The finalists for the 2025 Los Angeles Times Book Prizes in several categories have been announced.
The finalists in the Mystery/Thriller category are as follows
El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott
The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly
Everyone Wants to Rule the World by Ace Atkins
Crooks by Lou Berney
King of Ashes by S A Cosby
Prizes will be awarded on Friday 17th April 2026.
Congratulations to all the nominated authors
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.
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.
Reap The Whirlwind is by Mark Timlin. Poor old Nick Sharman may be dead and gone, but there's still life left in the old dog yet - as Mark Timlin shows in this collection of stories about his memorable detective. Follow Sharman as he rocks through the underworld of 90s London and beyond with more than a helping hand from his old mate Detective Inspector Robber, both men still sharp as a pair of tacks. There's murder, mayhem and maybe a few laughs on the way - plus an interesting soundtrack.
In the aftermath of a mass shooting at a mosque in Quebec, the local police apprehend Amadou Duchon - a young Muslim man at the scene helping the wounded - but release Etienne Roy, the local priest who was found with a weapon in his hands. The shooting looks like a hate crime, but detectives Esa Khattak and Rachel Getty sense there is more to the story. Sent to liaise with a community in the grip of fear, they find themselves in fraught new territory, fuelled by the panic and suspicion exploited by a right-wing radio host. As Rachel and Esa grapple to stop tensions shutting the case down entirely, all the time, someone is pointing Esa in another direction, a shadowy presence who anticipates his every move. A Deadly Divide is a piercingly observed, gripping thriller that reveals the fractures that try to tear us all apart: from the once-tight partnership between detectives Esa and Rachel, to the truth about a deeply divided nation. A Deadly Divide is by Ausma Zehanat Khan.
The Coldest Warrior is by Paul Vidich. In 1953, at the end of the Korean War, Dr. Charles Wilson, an Army bio-weapons scientist, died when he “jumped or fell” from the ninth floor of a Washington hotel. As his wife and children grieve, the details of his death remain buried for twenty-two years. With the release of the Rockefeller Commission report on illegal CIA activities in 1975, LSD is linked to Wilson’s death, and suddenly the Wilson case becomes news again. Wilson’s family and the press are demanding answers, suspecting the CIA of foul play, and men in the CIA, FBI, and White House conspire to make sure the truth doesn’t get out. Enter agent Jack Gabriel, an old friend of the Wilson family who is instructed by the CIA director to find out what really happened to Wilson. It’s Gabriel’s last mission before he retires from the agency, and his most perilous as he finds a continuing cover-up that reaches to the highest levels of government. Key witnesses connected to the case die from suspicious causes, and Gabriel realizes that the closer he gets to the truth, the more he puts himself and his family at risk.
Robert B Parker’s Blood Feud is by Mike Lupica. Sunny Randall is "on" again with Richie, the ex-husband she never stopped loving and never seemed to be able to let go, despite her discomfort with his Mafia connections. When Richie is shot and nearly killed, Sunny is dragged into the thick of his family's business as she searches for answers and tries to stave off a mob war. But as the bullets start flying in Boston's mean streets, Sunny finds herself targeted by the deranged mastermind of the plot against the Burke family, whose motive may be far more personal than she could have anticipated...
The opioid epidemic has reached Paradise, and Police Chief Jesse Stone must rush to stop the devastation in the latest thriller in Robert B. Parker's Jesse Stone series. When a popular high school cheerleader dies of a suspected heroin overdose, it becomes clear that the opioid epidemic has spread even to the idyllic town of Paradise. It will be up to police chief Jesse Stone to unravel the supply chain and unmask the criminals behind it, and the investigation has a clear epicenter: Paradise High School. Home of the town's best and brightest future leaders and its most vulnerable down-and-out teens, it's a rich and bottomless market for dealers out of Boston looking to expand into the suburbs. But when it comes to drugs, the very people Jesse is trying to protect are often those with the most to lose. As he digs deeper into the case, he finds himself battling self-interested administrators, reluctant teachers, distrustful schoolkids, and overprotective parents...and at the end of the line are the true bad guys, the ones with a lucrative business they'd kill to protect. Robert B Parker’s The Bitterest Pill is by Reed Farrel Coleman. 
Originally published by Gryphon Books in 1993, Difficult Lives was one of the
earliest attempts to track the legacy of original paperback writers such as Jim
Thompson, David Goodis and Chester Himes. The individual essays on these
three first appeared in literary magazines.
