Newcastle Noir 2021

 

The panels for Newcastle Noir have been announced. 

Panel 1 - 10.00 – 10.45 In the Line of Duty

Robert Scragg, Howard Linskey and Tariq Ashkanani

There’s something about a police procedural that takes the reader to the heart of the crime and up close and personal with those bringing law and order to dark, disturbed places. With three authors who set their investigations locally, nationally and a bit further afield, we kick off NN2021 by examining what makes a successful fictional detective and why we’re ever drawn to watching them uncover the truth.

Panel 2 - 11.15 – 12.00pm Murder She Wrote… and So Much More!

LJ Ross, Judith O’Reilly and Fiona Erskine

Creating protagonists that linger long after the last page is turned, capturing the essence of place, bringing us plots that keep us twisting and turning, but what if an author’s crime writing was not their first calling? These best-selling authors all had a life before thrilling us with their gloriously dark tales and this session will look at how these earlier experiences may have influenced the text and why crime fiction is now so important to them.

Panel 3 - 12.30 – 1.15pm From Whitley Bay to Blackwood Bay

Ann Cleeves and SJ Watson

The crime scene is an integral part of crime fiction and the impact of the evil committed there is even greater when it happens right on our doorstep. In this panel we’ll discuss writing home or away, creating fictional close-knit communities, and portraying ordinary lives turned upside down by unexpected, shocking events. Oh, and if we’ve time, we’ll ask these highly acclaimed authors what happens when your gripping page-turner of a novel becomes all-important viewing. Not to be missed!

Panel 4 - 1.45 – 2.30pm North by Northwest

Rob Parker and SE Moorhead

From across the Pennines, we bring you crime writing that packs more of a punch than Tyson Fury. An ex-soldier and ex-convict on one last mission for an old friend, a detective sergeant with the heart of a lion, and a neuropsychologist whose new technology might just catch a menacing serial killer. No, we’re not talking about the authors, but rather the protagonists they have created who are willing to risk everything to see justice served.

Panel 5 - 3.00 – 3.45pm Will We Ever Get Out of Here?

Chris McGeorge and DL Marshall

Edgar Allen Poe, Agatha Christie and Gaston Leroux first showed us the criminally delicious tension and intrigue that was to be found in the locked-room mystery. Fast forward 80 years and our authors on this panel will demonstrate the tremendous flexibility of this mystery subgenre. Nowadays the scene of the crime has grown to encompass actual areas, like houses or islands. The suspense lies in knowing that you may be next!

Panel 6 - 4.15 – 5.00pm Don’t Look Away!

Michael J Malone, Louise Beech and Sarah Sultoon

Writing stories that dare us to consider what we often prefer to ignore takes great skill and sensitivity. Given the overwhelming success of a similar panel at previous NN festivals, we wanted to explore further how fact informs fiction when treating such highly sensitive issues. To that end we have brought together three thought-provoking authors who are highly accomplished in bringing the reader face to face with the shocking and unthinkable.

Panel 7 - 5.30 – 6.15pm Something Wicked this Way Comes!

Matt Wesolowski and ES Thomson

What do a curious Victorian apothecary and an elusive contemporary podcaster have in common? With their darkly atmospheric and chilling tales, we’ll hear how these authors have written award-winning and critically acclaimed crime fiction with a grippingly Gothic touch. We’ll also consider how the creepy, the macabre and the sinister continue to fascinate and resonate down through the centuries. Not for the faint hearted, dare you join us?!

Panel 8 - 7.00 – 7.45pm Daring to be Different

Mari Hannah, Trevor Wood and Harriet Tyce

Crime fiction is often thought to be a highly predictable and formula-driven genre, yet our closing panel brings together authors whose writing has proved this is not always the case. Every so often a voice comes along daring to break the mould, offering us award-winning, critically acclaimed stories with a refreshing edge. Come celebrate Northern crime writing with us in the company of three authors who write with the courage of their convictions.

