Forthcoming books from Profile Books (Incl Serpent's Tail and Viper Books)

 July 2023

Sanderson's Isle is by James Clarke. 1969. Thomas Speake comes to London to look for his father but finds Sanderson instead, a larger-than-life TV presenter who hosts 'midweek madness' parties where the punch is spiked with acid. There Speake meets Marnie and promises to help her find her adoptive child, who has been taken by her birth mother to live off-grid in a hippie commune in the Lake District. Forced to lie low after a violent accident, Speake joins Sanderson on a tour of the Lake District, where he's researching a book to accompany his popular TV series, Sanderson's Isle. Fascinated by local rumours about the hippies, Sanderson joins the search for their whereabouts. Amid the fierce beauty of the mountains, the cult is forming the kind of community that Speake - a drifter who belongs nowhere - is desperate to find but has been sent to betray.

Elliott has never thought of himself as a hero. Until one dark night he meets Rebecca, a scared and vulnerable young woman who needs his help. There's a man harassing her, following her; would he mind pretending to be her boyfriend, just while she walks home, to put him off? And that is that - just a favour for a stranger - until there is a knock at Elliott's door. It's the man who was following Rebecca. He claims he's her ex-boyfriend, but it's clear that he's been stalking her. He's obsessed, dangerously so. He wants Rebecca, and will do anything to have her. When Elliott eventually tries to tell him the truth, the man doesn't believe him. The only way to save himself is to get Rebecca to explain. There's just one problem: Rebecca is nowhere to be found. And now it looks like one good deed will cost Elliott everything. One Good Deed is by David Jackson.

August 2023

When hate runs deep the innocent suffer. Constable Paul Hirschausen's rural beat in the low hills of South Australia is wide. Daybreak to day's end, dirt roads and dust. Every problem that besets small towns and isolated properties, from unlicensed driving to arson. But now, just as Hirsch has begun to feel he knows the fragile communities under his care, the isolation and fear of the pandemic have warped them into something angry and unrecognisable. Hirsch is seeing stresses heightened and social divisions cracking wide open. His own tolerance under strain; people getting close to the edge. Today he's driving an international visitor around: Janne Van Sant, whose backpacker son went missing while the borders were closed. They're checking out his last photo site, his last employer. A feeling that the stories don't quite add up. Then a call comes in: a roadside fire. Nothing much - a suitcase soaked in diesel and set alight - but two noteworthy facts emerge. Janne knows more than Hirsch about forensic evidence. And the body in the suitcase is not her son's. Day's End is by Garry Disher.

I have a gift. I see people as ghosts before they die. Of course, it helps that I'm the one killing them. The night after her father's funeral, Claire meets Lucas in a bar. Lucas doesn't know it, but it's not a chance meeting. One thoughtless mistyped email has put him in the crosshairs of an extremely put-out serial killer. But before they make eye contact, before Claire lets him buy her a drink, even before she takes him home and carves him up into little pieces, something about that night is very wrong. Because someone is watching Claire. Someone who is about to discover her murderous little hobby. The thing is, it's not sensible to tangle with a part-time serial killer, even one who is distracted by attending a weekly bereavement support group and trying to get her art career off the ground. Let the games begin... You'd Look Better as a Ghost is by Joanna Wallace. 

October 2023

Secrecy came naturally to John le Carre, and there were some secrets that he fought fiercely to keep. Adam Sisman's definitive biography, published in 2015, provided a revealing portrait of this fascinating man; yet some aspects of his subject remained hidden. Nowhere was this more so than in his private life. Apparently content in his marriage, the novelist conducted a string of love affairs over five decades. To these relationships he brought much of the tradecraft that he had learned as a spy - cover stories, cut-outs and dead letter boxes. These clandestine operations brought an element of danger to his life, but they also meant deceiving those closest to him. Small wonder that betrayal became a running theme in his work. In trying to manage his biography, the novelist engaged in a succession of skirmishes with his biographer. While he could control what Sisman wrote about him in his lifetime, he accepted that the truth would eventually become known. Following his death in 2020, what had been withheld can now be revealed. The Secret Life of John le Carre by Adam Sisman reveals a hitherto-hidden perspective on the life and work of the spy-turned-author and a fascinating meditation on the complex relationship between biographer and subject. 'Now that he is dead,' Sisman writes, 'we can know him better.'