Difficult Lives visits a
rare moment when daylight was showing around the seams of American society and
visions quite in contrast to the sanctioned version drifted to the surface in
books one bought off racks in drugstores and bus stations -- stark, bonelike,
disturbing books. No Exit Press are to make Difficult Lives available again, doubling our pleasure by
pairing it with Hitching Rides, an equal volume of new essays on other
crime writers including Derek Raymond, Jean-Patrick Manchette, Patricia
Highsmith and Shirley Jackson. Difficult Lives – Hitching Rides is by James Sallis.
The Lonely Witness
is by William Boyle. Amy was once a
party girl, but now she lives a lonely life. Helping the house-bound to receive
communion in the Gravesend neighbourhood of Brooklyn, she knows the community
well. When a local woman goes missing,
Amy senses something isn’t right. Tailing
the woman’s suspicious son, she winds her way through Brooklyn’s streets. But
before she can act, he is dead. Captivated
by the crime she’s witnessed and the murderer himself, Amy doesn’t call the
cops. Instead, she collects the weapon from the sidewalk and soon finds herself
on the trail of a killer.
Death Rope is by
Leigh Russell. Mark Abbott is dead. His sister refuses to believe it was
suicide, but only Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel will listen. When other members of Mark’s family
disappear, Geraldine’s suspicions are confirmed. Taking a risk, Geraldine finds herself
confronted by an adversary deadlier than any she has faced before… Her boss Ian
is close, but will he arrive in time to save her, or is this the end for
Geraldine Steel?
On leave from Canada's Community Policing department, Esa
Khattak is traveling in Iran, reconnecting with his cultural heritage and
seeking peace in the country’s beautiful mosques and gardens. But Khattak’s
supposed break from work is cut short when he’s approached by a Canadian
government agent in Iran, asking him to look into the death of renowned Canadian-Iranian
filmmaker Zahra Sobhani. Zahra was murdered at Iran’s notorious Evin prison,
where she’d been seeking the release of a well-known political prisoner.
Khattak quickly finds himself embroiled in Iran’s tumultuous politics and under
surveillance by the regime, but when the trail leads back to Zahra’s family in
Canada, Khattak calls on his partner, Detective Rachel Getty, for help. Rachel uncovers a conspiracy linked to the
Shah of Iran and the decades-old murders of a group of Iran’s most famous dissidents.
Historic letters, a connection to the Royal Ontario Museum, and a smuggling
operation on the Caspian Sea are just some of the threads Rachel and Khattak
begin unraveling, while the list of suspects stretches from Tehran to Toronto.
But as Khattak gets caught up in the fate of Iran’s political prisoners, Rachel
sees through to the heart of the matter: Zahra’s murder may not have been a
political crime at all. Among the Ruins is by Ausma Zehanat
Khan.
Jack Harper isn’t a bad man, but he’s stuck in
a loveless marriage with a mediocre job just trying to
keep sober. The only good thing in his life is his son. When an
old college friend introduces him to a new extramarital dating
website, he tentatively reaches out to find a distraction from his misery.
But when he goes to meet up with his steamy online date, he quickly
realises it was a dire choice. Soon,
Jack finds himself desperately trying to prove his innocence for crimes he did
not commit, and the life he once had – unhappy as it was – is
nothing but a dream. Now, he’s living his worst nightmare. . . Too Far
is by Jason Starr.
After Brooklyn mob widow Rena Ruggiero hits her
eighty-year-old neighbour Enzio in the head with an ashtray when he makes an
unwanted move on her, she retreats to the Bronx home of her estranged daughter,
Adrienne, and her granddaughter, Lucia, only to be turned away at the door.
Their neighbour, Lacey “Wolfie” Wolfstein, a one-time Golden Age porn star and
retired Florida Suncoast grifter, takes Rena in and befriends her. When Lucia
discovers that Adrienne is planning to hit the road with her ex-boyfriend, she
figures Rena is her only way out of a life on the run with a mother she can’t
stand. The stage is set for an explosion that will propel Rena, Wolfie, and
Lucia down a strange path, each woman running from their demons, no matter what
the cost. A Friend is a Gift You
Give Yourself is by William Boyle.
The Pritchards had never been worth a damn--an evil, greedy
family who made their living dealing drugs and committing mayhem. Years ago, Colson's late uncle had put the clan's patriarch in prison, but now he's getting out, with revenge, power, and family business on his mind. To make matters worse, a shady trucking firm with possible ties to the Gulf Coast syndicate has moved into Tibbehah, and they have their own methods of intimidation.With his longtime deputy
Lillie Virgil now working up in Memphis, Quinn Colson finds himself having to
fall back on some brand-new deputies to help him out, but with Old West-style
violence breaking out, and his own wedding on the horizon, this is without
doubt Colson's most trying times as sheriff. Cracks are opening up all over the
county, and shadowy figures are crawling out through them - and they're all
heading directly for him. The Sinners is
by Ace Atkins.
