Crime & Thrillers Books

Book SynopsisA collection of short stories featuring the heart specialist', Parker Pyne.Mrs Packington felt alone, helpless and utterly forlorn. But her life changed when she stumbled upon an advertisement in The Times which read: ARE YOU HAPPY? IF NOT, CONSULT MR PARKER PYNE'.Equally adept at putting together the pieces of a marriage or the fragments of a murder mystery, Mr Parker Pyne was possibly the world's most unconventional private eye and certainly its most charming.Trade Review“Crimes of the heart were his forte.”Observer

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Book SynopsisHugh Laurie was born in 1959. At Cambridge University he took part in a number of undergraduate revues, the last of which won the Perrier Award at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1981. Since university he has made his living as a writer, actor, director and musician, appearing in, amongst others, Blackadder, A Bit of Fry & Laurie, Jeeves and Wooster and House. He lives in London with his wife and three children, and is utterly devoted to motorcycling.Trade ReviewClever and hilarious, with a story that is intricate, tense and well researched - and unstintingly joyous read * Time Out *A ripping spoof of the spy genre * Vanity Fair *A very funny book ... makes many another comic novel look slow-witted in comparison * Sunday Telegraph *A terrific debut * Daily Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisNick Harkaway is the author of The Gone-Away World and Angelmaker, and of an even better and more exciting novel whose name will probably end up being Tigerman, or possibly Man, Island, Boy. Contrary to what you may have heard, the title really is the hard part. When he's not writing, he spends his time being the husband of a brilliant lawyer and the dad of two small children who are secretly bent on world domination. He likes Italian red wine and lives in a bit of London where the taxis still have a horse at the pointy end.Trade ReviewAngelmaker is another cracking book from Nick Harkaway. It’s a mix of sci-fi, steampunk, adventure and romance and the mix of genres work really well together … Harkaway’s Angelmaker is a brilliant piece of escapism. It’s a wonderful example of how an irreverent approach to much loved genres can lead to a truly great story. * Nudge *Splendid cornucopia of a novel * The Big Issue (Wales) *Nick Harkaway's joyfully reckless invention is as intricate as clockwork ... Edie has a tangled history, the uncovering of which is one of the chief pleasures of Nick Harkaway's novel ... is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in ages ... brilliantly entertaining, and the last hundred pages are pure, unhinged delight. What a splendid ride. -- Patrick Ness * Guardian *What kind of a mind dreams up Angelmaker … It could only be Nick Harkaway: bonkers, brilliant and hilarious … clever and entirely fantastic. * Sunday Times *An entertaining tour-de-force that demands to be adored. * Independent on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisWITH A NEW FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOROn his third birthday Oskar decides to stop growing. Haunted by the deaths of his parents and wielding his tin drum Oskar recounts the events of his extraordinary life; from the long nightmare of the Nazi era to his anarchic adventures is post-war Germany.Trade ReviewGiven Grass's close involvement with this new translation, it is fair to call this the definitive version of arguably the most important German novel of the post-war era. * Observer *Grass published his milestone of postwar literature 50 years ago, and the event is being celebrated with new translations...Mitchell's excellent translation reveals the novel as a timeless masterpiece. * The Times *At the ages of fourteen and fifteen, I had read Great Expectations twice - Dickens made me want to be a writer - but it was reading The Tin Drum at nineteen and twenty that showed me how. It was Günter Grass who demonstrated that it was possible to be a living writer who wrote with Dickens' full range of emotion and relentless outpouring of language. Grass wrote with fury, love, derision, slapstick, pathos - all with an unforgiving conscience. -- John Irving * New York Times Book Review *Funny, macabre, disgusting, blasphemous, pathetic, horrifying, erotic, it is an endless delirium, an outrageous phantasmagoria in which dust from Goethe, Hans Andersen, Swift, Rabelais, Joyce, Aristophanes and Rochester dances on the point of a needle in the flame of a candle that was not worth the game * Daily Telegraph *Encountering The Tin Drum in the early sixties was like discovering a new planet, a reinvention of literature. It brings the exhilaration of discovery, linked with an enormous gratitude for the way in which Günter Grass makes the world a worthwhile place to be in, and living a worthwhile thing to do. He has forever pushed back - and opened up - our concept and awareness of what is real, and what is possible, and what we dare to dream about. * André Brink *