Scarlet Town is by Leonora Nattrass. A rigged election. A feuding Cornish town. A suspicious death. And a perspicacious pig. Disgraced former Foreign Office clerk Laurence Jago and his larger-than-life employer the journalist William Philpott have escaped America - and Philpott's many creditors - by the skin of their teeth. They return to Laurence's home town of Helston in Cornwall in the hope of rest and recuperation, but instead find themselves in the middle of a tumultuous election that has the inhabitants of the town at one another's throats. Only two men may vote in this rotten borough, and when one of them dies in suspicious circumstances, Laurence is ordered to investigate on behalf of the town's political patron, his old master the Duke of Leeds. Then the second elector is poisoned and suspicion turns on the town doctor, the gentle Pythagoras Jago, Laurence's own cousin. Suddenly Laurence finds himself ensnared in generations of bad blood and petty rivalries, with his cousin's fate in his hands... 

One dead Santa. A town full of suspects. Will you discover the truth? Christmas in Lower Lockwood, and the Fairway Players are busy rehearsing their festive pantomime, Jack and the Beanstalk, to raise money for the church roof appeal. But despite the season, goodwill is distinctly lacking amongst the amateur dramatics enthusiasts. Sarah-Jane is fending off threats to her new position as Chair, the fibreglass beanstalk might be full of asbestos, and a someone is intent on ruining the panto even before the curtain goes up. Of course there's also the matter of the dead body. Who could possibly have had the victim on their naughty list? Join lawyers Femi and Charlotte as they read the round robins, examine the emails and pore over the police transcripts. Will the show go on? The Christmas Appeal is by Janice Hallett.

November 2023

No Exit is by Simon Lewis. Inspector Jian and his daughter Weiwei just want to go back to their home in China: but Jian is facing a corruption charge in his absence and risks arrest. Instead he tries to scrape a living on London's meanest streets as an illegal immigrant, reduced to hustling Mah Jiang for cash. A bleak future looks to be growing bleaker still when a triad gang blackmail him into tracking down an unlikely young robber. In No Exit Jian and Weiwei scramble between London's grimiest bedsits and its swankiest penthouses as they penetrate the glittering world of 'princelings' - the rich children of the Chinese elite, who treat the city as their playground. Locked in a desperate struggle, with no way out in sight, It will take all their wiles, as well as some lucky gambles, to come out of this latest venture alive.

And tCT CRIME: LIVERPOOL'S FIRST EVER CRIME FICTION DAY

Perfect Crime is Liverpool's first ever crime fiction festival. Based at the Radisson Blu hotel on the stunning Mersey waterfront, it will host some of the biggest names in the world of crime writing. Ann Cleeves, creator of Vera, Shetland, and now the Two Rivers books & TV series, will be appearing at the all-day event for crime fiction fans in Liverpool on Saturday 13th November. Ann, a one-time Merseyside resident herself, says: ‘I can't wait to catch up with readers and writers is one of my favourite cities.' Ann Cleeves and Elly Griffiths will talk about the marginal communities and settings of their books in conversation with Rhiannon Ward, and Ann will and later compare forensic notes with eminent pathologist Professor James Grieve. 

The star-studded line-up also features Sophie Hannah, Mel Sherratt and M W Craven. Author panels will discuss all things crime, from Agatha Christie through gritty psychological thrillers, to murder on the Mersey, and for budding writers, David Jackson will run a workshop on writing the killer pitch.

The day will open, appropriately, with Liverpool. A city steeped in culture and history but often marred by stark contrasts, over the years it has provided a rich seam of stories for writers from literary giants to saga writers. In ‘Murder on the Mersey’, four Merseyside authors will discuss the impact of their beautiful and often troubled hometown on their writing. For ‘Gritty and Gripping’, a panel which includes both serving and former probation officers will discuss just how they put the grit and grip into their thrillers. 

Why are we so obsessed with damaged psychologies and the criminal mind – and what is it like to get into the mind of a killer? Crime fiction and film expert Barry Forshaw will quiz three skilled, award-winning writers of psychological crime on these questions and much more in ‘Mind Games’. And if you like your murder framed in a more elegant era, Martin Edwards, winner of the Edgar, Agatha, and Macavity for his non-fiction book The Golden Age of Murder, will focus on this rich and ever-popular subgenre with Sophie Hannah, who broke the Christie family’s forty-year ban on ‘continuation’ novels, and has now penned four new Poirots, with the Christies’ full blessing.

There will plenty of opportunities for readers to question their favourite authors, who will be available to sign copies of their latest releases and the book room will be open all day for purchases and signings.

