Books to Look Forward to from Head of Zeus!

Alli Carson was once First Daughter, only child of the US President. Then, after a car crash killed her father and hospitalised her mother. Alli battled her grief and threw herself into her FBI training at the elite Fearington Institute. Alli thought she had nothing more to lose...but she was wrong. On the same night that her mother dies from her injuries, Alli's boyfriend is brutally murdered - and she is the only suspect. Suspended from her work, bewildered and alone, Alli must find a way to contact the one person she can trust: National Security Adviser, Jack McClure. Jack knows that Alli is innocent.  So who would want to frame her for murder?  With Fearington in lockdown, they must navigate a treacherous underworld of violence and intrigue to uncover the truth...  Blood Trust is the third book in the Jack McClure series by Eric Van Lustbader and is due to be published in July 2013.

Kiyomi Ishida was just twenty years old when she left Japan for a better life in London. Now nicknamed Seven, she’s had to work her way up to gain access to The Underground, an exclusive club that fuels the night time urges of the gang lords, traffickers, and madams that stalk the streets of south London.  Resourceful and ruthless, Seven will do anything to fund her future; preferably a future far away from here. But as she becomes associated with a mercenary Russian gang, Seven must decide. How many people will she betray to further her own ends?  Girl Seven is the second book in the London Underground series by Hanna Jameson and is due to be published in December 2013.

It was Danielle and Gracie's secret. A teenage adventure. A 1000 mile drive along the spine of the Rocky Mountains to visit Danielle's boyfriend in Montana. Their parents were never to know. But now the girls have simply vanished. The only person who knows they're missing is Danielle's boyfriend. He persuades his father, an ex-cop, to search for them. But he too simply disappears. Its up to his new partner, war widow and single mother Cassie Dewell to find them. Her investigation will introduce her to the FBI's Highway Serial Killer Task Force, force her to confront a spate of roadside sexual mutilations and murders and lead her into the lair of a predator who styles himself The Lizard King.  The Highway is by C J Box and is due to be published in August 2013.

The Abomination is the first book in the trilogy by Jonathan Hole and is due to be published in October 2013.  THE VICTIM: On the steps of Santa Maria della Salute lies the body of a woman, wearing the robes of a Catholic priest. In the eyes of the Church, she is an abomination. THE INVESTIGATOR: Captain Kat Tapo has matched the victim's tattoo to graffiti in an abandoned asylum. Now she's been ordered to close the case. THE HACKER: Carnivia.com is a virtual Venice that holds the city's secrets. Only its reclusive creator can help Kat unearth the shocking truth...THE ABOMINATION has arrived.

The Bull Slayer is the second book in the series featuring Pliny the Younger by BruceMacbain and is due to be published in July 2013. THE ROMAN EMPIRE, 109 AD the frontier province of Bithynia is a cesspit of sedition, rotten with corruption and seething with hatred of Rome. When a rich Roman official is found dead on a desolate hillside; two riderless horses tethered in a nearby wood, it is assumed he was killed as a protest against Emperor Trajan's unlimited power. But Pliny the Younger, newly appointed Governor of Bithynia, is not so sure. Who was the other rider? What were the two of them doing in the middle of nowhere? And what links this murder to a secret cult of the Persian sun god, Mithras - the Bull Slayer?  But as Pliny pursues one baffling lead after another, he is being betrayed where he least expects it: his beautiful wife, neglected and lonely in an alien city, falls desperately in love with a handsome young provincial – an affair which threatens to ruin Pliny’s career.

