Books that I am looking forward to reading in 2012

Around this time of the year lots of “best of lists” can be currently found online. I do have a list of my favourite books that I read this year along with some honourable mentions, which can currently be found here in my response to the Guardian’s readers books of the year. I also have my eye on a number of books that are due out the first half of 2012 that I am not only looking forward to getting my hands on but also reading.

The first book that comes to mind is Master and God by Lindsey Davis (Hodder and Stoughton). For you Falco fans out there, I must stress that this is not a Falco novel. Master and God does feature Domitian – son of Vespasian and brother to Titus. It is the story of three people and their intertwining lives. Domitian an unstable Emperor, Flavia Lucillia a wilful determined single daughter of an imperial freedwoman and Gaius Vinius Clodianus a soldier suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Lindsey Davis is known for her attention to detail and historical insight and whilst this is not a Falco novel I am fairly certain that Master and God will no doubt find favour with her longstanding fans.

The Golden Scales by Parker Bilal (Bloomsbury). The Golden Scales is the first in a new series by Bilal set in Cairo featuring an exiled Sudanese private investigator who is attempting to escape his own troubled past. Books set in foreign countries often work or they do not. I am hoping that this will work. The premise sounds good and it will be interesting to see how the author manages to marry the two different cultures (Egyptian and Sudanese) together.

Ever since I read Fade to Blonde by Max Phillips, I have loved the books published by Hard Case Crime. In this case, Lawrence Block’s Getting Off, which I know has already been published in the US, is another book that I am looking forward to reading next year. It is the tale of a beautiful and deadly female serial killer who is working her way across the country tracking down every man she has ever slept with and ruthlessly murdering them.

The Glovemaker by Stacia Brown (Random House) which tells the story of glovemaker Rachel Lockyer during the time of Oliver Cromwell. Lockyer finds herself arrested and accused of murder when the body of a child is found buried. Under a law that presumes that anyone who conceals the death of an illegitimate child is guilty of murder.

The Contract by David Levien (Transworld). Troubled former cop Frank Behr is working for an exclusive Indianapolis investigation when he finds himself on protection duty for Bernard “Cool” Kolodnik. An attempt is made on his client’s life and Behr must get to the bottom of the attempt.

The Two Deaths of Daniel Hayes by Marcus Sakey (Transworld). A man wakes up naked unsure of who he is and whilst he is trying to work out himself whom he is there are also others on his trail as well.

The English Monster by Lloyd Shepherd (Simon and Schuster) John Harriott Magistrate of the newly formed Thames River Police Office finds himself investigating a brutal murder. Based on the real life story of the Ratcliffe Highways Murders.

Holy City by Guillermo Orsi (Quercus) Buenos Aires, Argentina. A passenger liner runs aground on the muddy banks of the nearby Rio de la Plata. The passengers are reduced to sleeping in the corridors of hotels and fall easy prey to the city's criminal class, who are always willing to take a wealthy tourist hostage. The first to go missing are a Colombian drug baron and his girlfriend, apprehended by Federal Police who may or may not be all they claim to be. But criminal celebrities of this calibre are a valuable commodity, and their abductor soon finds that the couple has been lifted from under his nose. Into the confusion steps Walter Carroza, a weary but honest cop. With his sidekick and confidante, Veronica Berutti, a policeman's widow and crusading lawyer, he embarks on an investigation that will lead him from the shanty markets of Buenos Aires' Bolivian quarter through layer upon layer of corruption towards the 'Holy Land', a theme park based on ancient Palestine, where a killer with a grisly taste for memorabilia lurks.

Some Other Body (Random House) the second novel in the series by Jason Webster to feature Max Cámara with his love of flamenco and brandy, and occasional doped out high. This time around he stumbles into a web of corruption and violence, uncovering deep animosities and hidden secrets, which also forces him to question his own doubts and desires.

The Gods of Gotham by Lyndsay Faye (Headline) August 1845 in New York; enter the dark, unforgiving city underworld of the legendary Five Points...After a fire decimated a swathe of lower Manhattan, and following years of passionate political dispute, New York City at long last formed an official Police Department. That same summer, the great potato famine hit Ireland. These events would change the city of New York for ever. Timothy Wilde hadn't wanted to be a copper star. Timothy soon finds himself on the trail of a brutal killer, seemingly hell bent on fanning the flames of anti-Irish immigrant sentiment and threatening chaos in a city already in the midst of social upheaval. But his fight for justice could cost him the woman he loves, his brother and ultimately his life...