Perfect Crime is organised by local publisher Ian Skillicorn and Liverpool crime writers Margaret Murphy and Caz Finlay, who are also appearing at the festival. For Margaret, Perfect Crime fulfils a long-held ambition. She says: ‘In 2008, when Liverpool hosted the British Science Association festival, a discussion panel pitching crime writers against scientists sold out so fast that a second session had to be organised. It occurred to me then that Liverpool is a superb setting for a crime festival. It’s taken almost thirteen years, and is long overdue, but having put together a varied and exciting line-up of authors and experts we’re confident that crime fans will find it worth the wait. We look forward to welcoming writers and - most importantly - readers from far and near to a rewarding day of discussion and entertaining chat with some of the top names in British crime fiction and non-fiction.’

Full author guest list:

Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths, Sophie Hannah, Mel Sherratt, Martin Edwards, Susanna Beard, Amanda Brooke, Heather Burnside, MW Craven, Caz Finlay, Barry Forshaw, Prof James Grieve (Senior Forensic Pathologist), Noelle Holten, David Jackson, Margaret Murphy, Rhiannon Ward 

Find the full programme and ticket links at www.perfectcrime.uk

Perfect Crime Writing Festival 2021

 

9 – 9.45am: 

Registration

10 – 11am: 

Murder on the Mersey: Margaret Murphy (moderator), Caz Finlay, David Jackson, Amanda Brooke. Liverpool is a city steeped in culture and history – but it is also a city of stark contrasts, and its dark side has inspired many authors, from literary giants to saga writers. Join us for Murder on the Mersey, where four local (and international!) crime writers, Amanda Brooke, David Jackson, Margaret Murphy (aka Ashley Dyer) and Caz Finlay will discuss the impact of this beautiful and often troubled city on their writing.

11:15 – 12:15pm: 

Writing in the Margins: Ann Cleeves, Elly Griffiths, Rhiannon Ward (Chair) Ann Cleeves, Diamond Dagger winner and author of the Vera and Shetland novels, in conversation with Elly Griffiths. Chaired by Rhiannon Ward, these two fabulous writers will discuss the marginal/coastal locations in their crime novels, touching on the importance of nature, isolation and forgotten communities in their writing.

12:15 – 1:00pm: 

Lunch

1:00 – 2:00pm: 

Gritty and Gripping: Mel Sherratt, Heather Burnside, Noelle Holten, Caz Finlay(moderator) What makes a book unputdownable? What makes a reader keep turning the pages? Gritty and gripping are just some of the words used to describe the novels of these three fantastic authors. Chaired by Caz Finlay, these bestselling authors will discuss just how they put the grit and grip into their thrillers, and what they think keeps their readers coming back for more.

2:15 – 3:15pm: 

Golden Age Fiction: Sophie Hannah and Martin Edwards. CWA Diamond Dagger winner Martin Edwards is an authority on British crime fiction, awarded the Edgar, Agatha, Macavity, and HRF Keating Awards for his non-fiction book The Golden Age of Murder. He is also follows in the footsteps of Agatha Christie, as current Chair of the Detection Club. Sophie Hannah is a multi-award-winning, international bestselling author of psychological chillers, and a dedicated Agatha Christie fan. For almost forty years after her death, Christie’s family famously rebuffed any suggestion that they might pass the authorial baton to another author yet, to date, Sophie has written four Poirot ‘continuation’ novels, with the Christies’ full blessing. These two clearly have a lot to talk about. And if you like your murder framed in a more elegant era, this is a must-see!

3:15 – 4:00pm: 

Signings and Social: Your chance to mix with fellow attendees and some of our special author guests, buy the latest crime fiction releases from our authors, and have your books signed.

also

3:15 – 4:00pm

:Crime Writing workshop with David Jackson. Crafting the Killer Pitch: As novelists of commercial fiction, we are in the business of selling ideas – to agents, to publishers and, ultimately, to readers. Our chances of success increase dramatically if we can express those ideas in ways that are brief and snappy and carry a punch that sends our intended audience reeling. In this short workshop David Jackson describes techniques that will help you in devising story pitches that have exactly that tight, powerful focus. (REQUIRES SEPARATE TICKET WHICH CAN BE BOOKED AS AN ADD-ON WHEN YOU BUY YOUR PERFECT CRIME TICKET)

4:00 – 5:00pm: 

Truth and Lies: Ann Cleeves and Prof James Grieve. What is the truth behind the fiction? Professor James Grieves’s long career in forensic pathology has taken him around the globe and involved a number of high-profile cases. Prof Grieves has also brought the weight of his extensive real-life knowledge and experience to bear on panel discussions between authors and scientists across the UK. So, what does he make of writers’ attempts to bring realism to their fictional crimes? Find out in a fascinating and revealing chat between these two friends.

