January 2019
A dark and labyrinthine thriller from a bold new voice in
crime fiction It is 1981. London is bruised by austerity, social unrest and
racial tension, and the police are at war. Anger has erupted in the Brixton
Riots and is finding expression in protest, anarchy and punk. For Detective
Inspector Hobbes, the battle lines are being redrawn within his own ranks as
right and wrong are clouded by prejudice. Into this mess comes a murder. A
promising young singer has been maimed and killed and the artistry of the crime
is disturbing. On the hunt for the killer, Hobbes begins an investigation that
will lead him deep into a subculture hidden beneath the everyday. A cult of
personality that hides from the problems of the city and escapes to a world of
its own, a world that is at once seductive and devastating. How far will Hobbes
have to go to learn the truth? And how many more must die before he does?
Slow Motion Ghosts is by Jeff Noon.
Suspect is by Fiona Barton.
The police belonged to another world - the world they saw on the
television or in the papers. Not theirs.' When two eighteen-year-old girls go
missing on their gap year in Thailand, their families are thrust into the
international spotlight: desperate, bereft and frantic with worry. Journalist
Kate Waters always does everything she can to be first to the story, first with
the exclusive, first to discover the truth - and this time is no exception. But
she can't help but think of her own son, who she hasn't seen in two years,
since he left home to go travelling. This time it's personal. And as the case
of the missing girls unfolds, they will all find that even this far away,
danger can lie closer to home than you might think . . .
February 2019
Look around you.
Who holds the most power in the room? Is it the one who speaks loudest, who
looks the part, who has the most money, who commands the most respect? Or
perhaps it's someone like Christine Butcher: a meek, overlooked figure, who
silently bears witness as information is shared and secrets are whispered.
Someone who quietly, perhaps even unwittingly, gathers together knowledge of
the people she's there to serve - the ones who don't notice her, the ones who
consider themselves to be important. There's a fine line between loyalty and
obsession. And when someone like Christine Butcher is pushed to her limit, she
might just become the most dangerous person in the room. The Secretary is by Renée Knight.
March 2019
One False Move is by Robert Goddard. What value can be put on a human mind? How
Joe Roberts does what he does is a mystery. He has a brain that seems able to
outperform a computer. To a games company like Venstrom that promises big
profits if his abilities can be properly exploited. So they send Nicole
Nevinson to track him down and make him an offer too good to refuse. But
Venstrom aren't the only people interested in Joe. His current boss, a shady
businessman, is already making serious money out of Joe's talents and isn'
going to let him go without a fight. And then there are other forces, with
still darker intentions, who have their own plans for him. Almost before she
knows it, Nicole's crossed an invisible line into a world where the game being
played has rules she doesn't understand and where no-one can help her win. But
win she must. Because the battle now isn't just for Joe's mind, it's for
Nicole's life.
In Which Mr May Makes A Mistake And Mr Bryant Goes Into The
Dark On a rainy winter night outside a run-down nightclub in the wrong part of
London, four strangers meet for the first time at 4:00am. A few weeks later the
body of an Indian textile worker is found hanging upside down inside a willow
tree on Hamstead Heath. The Peculiar Crimes Unit is called in to investigate.
The victim was found surrounded by the paraphernalia of black magic, and so
Arthur Bryant and John May set off to question experts in the field. But the
case is not what it appears. When another victim seemingly commits suicide, it
becomes clear that in the London night is a killer who knows what people fear
most. And he always strikes at 4:00am. In order to catch him, the PCU must
switch to night shifts, but still the team draws a blank. John May takes a
technological approach, Arthur Bryant goes in search of academics and misfits
for help, for this is becoming a case that reveals impossibilities at every
turn, not least that there's no indication of what the victims might have done
to attract the attentions of a murderer that doesn't seem to exist. But
impossibilities are what the Peculiar Crimes Unit does best. As they explore a
night city where all the normal rules are upended, they're drawn deeper into a
case that involves murder, arson, kidnap, blackmail, bats and the psychological
effects of loneliness on Londoners. It's a trail that takes them from the
poorest part of the East End to the wealthiest homes in North London - an
investigation that can only end in tragedy...