When a movie producer hurtles to his death from the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, an apparent suicide, it shocks the film community and puts a two hundred million dollar production in jeopardy. A female colleague comes forward claiming it was murder, but the police are sceptical.  Preoccupied by a sudden drug war between the tong gangs of Chinatown and the mob, they listen to her story and send her packing. She turns to private detective Cape Weathers, who believes her just enough to let her pay his day rate. Then two Russian gangsters show up on his doorstep and tell him to drop the case or die. Cape and his partner Sally - a female assassin raised by the Triads - take on the Russian mob, a major movie studio, and a recalcitrant police department by enlisting the help of rogue cops, computer hackers, and an investigative journalist who just doesn't give a damn. But with a sniper on their trail, the challenge will be staying alive long enough to learn the truth.  Beating the Babushka is the second book in the San Francisco Noir series by Tim Maleeny and is due to be published in October 2013.

An American spy in China. Name: Unknown. Status: Sleeper. He's meant to be laying low, polishing his Mandarin and awaiting further instructions from Washington. But Shanghai is a difficult city to sleep in, especially when his nights are taken over by the seductive but enigmatic Mei - a woman with secrets he'd rather not hear. Then he is tasked with a delicate operation. Infiltrate the core of the Chinese intelligence service. Distinguish friend from foe. Report to a single contact at HQ. Trust no one. Tell no one. Pushed out into the cold, in a city of millions he's suddenly very, very alone. But in Shanghai city you're never truly alone. Faceless strangers linger in the shadows, watching your every move. No one is safe from the Guoanbu. Not even a spy with no name.  The Shanghai Factor is by Charles McCarry and is due to be published in July 2013.

A car tumbles through darkness down a snowy ravine. A woman without a name walks out of a dust storm in Africa. And in the seething heat of Lagos City, a criminal cartel scours the Internet, looking for victims. Lives intersect. Worlds collide. And it all begins with a single email: 'Dear Sir, I am the daughter of a Nigerian diplomat, and I need your help...' At once a chilling thriller about a lonely woman avenging her father's death and an epic portrait of morality and corruption across the globe, Will Ferguson's Giller Prize-winning novel plunges into the labyrinth of lies that is '419', the world's most insidious Internet scam.  419 is due to be published in September 2013.

Master of War is by David Gilman and is due to be published in August 2013.  England, 1346: For Thomas Blackstone the choice is easy - dance on the end of a rope for a murder he did not commit, or take up his war bow and join the king's invasion of France. As he fights his way across northern France, Blackstone will learn the brutal lessons of war - from the terror and confusion of his first taste of combat, to the savage realities of siege warfare. Vastly outnumbered, Edward III's army will finally confront the armoured might of the French nobility on the field of Crecy. It is a battle that will change the history of warfare, a battle that will change the course of Blackstone's life, a battle that is just the first chapter in a book of legend - Blackstone: Master of War.

In a freezing river in rural Cork, a black-cloaked figure lies bloated and lifeless. It is the

body of a Catholic priest, and he's been bound, garrotted...and castrated. Horrific stories about child abuse in the Church are only just coming to light in Ireland. So this must be a revenge killing by someone who couldn't face the courts. Detective Katie Maguire, of the Irish Gardaí, is not so sure. Two more castrated priests have been found violently murdered, and now her investigation is being obstructed at every turn. Katie's home life is in turmoil, and she knows she must soon choose between her boyfriend and her job. But when she unearths a sinister cover-up that will shake the very foundations of mystical Catholic belief, that choice becomes a matter of life or death.  Broken Angels is the second book in the Kate Maguire series by Graham Masterton and is due to be published in September 2013.

Sandrine is by Thomas H Cook and is due to be published in August 2013. How did Sandrine die? There was no forced entry. She had been gradually stockpiling prescription drugs. A lethal quantity of Demerol was found in her blood. But did the beautiful, luminous Sandrine Madison really take her own life? The District Attorney doesn't think so. Neither does the local newspaper. And so Sandrine's husband must now face a town convinced of his guilt and a daughter whose faith in her father has been shaken to its core. But, as he stands in the dock, Samuel Madison must confront yet more searing questions: Who was Sandrine? Why did she die? And why - how? - is she making him fall in love with her all over again? A psychological thriller from a true master, Sandrine will hold you in its spell until its unexpected end.