Tickets can be bought here.

Date:- 

Sunday 5^th December 2021

Time:-

10:00am – 20:00

Location:-

Newcastle City Library

33 New Bridge Street West

Newcastle upon Tyne

NE1 8AX

Books To Look Forward to From Orenda Books

July 2021

When a depressed, alcoholic single mother disappears, everything suggests suicide, but when her body is found, Icelandic Detective Elma and her team are thrust into a perplexing, chilling investigation. Single mother Marianna disappears from her home, leaving an apologetic note on the kitchen table, everyone assumes that she's taken her own life ... until her body is found on the Grabrok lava fields seven months later, clearly the victim of murder. Her neglected fifteen-year-old daughter Hekla has been placed in foster care, but is her perfect new life hiding something sinister? Fifteen years earlier, a desperate new mother lies in a maternity ward, unable to look at her own child, the start of an odd and broken relationship that leads to a shocking tragedy. Police officer Elma and her colleagues take on the case, which becomes increasingly complex, as the number of suspects grows and new light is shed on Marianna's past - and the childhood of a girl who never was like the others.. Girls who Lie is by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir.

The Beresford is by Will Carver. Everything stays the same for the tenants of The Beresford, a grand old apartment building just outside the city ... until the doorbell rings. Just outside the city - any city, every city - is a grand, spacious but affordable apartment building called The Beresford. There's a routine at The Beresford. For Mrs May, every day's the same: a cup of cold, black coffee in the morning, pruning roses, checking on her tenants, wine, prayer and an afternoon nap. She never leaves the building. Abe Schwartz also lives at The Beresford. His housemate, Sythe, no longer does. Because Abe just killed him. In exactly sixty seconds, Blair Conroy will ring the doorbell to her new home and Abe will answer the door. They will become friends. Perhaps lovers. And, when the time comes for one of them to die, as is always the case at The Beresford, there will be sixty seconds to move the body before the next unknowing soul arrives at the door. Because nothing changes at The Beresford, until the doorbell rings...

August 2021

The discovery of a human foot in an Edinburgh park, the inexplicable circumstances of a dying woman, and the missing daughter of Jenny's violent ex-husband present the Skelf women with their most challenging - and deadly - cases yet. Keeping on top of the family funeral directors' and private-investigation businesses is no easy task for the Skelf women, and when matriarch Dorothy discovers a human foot while walking the dog, a perplexing case presents itself with potentially deadly results. Daughter Jenny and grand-daughter Hannah have their hands full too: The mysterious circumstances of a dying woman lead them into an unexpected family drama, Hannah's new astrophysicist colleague claims he's receiving messages from outer space, and the Skelfs' teenaged lodger has yet another devastating experience. Nothing is clear as the women are immersed ever deeper in their most challenging cases yet. But when the daughter of Jenny's violent and fugitive ex-husband goes missing without trace and a wild animal is spotted roaming Edinburgh's parks, real danger presents itself, and all three Skelfs are in peril. The Great Silence is by Doug Johnstone.

No Honour by Awais Khan. A young woman defies convention in a small Pakistani village, with devastating results for her and her family. A stunning, immense beautiful novel about courage, family and the meaning of love, when everything seems lost. In sixteen-year-old Abida's small Pakistani village, there are age-old rules to live by, and her family's honour to protect. And, yet, her spirit is defiant and she yearns to make a home with the man she loves. When the unthinkable happens, Abida faces the same fate as other young girls who have chosen unacceptable alliances - certain, public death. Fired by a fierce determination to resist everything she knows to be wrong about the society into which she was born, and aided by her devoted father, Jamil, who puts his own life on the line to help her, she escapes to Lahore and then disappears. Jamil goes to Lahore in search of Abida - a city where the prejudices that dominate their village take on a new and horrifying form - and father and daughter are caught in a world from which they may never escape. Moving from the depths of rural Pakistan, riddled with poverty and religious fervour, to the dangerous streets of over-populated Lahore, No Honour is a story of family, of the indomitable spirit of love in its many forms a story of courage and resilience, when all seems lost, and the inextinguishable fire that lights one young woman's battle for change.

