett finds himself unable to account for his whereabouts when an important official is found slumped across his desk, as cold and stiff as the dagger protruding from his back. Death on the Agenda is by Patricia Moyes.

April 2026

The staff of Style magazine in London are in the feverishly exciting period just before the latest Paris fashion news is to break. They have debated late into the night about which photographs to feature, but only one of them knows that the stakes are so high that an employee will be dead by morning… Inspector Henry Tibbett must act quickly to save the life of his niece, a beautiful Style model, who is in danger of becoming the next victim of a crime as ingenious as the creations of haute couture itself. Murder à la Mode is by Patricia Moyes .

May 2026

The Tabby in Black is by Mandy Morton. Chocks away! as our feline detectives investigate some sticky situations at the local chocolate factory in Catberry-on-the-Brink. Up at the Manor House, the family is at war as dark secrets are uncovered in The Tabby in Black chocolate selection box. Will Hettie and Tilly manage to reach the bottom layer before a murderer strikes? Did Horace Catberry really choke on a Mog Nob biscuit? And will the Goth Band Gums and Noses get to support The Travelling Whoopsies on their next tour? Join Hettie and Tilly as they unwrap the mysteries swirling around the Catberry family in this bitter-sweet assortment of truth and lies.

June 2026

Death and Deja vu by Ian Moore. Richard Ainsworth moved to rural France to escape the world, so being voted mayor of the small town of Saint-Sauver comes as a terrible shock. Fortunately bureaucracy has its benefits and he is shipped off to a health spa to recuperate. The Esprit de l’Air is a world famous venue on a deserted island fort off the west coast of France, and was chosen specifically by his business partner and bounty hunter of international repute, Valérie d’Orçay. Richard should have been prepared then. After a dramatic first night where a bizarre and unfriendly group of guests are pitched against each other to win ownership of the resort, Richard’s film historian mind wanders. Has he seen this all before? And when the first body turns up, he knows he has... 

 

Forthcoming books from Bitter Lemon Press

 January 2026

An Enigma by the Sea is by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini. In an exclusive resort in a dark, threatening pine forest on the coast of Tuscany, the rich and famous are gathering at their second homes for Christmas. On the morning that a husband and wife from one of the heavily-guarded villas go missing, a certain Count Delaude is washed up, battered to death, on the seashore. The cast list promises intrigue from the beginning. The count, a sponger and a sham had arrived under cover of dark with a beautiful young woman scheming to be a top model. Two comedians seclude themselves as they try to overcome a writing block. The depressive Signor Monforte, a retired academic, tries to woo a beautiful divorcee, while another, a woman this time, prepares to leave her husband. Two elderly spinsters and their Filipina maid are aghast at the awful predictions of their Tarot pack. The local police is inept, so Monforte finds himself in the role of detective, and is triumphant.

February 2026

The End of the Sahara is by Saïd Khatibi. On an early autumn morning in 1988, on the outskirts of an unnamed Algerian city, a local shepherd stumbles across the dead body of Zakia Zaghouani, a beautiful nightclub singer who ran away from her hometown and family, seeking a brighter future.  Incompetent and corrupt Inspector Hamid is perhaps the least likely to find the murderer. On their own, none of Khatibi’s characters can help us see and solve the crime. For that, we need a mosaic of many voices: Noura, the lawyer who represents Zakia’s fiancé; Ibrahim, who runs the VHS rental shop and whose mother is a cleaning lady at the hotel where Zakia worked; Kamal, the front-desk clerk at the hotel; Maimoun, the hotel’s owner; the Golden Sheikha, a rival singer; Zakia’s fiancé, Bashir; and more. Most of them are searching not just for Zakia’s killer, but for the stories of other ghosts flitting through their city, the ghosts of abused and murdered women; the ghosts of fathers who died during the country’s war for independence; and the ghosts of Algeria’s long colonial period.

April 2026

Holy F*ck is by Joseph Incardona.  Stella, a young prostitute working in the American south, has the miraculous power to heal her clients through sex. The scandalised Vatican sends contract killers after her. Stella works miracles. Literally. She heals the sick and the paralyzed, just like in the Bible. The Vatican is overjoyed-imagine, a real saint in the 21st century, and in the American South! The only hitch? Her method: Stella heals the people she sleeps with. And Stella sleeps around a lot-it's actually her job...

June 2026

Croatia, autumn 2022. The tourist season has ended, and Split settles into an uneasy quiet. Ines works the reception desk of a seaside hotel. Her mother, Katja, a cleaner, keeps the family afloat and cares for Ines and her younger brother, Mario. When Inspector Zvone is called to an abandoned factory on the city’s edge, he finds the body of seventeen-year-old Viktorija, daughter of a respected local doctor. The murder shocks the community and sends ripples through the lives of Ines, Katja, and Zvone—each forced to confront truths they would rather keep buried. As suspicion deepens and loyalties fracture, Mother of Sorrows becomes a devastating exploration of love, guilt, and denial. With quiet ferocity, Pavičić asks: what are we willing to sacrifice to protect those we love—and what are the consequences when we do? Mother of Sorrows is by Jurica Pavičić