1954: Comandante Guzman has been posted deep into the Basque country to confront a man known only as 'El Lobo'. High in the mountains, Guzman will have to fight for his life, not only against El Lobo, but also against someone who has been searching for him for a very long time...2010, Madrid: Forensic Investigator Ana Maria Galindez has spent seven months in hospital recovering from the blast that nearly killed her. Her obsession with Guzman's fate has disturbed long dormant forces. Now she shall reap the consequences: she will be purposely humiliated, abandoned by colleagues and friends, accused of murder...and worse.  The Exile is by Mark Oldfield and is due to be published in October 2013.

The Mangle Street Murders is the first in the Gower Street Detective series by M.R.C Kasasian and is due to be published in September 2013. March Middleton has moved to Gower Street to live with her curmudgeonly guardian, Sidney Grice, London's most famous personal detective. She is intelligent, witty, and talkative. He things young women should be seen and not heard. But he grudgingly allows her to join his latest murder case: a young woman is dead and her loving husband is the only suspect.  Their investigations lead the pair to the darkest alleys of the East End: every twist leads Sidney Grice to think the husband guilty; but March is convinces that he is innocent. And as the case threatens to foment civil unrest, Sidney Grice finds his reputations is not the only thing in mortal danger...

The Killing Machine is by Phillip Hunter and is due to be published in November 2013. Massive, glowering, and ugly as sin, former soldier and ex-boxer Joe has always invited violence.  But now Hackney’s most vicious gangs all want to kill him.  As he tries to unravel the knot of events that have made him a target, Joe is drawn back into his past, back to the memory of the only woman he ever loved.  Brenda was a prostitute who dreamed of something better.  Now she’s dead, and her murder, unsolved haunts Joe every night.  Then a twelve year old runaway enters his life.  Kid is traumatised, mute, and sees Joe as her saviour.  Life has made Joe a machine.  Can Kid – as Brenda once did – make him again?

Cat DeLuca's short, stormy marriage was a crash course in infidelity - his, not hers. But two years of unholy matrimony taught her everything she needed to know to launch the Pants On Fire Detective Agency. Now armed with spy glasses, camera, chocolate and a beagle named Inga, Cat specializes in avenging-all-cheated-upon-women. Sticks and Stones: Cleo Jones' husband stole her money, took her dog and slept with her sister - so she can't feel too guilty about shooting him full of buckshot. But she didn't kill him - despite swearing that she would. So when his corpse is found with a large calibre bullet hole in his chest, guess who's the number one suspect? Shame no one but Cat believes Cleo is innocent. So who did pull the trigger? Turns out there is no shortage of suspects.  Sticks and Stones is the second book in the Pants on Fire Detective Agency series by KJ Larsen and is due to be published in September 2013.

The Dangerous Edge of Things is the first book in the series featuring Tai Randolph by Tina Whittle and is due to be published in August 2013. Tai Randolph has just moved to Atlanta. She thought inheriting a Confederate-themed gun shop was her biggest headache - until she finds a young but dead woman in her brother's driveway. With her brother missing and her firearms connection, the siblings are the Atlanta Police Department's number one suspects. Tai is determined to clear their name. But it doesn't look good. Where's her brother? What's his connection with the dead woman? Why is she being tailed by a private security company? Why will no one tell her the truth? Tai is lead from tasteful suburbia to the cold-eyed glamour of Atlanta's adult entertainment scene to the gilded treachery of the city's most exclusive enclaves. The closer she gets to the truth, the less likely she is to survive. To live long enough to clear her name, she's going to have to trust the most dangerous man she's ever met.