September 2021

When a young woman vanishes from an exclusive oceanfront community, Detective Casey Wray's investigation plunges her into a darkness she could never have imagined. When a young woman makes a distressing middle-of-the-night call to 911, apparently running for her life in a quiet, exclusive beachside neighbourhood, miles from her home, everything suggests a domestic incident. Except no one has seen her since, and something doesn't sit right with the officers at Hampstead County PD. With multiple suspects and witnesses throwing up startling inconsistencies, and interference from the top threatening the integrity of the investigation, lead detective Casey Wray is thrust into an increasingly puzzling case that looks like it's going to have only one ending... And then the first body appears... Black Reed Bay is by Rod Reynolds.

October 2021

An insurance mathematician's carefully ordered life is turned on its head when he unexpectedly loses his job and inherits an adventure park with a whole host of problems. What makes life perfect? Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen knows the answer because he calculates everything down to the very last decimal. And then, for the first time, Henri is faced with the incalculable. After suddenly losing his job, Henri inherits an adventure park from his brother - its peculiar employees and troubling financial problems included. The worst of the financial issues appear to originate from big loans taken from criminal quarters ... and some dangerous men are very keen to get their money back. But what Henri really can't compute is love. In the adventure park, Henri crosses paths with Laura, an artist with a chequered past, and a joie de vivre and erratic lifestyle that bewilders him. As the criminals go to extreme lengths to collect their debts and as Henri's relationship with Laura deepens, he finds himself faced with situations and emotions that simply cannot be pinned down on his spreadsheets.. The Rabbit Factor is by Antti Tuomainen.

Cold as Hell is by Lilja Sigurdardóttir. Arora returns to Iceland when her estranged sister goes missing, and her search leads to places she could never have imagined. Icelandic sisters Arora and Isafold live in different countries and aren't on speaking terms, but when their mother loses contact with Isafold, Arora reluctantly returns to Iceland to find her sister. But she soon realizes that her sister isn't avoiding her ... she has disappeared, without trace. As she confronts Isafold's abusive, drug-dealing boyfriend Bjoern, and begins to probe her sister's reclusive neighbours - who have their own reasons for staying out of sight - Arora is led into an ever-darker web of intrigue and manipulation. Baffled by the conflicting details of her sister's life, and blinded by the shiveringly bright midnight sun of the Icelandic summer, Arora enlists the help of police officer Daniel, as she tries to track her sister's movements, and begins to tail Bjoern - but she isn't the only one watching.

November 2021.

The Quiet People by Paul Cleave. Cameron and Lisa Murdoch are successful crime-writers. They have been on the promotional circuit, joking that no one knows how to get away with crime like they do. After all, they write about it for a living. So when their 7 year old son Zach goes missing, naturally the police and the public wonder if they have finally decided to prove what they have been saying all this time – are they trying to show how they can commit the perfect crime?

Psychopaths Annoymous is by Will Carver. When AA meetings make her want to drink more, alcoholic murderess Maeve Beauman sets up a group for psychopaths.

December 2021

Quicksand of Memory is by Michael J Malone. Scarred by past events, Jenna and Luke fall in love, and their future looks rosy. But someone has been watching, with chilling plans for revenge.

January 2022

Demon is by Matt Wesolowski.  Scott King’s Six Stories podcast investigates the 1995 case of a demon possession in a rural Yorkshire village, where a 12-year-old boy was murdered in cold blood by two children.

Bitter Flowers is by Gunnar Staalesen.  Fresh from rehab, Varg Veum faces his most complex investigation yet, when a man is found drowned, a young woman disappears, and the case of a missing child is revived.

