Showing posts with label Don Winslow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Don Winslow. Show all posts

Friday, 19 December 2025

Forthcoming books from Harper Collins


 January 2026

A special new edition of Agatha Christie's Endless Night. Gipsy’s Acre was a truly beautiful upland site with views out to sea – and in Michael Rogers it stirred a child-like fantasy. There, amongst the dark fir trees, he planned to build a house, find a girl and live happily ever after. Yet, as he left the village, a shadow of menace hung over the land. For this was the place where accidents happened. Perhaps Michael should have heeded the locals’ warnings: ‘There’s no luck for them as meddles with Gipsy’s Acre.’ Michael Rogers is a man who is about to learn the true meaning of the old saying ‘In my end is my beginning…’

The Final Score is by Don Winslow. In six all-new short novels written with the trademark literary style, trenchant wit, and incisive characterization that have made Don Winslow “America’s greatest living crime writer” (Providence Journal), this repeat New York Times bestselling author serves up a collection of tales sure to delight Winslow’s most devoted fans and first-time readers. The multi-million-dollar casino heist is impossible—it can’t be done. That’s what makes it irresistible to a legendary robber facing the rest of his life in prison for his “Final Score.” An ambitious, hard-working college-bound teenager has a side job delivering illegal booze to “The Sunday List” until a crooked cop, a seductive customer, and a fake guru threaten to end his dreams. Two wise guys tell each other a “True Story” over breakfast at a diner. It’s all bullshit and laughs until someone else has to pick up the check. An otherwise honest patrolman has to make an excruciating choice between his loyalty to the job and his love for a ne’er-do-well cousin in “The North Wing.” The entitled, substance-addicted movie star that surfer/PI Boone Daniels and his crew are hired to babysit in “The Lunch Break” is a problem. She also has a problem—someone wants her dead. Finally, the one terrible, momentary mistake that a devoted family man makes sends him to prison and on a “Collision” course between the man he wants to be and the killer he’s forced to become to survive.

February 2026

Mrs Sidhu's Just Desserts is by Suk Pannu. It's the most glamorous event of the year. When Mrs Sidhu is hired as the caterer for the opening of Berkshire’s swankiest new art gallery, she can't believe her luck. It's the biggest pay cheque of her career, a glitzy evening, and a chance to take her cooking to the next level in front of the local crème de la crème. But there's trouble on the menu. Then the gallery's star painting is stolen. And worse than that, Mrs Sidhu's best and sweetest waitress – with her whole life ahead of her – is found dead. Mrs Sidhu wants answers. As she casts her eye over Berkshire's art scene – the murderously competitive collectors, critics and creatives – she uncovers a dastardly knot of greed and deception, obsession and revenge. Can she crack the strangest case of her career and unmask the murderer, so they can meet their just desserts?

Sociopath's Guide to a Successful Marriage. There’s a dead body in my living room. I’ve not called the police because it was I who stabbed him. Seven times in all. The truth is, it’s surprisingly difficult to dispatch someone with a vegetable knife. In case you’re wondering, the dead man is not my husband. I do resent our pitiful sex life and his woeful lack of ambition, but I wouldn’t murder him for it. Not yet, anyway. Right now, I have far more pressing concerns: scheming to get my daughter into the perfect school; buying my dream home in Hampstead; and disposing of a corpse. A woman’s work is never done. I’ve created the perfect life – and I’ll kill to keep it.

A priest’s death leads to sinister goings on in an old country pub… To understand the strange goings on at The Pale Horse Inn, Mark Easterbrook knew he had to begin at the beginning. But where exactly was the beginning? Was it the savage blow to the back of Father Gorman’s head? Or was it when the priest’s assailant searched him so roughly he tore the clergyman’s cassock? Or could it have been the priest’s visit, just minutes before, to a woman on her death bed? Or was there a deeper significance to the violent squabble which Mark Easterbrook had himself witnessed earlier? Wherever the beginning lies, Mark and his sidekick, Ginger Corrigan, may soon have cause to wish they’d never found it… The Pale Horse is by Agatha Christie and is a new edition of the classic novel.

How to Kill a Crime Writer is by Sarah Lotz. She wrote for a living.But who wanted her dead? When bestselling author Annie Morrissey is found dead, her daughter Niamh knows in her gut it’s no accident – even if the case needs a good edit. The village is strangely uneventful. The suspects are suspiciously normal. The leads quickly turn into dead ends… But when Annie’s final manuscript lands on the doormat, the pages humming with mystery and suspense, the lines between fiction and reality begin to blur.This can’t be a coincidence. Because if Niamh learnt anything from her mother’s crime fiction, it’s that there’s no such thing. And that village secrets never stay buried for long…

An atmospheric crime mystery featuring DI Georgina Lennox and DI Richard Stewart, set in the Scottish highlands. Deep in the Scottish Highlands, the body of a young woman is found on the cursed road, a narrow track with a bloody history. It initially looks like an accident, but a name scratched on the dead woman’s arm links to an unsolved case from years ago. Glaswegian detectives Georgina Lennox and Richard Stewart are sent north to investigate, and they discover a community riven by a centuries’ old blood feud and modern rivalries. As George and Richie attempt to get to the truth behind the dark rumours, a killer is waiting, determined that some secrets are never uncovered. The Cursed Road is by Laura McCluskey.