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Book SynopsisFrom the Booker Prize-winning and Women''s Prize-shortlisted author of The Silence of the Girls The first novel in Pat Barker''s acclaimed ''Life Class'' trilogy - an unforgettable story of art and war, from one of our greatest writers on war and the human heart''Triumphant, inspiring, shattering'' The Times''Barker writes as brilliantly as ever... With great tenderness and insight she conveys a wartime world turned upside down'' Independent on Sunday''Masterly, gripping'' Penelope Lively''Extraordinarily powerful'' Sunday Telegraph Spring, 1914. The students at the Slade School of Art gather in Henry Tonks''s studio for his life-drawing class. But for Paul Tarrant the class is troubling, underscoring his own uncertainty about making a mark on the world. When war breaks out and the army won''t take Paul, he enlists in the Belgian Red Cross just as he and fellow student Elinor Brooke admit their feeliTrade ReviewSharply written and elegantly constructed...breathtaking * Guardian *A compelling read * Literary Review *Thoughtful, ambiguous and powerful * Sunday Telegraph *

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Book SynopsisArt restorer and sometime spy Gabriel Allon is asked to visit Zurich, to clean the work of an Old Master for a millionaire banker. But when he gets there he finds the corpse of his client in a pool of blood beneath the masterpiece, and discovers that a secret collection of priceless paintings stolen by Nazis in the war is missing. With the Swiss authorities trying to pin the murder on Allon and a powerful cabal determined to make sure this wartime secret remains buried, the art restorer must use all his former spy skills to find out the truth. And with an assassin that he helped to train also on the loose, Allon will need all his wits just to stay alive

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Book Synopsis''Stylish and stimulating'' The TimesAgeing Hollywood star Marshall Stone is scared. Scared that the parts are drying up. Scared of being forgotten. So when he hears an eminent author is writing his biography, Stone siezes the chance of immortality. But painful memories and suppressed scandals soon threaten to destroy the carefully-constructed fiction of his life. Inspired by Len Deighton''s own experiences of the film industry, Close-Up is a brilliant exposé of the sleaze, venality and betrayals of the studio machine.''The richness, the sardonic humour, the wheeling and dealing ... the power of the book is undoubted'' Evening StandardTrade ReviewThe film industry is in many ways the ideal subject for Mr Deighton's talents. * Times Literary Supplement *Immense skill ... a stylish and stimulating performance. * The Times *The richness, the sardonic humour, the wheeling and dealing world of the films with its parties, its highly coloured characters ... The power of the book is undoubted. * Evening Standard *

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Book Synopsis''Dazzling ingenuity and cleverness'' Independent''Chilling ... the writing is crisp and brutal'' Daily TelegraphOf all the mysteries Bernard Samson has encountered, the greatest is his wife Fiona. Dedicated agent of the Service and a woman of secrets, she will risk everything to play the long game. As the truth about the decision that shattered their marriage is gradually revealed, the web of deception that has snared Bernard for ten years begins to unravel. In the gripping, tragic finale of the Hook, Line and Sinker trilogy, everything we thought we knew is brought into question.A BERNARD SAMSON NOVELTrade ReviewAll done with the chilling competence we expect from Mr Deighton ... No padding, no slowing of pace, and the writing is crisp and brutal. * Daily Telegraph *Dazzling ingenuity and cleverness. * The Independent *The poet of the spy story. * Sunday Times *Deighton's outstanding achievement is the nine-volume series chronicling the life and times of Bernard Samson ... Deighton's Samson trilogies are as much about the elusiveness of human interactions as espionage. Spying is not a secret world sealed off from ordinary life but an extension of the world we all live in. -- John Gray * New Statesman *