All I Did Was Shoot My Man (Orion) which is the fourth instalment in Mosley’s soon-to-be classic Leonid McGill series In the shadow worlds of New York, PI Leonid McGill is still struggling to ‘go from crooked to slightly bent’. When Zelda Grisham, a woman falsely imprisoned by evidence McGill had planted, reappears in his life, the detective hires a hotshot attorney to help clear her name. Little does he know that powerful enemies are still watching Zelda’s every move.

Taken by Robert Crais (Orion) When the police tell a wealthy industrialist that her missing son has faked his own kidnapping, she hires Elvis and Joe, who find out the boy and his secret girlfriend have been taken. When Cole goes undercover to try to return them, he himself is taken. Now it is up to Pike to retrace Cole’s steps, through the murderous world of human traffickers…

The Namesake by Conor Fitgerald (Bloomsbury) which is the third book in the series featuring Commissioner Alec Blume. When magistrate Matteo Arconti's namesake, an insurance man from Milan, is found dead outside the court buildings in Piazzo Clodio, it's a clear warning to the authorities in Rome - a message of defiance and intimidation. Commissioner Alec Blume, interpreting the reference to his other ongoing case - a frustrating one in which he's so far been unable to pin murder on a mafia boss operating at an untouchable distance in Germany - knows he's too close to it. Handing control of the investigation to now live-in and not-so-secret partner Caterina Mattiola, Blume takes a back seat. And while Caterina embarks on questioning the Milanese widow, Blume has had an underhand idea of his own to lure the arrogant Mafioso out of his hiding place...

Point and Shoot by Duane Swierczynski (Mulholland Books) which is the final book in the Charlie Hardie trilogy. On a day like any other day, Kendra Hardie picks up the phone. A voice says, 'leave the house and you're dead'. Then the line is cut. Kendra hasn't seen her husband Charlie for nearly a decade. He hasn't forgotten about her - but neither have his enemies. And he has a lot of enemies. Charlie thought he could protect her by staying away. But now he has access to secrets his enemies will kill to keep hidden, and they're planning to start with his family. After years in exile, Charlie's arming up...and heading home.

Alpha by Greg Rucka (Mulholland Books)ALPHA Jonathan 'Jad' Bell has spent a lifetime in the US army. He can be relied on to get the job done, whatever happens, whatever the cost. So when someone needs to go undercover at the nation's biggest amusement park, Jad is the obvious choice. Aside from dealing with fights and missing children, his main responsibility is to prevent the nightmare scenario from coming to pass. This is the nightmare scenario: A group of well-trained, highly motivated terrorists infiltrate the park. They cut off all escape routes. They take hostages. They ensure every camera in the world is trained on Wilsonville...and then they turn it into a bloodbath. And on the day the nightmare becomes real, Jad and his team are all that stands between a band of ruthless killers and thousands of innocent people...including Jad's estranged wife and daughter.

Tom-All-Alone's by Lynn Shepherd (Constable and Robinson) London, 1850. Fog in the air and filth in the streets, from the rat-infested graveyard of Tom-All-Alone's to the elegant chambers in Lincoln's Inn Fields, where the formidable lawyer Edward Tulkinghorn has powerful clients to protect, and a deadly secret to hide. Only that secret is now under threat from a shadowy and unseen adversary - an adversary who must be tracked down at all costs, before it's too late. Who better for such a task than young Charles Maddox? Unfairly dismissed from the police force, Charles is struggling to establish himself as a private detective.

Ibrahim Al-Brehm is a respectable husband and a police inspector on Jeddah’s murder squad. But for the past year, he has been having an affair with a woman named Maria. Until one day she disappears. Terrified and with nowhere else to turn, Ibrahim goes to Katya, one of the few women on the force. As she ventures into Saudi Arabia’s underworld, Katya uncovers a murder that connects Maria to a human trafficking ring. Soon Ibrahim realises that the killer is closer to home than he had ever imagined. Kingdom of Strangers by Zoë Ferraris (Little Brown) is a suspenseful story of murder and deception among Saudi Arabia’s shaded alleys, gleaming compounds and vast lonely deserts.

Celebrity in Death by JD Robb (Piaktus) Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she’s managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity- packed bash celebrating a new movie based on one of her famous cases. It’s a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays her partner Peabody – drowned in the pool on the roof of the director’s luxury building. It’s up to Eve, Roarke and the real Peabody to find the killer in their midst.