5:15 -6:15pm: 

Mind Games: M W Craven, Margaret Murphy, Susanna Beard, Barry Forshaw (moderator) The psychology of the murderous mind has fascinated readers since Poe’s The Tell-Tale Heart, and crime readers demand psychological depth in contemporary mysteries. But why are we so obsessed with damaged psychologies and the criminal mind? And what is it like to get into the mind of a killer? Barry Forshaw talks to three bestselling authors who really put the psycho into their psychological fiction.

Tickets can be bought here.

Books to Look forward to from Serpent's Tail and Viper

July 2020

Resident is by David Jackson.  Thomas Brogan is a serial killer. Having left a trail of bodies in his wake, and with the police hot on his heels, it seems like Thomas has nowhere left to hide. That is until he breaks into an abandoned house at the end of a terrace on a quiet street. And when he climbs up into the loft, he realises that the can drop down into all the other houses on the street through the shared attic space. That's when the real fun begins. Because the one thing that Thomas enjoys even more than killing, is playing games with his victims. And his new neighbours have more than enough dark secrets to make this game his best one yet... Do you fear The Resident? Soon you'll be dying to meet him. '

August 2020

Two boys loved her. But which one buried her? Two years ago, teenagers Rob and Paige broke into the house of Paige's school counsellor and stole only a necklace, but traumatised their victims in the process. No one knows why. And Paige hasn't been seen since that night. Having spent her life in children's homes and the foster system, no one cared enough to look for her. Now Rob is out of prison, and probation officer Wren Reynolds has been tasked with his rehabilitation. But Wren has her own reasons for taking on Rob as a client. Convinced that Rob knows what happened to Paige, and hiding a lifetime of secrets from her heavily pregnant wife, Wren's obsession with finding a missing girl may tear her family apart...  The Knocks is by Kate Simants

October 2020

Constable Paul Hirschhausen runs a one-cop station in the dry farming country south of the Flinders Ranges. He’s still new in town but his community work – welfare checks and a light touch – is starting to pay off. Now Christmas is here and, apart from a grass fire, two boys stealing a vehicle and Brenda Flann entering the front bar of the pub without exiting her car, Hirsch’s life has been peaceful. Until he’s called to an incident on Kitchener Street, a strange and vicious attack that sickens the community. And when the Sydney police ask him to look in on a family living on a forgotten back road, it doesn’t look like a season of goodwill at all ...   Peace is by Garry Disher.

books to look Forward to From Bonnier Zaffre

January 2019

Sometimes the people we trust are the ones we should fear. We all recognise them. Those who sit just on the fringes of society. Who send prickles up the back of our necks. The charmers. The liars. The manipulators. Those who have the potential to go that one step too far. And then take another step. Jessamine Gooch makes a living from these people. Each week she broadcasts a radio show looking into the past lives of convicted killers; asking if there was more that could have been done to prevent their terrible crimes. Then one day she is approached by a woman desperate to find her missing friend, Cassie, fearing her abusive husband may have taken that final deadly step. But as Jessamine delves into the months prior to Cassie's disappearance she fails to realise there is a dark figure closer to home, one that threatens the safety of her own family . . .   The Dangerous Kind is by Deborah O’Connor.

Nemesis is by Rory Clements.  A race against time to unmask a Nazi spy. In a great English house, a young woman offers herself to one of the most powerful and influential figures in the land - but this is no ordinary seduction. She plans to ensure his death . . . On holiday in France, Professor Tom Wilde discovers his brilliant student Julian Marfield, who disappeared two years earlier to join the International Brigades in Spain, in the Le Vernet concentration camp in the foothills of the Pyrenees. Wilde secures his release just as German tanks roll into Poland. Meanwhile, a U-boat sinks the liner Athenia in the Atlantic with many casualties, including Americans, onboard. Goebbels claims Churchill put a bomb in the ship to blame Germany and to lure America into the war. As the various strands of an international conspiracy begin to unwind, Tom Wilde will find himself in great personal danger. For just who is Julian Marfield? And where does his loyalty lie? 

