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.

CWA Dagger Awards Announced

 

Chris Whitaker, Michael Robotham, Vaseem Khan and Peter May win 2021 CWA Daggers.

The winners of the 2021 CWA Daggers, which honour the very best in the crime writing genre, have been announced.

The prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

Winner of the CWA Gold Dagger, which is awarded for the crime novel of the year, goes to Chris Whitaker for We Begin at the End. Past winners of the Gold Dagger include John le Carré, Reginald Hill and Ruth Rendell.

Praised as ‘truly memorable’ by the CWA judges, We Begin at The End has been a Waterstones Thriller of the Month and sold in 17 territories, with screen rights snapped up by Disney. Chris Whitaker was first recognised by the CWA as a debut author, when he received the John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger in 2017 for Tall Oaks.

Chris has said writing ‘saved his life’ twice. He began writing as a therapeutic response to being mugged, and stabbed, aged 19, then later falling into serious debt in his job as a city trader. Quitting his finance job in London aged 30, he moved to Spain to write his debut novel.

Maxim Jakubowski, Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, said: ‘This year’s Gold Dagger shortlist featured remarkable books, but We Begin at the End is an astoundingly beautiful and moving achievement in storytelling. Chris’s talent shone through when we awarded him the John Creasey Dagger in 2017. It’s inspiring to see him now take Gold, and I’m delighted that the CWA judges recognised this now acclaimed author from the very start.’

S A Cosby for Blacktop Wasteland and Nicci French with House of Correction were also Highly Commended in the Gold Dagger category.

Michael Robotham, who won the Gold Dagger in 2015 and 2020, wins this year’s Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller, for When She Was Good.

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger is sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, the Fleming family-owned company that looks after the James Bond literary brand. CWA judges praised the novel as ‘an urgent, poignant and terrifying thriller’.

Born in Australia, Michael worked as a journalist in Australia, America and the UK – as senior feature writer for the Mail on Sunday– before becoming a ghost writer collaborating with politicians and show business personalities to write their autobiographies. Since his first psychological thriller, The Suspect, caused a bidding war at the London Book Fair in 2002, his novels have won numerous awards and been translated into 25 languages.

The much-anticipated John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger highlights the best debut novels. This year the accolade goes to Eva Björg Ægisdóttir for The Creak on the Stairs. The Icelandic author wrote her debut while working as a flight attendant and juggling being a mother, writing the first draft in just nine months. It was a bestseller in Iceland before being picked up in the UK by Orenda Books.

Vaseem Khan wins the Sapere Books Historical Dagger for Midnight at Malabar House, set in 1949/1950 Bombay. Born in London, Vaseem spent a decade in India as a management consultant. Since 2006 he has worked at University College London’s Jill Dando Institute of Security and Crime Science.

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger goes to South Korean author Yun Ko-eun for The Disaster Tourist, translated by Lizzie Buehler, praised by the CWA judges as a ‘wildly entertaining eco-thriller’.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction is awarded to forensic pathologist, Sue Black, for Written in Bone praised by the CWA judges as a ‘humane, wise book’.

The CWA Daggers are one of the few high-profile awards that honour the short story. Clare Mackintosh wins the award with her short story ‘Monsters’ in First Edition: Celebrating 21 Years of Goldsboro Books. The judges praised it for its powerful twist.

The Dagger in the Library is voted on exclusively by librarians, chosen for the author’s body of work and support of libraries. This year it goes to Peter May. The Scottish author has become well recognized for his work both as a novelist and in film and television. His books have sold several million copies worldwide and have won awards in the UK, the USA, and France.

Chair of the judges, Sue Wilkinson, said: ‘Peter May infuses his books with a real sense of place, whether it be China, France or the Hebrides. His books are tense, atmospheric and complex but always utterly absorbing.’