Deception Island is by R S Burnett. When a rescue team arrives at Deception Island to evacuate scientists from an erupting volcano, they discover everyone has vanished without a trace. Cut off from the outside world and trapped on an island with deadly secrets, Abbie must uncover the truth before the volcano – or something far more sinister – claims her life. Deception Island, a sunken volcano, is about to blow – and the scientists studying it need evacuating. It’s a race against time, and nature. But when they land on the island they find it completely deserted. As they search for signs of life other strange things start to happen: the radio is cut-off and then their boat disappears…Deception Island holds many secrets, but Abbie is worried about just one question: Will she make it off it alive?

You want answers. The house won't give them up. An unexplained death. In stormy West Cornwall, a woman lies dead at the bottom of a waterfall. A year later, her children are possessed by strange visions. A house full of secrets. Forensic psychologist Karenza Bray arrives to work with the children. She discovers a grand ancestral home, full of details that don’t quite make sense. The children sleepwalk into the sea, and claim to speak with dark spectres. An centuries-old mirror shows them impossible things. A family with everything to hide. Someone knows the truth about what happened to Natalie Tyack. Her husband. The housekeeper. The neighbours. But the more Karenza tries to help, the deeper she steps into a mystery, into a haunting. This house has a history that has not been put to rest. Will any of them escape sane, and unscathed? The Wrecker's Girl is by SK Tremayne.

Make You Mine is by Claire Kendall. You can run. You can hide. But you belong to me. It was the case of the decade. A 15-year-old girl on her way to school, vanished without a trace. The world feared the worst – but then, after months, she was discovered in a church crypt, lying alive beside the dead body of her kidnapper. Now, 26 years later, Esmeralda Avelar has worked hard to leave her traumatic past behind. She has forged a new identity, and a new career as a police detective. But the past refuses to stay buried. Because notorious serial killer Jason Thorne has escaped from his secure psychiatric hospital, and he has a new obsession… to find Esmeralda, the girl who got away, and make her his.

March 2026

Essex Wives is by Kimberley Chambers. Don’t get mad, get even… 1999, Essex. Sharon, Jolene, and Evie have one thing in common – they’ve all been burned by one of the Bond boys. Sharon’s seeking retribution after her husband’s affair. Jolene yearns to get her own back on the man that destroyed her life. And Evie is fighting to protect her family from the bad boy her daughter married. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned … As the turn of the millennium rounds the corner, this is one year that will go out with a bang. The Essex wives are back, and they’re out for revenge.

A woman convinced of her partner's infidelity discovers that the situation is even more murky when he turns up dead. He has a secret. She knows he’s lying… You think you know the people you love. Nadeeka is certain Jamie is having an affair. She knows the tell-tale signs. She’s been here before. You think you know who you can trust. When Jamie claims to be at work late, she knows he’s lying. He’s with another woman, and she’s determined to catch him in the act. You think you know how the story ends. But when Nadeeka arrives home to confront him, Jamie can't explain himself. The house has become a crime scene… Jamie is dead. It's Not What You Think is by Clare Mackintosh.

A Burnt Moor is by Nina Bhadreshwar. A brutal murder. The charred remains of a man are discovered, showing signs of torture. The body was abandoned on the wild moors of the peak district, but he wasn’t killed there. A life gone up in flames. An arson fire in Sheffield reveals the site of another murder, this time of a young woman, and DI Diana Walker finds herself investigating two murders. A dark truth. When the victim’s identities are revealed, Diana begins to dig into Sheffield’s criminal underworld where she uncovers webs of corruption at the city’s heart.

April 2026

Who Can You Trust is by Susan Lewis. A terrible crime. A shocking confession. Do you believe her? Twenty years ago, Nicole’s twins disappeared without a trace. No bodies. No witnesses. Despite her pleas of innocence, Nicole was convicted. Now she’s out. And she’s finally confessed. But for true crime podcast host Cristy Ward, the story doesn’t add up. Having worked on the case as a young reporter, Cristy can’t help but wonder whether Nicole is the villain everyone believes her to be. Why did Nicole confess after so many years … and is the truth still out there, waiting…?

A beautiful summer day. When young nurse Claire Davidson goes missing on the riverbank, the only clues left behind are her phone and shoes. A mystery that sweeps the nation. People disappear all the time, but this case sparks an online frenzy. Amateur investigators descend on the rural idyll. Is Claire Davidson just the story of a swim that went wrong, or could there be truth to the conspiracies? A killer growing bolder. Then another woman is discovered dead in the river. Jake Jackson, a former detective who came to the countryside searching for peace, must investigate before more lives are lost. A Twist in the River is by Stig Abell.

Turn The Dial for Death is by Jeremy Vine. An impossible death. A seaside town on the brink. Stay tuned for murder… Sidmouth is gearing up for summer – but murder is all year round… When a doctor is found dead in the woods, shot through the heart with a crossbow, his wife is the prime suspect, despite an ironclad alibi. Desperate to clear her name, she appeals to radio presenter Edward Temmis for help. But Edward has troubles of his own. With his beloved radio station in crisis and a mysterious motorbike crash on the seafront, the doctor’s death isn’t the only problem he has to face. Edward, Kim and Stevie must reunite on a treacherous path to uncover the truth. Can they solve the case before everything tumbles down?