February 2019

Dolly, Linda, Shirley and Bella are back.  And this time it’s a fight to the finish. Against all the odds, Dolly Rawlins and her gangland widows managed the impossible: a heist their husbands had failed to pull off - at the cost of their lives. But though they may be in the money, they're far from easy street. Shocked by her husband's betrayal, Dolly discovers Harry Rawlins isn't dead. He knows where the four women are and he wants them to pay. And he doesn't just mean getting his hands on the money. The women can't keep running. They have to get Harry out of their lives for good. But can they outwit a criminal mastermind who won't hesitate to kill? Especially when one of them has a plan of her own . . . to kill or be killed.   Revenge is by Lynda La Plante.

March 2019

For psychological profiler Hanne Lagerlind-Schoen, life is good. She and her partner, investigator Peter Lindgren, have just returned from a dream holiday in Greenland and the symptoms of her early onset dementia seem to be under control. Then they are asked to go to the small, sleepy industrial town of Ormberg to investigate a cold case: ten years earlier a five-year-old girl's remains were found in a cairn near the town. With her dementia creeping back again, Hanne starts to keep a diary noting down everything she is likely to forget. She will go to any lengths to keep up appearances so she doesn't lose her job, or worse: Peter. Then Hanne is found wandering around the outskirts of Ormberg lost, hurt and confused - and Peter is missing. When the body of a woman is found at the cairn and one of Hanne's shoes is found nearby covered in the victim's blood, can Hanne's diary hold the key to what happened? How does this new murder connect to their old one - and where is Peter?  After She’s Gone is by Camilla Grebe.

April 2019

Stasi 77 is by David Young.  A secret State. A dark conspiracy. A terrible crime. Karin Muller of the German Democratic Republic's People's Police is called to a factory in the east of the country. A man has been murdered - bound and trapped as a fire burned nearby, slowly suffocating him. But who is he? Why was he targeted? Could his murderer simply be someone with a grudge against the factory's nationalisation, as Muller's Stasi colleagues insist? Why too is her deputy Werner Tilsner behaving so strangely? As more victims surface, it becomes clear that there is a cold-blooded killer out there taking their revenge. Soon Muller begins to realise that in order to solve these terrible crimes, she will need to delve into the region's dark past. But are the Stasi really working with her on this case? Or against her? For those who really run this Republic have secrets they would rather remain uncovered. And they will stop at nothing to keep them that way.

May 2019

Your Deepest Fear is by David Jackson.  ...They're here. They're-' The message on Sara Prior's phone contains the last words she will ever hear from her husband. Racing to find him, she discovers he has been brutally murdered. While the police struggle to uncover evidence around this shocking crime, it becomes clear that Sara is no ordinary bereaved wife. And she is not the sort of woman to let things lie. Following a hidden clue in her husband's last desperate phone-call, Sara follows the trail to the house of the last person she'd expect . . . Meanwhile DS Nathan Cody finds himself drawn into the darkest and most twisted case of his career. And this time things are about to get very very personal. 

Things are about to go viral in Marc Dane's most dangerous adventure yet . . . Marc and his partner - former US Delta Force sniper Lucy Keyes - are pitted against their most terrifying challenge yet, when a genius bio-researcher with the ability to create a deadly biological weapon is kidnapped by a ruthless terrorist. Their desperate search for the missing scientist takes them across the world, from the desolate wilderness of Iceland to the slums of the Near East and the dark underbelly of a fracturing Europe, where they will discover a shocking atrocity in the making. Backed by shadowy interests, a cadre of hardline ultra-right-wing extremists plan to unleash a lethal virus among the population of a major European city. Only Marc Dane can prevent this devastating attack from taking place - before a whole continent is plunged into terror...   Shadow is by James Swallow.

June 2019

The Holiday is by T M Logan.  Seven days. Three families. One killer. It was supposed to be the perfect holiday - a group of families enjoying a week together in the sun. Four women who have been best friends for as long as they can remember - Kate, Rowan, Jennifer and Izzy - making the most of a luxurious villa in the south of France. But Kate has a secret: her husband is having an affair. And a week away might just be the perfect opportunity to get the proof she needs - to catch him in the act once and for all. Because she suspects the other woman is one of her two best friends. One of them is working against her, willing to sacrifice years of friendship to destroy her family. But which one? As Kate closes in on the truth in the stifling Mediterranean heat, she realises too late that the stakes are far higher than she ever imagined . . . Because someone in the villa may be prepared to kill to keep their secret hidden. 