Two books by Ben Cheetham are due to be published in December 2013.  The first is Blood Guilt. Can you ever atone for the death of another by your own hand?  The paperback launch of this bestselling, feverish race-against-time thriller.  Harlan Miller used to be the best detective in Sheffield. But after the death of his son, his life spiralled out of control. One booze-soaked night, he killed a man, was charged, and went down for manslaughter.  Now, after four years in prison, Harlan is free, consumed by guilt, and desperate to atone for the death he caused. Then something happens, something terrible, yet something that offers Harlan a chance at the redemption he craves – the dead man’s son is abducted. And Harlan’s purpose is clear.  He must save the boy to avenge the father.  The second is Angel of Death. In the pursuit of justice, would you break the law? DI Jim Monahan must protect a damaged woman from her criminal past.  In Sheffield, a bankrupt businessman has murdered his family. It seems like an open-and-shut case: a desperate man resorting to desperate measures. In Middlesbrough, a woman named Angel is heading south.  She is a woman alone. A prostitute. Now a murderer. And she has only one thing on her mind: revenge.   Two crimes, a hundred miles apart, but a terrible secret connects them. And although the courts may not agree, DI Jim Monahan has all the proof he needs to bring down justice on a group of particularly vicious criminals...

Psychological Crime Panel

On Thursday 16 May 2013 a Psychological Crime Panel chaired by Barry Forshaw will take place at Waterstone’s Piccadilly. The panel members are Erin Kelly, Sabine Durrant, Alex Marwood.

Tickets £5/£3 Waterstones Cardholders/Piccadilly Crime Club members available in store, via 02078512400 or events@piccadilly.waterstones.co.uk.  For further details call 02078512419


Erin Kelly is the author of three novels , The Poison Tree, The Sick Rose and her most recent The Burning Air.  The Poision Tree was adapted for television in two parts and was shown on ITV1 in December 2012.

Sabine Durrant is the author of three books in the Conie Pickles series and three standalone novels.  The most recent being the psychological thriller Under Your Skin.  She has also been The Guardian's Deputy Features Editor and The Deputy Literary Editor at The SundayTimes.

Alex Marwood is the pseudonym of a successful journalist who has worked extensively across the British press. her novel Wicked Girls has been optioned by the BBC as a three part drama.

Aly Monroe talks Peter Cotton and Black Bear

Aly Monroe is the author of four books in the critically acclaimed Peter Cotton series. The third book in the series Icelight won the 2012 Ellis Peters Historical Dagger Award. Her latest book Black Bear is released today.

In early 1947, a lady called Carmel Snow from Harper’s Bazaar in the USA coined the phrase ‘New Look’ for Christian Dior’s first collection of clothes.  In retrospect the phrase may not seem that inventive, not after WW2 and at a time when, in Europe, strict rationing was in force. But it certainly stuck.

Dior himself had used the words Corolle, meaning a small circle of flower petals, and Huit, French for the figure eight.  He is even supposed to have said ‘I have designed flower women.’

The collection and its description met the times and within a couple of years, Dior’s ‘New Look’ on its own accounted for five per cent of France’s exports.  Governments were keen for women to return to domesticity, motherhood and the kitchen. In addition, if they could afford Dior or knock-offs, women were to be both fragrant and resemble slightly elongated egg-timers. When not pregnant that is, because this was the original baby boom time. The style was not, as Dior himself would later say, ‘limber’ but it certainly provided a structure for post-war feminine roles and aspirations. Carmel Snow described ‘well-dressed women with well-dressed minds.’ She also said ‘Elegance is good taste with a dash of daring.’  For my own taste it’s all a little ‘Honey, I’m home!’  

I had been mulling over my reaction to Dior’s way with percale and nipped in waists when my husband came in.  I was watching Skyfall (on offer at my local Sainsbury’s) on DVD. He was looking for something.

‘Is that Sid James?’ he asked.  Ouch. It is true that Daniel Craig was looking particularly rough at the time. ‘He was pretty good as the Black Fingernail’ did not help. We later agreed that perhaps it was time for glasses. But once the comparison had been made, it was hard to shake off. If you have seen the film, there is a suggestion that Bond is, physically and psychologically, not up to the job and modernity.