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Book Synopsis''He took the spy thriller out of the gentility of the drawing room and into the back streets of Istanbul, where it all really happened'' Frederick ForsythSmall-time hustler Arthur Abdel Simpson ekes out a living in Athens by robbing gullible tourists. But when an attempted theft backfires, he finds himself out-smarted and blackmailed into driving a highly suspicious car across the border to Istanbul. Then the Turkish secret police get involved, and Simpson becomes embroiled in something far deeper, and more dangerous, than he could imagine. Featuring a heart-stopping jewel heist, this compulsive, morally complex thriller became the basis for the classic film Topkapi.Trade ReviewThe source on which we all draw -- John le CarréUnquestionably our best thriller writerMr. Ambler is phenomenal -- Alfred HitchcockAmbler is, quite simply, the best * The New Yorker *

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Book SynopsisThey stand by side on the rock, facing out to sea. They are hidden from land here. Even spies would see nothing of them. It is spring 1917 in the Cornish coastal village of Zennor, and the young artist Clare Coyne is waking up to the world. Ignoring the whispers from her neighbours, she has struck a rare friendship with D.H. Lawrence and his German wife, who are hoping to escape the war-fever of London. In between painting and visits to her new friends she whiles away the warm days with her cousin John, who is on leave from the trenches, harbouring secrets she couldn''t begin to understand.But as the heat picks up, so too do the fear and the gossip that haunt the village. And the freedom to love will come at a steep price.______________________________________________**Winner of the McKitterick Prize**''Highly original and beautifully written'' Sunday Telegraph''Electrifying . . . Helen Dunmore mesmerTrade ReviewHighly original and beautifully written * Sunday Telegraph *Electrifying . . . Helen Dunmore mesmerizes you with her magical pen * Daily Mail *Deceit gives Helen Dunmore's novel a jagged edge. Secrets, unspoken words, lies that have the truth wrapped up in them somewhere make Dunmore's stories ripples with menace and suspense * Sunday Times *We believe in Clare's intelligence, talent and passion. A triumph * Independent on Sunday *

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Book Synopsis''A highly enjoyable story about female resilience... with a twist that is all the more compelling for its unexpectedness'' Sunday Times''She''s such a skilful storyteller, who vividly dramatizes our lives with wit, wisdom and compassion'' Bernardine Evaristo''Amanda Craig anatomises the state of the nation with wit and empathy'' Jonathan Coe''An irresistible summer read'' Guardian''A typically sharp and hugely satisfying page-turner'' Daily MailWhen Hannah is invited into the first-class carriage of the London to Penzance train, she walks into a spider''s web. Now a poor young single mother, she once escaped Cornwall to go to university, but after marriage to Jake her dreams turned to bitter disillusion. Her husband has left her for a rich woman, and Hannah has survived by working as a cleaner. Jinni is equally angry, and in the course of their journey the two women agree to murdeTrade ReviewA highly enjoyable story about female resilience and finding fulfilment on your own terms, with a twist that is all the more compelling for its unexpectedness * Sunday Times *An irresistible summer read: a rollicking plot, a heroine who is more than a match for anything the author throws at her and meaty social issues * Guardian Book of the Day *The plot becomes so gripping - the sort of story where you want to pull the heroine out of the pages away from danger * The Times *A typically sharp and hugely satisfying page-turner about two women who decide to murder each other's husbands * Daily Mail *Such an interesting read! . . . A story of lies - and learning that people aren't always who they appear to be -- Nina Pottell * Prima *A pacy state-of-the-nation drama that tackles issues from domestic abuse to workplace harassment, gentrification to the gig economy * Mail on Sunday *Clever and compelling, The Golden Rule is a modern mash-up of Rebecca and Strangers on a Train * Red *The Golden Rule does what her novels do best, wrapping the reader in a tight, lean narrative, showing the strangeness that lies at the heart of normal-seeming lives * Observer *An acute and passionate observer of society in both town and country, and among rich and poor. She is harrowingly good at portraying the corrosive effects of poverty, particularly on vulnerable women with children to protect. Her prose is a delight...Best of all, Craig has the knack of creating interesting characters and of making one care about what lies in store for them. If you can do that, nothing else really matters -- Andrew Taylor * Spectator *Perceptive and wise, particularly on the ever-growing gap between the rich and the poor * Independent *She's such a skilful storyteller who vividly dramatises our lives with wit, wisdom and compassionStrangers on a Train meets #MeToo * Sunday Times *Craig's ninth novel is one of her best. A clever take on Beauty and the Beast and Patricia Highsmith's Strangers on a Train, it is also an astute commentary on life in Cornwall and the widening gap between the city rich and rural poor * The i *Addictive . . . a wide-ranging, incisive portrait of contemporary Britain * Independent *We reckon this cracker of a novel about the "haves" and the "have-nots" will whip you into a page-turning frenzy * Sunday Post *If you like your novels wide-ranging, ambitious, socially panoramic, and engaged in the most important issues of the day, Amanda Craig is the writer for you. For more than twenty years now she has been anatomising the state of the British nation with wit and empathyI just wanted to say how much I have enjoyed The Golden Rule - evening reading that I looked forward to for days. Such a strong narrative, constantly taking you by surprise, persuasive setting, Hannah a sympathetic central figure - and the clash between different lifestyles. Very much a novel of our times -- Penelope LivelyI really enjoyed The Golden Rule. I still love novels that have proper, well-constructed plots and Amanda Craig is a delicious storyteller -- Rose TremainA tight, lean thriller about two women who decide to murder each other's husbands. Dotted throughout are Craig's acute observations of society, in particular the corrosive effects of poverty. Yet this skilful storyteller is never preachy. We are swept along because of her knack of creating characters we care about. Only on closing the book do we realise we've not just been entertained but made to think too -- Rachel Kelly * The Tablet *