 The Possession is by Michael Rutger.  A team of explorers are drawn to Northern California to investigate mysterious stone walls whose presence has never been explained.  Soon they will become drawn into a missing person’s case being investigated nearby – and come to realise that the two are connected in terrifying ways.

Stone Cold Heart is by Caz Frear.  When Joseph Madden approaches DC Cat Kinsella, he's looking for her help with his wife, Rosa, who he says has been threatening him, although he refuses to discuss why. Dismissing it as a marriage on the rocks, Cat tells him that there's not much the police can do without firm evidence of harassment. When Joseph is then arrested for the murder of Naomi Petrovic, his defence is that his wife is setting him up. Naomi was at a party attended by the couple and hosted by Rosa's best friend and sister-in-law, Kirstie Connor. A woman who is described as being 'close' to Joseph. Appearing genuinely outraged at her husband's arrest, Rosa insists that he is innocent, but when key pieces of evidence against Joseph start to look shaky, Cat begins to consider that he might be telling the truth. But why would Rosa frame her husband for murder? And who, then, killed Naomi Petrovic? The truth is never simple. Who would you believe? 

A.D. 79. Parthia is gripped by civil war. One king vying for the throne, desperate for help, welcomes an alliance from an unlikely source: a man claiming to be Nero, the dethroned Roman emperor. Meanwhile, young Gaius wishes he could spend his summer on the Bay of Naples amongst his books. Instead Pliny, the famous admiral, has sent him to befriend the nephew of Ulpius, the mysterious blind senator from Spain. A man Pliny does not trust. But when a Parthian hostage is nearly killed, days before Parthian emissaries are expected, and as rumours of the False Nero entering the land reaches Rome, Gaius and Pliny race to learn how these events are connected. As the political intrigue comes to a head, something happens that only the mysterious clairvoyant Sybil could have foreseen: Mount Vesuvius erupts, and black ash fills the sky . . .  The Exiled is by David Barbaree.

August 2019

Renowned surgeon Michael Trenchard locks his office door and prepares for a relaxing evening – Wagner and a fine Scotch.  A knock at the dorr: the person who excites him more than anyone else.  But what follows will turn his dreams into a living nightmare …. for he will be discovered later that night in a locked-in coma, the victim of auto-erotic asphyxiation .. Can this really be an accident?  It is left to Dr Kash Devan, Trenchard’s young protégé  to uncover the truth.  What he discovers is chilling: in his ruthless pursuit of wealth and success Trenchard has left a trail of wrecked lives behind him.   Which of his victims hated him so much they wanted to ruin not only his reputation, but also his life.  Control is by Hugh Montgomery. 

Books to Look Forward to from Bonnier Zaffre

January 2017

How do you protect your family when you can't remember who's hunting them. A family in England is massacred, the father left holding the shotgun. PC Lucy Davies is convinced he's innocent A sleeper agent in Moscow requests an urgent meeting with Dan Forrester, referencing their shared past. His amnesia means he has no idea who he can trust. An aging oligarch in Siberia gathers his henchmen to discuss an English accountant. It's Dan's wife.  Tell Me a Lie is by CJ Carver.

Evil Games is by Angela Marsons.  The greater the Evil, the more deadly the game...When a rapist is found mutilated in a brutal attack, Detective Kim Stone and her team are called in to bring a swift resolution. But, as more vengeful killings come to light, it soon becomes clear that there is someone far more sinister at work. With the investigation quickly gathering momentum, Kim finds herself exposed to great danger and in the sights of a lethal individual undertaking their own twisted experiment. Up against a sociopath who seems to know her every weakness, for Detective Stone, each move she makes could be deadly. As the body count starts to mount, Kim will have to dig deeper than ever before to stop the killing. And this time - it's personal. 

1936. Europe is in turmoil. The Nazis have marched into the Rhineland. In Russia, Stalin has unleashed his Great Terror. Spain has erupted in civil war. In Berlin, a young Englishwoman evades the Gestapo to deliver vital papers to a Jewish scientist. Within weeks, she is found dead in her Cambridge bedroom, a silver syringe clutched in her fingers. In a London club, three senior members of the British establishment light the touch paper on a conspiracy that will threaten the very heart of government. Even the ancient colleges of Cambridge are not immune to political division. Dons and students must choose a side: right or left, where do you stand? When a renowned member of the county set and his wife are found horribly murdered, a maverick history professor finds himself dragged into a world of espionage which, until now, he has only read about in books. But the deeper Thomas Wilde delves, the more he wonders whether the murders are linked to the death of the girl with the silver syringe - and, just as worryingly, to the scandal surrounding King Edward VIII and his mistress Wallis Simpson...  Corpus is by Rory Clements.