Honey is by Imani Thompson. The first time, Yrsa doesn’t intend to kill. But the Cambridge professor sitting opposite has manipulated her friend, stolen her research. When she flicks the bee into his Sanpellegrino, she thinks he’ll get a nasty sting. Then he’s dead. And Yrsa, who – let’s face it – has been bored for a while, is alive. It’s a sweet feeling, finally having some control.

Faye's ex-husband is dead, but she is threatened by her father who is still on the run from prison. The man who should be her safety net is her greatest fear. But it's not just Faye that's in danger. Faye also has to protect her loved ones and her life's work, the Revenge company. Faye gathers her circle of women and enlists the help of the only man she trusts to plan the final revenge. But will she succeed, now that her father seems to be working with a criminal network and is more dangerous than ever? Dreams of Bronze is by Camilla Läckberg

You Are Mine is by Alex Lane. Mary Jordan is walking along the street when she spots a sign on a lamppost. If you’re reading this, I’m watching you. You’re now part of my collection. If you’re unlucky, that is what you will remain. But if you’re lucky, you will be chosen, and your life will never be the same again. Mary is shocked. Her skin crawls at the idea she is being watched. She searches the buildings, looking, perhaps, for a face at a window. She is terrified.But only for a moment. There’s nothing to fear. It’s obviously just a harmless prank. She is wrong…

May 2026 

Rebel's Gambit is by S J Parris. England, 1601.Treason threatens the realm. When the body of a Scottish envoy washes up on the banks of the Thames, the Queen’s most powerful spymaster, Robert Cecil, is accused of arranging the murder. Cecil turns to his covert intelligencer Sophia de Wolfe to discreetly discover what the dead man was doing in London, and why he was killed. But this murder is borne of treacherous political currents. As loyalties shift and rebellion foments, as the Earl of Essex makes a dangerous play for power, Sophia is fast drawn into perilous waters. Everyone wants the Queen’s hard-won favour, even as tensions rise and the country begins to look for new answers. And Sophia has her own secrets to hide…

Adventure can be a deadly business. It began in the manner of all the very best adventures: in a coffee house. When one Richard Hannay—intrepid, inquisitive, and on the hunt for intrigue—encounters an old acquaintance in Constantinople, he has an inkling that something thrilling is afoot. Charged with an item of great mystery and import—a washbag, no less!—he soon finds himself in a very dangerous pursuit: from the luxurious confines of the Orient Express to the decks of the Titanic herself, all with the very fate of Europe in his care. Can he slip the net of Count Schwabing, whose long arm stretches from Berlin to the Bosphorus? And what of Madame Zara, the cabaret enchantress—does she play at affection, deception, or something far more deadly? In over his head, often a step—or thirty-nine—behind, but absolutely, resolutely determined to save the day, Hannay is about to embark on an escapade that will test his wits, his courage, and his ability to keep hold of a blasted washbag. A Very Dangerous Pursuit is by Ben Miller.

The return of 007. Agent 003, Joanna Harwood, has finally found James Bond after nearly two years of searching. All she has to do is get him out of Russia alive and convince him he can trust her again. A mission for revenge. But Bond trusts no one. And he wants revenge on Mora, the monstrous figure at the head of Rattenfänger – a terrorist organisation with links to the past. The final showdown MI6’s Double O section is in pieces. Moneypenny is captured. 000 has switched sides. And all of Rattenfänger’s plans for hijacking the cyber-intelligence of the West are finally about to be realised. The remaining Double Os must work together – and figure out which of them are still loyal… Hurricane Room is by Kim Sherwood.

The Killer in Room Five is by Sam Holland. A terrible confession. In an isolated room in Hollowpines, an infamous psychiatric hospital, Joe Sinclair is confessing to a violent murder. An impossible crime. Locked away, Joe couldn't possibly have killed the man, so how does he know so many of the horrifying details? A detective at her limits. Suspended after a colleague was stabbed on her watch, DC Abby Fox has only just returned to work. But at Hollowpines, she must find out what really happened and how exactly Joe is involved. Is he to blame, or the only one who can stop the killer?

June 2026

Three Reasons For Revenge is by Dervla McTiernan. Someone’s been watching. Someone’s been waiting.  Alexis Turner walks into the police station to report an assault. By the end of the day, she is nowhere to be found. Soon after she disappears, three identical packages arrive at three very different doors: a respected psychologist's home, a socialite's mansion, and a struggling single father's run-down apartment. Inside, each gift is perfectly tailored to its recipient — and each will tear apart the life of its intended victim. Detective Sergeant Judith Lee is smart and experienced, but this is no ordinary case. Someone with intimate knowledge of their targets is orchestrating these attacks. Someone who knows exactly how to hurt each victim where they're most vulnerable. And she’s convinced that somehow, it connects back to Alexis Turner. As she races to uncover the connection between four seemingly unrelated people, Judith discovers she's no longer just investigating the game – she's being forced to play.

Everything She Didn't Say is by Jane Casey. Victim? Witness? Killer? A woman is found in bloodstained clothes on the lonely coast of County Mayo. At first, she won’t speak. Then a name comes: Ruth. And a story about her missing friend: Maura. Ruth says she and Maura were staying in a clifftop house together.But there’s no trace of her there. Nothing but a pool of blood. Ruth says Maura was paranoid before she disappeared. But the locals say they only ever saw one woman. Ruth says all she wants is to make sure Maura is safe. But someone is dead, someone is a killer, someone is lying. Ruth says she’s being honest, but are the answers in everything she didn’t say?