An American Spy by Olen Steinhauer (Corvus) Milo Weaver is still haunted by his last job. As an expert assassin for the Department of Tourism, an ultra-secret group of super-spooks buried deep in the corridors of the CIA, he fought to keep himself sane in a paranoid and amoral profession. Now, the Department has been destroyed, and with it Weaver's livelihood. Finally he can spend time with his family - without constantly looking over his shoulder and fixing one eye on the exits. Weaver's former boss is not so settled. Soon, Weaver is sifting through what secrets, lies and misinformation he can extract from the sources he still has on the ground. If his time as a Tourist has taught him anything, it's that nothing and no-one can be trusted - even within the CIA itself...

There are of course others but the above are the ones that initially come to mind.

Forthcoming books to look forward to from Little, Brown

Mma Ramotswe and Mma Makutsi have always relied on the advice of the classic guide to their trade, The Principles of Private Detection. But who is the eminent author, Mr Clovis Andersen, and what if he were to come to Botswana? It seems a very unlikely possibility, and yet . . . When Mr Andersen visits Botswana on holiday; he is delighted and intrigued to stumble across the No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency. Professional courtesy suggests that he call and announce himself. Meanwhile, Mma Makutsi and Phuti Radiphuti are embarking on married life and building a new house – a tricky business under any circumstances, but especially hazardous when the name of the contractor is the Joy and Light Building Company. The Limpopo Academy of Private Detection is by Alexander McCall Smith and is due to be published in March 2012.

Stonemouth is the latest book by Iain Banks and is due to be published in April 2012. Stewart Gilmour is back in Stonemouth. After five years in exile, his presence is required at the funeral of patriarch Joe Murston, even though the last time Stu saw the Murstons he was running for his life. Although there’s supposed to be a temporary truce between him and the town’s biggest crime family, it’s soon clear that only Stu is taking this promise of peace seriously. Before long, a quick drop into the cold grey river Stoun begins to look like the soft option. As Stu uncovers ever-darker stories, his homecoming takes a more lethal turn than even he had anticipated. Tough, funny, fast-paced and touching, Stonemouth cracks open adolescence, love, brotherhood and vengeance in a rite of passage novel like no other.

When the Devil Drives is the by Chris Brookmyre and is due to be published in June 2012. Is the devil just the name we give to the worst in ourselves? When private investigator Jasmine Sharp is hired to find Tessa Garrion, a young woman who has vanished without trace, it becomes increasingly clear that there are those who want her to stay that way. What begins as a simple search awakens a malevolence that has lain dormant for three decades, putting Jasmine in the crosshairs of those who would stop at nothing to keep their secrets buried. Uncovering a hidden history of sex, drugs, ritualism and murder, Jasmine realises she may need a little help from dark places herself if she’s going to get to the truth. But then, needs must . . .

Ibrahim Al-Brehm is a respectable husband and a police inspector on Jeddah’s murder squad. But for the past year, he has been having an affair with a woman named Maria. Until one day she disappears. Terrified and with nowhere else to turn, Ibrahim goes to Katya, one of the few women on the force. As she ventures into Saudi Arabia’s underworld, Katya uncovers a murder that connects Maria to a human trafficking ring. Soon Ibrahim realises that the killer is closer to home than he had ever imagined. Kingdom of Strangers is a suspenseful story of murder and deception among Saudi Arabia’s shaded alleys, gleaming compounds and vast lonely deserts. Kingdom of Strangers is by Zoë Ferraris and is due to be published in May 2012.

Night Watch is the fourteenth novel to feature DA Alex Cooper and this time her fascinating foray is into the dark side of New York City, and this time is centred around the city’s most glamorous and legendary restaurants, uncovering the shocking secrets that have lurked just beneath the surface of the bustling metropolis for centuries – only to come screaming to light in the present day. CBS TV Studios and Samuel L. Jackson’s UppiTV have optioned the rights to a TV series starring DA Alex Cooper. Night Watch is by Linda Fairstein and is due to be published in May 2012.

The Black Rose of Florence by Michele Giuttari and sees the return of Chief Superintendent Ferrara and is due to be published in March 2012. A beautiful member of the Florentine jet set is found choked to death. Left naked on her bed, a black rose lies on her body. Chief Superintendent Michele Ferrara returns to Florence in this fifth Ferrara novel. This time he is up against a powerful enemy desperate to keep his identity hidden. With more violent deaths by the day, Ferrara faces his most insidious investigation yet, forcing him to confront deadly secrets from his own past . . .