One of the anticipated highlights of the annual Daggers is the Debut Dagger competition, open to unknown and uncontracted writers. The competition for unpublished writers can lead to securing representation and a publishing contract. This year the winner is Hannah Redding for Deception.

The judges said: ‘Deception has all the ingredients of a compelling mystery, complete with unreliable narrators, a cut-off location and a nicely compact time frame.’

Fiona McPhillips was also Highly Commended for Underwater. Praised as being ‘full of intrigue… The issues of class, sexuality and power explored were very well done.’                                    

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year Dagger, which celebrates publishers and imprints demonstrating excellence and diversity in crime writing, goes to the independent publisher, Head of Zeus. Established in 2012, Head of Zeus went from start-up to a multi-million-pound business and positioned itself at the forefront of the eBook revolution.

Maxim said: “These awards testify to the wealth of great books and diversity within the crime genre. The Daggers are assuredly the best and most accurate reflection of what's happening on the crime and mystery writing front, with all judges independent of the CWA and renewed on a regular basis.”

The winners were announced at a virtual ceremony on I July, Daggers Live! dubbed the ‘Oscars of the crime genre’.

The evening was hosted by leading crime expert, Barry Forshaw with guest speaker, Abir Mukherjee, who won last year’s CWA Sapere Books Historical Dagger for his novel Death in the East.

Martina Cole also featured at the awards event as the recipient of the 2021 Diamond Dagger for lifetime achievement, the highest honour in British crime writing.

One of the UK’s most prominent societies, the CWA was founded in 1953 by John Creasey; the awards started in 1955 with its first award going to Winston Graham, best known for Poldark. They are regarded by the publishing world as the foremost British awards for crime-writing.

Dagger Winners 2021

CWA GOLD DAGGER

Winner: Chris Whitaker: We Begin at the End (Zaffre, Bonnier)

Highly Commended

S A Cosby: Blacktop Wasteland, (Headline Publishing Group)

Nicci French: House of Correction (Simon & Schuster)

CWA IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER

Michael Robotham: When She Was Good (Sphere, Little, Brown Book Group)

CWA JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir: The Creak on the Stairs (Orenda), Translator: Victoria Cribb

CWA SAPERE BOOKS HISTORICAL DAGG

Vaseem Khan: Midnight at Malabar House (Hodder & Stoughton)

CWA ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION

Sue Black: Written in Bone (Doubleday, Penguin)

CWA CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER

Yun Ko-eun: The Disaster Tourist, translated by Lizzie Buehler (Serpent's Tail)

CWA SHORT STORY DAGGER

Clare Mackintosh: ‘Monsters’ in First Edition: Celebrating 21 Years of Goldsboro Books (The Dome Press)

CWA DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY

Peter May

CWA PUBLISHERS DAGGER

Head of Zeus

CWA DEBUT DAGGER

(Competition for an unpublished novel)

Winner:Hannah Redding – Deception

Highly commended:Fiona McPhillips – Underwater

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2021 Reveal Special Guest Line-up

 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2021 Reveals Criminally Good Special Guest Line-up Curated by Rebus Legend Ian Rankin.

Harrogate International Festivals is thrilled to reveal the killer Special Guest line-up for the world’s largest and most prestigious celebration of crime fiction, Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival.

The legendary long weekend will be the first major literary event to take place physically following the Government’s expected lifting of restrictions in June, with the great and criminally good from the crime writing world returning to Harrogate’s Old Swan Hotel from 22 – 25 July 2021.

Festival Programming Chair – Rebus author Ian Rankin OBE – has curated a stellar line-up of Special Guests, featuring producer and presenter Richard Osman with the second instalment in his record-breaking cosy crime caper The Thursday Murder Club series; espionage expert Mick Herron, author of the highly acclaimed Slough House series; mystery maestro Elly Griffiths and her latest Ruth Galloway whodunnit; fan favourite Vera and Shetland author Ann Cleeves; and the masterful Mark Billingham with his Tom Thorne prequel Cry Baby.