THE AMAZON PUBLISHING READERS' AWARDS 2020

 

This year we asked our Capital Crime Festival pass holders and our Book Club susbcribers to vote on their favourite crime and thriller books, TV shows and films from the past year.
The readers voted in droves, and we're pleased to announce the full list of winners below.

TV Show of the Year -
The Liar (Season Two)

Movie of the Year -
Knives Out

Audiobook of the Year -
The Guest List by Lucy Foley

E-BOOK of the Year -
Death in the East by Abir Mukherjee

Debut Book of the Year -
Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi

Independent Voice Book of the Year -
Beast by Matt Wesolowski

Thriller Book of the Year -
Three Hours by Rosamund Lupton

Mystery Book of the Year -
The Mist bycRagnar Jónasson

Crime Book of the Year -
Without A Trace by Mari Hannah

Click on the winners to check them out!

Books to Look forward to from Orenda Books

October 2020

When a body of a woman is discovered at a lighthouse in the Icelandic town of Akranes, it soon becomes clear that she’s no stranger to the area. Chief Investigating Officer Elma, who has returned to Akranes following a failed relationship, and her collegues Sævar and Hörður, commence an uneasy investigation, which uncovers a shocking secret in the dead woman’s past that continues to reverberate in the present day … But as Elma and her team make a series of discoveries, they bring to light a host of long-hidden crimes that shake the entire community. Sifting through the rubble of the townspeople’s shattered memories, they have to dodge increasingly serious threats, and find justice … before it’s too late. The Creak on the Stairs is by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir.

Burned out and traumatized by her horrifying experiences around the world, aid worker Ursula has returned to Iceland. Unable to settle, she accepts a high-profile government role in which she hopes to make a difference again. But on her first day in the post, Ursula promises to help a mother seeking justice for her daughter, who had been raped by a policeman, and life in high office soon becomes much more harrowing than Ursula could ever have imagined. A homeless man is stalking her--but is he hounding her, or warning her of some danger? And why has the death of her father in police custody so many years earlier reared its head again? As Ursula is drawn into dirty politics, facing increasingly deadly threats, the lives of her stalker, her bodyguard, and even a witch-like cleaning lady intertwine. Small betrayals become large ones, and the stakes are raised ever higher . . . Exploring the harsh worlds of politics, police corruption, and misogyny, Betrayal is by Lilja Sigurdardóttir

November 2020

When Bergen PI Varg Veum finds himself at the funeral of a former classmate on a sleet-grey December afternoon, he’s unexpectedly reunited with his old friend Jakob – the once-famous lead singer of 1960s rock band The Harpers – and his estranged wife, Rebecca, Veum’s first love. Their rekindled friendship come to an abrupt end with a horrific murder, and Veum is forced to dig deep into his own adolescence and his darkest memories, to find a motive … and a killer. Fallen Angels is by Gunner Staalesten 

The Coral Bride is by Roxanne Bouchard. When an abandoned lobster trawler is found adrift off the coast of Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, DS Joaquin Moralès begins a straightforward search for the boat’s missing captain, Angel Roberts – a rare female in a male-dominated world. But Moralès finds himself blocked at every turn – by his police colleagues, by fisheries bureaucrats, and by his grown-up son, who has turned up at his door with a host of his own personal problems. When Angel’s body is finally discovered, it’s clear something very sinister is afoot, and Moralès and son are pulled into murky, dangerous waters, where old resentments run deep.