February 2017

Eyes Like Mine is by Sheena Kamal.  It's late. The phone rings. The man on the other end says his daughter is missing. Your daughter. The baby you gave away over fifteen years ago. What do you do? Nora Watts isn't sure that she wants to get involved. Troubled, messed up, and with more than enough problems of her own, Nora doesn't want to revisit the past. But then she sees the photograph. A girl, a teenager, with her eyes. How can she turn her back on her? But going in search of her daughter brings Nora into contact with a past that she would rather forget, a past that she has worked hard to put behind her, but which is always there, waiting for her ...

How do you solve a murder when you can't ask any questions? The gripping new thriller from the bestselling author of Stasi Child. East Germany, 1975. Karin Muller, sidelined from the murder squad in Berlin, jumps at the chance to be sent south to

Halle-Neustadt, where a pair of infant twins have gone missing. But Muller soon finds her problems have followed her. Halle-Neustadt is a new town - the pride of the communist state - and she and her team are forbidden by the Stasi from publicising the disappearances, lest they tarnish the town's flawless image. Meanwhile, in the eerily nameless streets and tower blocks, a child snatcher lurks, and the clock is ticking to rescue the twins alive …  Stasi Wolf is by David Young

Lie in Wait is by G J Minett.  A man is dead. A woman is missing. And the police have already found their prime suspect...Owen Hall drives into a petrol station to let his passenger use the facilities. She never comes back - and what's more, it seems she never even made it inside. When Owen raises a fuss, the police are called - and soon identify Owen himself as a possible culprit - not least because they already have him in the frame for another more sinister crime. Owen's always been a little different, and before long others in the community are baying for his blood. But this is a case where nothing is as it seems - least of all Owen Hall.

 

Following her successful representation of Sherman the Schnauzer, Sally Baynard is happy to go back to working with humans. That is until a probate judge asks her to look into the case of a cat who's the beneficiary of a multi-million dollar trust. Now representing Beatrice, Sally must use her wit, charm and brains to choose between the three potential new caregivers for the lovable feline, whilst dodging the angry and mysterious former owner's son. Whilst juggling the demands of the courtroom, an aging mother and a confusing romantic life, will Sally make the right decision for Beatrice? And, as she delves deeper into the case, will she uncover the truth behind the family's secrets?  Lawyer for the Cat is by Lee Robinson.

March 2017

The Cleaner by Elisabeth Herrmann is a gripping thriller that will chill and intrigue as the sins of the past catch up with the secrets of the present. Pools of blood, scenes of carnage, signs of agonising death - who deals with the aftermath of violence once the bodies have been taken away? Judith Kepler has seen it all. She is a crime scene specialist. She turns crime scenes back into habitable spaces. She is a cleaner. It is at the home of a woman who has been brutally murdered that she is suddenly confronted with her own past. The murder victim knew Judith's secret: as a child Judith was sent to an orphanage under mysterious circumstances - parentage unknown. And the East German secret police were always there, in the background...When Judith begins to ask questions, she becomes the target of some powerful enemies. And nothing will ever be the same again. 

Judith Rashleigh has made it.  Living a life of luxury amidst the splendour of Venice.  She’s just starting to grow comfortable.  Which is when her past catches up with her.  Someone knows what she’s done.  Facing blackmail, Judith can only save herself by finding a priceless picture – unfortunately, one she’s convinced doesn’t exist.  And she isn’t the only one seeking it.  This time Judith isn’t in control.  Outflanked and out-thought, out run and outgunned she faces an enemy more powerful and more ruthless than she ever imagined. And if she doesn’t win she dies.  Domina is by L S Hilton

April 2017

Hope to Die is by David Jackson.  When the victim seems perfect, is it the perfect crime? On a bitterly cold winter's night, Liverpool is left stunned by a brutal murder in the grounds of the city's Anglican Cathedral. A killer is on the loose, driven by a chilling rage. Put on the case, DS Nathan Cody is quickly stumped. Wherever he digs, the victim seems to be almost angelic - no-one has a bad word to say, let alone a motive for such a violent murder. And Cody has other things on his mind too. The ghosts of his past are coming ever closer, and - still bearing the physical and mental scars - it's all he can do to hold onto his sanity. And then the killer strikes again.