London, present day - Jean, a failing journalist in her late
thirties, finds herself entertaining a married man - a handsome, arrogant
ex-barrister, universally known by his surname: Coates. Unsure of the
relationship and wanting to develop her career, she begins to write a one-woman
show about a mind-reader she comes across in her research - a woman who
performed in the 19th Century under the name The Martian Girl, before
disappearing without a trace. London,
1898. - Kate French, a striking young woman with a love for the stage, is
honing her craft in the music halls of East London at the turn of the century.
As the Martian Girl, she performs each night with her mind-reading partner, the
cynical and money-grubbing Joseph Draper.
As Jean makes progress on her show, Kate - long since dead - begins to
consume her thoughts. Jean starts to suspect that Draper fully believed in Kate's
ability to read minds and that he found the idea deeply disturbing. What really
happened between the two of them all those years ago? And why does Jean feel
such an intense bond with The Martian Girl? As the line between Jean and Kate
begins to blur, the fates of the two women are destined to transcend time, and
finally to intersect. The Martian Girl
is by Andrew Martin.
The Missing One is by Patricia Gibney. The hole they dug was not deep. A white flour
bag encased the little body. Three small faces watched from the window, eyes black with terror.The child in the
middle spoke without turning his head. 'I wonder which one of us will be
next?' When a woman's body is discovered
in a cathedral and hours later a young man is found hanging from a tree outside
his home Detective Lottie Parker is called in to lead the investigation.
Both bodies have the same distinctive tattoo clumsily inscribed on their legs.
It's clear the pair are connected, but how?
The trail leads Lottie to St Angela's, a former children's
home, with a dark connection to her own family history. Suddenly the case just
got personal. As Lottie begins to link
the current victims to unsolved murders decades old, two teenage boys go
missing. She must close in on the killer before they strike again, but in doing
so is she putting her own children in terrifying danger? Lottie is about to come face to face
with a twisted soul who has a very warped idea of justice.
Childhood sweethearts William and Mary have been married for
sixty years. William is a celebrated surgeon, Mary a devoted wife. Both have a strong sense of right and wrong.This is
what their son, Joe O'Loughlin, has always believed. But when Joe is summoned
to the hospital with news that his father has been brutally attacked, his world
is turned upside down. Who is the strange woman crying at William's bedside,
covered in his blood - a friend, a mistress, a fantasist or a killer? Against the advice of the police, Joe
launches his own investigation. As he learns more, he discovers sides to his
father he never knew - and is forcibly reminded that the truth comes at a
price. The Other Wife is by Michael
Robotham.
Broken Ground is by Val McDermid. 'Somebody has been here before us. And he's
still here . . .' When a body is discovered in the remote depths of the
Highlands, DCI Karen Pirie finds herself in the right place at the right time.
Unearthed with someone's long-buried inheritance, the victim seems to belong to the distant past - until new evidence suggests otherwise, and Karen is called in to unravel a case where nothing is as it seems.It's not long before an overheard
conversation draws Karen into the heart of a different case, however - a
shocking crime she thought she'd already prevented. As she inches closer to the
twisted truths at the centre of these murders, it becomes clear that she's
dealing with a version of justice terrifyingly different to her own . . .
By January 1666, the plague has almost disappeared from
London, leaving its surviving population diminished and in poverty. The
resentment against those who had fled to the country turns to outrage as the court and its followers return, their licentiousness undiminished. The death of a well-connected physician, the
mysterious sinking of a man-of-war in the Thames and the disappearance of a
popular courtier are causing concern to Thomas Chaloner's employer. When
instructed to investigate them all, he is irritated that he is prevented from
gaining intelligence on the military preparations of the Dutch. Then he
discovers common threads in all the cases, which seem linked to those planning
to set a match to the powder keg of rebellion in the city. Battling a ferocious winter storm that causes
serious damage to London's fabric, Chaloner is in a race against time to
prevent the weakened city from utter destruction. Intrigue in Covent Garden is by Susanna
Gregory.
One year on from being reunited with the family she
abandoned, successful lawyer Liberty Chapman is still in Leeds - although she
has stayed well away from the Greenwood's business activities. Their criminal
life style may not sit right with Liberty, but blood is thicker than water and
surely what they do is their business not hers?