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Book SynopsisThe third and penultimate novel in the Detective Kyoichiro Kaga series by bestselling Japanese crime writer Keigo Higashino - a twisty, compelling and satisfying mystery with a vivid sense of place.Trade ReviewThrilling stuff! * Peterborough Evening Telegraph *A mystery puzzle ... a moral fable ... gives the reader much to ponder after the final page is turned * Wall Street Journal *The dark side-make that sides-of Tokyo, masterfully revealed * Kirkus Reviews *A stunning mystery that helps to secure Keigo Higashino's status as a modern master... Through the unique work of Kaga, the reader is able to marvel at a detective with a mental acuity that seems to rival that of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot. This is the sort of mystery that fans of the genre need to read and savor * Book Reporter *

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Book SynopsisDrop-out military cop Jack Reacher has hitchhiked his way to Virginia. His destination, the closest thing to a home he ever had: the headquarters of his old unit, the 110th Military Police. Reacher has no real reason to be here, except that he spoke to the new commanding officer on the phone. He liked Major Susan Turner's voice.Trade ReviewThe bone-crunching, joint-popping action is as technically precise and primevally satisfying as ever. The extra-lean prose is as ruthlessly linear as the plot…[However,]Lee Child proves he can write about emotions other than lust and anger and reveals his hero to be more than just a man of steel. Eighteen novels in, his franchise shows no sign of running out of steam. -- Mark Sanderson * Evening Standard *Lee Child’s bodacious action hero, Jack Reacher, has already tramped through 17 novels and three ebook singles. But his latest, “Never Go Back,” may be the best desert island reading in the series. It’s exceptionally well plotted. And full of wild surprises. And wise about Reacher’s peculiar nature./Mr. Child’s Jack Reacher series is as brainy as it is brawny...Starting with an opening sequence that throws three huge surprises at Reacher, there are more neat tricks and clever set pieces in this one volume than Mr. Child has ever strung together before...Read it. You’ll see why. -- Janet Maslin * New York Times *Is Reacher getting soft? Not a chance. The righteous violence when it comes is still pretty astonishing. This is one of Reacher's best outings. A must for all fans. * Daily Express *Jack Reacher is a man's man, a loner, a renegade crusader for justic...The harder-than-nails hero is on the top of his form...You'd better read it. * Sun *This may well be the best of the bunch...some of the best, wiliest writing Child has ever done. * Scotland on Sunday *

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Book SynopsisResistance opens in 1944, as the women of a small Welsh farming community wake one morning to find that their husbands have gone. Soon after that a German patrol arrives in their valley. In his hugely anticipated debut novel, Owen Sheers has produced a beautifully imagined and powerfully moving story of love and loss.