The Lonely Hour is by Christopher Fowler.
The Boy in the Headlights is by Samuel Bjork. Munch and Krüger. An unexpected pairing. A
brilliant team. Winter 1999. An old man
is driving home when his headlights catch an animal on the empty road up ahead.
He stamps hard on the brakes. But it is not an animal at all. It is a young boy, frightened
and alone, with a set of deer antlers strapped firmly to his head. Fourteen years later, a body is found in a
mountain lake. Within weeks, three people have died. Each time, the killer has
left a clue, inviting Special Investigations Detectives Munch and Krüger to
play a deadly game – a game they cannot possibly win. Against the most
dangerous and terrifying kind of serial killer. One who chooses their victims
completely at random. To find the killer
they must look deep within their own dark pasts, but how can you stop a
murderer when you cannot begin to predict their next move?
April 2019
Too Close is by Natalie Daniels. How close is too close? There's a moment,
when you meet someone new, when the connection is so strong that making a
friend can feel like falling in love. That's how it was for Connie and Ness.
They met in the park while their children played and as they talked, they
realised they were neighbours. Perhaps it was only natural that they and their
families would become entirely inseparable. But when Ness's marriage ends in a
bitter divorce, she is suddenly at Connie's house all the time. Connie doesn't
have a moment to herself, no time alone with her husband, not a second to chat
to her kids. It's all too much. Something has to give. Connie has woken up in a
psychiatric hospital. They say she committed a terrible crime but she says she
can't remember a thing.
May 2019
Four strangers are missing. Left at their last-known
locations are birthday cards that read: YOUR GIFT IS THE GAME. DARE TO PLAY?
The police aren't worried - it's just a game. But the families are frantic, and
psychologist and private detective Dr Augusta Bloom is persuaded to
investigate. As she delves into the lives of the missing people, she finds
something that binds them all. And that something makes them very dangerous
indeed. As more disappearances are reported and new birthday cards uncovered,
Dr Bloom races to unravel the mystery and find the puppeteer. But is she
playing into their hands? Mind Games is
by Leona Deakin.
Even the best intelligence play has consequences – good and
bad. When a young woman working
undercover for S15 as the nanny for an oligarch’s family is found brutally
murdered, Kate Henderson, head of the Russian desk, knows that something is
very wrong. What’s more the intel that
she has helped uncover seems to be pointing towards the existence of a high
level Russian mole in the British Government.
Particularly when that mole might be in line to be the next Prime
Minister. Secret Service is by Tom
Bradby.
June 2019
'I thought she was our friend. I thought she was trying to
help us.' After the sudden death of her husband, Tess Clarke is drowning in
grief. All she has left is her son, Jamie, and she'll do anything to protect
him - but she's struggling to cope. When grief counsellor Shelley knocks
on their door, everything changes. Shelley is beautiful,
confident and takes control when Tess can't bear to face the outside world. But
when questions arise over her husband's death and strange things start to
happen, Tess begins to suspect that Shelley may have an ulterior motive. Tess
knows she must do everything she can to keep Jamie safe - but who can she
trust? The Perfect Betrayal is by Lauren
North.
The Warehouse is a near-future thriller set in an America
addicted to consumerism where gun violence, climate change and unemployment
have ravaged the nation, and an online retail giant named Cloud reigns supreme.
Cloud brands itself not just as an online storefront but a sort of global
saviour. However beneath that sunny exterior is a grinding, soul-sucking machine
which will stop at nothing to make a buck. The Warehouse is by Rob Hart.
The Second Wife is by Rebecca Fleet. After the suicide of his first wife, Alex has
been given a second lease of life with Natalie.
Newly married and living in Brighton with his thirteen year old daughter
Jade, the couple seem to be made for one another – but their idyllic domestic
calm is shattered when the family narrowly escapes a devastating fire in their
home, Alex soon discovers that Natalie
and Jade have different accounts of what happened that terrible night – but
which one of his family is lying and why?