The festivities will continue with four days of unmissable talks and panels from crime writing royalty – such as the queens of domestic noir Clare Mackintosh and CL Taylor in conversation – alongside the most exciting new voices including and the undisputed ‘Queen of Crime’, Val McDermid’s highly anticipated New Blood panel, showcasing the most dynamic debuts.

Weekend break packages will go on sale on Monday 7th June. For further information about how Harrogate International Festivals will deliver a safe Festival in line with the government regulations at the time, please visit www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com.

Ian Rankin, best-selling Rebus author, said: After a year of once-in-a-lifetime challenges, I couldn’t be more excited to stage this celebration of all things crime! With the announcement of our Special guests, the countdown is officially on to this year’s festival and I’m looking forward to unveiling what else we have in store!’

Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, Sharon Canavar, said: ‘The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is a lynch-pin in the publishing calendar – an annual pilgrimage for crime fiction aficionados – and we are thrilled to reveal the first taste of this year’s unmissable programme. Harrogate International Festivals has long pioneered innovative and unique cultural experiences, and over the course of the past year we have shown great flexibility and creativity to continue with this mission. The team will, of course, carefully monitor developments to Government rules and regulations as we look forward to our return to the legendary Old Swan Hotel in July.’

Simon Theakston, Executive Director of Theakston, said: “We are always so proud to support the biggest and best crime writing festival in the world. We’re very much looking forward to welcoming the best of best in crime – along with their enthusiastic fans – to Harrogate this summer, to hear from world-renowned storytellers with a glass of Old Peculier in hand.”

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival forms part of the diverse year-round portfolio curated by the charitable organisation Harrogate International Festivals, delivered with the mission to bring immersive cultural experiences to as many people as possible.

Books to Look Forward to from Little, Brown and Constable Robinson

January 2018

After five years on the run, 'The Gray Man' - Court Gentry - is back on the inside at the CIA. His first mission makes him wish he wasn't, when a pair of Chinese agents try to take him down in Hong Kong. Normally the Chinese stay eyes-only on foreign agents - why are they on such high alert?  Court's high-stakes hunt leads to an old friend, Donald Fitzroy, who is being held hostage by the Chinese. Fitzroy was contracted to find Fan Jiang, a former member of an ultra-secret unit responsible for testing China's security systems. But Fan was too good at his job . . .  The first two teams Fitzroy sent to find Fan have disappeared and the Chinese have decided to 'supervise' the next operation. What they don't know is that Gentry's mission is to find Fan first and get his intel to the US - and get out alive.  Gunmetal Gray is by Mark Greaney.

The Sons is by Anton Svensson.  After six years in prison, Sweden's most notorious criminal Leo Duvnjac is free, acquitted of all but two of the ten bank robberies he and his two younger brothers pulled off.  While behind bars, he befriended Sam Larsen, who was convicted of murdering his own father - and also happens to be the brother of the cop who caught Leo, Detective John Broncks.  With Sam at his side, Leo seeks out his now-law-abiding brothers for one last job and a chance at redemption - or revenge. But Bronks is on to him, and Leo's father has other plans for his sons . . .

A body has been found dumped on the sandy shores of Southend. Already under scrutiny following the murder of a corrupt cop, DS Frank Pearson and DC Cat Russell of the Essex Major Investigation Team are tasked with solving the case quickly, and quietly. When the victim's identity is revealed, the list of suspects begins to grow. A young woman knows more than she's letting on, but is she really involved? Or the estranged father, who's been trying to find the victim for months. One thing is clear: no one is telling the whole truth. Then a shocking tragedy leads Pearson to a similar murder case from decades before. Is it a coincidence, or is history repeating itself? As Pearson and Russell search for the answer, they find themselves drawn into a terrifying cover-up going back fifty years...  Truly Evil is by Mark Hardie.