Welcome back to North Falls―a small town with big secrets. Sheriff Emmy Clifton and her sister, ex-federal agent Jude Archer, investigate a brutal attack that shatters their town's fragile peace. But the deeper Emmy digs, the more dangerous it gets… The Secrets We Hide is by Karin Slaughter.





















Thursday, 29 May 2025

2025 CWA Daggers Shortlist announced


The 2025 shortlist for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger awards, which honour the very best in the crime-writing genre, are announced.

Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

The prestigious KAA Gold Dagger, sponsored by Kevin Anderson & Associates, is awarded for the best crime novel of the year

The shortlist includes the debut novel from Bonnie Burke-Patel’s Died at Fallow Hall, up against established authors in the genre, including RJ Ellory with The Bell Tower, Tana French’s The Hunter, and Attica Locke’s Guide Me Home.

It also features two historical crime books with D.V. Bishop’s A Divine Fury, and Anna Mazzola’s The Book of Secrets.

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, showcases the thriller of the year.

The shortlist sees Lou Berne’s masterful thriller, Dark Ride, up against previous winner of the Steel Dagger, MW Craven, with Nobody’s Hero. Also making the list are Garry Disher with Sanctuary, Abir Mukherjee’s Hunted, Stuart Neville with Blood Like Mine and the iconic American author, Don Winslow with City in Ruins.

The much-anticipated ILP John Creasey First Novel Dagger highlights the best debut novels.

Among the rising stars of 2025 is the debut set in the shadow of the Yorkshire Ripper, Katy Massey’s All of Us Are Sinners. Jessica Bull’s Miss Austen Investigates, Justine Champine’s Knife River, Anders Lustgarten’s Three Burials are also contenders alongside Gay Marris with A Curtain Twitcher's Book of Murder and Marie Tierney with Deadly Animals.

The Historical Dagger, sponsored by Morgan Witzel in memory of Dr Marilyn Livingstone.

Two novels feature on both the Gold and the Historical Dagger shortlist. DV Bishop’s A Divine Fury is the fourth in the Cesare Aldo series featuring a sixteenth century detective in Florence, and Anna Mazzola’s The Book of Secrets set in 17th century Italy. 

The shortlist also includes Chris Lloyd: Banquet of Beggars, Clare Whitfield with Poor Girls, and A.J. West, The Betrayal of Thomas True which is set in a London underworld in the year 1710.

Nadine Matheson, Chair of the CWA, said: “Congratulations to everyone who has been shortlisted for these prestigious awards. It’s not only a joy but it’s inspiring to see such a rich variety of stories and voices being celebrated. The 2025 CWA Daggers shortlist is a true reflection of the growing strength of crime writing today. The contributed work of every shortlisted writer is shaping the future of the genre, and their work reminds us why we fell in love with these stories in the first place.”

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger, sponsored in honour of Dolores Jakubowski, features the smash-hit, Waterstones Book of the Month, Butter by Asako Yuzuki, translated by Polly Barton.  The queer debut gangland thriller The Night of Baba Yaga from Japan’s Akira Otani also makes the shortlist shortly after winning the 2025 CrimeFest Debut Crime Novel of the Year, sponsored by Specsavers.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction includes a giant of the genre with John Grisham and Jim McCloskey’s Framed, which looks at ten wrongful convictions, and Kate Summerscale’s retelling of the Christie murders, The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place.

The CWA Daggers are one of the few high-profile awards that honour the short story.

This year sees multiple bestselling names from the genre up for the award including Janice Hallett, and Ruth Ware, up against lesser established names such as the academic and expert on Agatha Christie, J.C Bernthal, with the short story, A Date on Yarmouth Pier.

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year Dagger, which celebrates publishers and imprints demonstrating excellence and diversity in crime writing, pits independent publisher Bitter Lemon Press against Faber, Orenda, Pan Macmillan, and Simon & Schuster. 

2025 sees the announcement of two new CWA Dagger Awards. The Twisted Dagger celebrates psychological thrillers and dark and twisty tales that often feature unreliable narrators, disturbed emotions, a healthy dose of moral ambiguity, and a sting in the tail. 

Shortlisted titles include Beautiful People by Amanda Jennings, Catherine Steadman’s Look in the Mirror, and Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra.

The Whodunnit Dagger celebrates books that focus on the intellectual challenge at the heart of a good mystery. Books in this category include cosy crime, traditional crime, and Golden Age-inspired mysteries. Amongst the six shortlisted authors are Lisa Hall with The Case of the Singer and the Showgirl and Laura Marshall with A Good Place to Hide a Body.

The Dagger in the Library nominee longlist is voted by librarians and library users, chosen for the author’s body of work and support of libraries. 

This year’s sees established names including the bestselling phenomenon Richard Osman, the acclaimed Kate Atkinson, JK Rowling’s crime alter-ego Robert Galbraith, the award-winning mystery author Janice Hallett, bestseller Lisa Jewell and author of sixty historical crime novels, Edward Marston.

The Emerging Author Dagger, which has been going for over 20 years, celebrates aspiring crime novelists and is sponsored by Fiction Feedback, also welcomes six new upcoming authors.