The Body of Ice is by A J MacKenzie. Christmas Day, Kent, 1796. When an unidentifiable body is discovered in the ice-covered pond of the empty manor house, it soon becomes clear that foul play was involved and the villagers of St Mary fear a murderer amongst them. Local law enforcement is distracted by the on-going smuggling runs between Dover and Calais, and the victim's servant status doesn't warrant great attention so it falls to the Reverend Hardcastle in his new appointment as justice of the peace to investigate. But with the identity of the victim unknown, no murder weapon and no motive, this seems like an impossible mission. Employing the help of his trusted friend, Amelia Chaytor, Hardcastle begins the process - and soon discovers there's more to the mystery than he first thought.

May 2017

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS BASED ON LIES? When Joe Lynch stumbles across his wife driving into a hotel car park while she's supposed to be at work, he's intrigued enough to follow her in. And when he witnesses her in an angry altercation with family friend Ben, he knows he ought to intervene. But just as the confrontation between the two men turns violent, and Ben is knocked unconscious, Joe's young son has an asthma attack - and Joe must flee in order to help him. When he returns, desperate to make sure Ben is OK, Joe is horrified to find that Ben has disappeared. And that's when Joe receives the first message.  Lies is by T M Logan.

  

June 2017

A vicious Serbian gang whose profits come from fake nuclear weapons.  A disgraced Russian general, with access to the real thing.  A vengeful Somali warlord, with a cause for which he'd let the world burn.  A jaded government agency, without the information to stop him.  Only one man sees what's coming. And even he might not be able to prevent it . . .  Racing breathlessly from uncharted CIA prisons to the skyscrapers of Dubai, from storm beaten oil rigs off the African coast to the ancient caverns beneath the city of Naples, Marc Dane returns.  Exiled is by James Swallow.

The Assassin of Verona is by Benet Brandreth.  All is not well in Venice.  Threatened daily by Papal assassins, William Shakespeare and his close friends Oldcastle and Hemminges are increasingly isolated - the lies that have protected them so far beginning to wear thin.  His companions want desperately to leave, but Will is tied to the city - his lover, the beautiful Isabella, is growing ever more sick. As tensions reach breaking point, their company is forced to split…

The Mayfly is by James Hazel.  It's happening again.  A mutilated body discovered in the woods.  A murderous plan conceived in the past.  A reckoning seventy years in the making… Charlie Priest, ex-detective inspector turned London lawyer, is hired by influential entrepreneur Kenneth Ellinder to investigate the murder of his son. But Priest is no ordinary lawyer. Brilliant, yet flawed, this case will push him, and those closest to him, to the edge.  Priest traces the evidence back to the desperate last days of the Second World War. Buried in the ashes of the Holocaust is a secret so deadly its poison threatens to destroy the very heart of the establishment. With more victims going missing, Priest realises that not everyone should be trusted. As he races to uncover the truth, can he prevent history from repeating itself?

July 2017

First to Die is by Alex Caan.  A body is found covered in sores after an anonymous protest.  As the research team looking into the origins of the deadly virus narrow down the possibilities, first one then another pharmacist go missing.  Its up to DCI Kate Riley and Zain Harris and Unit 3 to find out what happened and why.

August 2017

From The Shadows by Neil White introduces Dan Grant – The lawyer you want in your corner.  The Lawyer - When defence lawyer Dan Grant inherits a murder case just weeks away from trial, he's just expected to babysit it and take his fee. But Dan's not that kind of lawyer. If he takes on a case then he investigates it his way - wherever the evidence takes him. The Investigator - Jayne Brett is Dan's investigator and a woman with a terrible secret in her past - one that still haunts her today. Needing the money, she takes on the task of investigating the case that Dan's inherited. But has she taken on more than she can handle?  The Case - Mary Kendricks was a pretty, smart, twenty-four-year-old teacher. Now Mary Kendricks is dead and Robert Carter is in the dock, accused of her brutal murder.   But as Dan and Jayne investigate, they discover that perhaps there is more to this case than meets the eye - but in order to do their jobs they need to push the limits of the system, even if it means putting themselves in danger . . . 

When Laura Bjely goes missing during a storm on the Cote d’Azur, the only thing her friend Jan finds is her smartphone – with a disturbing film in the memory. As Jan searches for answers about what happened to Laura he is thrown into a nightmare of madness and murder.  The Shock is by Marc Raab.

Splinter is by Mike Thomas.  A bomb explodes in a busy souk, causing massive devastation.  A gunman walks into a mosque and starts shooting.  But this isn’t the Middle East –this is Cardiff. 

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