February 2018

Force of Nature is by Jane Harper.  Five went out.  Four came back. Is Alice here? Did she make it? Is she safe? In the chaos, in the night, it was impossible to say which of the four had asked after Alice's welfare. Later, when everything got worse, each would insist it had been them.  Five women reluctantly pick up their backpacks and start walking along the muddy track. Only four come out the other side.  The hike through the rugged landscape is meant to take the office colleagues out of their air-conditioned comfort zone and teach resilience and team building. At least that is what the corporate retreat website advertises.  Federal Police Agent Aaron Falk has a particularly keen interest in the whereabouts of the missing bushwalker. Alice Russell is the whistleblower in his latest case - and Alice knew secrets. About the company she worked for and the people she worked with.  Far from the hike encouraging teamwork, the women tell Falk a tale of suspicion, violence and disintegrating trust. And as he delves into the disappearance, it seems some dangers may run far deeper than anyone knew.

It's the moment we all fear: losing our phone, leaving us cut off from family and friends. But, for Louise, losing hers in a local cafe takes her somewhere much darker.  After many hours of panic, Louise is relieved when someone gets in touch offering to return the phone. From then on she is impatient to get back to normal life.  But when they meet on the beach, Louise realises you should be careful what you wish for...  Cut Off is by Mark Billingham.

There's always a reason for murder. But when a young actress is killed in a swift and violent attack at a cinema screening, that reason is hard to fathom - even for Lieutenant Eve Dallas and her team.  It's only when bestselling crime writer Blaine DeLano arrives at the precinct that the shocking truth is revealed. Someone is recreating the murder scenes from her latest series, book by book. With six more novels left in the series, Eve now knows how the killer will strike next. But why has DeLano been targeted? Could her abusive husband be involved?  As fiction is transformed into bloody reality, Eve will need all her skill and experience to solve this unique case. Luckily for her, husband Roarke happens to be a fan of DeLano's work. And he's more than happy to work side by side with his brilliant wife - no matter how dark things become...  Dark in Death is by J D Robb.

When you clean strangers' houses you learn their dirty secrets...  Lena Szarka, a Hungarian cleaner working in London, knows that all too well. So when her friend Timea disappears, she suspects one of her clients is to blame. The police don't share her suspicions and it is left to Lena to turn sleuth and find her friend.  Searching through their houses as she scrubs their floors, Lena desperately tries to find out what has happened. But only Cartwright, a police constable new to the job, believes that this will lead to the truth. Together they uncover more of Islington's seedy underbelly than they bargained for.  But Lena soon discovers it's not just her clients who have secrets. And as she begins to unravel Timea's past, exposing long hidden truths, she starts to wonder if she really knew her friend at all.  In Strangers’ Houses is by Elizabeth Mundy.

Nobody loves an honest man, or that was what police sergeant Hamish Macbeth tried to tell newcomer Paul English.  Paul attended church in Lochdubh. He told the minister, Mr. Wellington, that his sermons were boring. He told tweedy Mrs. Wellington that she was too fat. Angela Brody was told her detective stories were pap for the masses and it was time she wrote literature instead. He accused Hamish of having dyed his fiery red hair. He told Jessie Currie - who repeated all the last words of her twin sister - that she needed psychiatric help.  "I speak as I find," he bragged. Voices saying, "I could kill that man," could be heard from Lochdubh to Cnothan.  And someone did.  Now Hamish is faced with a bewildering array of suspects. And he's lost the services of his clumsy policeman, Charlie, who has resigned from the force after throwing Chief Inspector Blair into the loch. Can Hamish find the killer on his own?  Death of an Honest Man is by M C Beaton.