The competition is open to unpublished authors, and is judged on the best opening for an unpublished crime novel. The winner will gain the attention of leading agents and top editors; over two dozen past winners and shortlisted Debut Dagger authors have signed publishing deals to date.

The CWA Diamond Dagger, awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, is announced in early spring and in 2025 was awarded to Mick Herron.

The winners will be announced at the award ceremony at the CWA gala dinner on 3 July.

 The Shortlist in Full:

KAA GOLD DAGGER

A Divine Fury by D V Bishop (Macmillan)

The Bell Tower by R J Ellory (Orion)

The Hunter by Tana French (Penguin Books Ltd)

Guide Me Home by Attica Locke (Profile Books Ltd)

 Book of Secrets byAnna Mazzola (Orion)

I Died at Fallow Hall by Bonnie Burke-Patel (Bedford Square Publishers)

 

IAN FLEMING STEEL DAGGER


Dark Ride by Lou Berney (Hemlock Press/ HarperCollins)

Nobody's Hero by M W Craven (Constable/Little Brown, Hachette)

Sanctuary by Garry Disher (Viper/Profile Books)

Hunted by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill & Secker/ Penguin Random House)

Blood Like Mine by Stuart Neville (Simon & Schuster)

City in Ruins by Don Winslow (Hemlock Press/HarperCollins)

 

ILP JOHN CREASEY (NEW BLOOD) DAGGER

Miss Austen Investigates by Jessica Bull (Penguin Random House/ Michael Joseph)

Knife River by Justine Champine (Bonnier Books UK/ Manilla Press)

Three Burials by Anders Lustgarten (Penguin Random House/ Hamish Hamilton) 

A Curtain Twitcher's Book of Murder by Gay Marris (Bedford Square Publishers)         

All Us Sinners by Katy Massey (Little, Brown /Sphere)

Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney (Bonnier Books UK/ Zaffre)

 HISTORICAL DAGGER

A Divine Fury by D.V. Bishop (Macmillan)

Banquet of Beggars by Chris Lloyd (Orion Fiction/Orion Publishing)

The Book of Secrets by Anna Mazzola (Orion Fiction/Orion Publishing)

The Betrayal of Thomas True by A.J. West  (Orenda Books)

Poor Girls by Clare Whitfield (Aries / Head of Zeus)

 



CRIME FICTION IN TRANSLATION DAGGER

Dogs and Wolves by Hervé Le Corre (Europa Editions UK) tr. Howard Curtis

Going to the Dogs by Pierre Lemaitre (Maclehose Press) tr. Frank Wynne

The Night of Baby Yaga by Akira Otani (Faber & Faber) tr. Sam Bett

The Clues in the Fjord by Satu Rämö (Zaffre) tr.  Kristian London  

Butter by Asako Yuzuki (4th Estate) tr. Polly Barton

Clean by Alia Trabucco Zerán (4th Estate) tr. Sophie Hughes

 

ALCS GOLD DAGGER FOR NON-FICTION 

Unmasking Lucy Letby by Jonathan Coffey & Judith Moritz (Seven Dials)   

The Lady in the Lake by Jeremy Craddock (Mirror Books)   

Framed by John Grisham & Jim McCloskey (Hodder & Stoughton)  

The Criminal Mind by Duncan Harding (PRH/Michael Joseph)   

Four Shots in the Night by Henry Hemming (Quercus)   

The Peepshow: The Murders at 10 Rillington Place by Kate Summerscale (Bloomsbury Circus)   

SHORT STORY DAGGER


‘The Glorious Twelfth’ by S.J Bennett: in Midsummer Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards (Flame Tree Publishing/Flame Tree Collections)

‘A Date on Yarmouth Pier’ by J.C Bernthal in Midsummer Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards (Flame Tree Publishing/Flame Tree Collections)

'Why Harrogate?’ by Janice Hallett in Murder in Harrogate edited by Vaseem Khan (Orion Publishing Group/Orion Fiction)

‘City Without Shadows’ by William Burton McCormick in Midsummer Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards (Flame Tree Publishing/Flame Tree Collections)

‘A Ruby Sun’ by Meeti Shroff-Shah in Midsummer Mysteries edited by Martin Edwards (Flame Tree Publishing/Flame Tree Collections)

‘Murder at the Turkish Baths’by Ruth Ware in Murder in Harrogate edited by Vaseem Khan, (Orion Publishing Group/ Orion Fiction)


WHODUNNIT DAGGER

 A Death in Diamonds by SJ Bennett, (Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre)

 Murder at the Christmas Emporium by Andreina Cordani,(Bonnier Books UK, Zaffre)

 The Case of the Singer and the Showgirl by Lisa Hall, (Hera Hera)

A Good Place to Hide a Body by Laura Marshall, (Hodder & Stoughton )

 A Matrimonial Murder by Meeti Shroff-Shah, (Joffe Books)

Murder at the Matinee, by Jamie West, (Brabinger Publishing)

TWISTED DAGGER

Emma, Disappeared by Andrew Hughes (Hachette Books Ireland)

Beautiful People by Amanda Jennings (HarperCollins/ HQ FICTION)

The Stranger In Her House by John Marrs (Amazon Publishing/ Thomas & Mercer)

The Trials Of Marjorie Crowe by CS Robertson (Hodder & Stoughton)              

 Nightwatching by Tracy Sierra: (PRH/ Viking)

Look In The Mirror by Catherine Steadman (Quercus)           