December 2020

When the body of a nineteen-year-old girl is found on the main street of Siglufjörður, Police Inspector Ari Thór battles a violent Icelandic storm in an increasingly dangerous hunt for her killer … Easter weekend is approaching, and snow is gently falling in Siglufjörður, the northernmost town in Iceland, as crowds of tourists arrive to visit the majestic ski slopes. Ari Thór Arason is now a police inspector, but he’s separated from his girlfriend, who lives in Sweden with their three-year-old son. A family reunion is planned for the holiday, but a violent blizzard is threatening and there is an unsettling chill in the air. Three days before Easter, a nineteen-year-old local girl falls to her death from the balcony of a house on the main street. A perplexing entry in her diary suggests that this may not be an accident, and when an old man in a local nursing home writes ‘She was murdered’ again and again on the wall of his room, there is every suggestion that something more sinister lies at the heart of her death… As the extreme weather closes in, cutting the power and access to Siglufjörður, Ari Thór must piece together the puzzle to reveal a horrible truth … one that will leave no one unscathed. The chilling, claustrophobic and disturbing Winterkill is finale to the international bestselling Dark Iceland series. Winterkill is by Ragnar Jónasson.

Deity is by Matt Wesolowski When pop megastar Zach Crystal dies in a fire at his remote mansion, his mysterious demise rips open the bitter divide between those who adored his music and his endless charity work, and those who viewed him as a despicable predator, who manipulated and abused young and vulnerable girls. Online journalist, Scott King, whose ‘Six Stories’ podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the accusations of sexual abuse and murder that were levelled at Crystal before he died. But as Scott begins to ask questions and rakes over old graves, some startling inconsistencies emerge: Was the fire at Crystal’s remote home really an accident? Whose remains – still unidentified – were found in the ashes? Why was he never officially charged?

Capital Crime Announces Amazon Publishing Readers Awards Shortlist

Capital Crime and Amazon Publishing have partnered to present innovative new awards that give readers the power to honour their favourite books, films & TV

London 25th July 2019 - Capital Crimeis pleased to announce the shortlists for the 2019 Amazon Publishing Readers’ Awards. The awards are a celebration of the crime and thriller genre and in a UK festival first, recognise excellence in film and television as well as books. The shortlists were decided by Capital Crime’s advisory board of authors, industry leaders and reviewers, but readers will have the final say on who wins in each category.

David Headley, co-founder of Capital Crime said, ‘Capital Crime is all about the readers. With panels focused on entertaining and engaging, and events and parties that are open to all, it was only natural we give readers the ultimate say over who wins our awards.’

Capital Crime has invested in an innovative voting system which gives festival passholders the ability to decide their favourite books, film and TV series. The Amazon Publishing Readers’ Awards are decided by real crime and thriller fans.

Adam Hamdy, author and screenwriter, and co-founder of Capital Crime said, ‘Amazon leads the way in technology innovation and it’s fitting that our awards make use of new technology to put the power in the hands of crime and thriller fans.’

Capital Crime festival pass holders will be able to vote for the winner in each category from today until 19 September 2019.

Hatty Stiles, Senior Marketing Manager, Amazon Publishing, said, ‘We’re delighted to be sponsoring the Capital Crime Reader’s Awards, and excited to be part of this new festival that celebrates the crime and thriller community. As soon as we heard about Capital Crime’s innovative approach and stellar line-up, we were eager to be involved.’

The winners of the awards will be announced at Capital Crime on Saturday 26th September at a gala reception that marks the close of the festival.

The 2019 Amazon Publishing Readers’ Award Nominees are:

BEST MYSTERY

Jane Casey – Cruel Acts

Anthony Horowitz – The Sentence is Death

Ragnar Jonasson – The Island

Philip Kerr – Metropolis

Ian Rankin – In A House of Lies

BEST THRILLER

Steve Cavanagh – Twisted

Mick Herron – London Rules

Gregg Hurwitz – Out of the Dark

Manda Scott – A Treachery of Spies

Matt Wesolowski – Changeling

BEST DEBUT

Oyinkan Braithwaite – My Sister, The Serial Killer

Lesley Kara – The Rumour

Laura Shepherd-Robinson – Blood & Sugar

Harriet Tyce – Blood Orange

Holly Watt – To The Lions

BEST E-BOOK

Amer Anwar – Brothers in Blood

Mark Edwards – Last of the Magpies

Alex Michaelides – The Silent Patient

Liane Moriarty – Nine Perfect Strangers

CL Taylor – Sleep

BEST AUDIOBOOK

Robert Galbraith – Lethal White – Read by Robert Glenister

Anthony Horowitz – The Sentence is Death – Read by Rory Kinnear

Catherine Steadman – Something in the Water – Read by Catherine Steadman

Stuart Turton – The Seven Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle – Read by Jot Davies