March 2018

The last person Alice Shipley expected to see since arriving in Tangier with her new husband was Lucy Mason. After the horrific accident at Bennington, the two friends - once inseparable roommates - haven't spoken in over a year. But Lucy is standing there, trying to make things right.  Perhaps Alice should be happy. She has not adjusted to life in Morocco, too afraid to venture out into the bustling medinas and oppressive heat. Lucy, always fearless and independent, helps Alice emerge from her flat and explore the country.  But soon a familiar feeling starts to overtake Alice - she feels controlled and stifled by Lucy at every turn. Then Alice's husband, John, goes missing, and Alice starts to question everything around her: her relationship with her enigmatic friend, her decision to ever come to Tangier, and her very own state of mind.  Tangerine is by Christine Mangan.

Splinter in the Blood is by Ashley Dyer.  Sergeant Ruth Lake and DCI Greg Carver are on the hunt for a serial killer who carefully poses his victims and covers every inch of their bodies in intricate, cryptic tattoos. Dubbed the 'Thorn Killer', by the media, the killer uses a primitive and excruciatingly painful thorn method to etch his victims. After many months, a breakthrough feels imminent. Then the killer gets personal: the latest victim - a student found only a week earlier - is staged to look like Carver's wife.  Pushed over the edge, Carver spirals into a self-destructive cycle of booze and risky sex. Now he lies near death, and the unreadable Lake stands over him with a gun. Did she shoot her boss? If not, why is she removing evidence from his apartment, faking the scene?  Ruth, too, is convinced that Carver is holding back; that he remembers more than he admits. Why is he lying? Does he know what she did? How can she hope to unravel the half-truths, hidden meanings, secrets and lies at the centre of this investigation when she herself has lied and lied?  Intrigued, the Thorn Killer watches their every move - all the while plotting the next. Can Carver and Lake pull together to catch him before he strikes again? Or will they be held captive by their own web of lies?

The police say it was suicide.  Anna says it was murder.  They're both wrong. One year ago,

Caroline Johnson chose to end her life brutally: a shocking suicide planned to match that of her husband just months before. Their daughter, Anna, has struggled to come to terms with their loss ever since.  Now with a young baby of her own, Anna misses her mother more than ever and starts to ask questions about her parents' deaths. But by digging up the past, is she putting her future in danger? Sometimes it's safer to let things lie . . .  Let Me  Lie is by Clare Mackintosh.

Acts of Vanishing is by Frederik T Olsson.  A father's search. A daughter in danger. A terrifying secret.  It was ten past four on the afternoon of the third of December. Everything was darkness and ink, and the snow falling turned to water.  Through it ran Sara Sandberg, the girl who was about to die, and somewhere in the cold, lead-grey hell that was Stockholm was a man who called himself her father.  In her rucksack, she had a warning for him.  Now whether he would receive it or not was all down to her.

Lost Creed is by Alex Kava.  Fifteen years ago Ryder Creed's sister, Brodie disappeared from an interstate rest stop. She was only eleven and Creed was fourteen. Since then her disappearance has haunted him, so much so that Creed has dedicated his life to his K9 business. He rescues abandoned dogs and trains them for scent detection. Together they search for the lost and missing.  A thousand miles away during a police raid, FBI special agent Maggie O'Dell stumbles upon a clue that may explain what happened to Brodie Creed all those years ago. The search and scavenger hunt that follows will be as gut-wrenching for Creed, as are the answers he discovers.

'You think he killed his wife?  'Don't you?'  When Dorothy Guildford is found stabbed to

death in her home, all signs point to her husband, Peter. The forensic psychologist is convinced there's more to the case that meets the eye but Police Scotland are certain they have their man.  While DC Kirsty Wilson searches for evidence that will put Peter away for good, she is shocked to discover a link with a vast human-trafficking operation that Detective Superintendent William Lorimer has been investigating for months. But before they can interrogate him, Peter is brutally attacked.  With one person dead and another barely hanging on, the clock is ticking for DC Wilson and DSI Lorimer. And the stakes grow higher still when one of their own is kidnapped . . .  Only the Dead Can Tell is by Alex Gray.