DAGGER IN THE LIBRARY


Kate Atkinson

Robert Galbraith

Janice Hallett

Lisa Jewell

Edward Marston

Richard Osman

 




PUBLISHERS’ DAGGER

Bitter Lemon Press

Faber & Faber

Orenda Books

Pan Macmillan

Simon & Schuster

 





EMERGING AUTHOR DAGGER

Bahadur Is My Name by Loftus Brown, 

Funeral Games by Shannon Chamberlain

 Soho Love, Soho Blood by Hywel Davies

Ashland by Joe Eurell

 The Fifth by Shannon Falkson,

Murder Under Wraps by Catherine Lovering, 

 


Sunday, 3 December 2023

Books to Look Forward to from HarperCollins

January 2024

My name is Ikemefuna Nwosu, and I am your wife. One day in Lagos, young dancer Ikemefuna is put on a plane to Houston to meet her new husband, Nna. Promises are made to her – about her education, about the man she will marry, about her freedom. None of them are kept. A few months later, self-professed feminist Nna finds a beautiful woman cooking in his parents’ kitchen. They tell him Ikemefuna is his wife, there to give them the grandson they’ve been waiting for. She appears obedient, malleable. But she is no ordinary wife. In the Texas heat, patience runs on short supply and the atmosphere in the house becomes increasingly strained, increasingly violent. Desperation makes people do strange things… House Woman is by Adorah Nworah.

The Mystery Guest is by Nita Prose. A new mess. A new mystery. Molly the maid returns. Molly Gray wears her Head Maid badge proudly for every shift at the Regency Grand Hotel, plumping pillows, sweeping up the guests' secrets, silently restoring rooms to a state of perfection. But when a renowned guest - a famous mystery writer - drops very dead in the grand tea room, Molly has an unusual clean-up on her hands. As rumours and suspicion swirl in the hotel corridors, it's clear there's grime lurking beneath the gilt. And Molly knows that she alone holds the key to the mystery. But unlocking it means thinking about the past, about Gran, and everything else she's kept tidied away in her memory for so long. Because Molly knew the dead guest once upon a time - and he knew her.

They thought they’d found their dream home. They were wrong. 2008. The house Maxine and Seb have just bought was a bargain – a huge Georgian townhouse on the edge of Peckham Rye, it needs a lot of work but Max couldn’t resist it. Now they are in, though, nothing seems to be going right – and as the problems mount up, Max starts to doubt her relationship as well as her decision. Is Seb all he seems to be? And why are the neighbours so evasive about the house’s previous owner? 1994. Cookie and his parents have been forced by his dad’s gambling debts to move into the attic room of a big old house, as lodgers. Tensions run high between them and their elderly landlady, and there’s something odd about the place that Cookie can’t quite put his finger on… 1843. Horatio built this house for his beloved wife, who then died in mysterious circumstances. After a second death on the premises, both his servants and the locals are starting to talk. Horatio’s grief is tinged with shame and guilt. What is he hiding? And will the house ever be free of his legacy? The House on Rye Lane is by Susan Allott.

February 2024

Anna O hasn't opened her eyes for four years. Not since the night she was found in a deep sleep by the bodies of her best friends, suspected of a chilling double murder. For Doctor Benedict Prince, a forensic psychologist on London’s Harley Street, waking Anna O could be career-defining. As an expert in sleep, he knows all about the darkest chambers of the mind; the secrets that lie buried in the subconscious. As he begins Anna O’s treatment – studying his patient’s dreams, combing her memories, visiting the site where the horrors played out – he pulls on the thread of a much deeper, darker mystery. Awakening Anna O isn’t the end of the story, it’s just the beginning. Anna O is by Matthew Blake.

Only If You're Lucky is by Stacy Willingham. Margot went to college in South Carolina for a new start. It’s a chance to get away – from her small town, her family and the memories of her dead best friend. She gets her wish when the enigmatic Lucy invites her to join two other girls in a shared house for their second year. But as Margot gets to know the girls, she begins to realise that something’s off about Lucy, she’s not quite what she seems. Six months later, Lucy is missing and a boy from the frat house next door is dead, leaving Margot in the wake of the investigation. But as the police continue to dig, they realise Lucy isn't the only one with secrets.

"I’ll be dead in three months. Come tell my story." This is the chilling invitation from Sebastian Trapp, renowned mystery novelist, to his long-time correspondent Nicky Hunter, an expert in detective fiction. Welcomed into his lavish San Francisco mansion, Nicky begins to unravel Trapp’s life story under the watchful eyes of his enigmatic wife and plainspoken daughter. But Sebastian Trapp is a mystery himself. And maybe – probably – a murderer. Two decades ago, his first wife and son vanished – the case never solved. Is the master of mystery playing a deadly game – and if so, who will be the loser? And when a body surfaces in the family's garden, they all realize the past isn't buried – it's waiting. End of Story is by A J Finn.

Down Among the Dead is by C S Green. If you go down to the woods today… When DC Rose Gifford is called to investigate the death of a woman in Elford Country Park, she knows there is more to the case than meets the eye. Suzette’s broken body was found at the foot of a climbing centre after a terrible storm – but this was no accident. Was it? You’re in for a big surprise… Suzette isn’t the only person to have died in the woods. The park has claimed three other young lives – and there must be a connection. And when the police discover that Elford is situated on an ancient plague pit, things take an even darker turn… What really happened out in the forest that night? And how many others will fall victim to the woods before Rose can crack the case?