Harriet Tyce – Blood Orange – Read by Julie Teal

BEST INDEPENDENT VOICE

Edward Carey - Little

Will Carver - Good Samaritans

Will Dean – Red Snow

Jean Levy – What Was Lost

Matt Wesolowski – Changeling

BEST CRIME NOVEL

Louise Candlish – Our House

Ray Celestin – The Mobster’s Lament

MW Craven – The Puppet Show

Erin Kelly – Stone Mothers

Ian Rankin – In a House of Lies

BEST FEATURE FILM

American Animals

BlacKKKlansman

John Wick 3

The Sisters Brothers

Widows

BEST TV SHOW

Bodyguard

Bosch

Killing Eve

Line of Duty

You

Tickets for the festival are now on sale here: https://www.capitalcrime.org/

Confirmed line-up: https://www.capitalcrime.org/guests/

Books to Look Forward to From Orenda Books

January 2019

Deep Dirty Truth is by Steph Broadribb.  A price on her head. A secret worth dying for. Just 48 hours to expose the truth...  Single-mother bounty hunter Lori Anderson has finally got her family back together, but her new-found happiness is shattered when she's snatched by the Miami Mob - and they want her dead. Rather than a bullet, they offer her a job: find the Mob's `numbers man' - Carlton North - who's in protective custody after being forced to turn federal witness against them. If Lori succeeds, they'll wipe the slate clean and the price on her head - and those of her family - will be removed. If she fails, they die.

On Christmas Eve in 1988, seven-year-old Alfie Marsden vanished in the Wentshire Forest Pass, when a burst tyre forced his father, Sorrel, to stop the car. Leaving the car to summon the emergency services, Sorrel returned to find his son gone. No trace of the child, nor his remains, have ever been found. Alfie Marsden was declared officially dead in 1995.  Elusive online journalist, Scott King, whose `Six Stories' podcasts have become an internet sensation, investigates the disappearance, interviewing six witnesses, including Sorrel, his son and his ex-partner, to try to find out what really happened that fateful night. He takes a journey through the trees of the Wentshire Forest - a place synonymous with strange sightings, and tales of hidden folk who dwell there. He talks to a company that tried and failed to build a development in the forest, and a psychic who claims to know where Alfie is...  Changeling is by Matt Wesolowski’.

February 2019

When two teenagers - Johannes and Mari - are found murdered inside their school, in the small Norwegian village of Fredheim, the finger is soon is pointed at eighteen-year-old Even, whose relationship with Mari ended just before she died.  Mari was writing a story for the school newspaper about Even and his dad, who died in a car accident ten years earlier. But was it really an accident? And had Mari uncovered information that someone was willing to commit murder to protect?  Charged and facing trial, Even pores over his memories of the months leading up to the murders, and it becomes clear that more than one villager was acting suspiciously. And as Even recounts his side of the story, it seems that there may be no one he can trust.  But can we trust him?  A taut, moving and chilling thriller, Inborn is by Thomas Enger examines the very nature of evil, and asks the questions: How well do we really know our families? How well do we know ourselves?

On a warm September morning, an unconscious man is found in a cage at the entrance to the offices of one of the biggest German newspapers. Closer inspection shows he is a manager of the company, and he's been tortured. Three days later, another manager appears in similar circumstances.  Chastity Riley and her new colleague Ivo Stepanovic are tasked with uncovering the truth behind the attacks, an investigation that goes far beyond the revenge they first suspect ... to the dubious past shared by both victims. Travelling to the south of Germany, they step into the elite world of boarding schools, where secrets are currency, and monsters are bred ... monsters who will stop at nothing to protect themselves. Beton Rouge is by Simone Buchholz.