Blotto, Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen is by Simon Brett.  The end of the cricket season spells gloom for Blotto, until he is invited to bat against the Hollywood cricket team out in sunny LA, where rain never stops play. And so begins the latest adventure for Blotto and his supremely gifted sister Twinks. Although their mother, the Dowager Duchess of Tawcester, keeps a strict rein on her two children, she knows America is full of wealthy young men, all of whom will fall in love with her daughter - and marriage to a Texan millionaire would solve the Tawcester financial problems once and for all.  So, accompanied by trusty chauffeur Corky Froggett, the intrepid siblings head out to California. On arrival in Hollywood they are invited to a glitzy party where they are introduced to a firmament of Hollywood stars, directors and gossip columnists, but the mood of the party suddenly curdles with the breaking news that beautiful starlet Mimsy La Pim - the (former) love of Blotto's life - has been kidnapped. And Blotto is determined to make it his personal mission to rescue her.  But in the world of old-fashioned cricket matches, gigantic Hollywood egos, film-making disasters and merciless crooks, it soon falls to Twinks to rescue her brother from the various messes he creates when attempting to rescue his damsel in distress. Will the siblings ever get back to Tawcester Towers - or will it be a case of death before wicket?

April 2018

She was found hanging in a dingy London bedsit with a blood orange in her mouth. Diane

Heybridge, a young woman without a past or much of a future, has captured in death the compassion denied her in life.  For the prosecution, this seeming suicide is nothing more than a bungled killing and a disgusted public looks to Court 2 of the Old Bailey for justice. Her callous, jilted partner Brent Stainsby stands accused of her murder and he's turned to the maverick legal team William Benson and Tess de Vere to defend him.  However, as the trial unfolds it soon becomes clear that there is far more to Diane Heybridge than meets the eye. She wasn't the weak and downtrodden victim now being presented to the jury. She was capable of a sophisticated form of vengeance. By the same token, Brent Stainsby isn't who he seems to be either. He's hiding a motive for murder unknown to the police and may well be playing a deadly game of poker with the judicial process. What began as a simple trial rapidly turns into a complex search for the truth beyond the confines of the courtroom...  Blind Defence is by John Fairfax.

The Whitstable Pearl restaurant has been busy all summer while Pearl's detective agency has brought few interesting cases - until a prospective client calls...  Christina Scott confides that seven years ago she had the perfect life with a seaside home, a confirmed pregnancy and Steven, a loving husband - until one morning she woke to find herself alone. Christina's husband had vanished, taking nothing with him but his car - which was later found abandoned at the beautifully mysterious Oare Marshes.  Now, with the legal presumption of Steven's death about to be made, Christina shows a photograph to Pearl. It's not of him, but of her young son, Martin, who has grown up without his father but Christina is adamant he now deserves to know the truth. And will Pearl help her solve the riddle of Steven's disappearance?  DCI Mike McGuire warns Pearl she's on a fool's errand but the case resonates with Pearl as she begins to uncover secrets and lies that take her on a dangerous journey back into her own past, as well as Christina's...  Disappearance at Oare is by Julie Wassmer.

Vengeance in Venice is by Philip Gwynne Jones.  There aren't that many perks to being Honorary Consul in Venice, but Nathan Sutherland does at least receive an invitation to the official opening of the British Pavilion at the Venice Biennale.  A chance for prosecco in the sunshine, and to meet some of the greats of the art world. And then a world-famous critic is decapitated by one of the installations. A terrible accident, it seems, until a postcard is discovered in the victim's pocket. An image of Judith beheading Holofernes.  Then a viperous arts columnist receives an image of The Death of Marat. A journalist with a shady past receives a postcard of Dore's Triumph of Death. And a corrupt agent receives Mantegna's Martyrdom of St Sebastian.  As the bodies pile up, all signs point to Paul Considine, a brilliant but vulnerable British artist with a motive for revenge against all the victims. Nathan, however, isn't convinced, and sets out to prove his innocence. But then Nathan himself receives an image of Death bearing a scythe, and finds himself in a race against time to save his own life...