March 2024

A Stranger in the Family is by Jane Casey. Every mother's worst nightmare . . . When nine-year-old Rosalie Marshall vanished from her bed one summer night, her disappearance tore her family apart. Now, sixteen years later, her mother Helena is found dead, her husband by her side. It looks like a straightforward murder-suicide but DS Maeve Kerrigan and DI Josh Derwent soon discover nothing about this case is straightforward. The Marshalls have been keeping secrets, and they aren't alone. Josh has been holding something back too – something that could change everything for Maeve. But one person is prepared to kill to hide the truth. Until Maeve finds out what happened to Rosalie, no one will be safe . . 

A rip-roaring, gritty gangland set in Essex, featuring Beau and Brett Bond – who are making their name in the world and hoping the sins of their past don’t come back to haunt them. Beau and Brett Bond have been inseparable since birth. It’s time they went their own way in life, but that’s when the real trouble starts… The Boys/The Brothers is by Kimberley Chambers.

What Happened to Nina is by Dervla McTiernan. Nina and Simon are the perfect couple. Young, fun and deeply in love. Until they leave for a weekend at his family’s cabin in Vermont, and only Simon comes home. What happened to Nina? Nobody knows. Simon’s explanation about what happened in their last hours together doesn’t add up. Nina’s parents push the police for answers, and Simon’s parents rush to protect him. They hire expensive lawyers and a PR firm that quickly ramps up a vicious, nothing-is-off-limits media campaign. How far will his family go to keep him safe? Soon, facts are lost in a swirl of accusation and counter-accusation. Everyone chooses a side, and the story goes viral, fueled by armchair investigators and wild conspiracy theories and illustrated with pretty pictures taken from Nina’s social media accounts. Journalists descend on their small Vermont town, followed by a few obsessive "fans." Nina’s family is under siege, but they never lose sight of the only thing that really matters — finding their daughter. Out-gunned by Simon’s wealthy, powerful family, Nina’s parents recognize that if playing by the rules won’t get them anywhere, it’s time to break them. How far will her family go to get to the truth.

A village hall, a primary school play, a beautiful Lake District town. Into this idyllic scene steps a lone gunman whose actions set off a train of events that will have devastating consequences for the close-knit community of Stonesmere. At the epicentre of the tragedy is Marty, daughter of the teacher who dies trying to protect her pupils. What did she see? How is she involved? In the weeks and months following the killings, conspiracy theorists start questioning what happened. For outsider Trent Casey, the truther movement offers him a chance to step into the spotlight to expose the ‘sham’ of the killings. Marty’s and Trent’s lives will become entwined as events spiral out of control. The true story is gradually revealed, but at what cost to those caught up in the maelstrom…Day One is by Abigail Dean.

April 2024

Sometimes you have to become what you hate to protect what you love. Danny Ryan is rich. Beyond his wildest dreams rich. The former dock worker, Irish mob soldier and fugitive from the law is now a respected businessman – a Las Vegas casino mogul and billionaire silent partner in a group that owns two lavish hotels. Finally, Danny has it all: a beautiful house, a child he adores, a woman he might even fall in love with. Life is good. But then Danny reaches too far. When he tries to buy an old hotel on a prime piece of real estate with plans to build his dream resort, he triggers a war against Las Vegas power brokers, a powerful FBI agent bent on revenge and a rival casino owner with dark connections of his own. Danny thought he had buried his past, but now it reaches up to him from the grave to pull him down. Old enemies surface, and when they come for Danny they vow to take everything – not only his empire, not just his life, but all that he holds dear, including his son. To save his life and everything he loves, Danny must become the ruthless fighter he once was – and never wanted to be again. Ranging from the gritty back rooms of Providence, RI to the power corridors of Washington, DC and Wall Street to the golden casinos of Las Vegas, City in Ruins is by Don Winslow and is an epic crime novel of love and hate, ambition and desperation, vengeance and compassion.

A Sicilian Affair is by Susan Lewis. Catie returns home from a stint in prison desperate for a fresh start. But her empty house, the secrets within its walls, and the family no longer there are a reminder of everything she has lost. Buried lies always find a way out… and when a visit to Sicily begins to stir up painful memories, Catie knows she can’t outrun them forever…

A paradise found… Detective Jake Jackson moved to the countryside for a quieter life. And now, he finally seems to have his wish – spending his time swimming in his lake, tending to his chickens, and enjoying long, lazy evenings with his newfound love, Livia. A secret unleashed… But the return of an old case shatters the calm, and pulls him into the shadowy world of No Taboo – a secretive group serving the extravagant whims of the elite. An enemy closes in… As the web around Jake tightens, he must determine who he can really trust in his small community. Or else he will learn just how far No Taboo will go to protect their secrets. Death in a Lonely Place is by Stig Abell.