But when her youngest brother, Frankie, is seriously injured in a
shooting, Liberty is forced to decide which side she is on and how far she will go to protect her own. And if that means torturing the local gangster for information or kidnapping another at gun point, then so be it. Turns out Liberty is a Greenwood after all. Meanwhile, PC Amira Hassani will do whatever it takes to put Liberty and
her family away for good, and if that includes blackmailing her colleague Sol
Connolly to secure evidence against them, then so be it too. Will Sol betray
Liberty to protect his wife and his career? And how far will any of them go to
do what they think is right? Bang to Rights is by Helen Black. 
Mma Ramotswe's friend will persuade her to stand for election
to the City Council. 'We need women like her in politics,' Mma Potokwani says,
'instead of having the same old men every time . . .' To be elected, Mma
Ramotswe must have a platform and some policies. She will have to canvas opinion. She will have to get Mma Makutsi's views. Her slogan is 'I can't promise anything - but I shall do my best'. Her intention is to halt the construction of the Big Fun Hotel, a dubious, flashy business near a graveyard - an act that many consider to be disrespectful. Mma Ramotswe will take the campaign as far as she can, but lurking around the corner, as ever, is the inextinguishable Violet Sephotho. The
Colours of all the Cattle is by Alexander McCall-Smith
What would you do to protect your family? When Paul Rogan sets off a bomb at his
office, killing eleven people, no one can understand why. He was a loving husband and father, with everything to live for. Then his wife and daughter are found chained up in the family home, and everything becomes clear. Rogan had been given a horrifying choice - set off the bomb, or see his loved ones suffer and die. Lieutenant Eve Dallas knows the violence won't end here. The men behind the attack are determined, organised and utterly ruthless. In this shocking and challenging case, both Eve and husband Roarke are heading into serious danger.Leverage in Death is by J D Robb.
Bright Young Dead is by Jessica Fellowes. As the glamour of the Bright Young Things
crashes into the world of the Mitford sisters, their maid Louisa Cannon finds
herself at the scene of a Meet the Bright Young Things, the
rabble-rousing hedonists of the 1920s whose treasure hunts were a media
obsession. One such game takes place at the 18th birthday party of Pamela
Mitford, but ends in tragedy as cruel, charismatic Adrian Curtis is pushed to
his death from the church neighbouring the Mitford home. The police quickly identify the killer as a
maid, Dulcie. But Louisa Cannon, chaperone to the Mitford girls and a former
criminal herself, believes Dulcie to be innocent, and sets out to clear the
girl's name . . . all while the real killer may only be steps away.
Agatha Raisin and the Dead Ringer is by M C Beaton. The team of bells at St. Ethelred church is
the pride and glory of the idyllic Cotswolds village of Thirk Magna, together
with the most dedicated bell ringers in the whole of England: ringing the special peal of bells created for the occasion and start bullying the other bell ringers, forcing them to rehearse and rehearse . . . so much so that Joseph Kennell, a retired lawyer, yells at the sisters that he 'felt like killing them'!the twins Mavis
and Millicent Dupin. As the village gets
ready for the Bishop's visit, the twins get overly-excited at the prospect of When the twins' home is
broken into one night and Millicent is found dead, struck from a hammer blow,
suspicion falls onto the lawyer. Will
Agatha unmask the real killer and clear Joseph's name?
It is 1920 and Scotland Yard detective, DI Albert Lincoln, is
still reeling from the disturbing events of the previous year. Trapped in a
loveless marriage and tired of his life in London, he's pleased when he's
called to a new case in the North West of England. Before the War, he led the unsuccessful
investigation into the murder of little Jimmy Rudyard in the village of Mabley
Ridge in Cheshire and now a woman has been murdered there and another child is missing, the sole witness being a traumatised boy who lives in a cemetery lodge. Albert's first investigation was a failure but this time he is determined to find the truth . . . and the missing child. As Albert delves into the lives of the village residents, many of whom are wealthy cotton manufacturers from nearby Manchester, he uncovers shocking secrets and obsessions. Then there is the dramatic scenery of the Ridge itself which conceals its own disturbing mysteries while the wealthy residents of big houses nearby pursue pleasure relentlessly, trying to forget the hell of the war years. With the help of a village
schoolmistress with her own secret past, Albert closes in on Jimmy's killer.
Then, as more bodies are discovered, he realises that his young witness from
the cemetery lodge is in grave danger, possibly from somebody he calls 'the
Shadow Man'. And as he discovers more about the victims he finds information
that might bring him a step closer to solving a mystery of his own - the
whereabouts of his lost son. The Boy Who
Lived With The Dead is by Kate Ellis.