The Survivor is the latest thriller by Gregg Hurwitz. From an eleventh-storey ledge, Nate surveys Los Angeles: the skyline, the beach, and the sun. And then he puts one foot in the air, preparing to jump. But a gunshot from the floor below stops him. And when Nate interrupts his suicide to stop a robbery underway, he puts himself and his estranged family at unimaginable risk! The Survivor is a gripping, propulsive thriller about family, loyalty and the power of redemption. It is due to be published in April 2012.

The Map is by T S learner and is due to be published in January 2012. An Oxford classics scholar has discovered a mysterious scroll. A band of occultists in thrall to Aleister Crowley has gathered in London. A map to three mazes hidden within Europe has been unfolded. And an ancient mystery is calling . . . From the author of Sphinx comes the most dazzling novel of the year: a sophisticated, relentlessly thrilling story of labyrinths, riddles and centuries-old secrets.

When Ylva fails to come home from work, her husband is not initially suspicious. But as time passes, he becomes frantic with worry and he finally contacts the police. What no one knows is that she’s being held hostage in the cellar of the house next door. A camera is rigged against her own house and Ylva can only watch her life pass by on the screen . . . The reasons why Ylva has been kidnapped, and what eventually becomes of her, have gripped and obsessed readers across Scandinavia for the past year. She’s Never Coming Back is by Hans Koppel. The film rights have been optioned by Firebird, the producers of the Stieg Larsson films. She’s Never Coming Back is due to be published in January 2012.

The Turin Shroud Secret is by Sam Christer and is due to be published in February 2012. IT IS THE MOST CONTROVERSIAL RELIGIOUS ICON IN THE WORLD. No one knows where it came from. No one knows when it was made. But now, the greatest mystery in religious history holds the key to a present-day serial killer who devises savage, bizarre deaths for his victims. And only two American cops, following a trail that stretches from California to the Vatican, can expose the secret of the Shroud.

In The Enemy Victor is now an ex-freelance assassin turned CIA ally. But when his new boss gives him a hit list – three names, three targets – what promised to be a simple assignment plunges him into an international conspiracy where no one can be trusted – especially the people Victor works for. The Enemy is by Tom Wood and is the second book in the series to feature Victor a former assassin. The Enemy is due to be published in May 2012.

The Wicked Girls is the debut novel by author Alex Marwood. One fateful summer morning in 1986, two eleven-year-old girls meet. By the end of the day they are charged with murder. Twenty-five years later, journalist Kirsty Lindsay is reporting on a series of attacks on young women in a seaside town when she interviews funfair cleaner Amber Gordon. It’s the first time Kirsty and Amber have seen each other since that dark day. But with new lives to protect, will they be able to keep their wicked secret hidden? The Wicked Girls is due to be published in June 2012.

It is drawing near to the end of term, and the university at Cambridge is in turmoil over the opening of a new Common Library. There is an attack on one of the masters at a meeting to discuss the matter, and a body is found floating in the pond in the library’s garden on the eve of its opening. Meanwhile, there are rumours of a large force of hostile mercenaries lurking in the Fens. Aided by their friend Sheriff Tulyet, Bartholomew and Michael must thwart the invaders before the Feast of Corpus Christi the following week. To fail might mean the destruction of the town. Murder by the Book is by Susanna Gregory and is due to be published in June 2012. It is the latest book in the Brother Bartholomew Series. Also being published in January 2012 and by Susanna Gregory is The Piccadilly Plot, which is the seventh in the Chaloner Restoration series. Thomas Chaloner is relieved to be summoned back to London. His master, the Earl of Clarendon, has sent him to Tangier to investigate a case of corruption. Chaloner will be glad to be home, to be reunited with his new wife, but the trivial reason for his recall exasperates him – the theft of material from the construction site of Clarendon’s embarrassingly sumptuous new house just north of Piccadilly. Within hours of his return, Chaloner is thrust into extra investigations involving threats of assassination, a stolen corpse and a scheme to frame the Queen for treason. Yet there are connections from them, all which thread through the unfinished Clarendon House.