March 2019

The Courier is by Kjell Ola Dahl. In 1942, Jewish courier Ester is betrayed, narrowly avoiding arrest by the Gestapo. In a great haste, she escapes to Sweden, saving herself. Her family in Oslo, however, is deported to Auschwitz. In Stockholm, Ester meets the resistance hero, Gerhard Falkum, who has left his little daughter and fled both the Germans and allegations that he murdered his wife, Ase, who helped Ester get to Sweden. Their burgeoning relationship ends abruptly when Falkum dies in a fire. And yet, twenty-five years later, Falkum shows up in Oslo. He wants to reconnect with his daughter. But where has he been, and what is the real reason for his return? Ester stumbles across information that forces her to look closely at her past, and to revisit her war-time training to stay alive... 

April 2019

The Ringmaster is by Vanda Symons.  Death is stalking the southern South Island of New Zealand... Marginalised by previous antics, Sam Shephard, is on the bottom rung of detective training in Dunedin, and her boss makes sure she knows it. She gets involved in her first homicide investigation, when a university student is murdered in the Botanic Gardens, and Sam soon discovers this is not an isolated incident. There is a chilling prospect of a predator loose in Dunedin, and a very strong possibility that the deaths are linked to a visiting circus...  Determined to find out who's running the show, and to prove herself, Sam throws herself into an investigation that can have only one ending... 

Pregnant Victoria Valbon was brutally murdered in an alley three weeks ago - and the killer hasn't been caught.  Tonight is Stella McKeever's final radio show. The theme is secrets. She

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She wants yours, and in exchange she will share some of hers. The ones she knows. But she doesn't know everything.   Why has Stella's mother, Elizabeth, finally returned twelve years after leaving her with a neighbour? Is Stella's new love, Tom, a man who likes to play games, exciting ... or dangerous?   And who is the mysterious man calling the radio station to say he knows who killed Victoria? Tonight Stella's final show may reveal the biggest secret of all... With echoes of the chilling Play Misty for Me, Star Girl is by Louise Beech.

May 2019

Breakers is by Doug Johnstone.  Seventeen-year-old Tyler lives in one of Edinburgh's most deprived areas. Coerced into robbing rich people's homes by his bullying older siblings, he's also trying to care for his little sister and his drug-addict mum.  On a job, his brother Barry stabs a homeowner and leaves her for dead, but that's just the beginning of their nightmare, because the woman is the wife of Edinburgh's biggest crime lord, Deke Holt.  With the police and the Holts closing in, and his shattered family in devastating danger, Tyler meets posh girl Flick in another stranger's house, and he thinks she may just be his salvation ... unless he drags her down too.

Mary Shields is a moody, acerbic probation offer, dealing with some of Glasgow's worst cases, and her job is on the line.  Liam Macdowall was imprisoned for murdering his wife, and he's published a series of letters to the dead woman, in a book that makes him an unlikely hero - and a poster boy for Men's Rights activists. Liam is released on licence into Mary's care, but things are far from simple. Mary develops a poisonous obsession with Liam and his world, and when her son and Liam's daughter form a relationship, Mary will stop at nothing to impose her own brand of justice ... with devastating consequences.  Worst Case Scenario is by Helen FitzGerald. 

June 2019

One dark January night a car drives at high speed towards PI Varg Veum, and comes very close to killing him. Veum is certain this is no accident, following so soon after the deaths of two jailed men who were convicted for their participation in a case of child pornography and sexual assault, crimes that Veum himself once stood wrongly accused of committing. While the guilty men were apparently killed accidentally, Varg suspects that there is something more sinister at play - and that he's on the death list of someone still at large. Fearing for his life, Veum begins to investigate the old case, interviewing the victims of abuse and delving deeper into the brutal crimes, with shocking results.  Wolves at the Door is by Gunner Staalesen.