An elite team of MI6 agents must go undercover to unravel a smuggling network funding violent terror in the second thrilling adventure in the acclaimed Double O series by Kim Sherwood. Six days. Three agents. One chance to find James Bond. James Bond is alive. Or at least, he was when he left a clue at the black site where the insidious private military company Rattenfanger held him captive. MI6 cannot spare any more lives attempting to track down one missing agent—no exceptions, even for Bond. But Johanna Harwood, 003, has her own agenda. Sidelined by her superiors while she grieves the loss of a loved one, Harwood goes on an unsanctioned mission: to find 007. Meanwhile, MI6 has another problem… A bomb has been detonated in London. Double O agents on the trail of the terrorists responsible acted quickly to prevent mass destruction and save lives. But MI6 failed to neutralize the nation’s enemies before they could strike, and one of their own was seriously injured in the blast. They won’t fail again. Assigned to root out the source of the terrorists’ funding, Joseph Dryden, 004, and Conrad Harthrop-Vane, 000, enter the field. Tracing clues from Sotheby’s auction house to Crete to Venice, they uncover a money laundering scheme involving diamonds, black market antiquities, and human trafficking. Once a major sale is made, a six-day countdown to the next terror attack begins. As the Double O’s follow the twisting trail, they find themselves unexpectedly inching closer to Bond…

May 2024

DCI Cara Elliott fnds himself facing an unprecedented challenge uncovering the cause of a series of harrowing suicides. As Elliott and her brother, Griffin, work together to investigate the link between the deths, they are pulled into a deadly game created by an unseen adversary. Together they uncover a horrifying truth: these deaths aren't simple suicides, but the cruel handiwork of a madman with a warped crusade steeped in bllood and madness. The Puppet Master is by Sam Holland. 

The Midnight Feast is by Lucy Foley. Midsummer, the Dorset coast. Guests gather for the opening of The Manor hotel, the new jewel on the Dorset coastline. The champagne is flowing, the guest list sparkling, the sun setting on an unforgettable summer solstice. But under the cloak of celebration, something dark is stirring. The Manor has a secret history; built in the shadows of an ancient wood. Now old friends and enemies are creeping out of the shadows. And they'll soon discover what other deadly secrets come out at night.

Two terrible events, without obvious connection, shake Fjällbacka to its core. A famous photographer is found brutally murdered in a showroom. Henning Bauer, the Nobel prize winner in literature, suffers from a violent act on the small island where he is writing the 10th book in his world famous series. While Patrik Hedström and his colleagues at Tanumshede police station struggle to investigate the cases, Erica Falck researches a murder on a trans man in Stockholm in the 1980’s. She slowly realizes that the threads from the past are connected to the present time, and that old sins leave long shadows behind. The Cuckoo is by Camilla Läckberg.

June 2024

Agatha Christie's Marple: Expert on Wickedness is by Dr Mark Aldridge. This new investigation from Dr Mark Aldridge, explores a lifetime of Agatha Christie’s Miss Jane Marple. In Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert on Wickedness,‘Agathologist’ Dr Mark Aldridge looks at nearly a century of St Mary Mead’s most famous resident and uses his own detective skills to uncover new information about Miss Jane Marple’s appearances on page, stage, screen and beyond. Drawing on a range of material, some of which is newly discovered and previously unpublished, this book explores everything about Miss Marple, from her origins in a series of short stories penned by Christie, to the recent bestselling HarperCollins collection Marple: Twelve New Stories. This accessible, entertaining and illustrated guide to the world of Miss Marple pieces together the evidence in order to tell you everything you need to know about the world’s favourite female detective.

Your mother is not who you think she is. When the phone rings in Judy McVee's Languedoc farmhouse, she knows that her past has finally caught up with her. It's her daughter , farntically asking why there are journalists on her London doorstep making terrible accusations. Decades earlier, Judy was a girl with big plans – to ensnare a rich husband, to make something of herself, to rise above her upbringing and leave behind past tragedies. Wealthy young widower Rory Harrington seemed the perfect target - but Judy hadn't reckoned in falling in love with him. Now her daughter Francesca , who has secrets of her own must come to the terms with the realisation that the mother that she knew wasn't real. Where has Judy gone – and was anything that she told her family true? The End of Summer is by Charlotte Philby.

Macabre murders plague a rural town as a scam-artist psychic races to find the answers in this haunting thriller The Hungry Dark by Jen Williams. As a child, Ashley Whitelam was haunted by ghostly figures no one else could see. Silent and watchful, these Heedful Ones followed her wherever she went. She hasn’t seen them for eighteen years, not since that fateful night at Red Rigg House. But now they’re back, and they’re trying to tell her something. As children begin to disappear across the Lake District, Ashley becomes involved in the investigation, eager for free publicity to promote her work as a psychic. She never expected the collaborating to bear fruit, but when she discovers the body of one of the missing children, everything changes. The police are convinced that she’s involved with the killings, and the press are hounding her for answers. Desperate to clear her name, she works with true crime podcaster, Freddie Miller, to investigate. As they look deeper into the disappearances, Ashley must dig into the demons of her past, before the nightmare in the present comes for her, too.

Julia Crowne is waiting at the airport for her 12-year-old daughter, Anna. The plane lands, the passengers start to come through. Anna is not one of them. Then a woman wearing an airport uniform and a worried frown approaches her. . And the woman voices Julia's worst fears. We don't know where Anna is. She got off the plane in the company of a chaperone and went to baggage reclaim. . And the she disappeared. They have looked everywhere and there is no sign of Anna. Anna has been kidnapped before and July's daughter - for the secnd time - has vanished. This untitled Alex Lake novel is due to be published in June.

Also due to be published in June is a new currently untilted Will Trenton and Sara Linton thriller.