I knew the smell of death well enough. But here the sweetness of decay was tainted with something else, something new and different. It was a curious, moist smell; a smell that

spoke of the ooze and slap of water, of gurgling wet spaces and the sticky, yielding mud of low-tide... Summoned to the riverside by the desperate, scribbled note of an old friend, Jem Flockhart and Will Quartermain find themselves on board the seamen's floating hospital, an old hulk known only as The Blood, where prejudice, ambition and murder seethe beneath a veneer of medical respectability.  On shore, a young woman, a known prostitute, is found drowned in a derelict boatyard. A man leaps to his death into the Thames, driven mad by poison and fear. The events are linked - but how? Courting danger in the opium dens and brothels of the waterfront, certain that the Blood lies at the heart of the puzzle, Jem and Will embark on a quest to uncover the truth. In a hunt that takes them from the dissecting tables of a private anatomy school to the squalor of the dock-side mortuary, they find themselves involved in a dark and terrible mystery.  The Blood is By E S Thomson.

May 2018

How do you catch a killer who is yet to kill?  We all know the signs. Cruelty, lack of empathy, the killing of animals. Now, pets on suburban London streets are being stalked by a shadow, and it could just be the start.  DI Tom Thorne knows the psychological profile of such offenders all too well, so when he is tasked with catching a notorious killer of domestic cats, he sees the chance to stop a series of homicides before they happen.  Others are less convinced, so once more, Thorne relies on DI Nicola Tanner to help him solve the case, before the culprit starts hunting people. It's a journey that brings them face to face with a killer who will tear their lives apart.  The Killing Habit is by Mark Billingham.

Red Hot Front is by Harry Brett.  Tatiana Goodwin has finally begun to piece her life back together after the events of the past year. Having taken over her late husband Rich's empire, Tatty has put together a massive deal to capitalise on his dirty dealings - and hopefully extricate herself from a life of crime she'd been unwillingly drawn into.  But following a suspicious fire in the firm's new HQ, and a number of unexplained deaths in the town, it soon becomes clear that there's more than one person who's after the Goodwin family assets. With her daughter in a rocky relationship and her teenage son Zach beginning to follow in the footsteps of his gangster father, everything is getting a little too close to home for Tatty's liking . . . As the family is pulled further into the criminal underworld she sought to protect them from, Tatty has some difficult decisions to make - before her enemies make them for her. 

The Other Girl is by Erica Spindler.  A horrific crime with one witness: a fifteen year old girl from the wrong side of the tracks, one known for lying and her own brushes with the law. Is it any surprise no one believed her?  Officer Miranda Rader has worked hard to earn the respect of her co-workers and the community, and is known for her honesty and integrity. But that wasn't always so. She grew up on the wrong side of the tracks in a small town that didn't believe she could change, and she's spent fifteen years trying to forget about her past.  When Miranda and her partner are called to investigate the murder of one of the town's most beloved college professors, they're unprepared for the brutality of the scene. Just when Miranda thinks she's seen the worst of it, she finds a piece of evidence that chills her to the core: a faded newspaper clipping about a terrible night fifteen years ago. The night she'd buried, along with the girl she'd been back then, and until now that grave had stayed sealed.  Then another man turns up dead, this one a retired cop. Not just any cop: the one who took her statement that night. Two murders, two very different men, two killings that on the surface have nothing in common. Except Miranda.

Twenty years ago Tatia was adopted into a well-off home, where she seemed happy, settled. Then the youngest boy in the family dies in an accident, and she gets the blame.  Did she do it?  Tatia was cast out, away from her remaining adopted siblings Joel and Sarah. Now she yearns for a home to call her own. So when she see families going on holiday, leaving their beautiful homes empty, there seems no harm in living their lives while she is gone. But somehow, people keep ending up dead.  Did she kill them?  As bodies start to appear in supposedly safe neighbourhoods, DI Ray Drake and DS Flick Crowley race to find the thinnest of links between the victims. But Drake's secret past is once more threatening to destroy everything.  Will they catch her?  It Was Her is by Mark Hill.