Now I have to make a confession.  When I first began writing about Peter Cotton and Britain’s decline I was not quite aware of what genre I was in. I didn’t think ‘thriller’. I did consider ‘spy novel’. Now I am reasonably sure I am writing ‘Intelligence novels.’

The reason is pretty simple.  I am not the bloodiest minded of writers. And I do not think violence is purely physical. In addition, standing as I do at five foot two, I am not an expert on brawn.

What I do think, possibly naively, is that violence takes many forms - verbal or emotional to name only two.  It also seems to me that violence of that sort is difficult to combat. I’d say I work on character and psychology at the sharp end of historical circumstance.

To put it another way, while my new novel Black Bear has little human blood, I think of it as the most violent book I have written so far.  Why? Because, while bones do indeed crunch, personality and identity can also be disorientated. I wanted to show not a punch to the nose, but something like the effects of a punch to the mind.

 Around the time of Dior’s ‘New Look’, the Navy Department in the USA began developing ‘Operation Chatter’.

Rather charmingly, one of the stated aims of this operation was to look for chemical ways of circumventing discredited interrogation techniques – in other words of getting information from unwilling subjects without recourse to torture.  To do this, ‘Chatter’ experimented with drugs on several thousand people. Some were volunteers, others were what might be called ‘volunteered’ – that is young Americans doing national service contributed to the data without having been given possible downsides to their collaboration – and some were unwitting. There were a number of suicides and ruined lives as a result.

The late forties were full of more or less medical experimentation.  An effective polio vaccine began to be developed but was delayed because of a fear of public reaction to experiments that involved children who already had polio. (The argument was over ‘dead’ and ‘live’ vaccines.’)  Against that, at least according to Tom Wolfe, lithium urate turned out to be a ‘Freud killer’ in 1949, when the Australian psychiatrist  John Cade used it to help a person with what is now called bi-polar disorder, then known as manic-depression. Previously, lithium chloride had been used as a substitute for table salt in certain heart patients but had been banned in 1947 for having killed some of them. Similarly lithium citrate had also been banned in soft drinks like Seven Up. In the US, Cade would have found lithium experiments hard to do.

Operation Chatter did not have those legal constraints and used a wide variety of drugs.  One was scopolamine, which in Columbia is called ‘The devil’s breath’.  The legend is that it takes away your will but allows you to drive to the ATM and remember your PIN number. It also removes your memory of your time under its effect. It was used into the sixties in labour wards. It didn’t suppress the pain of childbirth. It suppressed the memory of it. Judging by her manner, Betty Draper in Mad Men may have had some during the birth of her third child.

Scopolamine does not of course work well as a ‘truth-drug’.  Someone who has had it is not a good witness. Instead it causes confusion. This was already known. During WW2 on D-Day large doses were given to some American paratroopers, a new take on experiments ‘in the field’. That experience was not repeated. This is not to say scopolamine has no uses. Very small amounts of the drug are still used today to combat travel sickness.

Then there was mescaline and sodium amytal.  A variation of the latter had been used in the Battle of the Bulge to counteract ‘battle fatigue’. Again the results had not been ‘entirely satisfactory’. There is something ‘floral’ about that description - a prettifying of a decidedly gruesome reality. No egg timers for when the effects would wear off; indeed some of the troops went into contortions caused by re-lived terror.

Of course it is very difficult for any of us to understand what we are seeing when we have few clues as to the cause of the visible effects we are experiencing. It’s not as simple as my husband getting glasses to be able to separate Daniel Craig from Sid James.

And the title of this new Peter Cotton novel? Many years ago in Spain, I was unlucky enough to see a dancing bear advertising a circus. The animal looked mangy, exhausted and somewhere between bored and pained. From time to time the handler allowed the bear to take a sniff of something. For a few seconds, the bear teetered like a drunk and then began dancing again. That was the image I took with me for the effects of drugs on a man in Black Bear.  

You can find out more about Peter Cotton and Aly Monroe via her website, on Facebook or on Twitter.