In 1998 a gang of girls shoplifts in the East End. Outside the deserted home of Donald Peck, the local weirdo, ringleader Paige decides to up their game. Minnie, the weakest, is pushed through a window to let the others in. But the front door never opens. Two days later, Minnie’s body is found under a bed. Fourteen years on, the surviving girls – now women – receive death threats never to speak about that day. Someone seems determined to keep the truth buried. Nothing But Trouble is by Roberta Kray and is due to be published in April 2012

DEAD ONE MINUTE

Harriet and her brother Austin have always been scared of the quarry where their stonemason father works. So when they find him dead, they scarper and look for some help.

ALIVE THE NEXT?

When help arrives, the quarry is deserted and there is no sign of the body. Were the children mistaken? Is their father alive? Did he simply get up and run away?

A SINISTER DISAPPEARING ACT

It seems like another unusual case requiring the expertise of Kate Shackleton. But surprising family ties make it Kate’s most dangerous – and delicate – yet. Murder in the Afternoon is the third book in the Kate Shackleton series by Frances Brody and is due to be published in March 2012.

As moorland fires sweep across the Peak District National Park, hundreds of firefighters and park rangers battle to prevent flames reaching a remote inn, once a famous landmark but now abandoned and boarded up. The blaze is just one of a series of random acts of arson which have destroyed miles of heather moorland – and once the flames have died, a grim surprise awaits DS Ben Cooper and DI Diane Fry: a body – dead for years. Dead and Buried is the thirteenth book in the Cooper and Fry series by Stephen Booth. It is due to be published in June 2012 and is currently in development as a television series.

A Pound of Flesh is by Alex Gray and is due to be published in March 2012. Detective Inspector Lorimer’s worst nightmare is a serial killer loose in his city. But two serial killers operating at once in Glasgow is a nightmare come to life. Is there any link between the brutal slaying of prostitutes in the backstreets of the city and the methodical killing of several unconnected businessmen? Psychologist Solly Brightman is helping with both cases, but someone within Lormer’s team is unwittingly sabotaging their efforts by leaking confidential police information. Their whispers will cost lives.

Ruby Jones just needed to relax and take a holiday. She made a bad decision when she chose Goa . . . Famed for beaches and full moon parties, Goa is also home to one of the most famous Christian shrines in Asia – St Francis Xavier, his body still intact after five hundred years. But when the head of the saint is stolen, Ruby discovers that beyond the palm-fringed beaches is a world of corruption and crime, and she finds herself at the centre of a lethal world turning in on itself – with deadly consequences. Whispers from a Goan Grave is by Kathleen McCaul and is due to be published in July 2012.

Celebrity in Death is by J D Robb and is due to be published in February 2012. Lieutenant Eve Dallas is no party girl, but she’s managing to have a reasonably good time at the celebrity- packed bash celebrating a new movie based on one of her famous cases. It’s a little spooky seeing the actress playing her, who looks almost like her long-lost twin. Not as unsettling, though, as seeing the actress who plays her partner Peabody – drowned in the pool on the roof of the director’s luxury building. It’s up to Eve, Roarke and the real Peabody to find the killer in their midst.

Inspector Singh is sick of sick leave, so when Mrs Singh suggests they attend a family wedding in Mumbai, he grudgingly agrees – hoping that the spicy Indian curries will make up for extended exposure to his wife’s relatives. Unfortunately, the beautiful bride- to-be disappears on the eve of her wedding – did she run away to avoid an arranged marriage, or is there something more sinister afoot? When a corpse is found, the fat inspector is soon dragged into a curious murder investigation with very firm instructions from Mrs Singh to exonerate her family. But as he uncovers layer upon layer of deceit, he knows it isn’t going to be that easy. Inspector Singh Investigates: A Curious Indian Cadaver is the fifth book in the Inspector Singh series by Shamini Flint and is due to be published in April 2012.

The Cadaver Game is the sixteenth book in the Wesley Peterson series. When the decaying body of a murdered woman is discovered, DI Wesley Peterson has problems establishing her true identity. But as he tries to find out more about the mysterious woman he has another disturbing case to investigate. The naked bodies of two teenagers have been found with shotgun wounds at the foot of a cliff. As Wesley searches for the truth, both cases become stranger as he uncovers the connection to a sinister manhunt mirroring events from the time of the Napoleonic Wars. Then a skeleton is found near the place where the dead teenagers were last seen alive and Wesley finally has to face a terrible truth . . The Cadaver Game is by Kate Ellis and is due to be published in February 2012.

Also due to be published in April 2012 is The Day of The Lie by William Broderick.