What We Did is by Christobel Kent.  He stole her childhood. She'll take his future.  What would you do if you accidentally encountered the man who once abused you?   And how would you get away with it?  Bridget's life is small and safe: she loves her husband, her son and works hard to keep her own business afloat. Then one day her world is changed forever. The music teacher who abused her walks into a shop with the teenager he's clearly grooming. Bridget is sent spiralling back into her past.  Anthony begins to stalk Bridget, trying to ensure her silence - until suddenly, she snaps.  And now Bridget must find away to deal with the aftermath of her actions...

Gunnhildur reluctantly allows herself to be taken off police duties to act as bodyguard to a man with a price on his head . . .  Hidden away in a secure house outside Reykjavik, Gunna and the high-profile stranger, a guest of the interiors minister, are thrown together - too close for comfort. They soon find they are neither as safe nor as carefully hidden as Gunna and her boss had thought. Conflicting glimpses of the man's past start to emerge as the press begin to sniff him out, as does another group with their own reasons for locating him, and Gunna struggles to come to terms with protecting the life of a man who may have the lives of many on his conscience - or indeed may be the philanthropist he claims to be.  Isolated together, the friction grows between Gunna and the foreign visitor, as she realises they are out of their depth as the trails lead from the house outside Reykjavik to Brussels, Russia and the Middle East.  Cold Breath is by Quentin Bates.

Tarot reader Dolly Greene, returning from a Very Happy Holiday in St Lucia with her hot new police sergeant boyfriend, arrives home to find a surly Russian girl waiting for a reading. Marina is young and beautiful but oddly charmless - and her cards reveal nothing but conflict, misery . . . and death. Dolly knows she should feel concerned, but the girl is so disagreeable she's only too relieved when the reading is over and she can escape to catch up with her daughter and neighbours.  And what news! During Dolly's two week absence squatters have taken over No.7, and a mysterious Brazilian woman has moved into No.3. Dolly would prefer to forget about the Russian beauty's malign reading . . . but, like ripples radiating from a stone tossed into Barnes pond, Marina's cards come back to disturb Dolly and all those around her - and Death will surely leave his calling card for someone on Tinderbox Lane.  The Case of the Fool is by E V Harte.

June 2018

The Good Son is by You-Jeong Jeong.  Yu-jin is a good son, a model student and a successful athlete. But one day he wakes up covered in blood. There's no sign of a break-in and there's a body downstairs. It's the body of someone who Yu-jin knows all too well.  Yu-jin struggles to piece together the fragments of what he can remember from the night before. He suffers from regular seizures and blackouts. He knows he will be accused if he reports the body, but what to do instead? Faced with an unthinkable choice, Yu-jin makes an unthinkable decision.  Through investigating the murder, reading diaries, and looking at his own past and childhood, Yu-jin discovers what has happened. The police descend on the suburban South Korean district in which he lives. The body of a young woman is discovered. Yu-jin has to go back, right back, to remember what happened, back to the night he lost his father and brother, and even further than that.

The Puppet Show is by M W Craven. Welcome to the Puppet Show...  A serial killer dubbed the Immolation Man is burning old men alive in the middle of the Lake District's prehistoric

stone circles.  When the name of disgraced detective Washington Poe is found carved deep into the chest of the third victim, Poe is forced back from suspension and into an investigation in which he wants no involvement. Reluctantly partnered with the brilliant but socially awkward civilian analyst, Tilly Bradshaw, Poe begins to uncover a trail only he is meant to see. The Immolation Man has a plan and, for some reason, Poe is part of it.  As the body count rises, Poe realises that he has far more invested in the case than he could possibly have imagined. And in a shocking finale - one that will change his life forever - he learns that there are far worse things than being burned alive...