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Book SynopsisThis new collection presents seventeen classic stories, spanning a period from the 1880s to the 1970s, by a host of Scottish authors alongside writers from south of the border inspired by the history and majesty of the storied country.

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Book SynopsisAmerican Anglophile Dorothy Martin uncovers strange goings-on when she attends the christening of an English aristocrat.Dorothy Martin and her husband Alan have been invited to rural Suffolk to take part in the christening of the newest member of the aristocratic Montcalm family. But on arriving at Dunham Manor, they discover the household in turmoil as the ceremonial dagger used in Montcalm family christenings for generations past, has gone missing. Dorothy and Alan offer their help in locating the ancient heirloom, but when a stranger is murdered in the village - stabbed in the back with an ornate dagger - Sir Edwin Montcalm finds himself the prime suspect in a very puzzling murder.It will take all Dorothy and Alan''s well-honed investigative skills to untangle a web of long-buried secrets, historic conflicts and murderous inclinations which threaten to destroy the traditions and the very existence of the Montcalms'' way of life for ever.

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Book SynopsisIn 1137 the ambitious head of Shrewsbury Abbey has decided to acquire the remains of Saint Winifred for his Benedictine order. Brother Cadfael is part of the expedition sent to her final resting place in Wales, where they find the villagers passionately divided by the Benedictines'' offer for the saint''s relics.Canny, wise and all too worldly, Cadfael isn''t surprised when this taste for bones leads to bloody murder. The leading opponent to moving the grave has been shot dead with a mysterious arrow, and some say Winifred herself dealt the blow. Brother Cadfael knows that a carnal hand did the killings, but he doesn''t know that his plan to unearth a murderer may dig up a case of love and justice, where the wages of sin may be scandal - or his own ruin.

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Book SynopsisMary Watson is from South Africa and now lives on the west coast of Ireland. She has a PhD from the University of Cape Town, where she taught for many years. She won the Caine Prize for African Writing for her adult publishing in South Africa, and in 2014 was named on the Africa39 list of writers under 40 with the potential to define trends in African literature. Her YA novels have been nominated for the Irish Book Awards and the Carnegie medal. The Cleaner is her worldwide adult debut.

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Book SynopsisMichelle Frances graduated from Bournemouth Film School in 1996 and then from the Masters programme at the American Film Institute, Los Angeles, in 1998. Returning to London, she has worked for several years in film and TV as a script editor and producer for both the independent sector and the BBC. The Girlfriend is her first novel.

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Book Synopsis''Gripping subjects, brilliantly drawn characters and a twisty turny journey from beginning to end. A tense, thrilling read and definitely 5 humongous stars from me'' Angela Marsons. Someone stole a baby... One sunny day in July, someone took three-month-old Alicia Owen from her pram outside a supermarket. Her mother, Marie, was inside. No one saw who took Alicia. And no one could find her. They silenced her cry... Fifteen years later, a teenager on a construction site sees a tiny hand in the ground. When the police investigate, they find a baby buried and preserved in concrete. Could it be Alicia? But the truth will always out. When Alicia disappeared, the papers accused Marie of detachment and neglect. The Owens never got over the grief of their child''s disappearance and divorced not long after. By reopening the case, DC Beth Chamberlain must reopen old wounds. But the killer may be closer than anyone ever suspected... The latest crime thriller featuriTrade ReviewJane Isaac knows how to tell a good yarn. Expertly plotted and true to life -- Mel Sherratt

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Book Synopsis''Bruen is the godfather of the modern Irish crime novel'' Irish IndependentThe thrilling new crime novel set in Galway, Ireland from Ken Bruen. When Jack Taylor wakes up from a coma, he finds himself in a different world... yet it hasn''t changed at all.When Jack Taylor awakes from a coma following an attack that left him in hospital, much of the world has changed. The Covid pandemic has devastated the lives of many in his beloved city of Galway and beyond. As Jack tries to absorb the incredible changes, a woman approaches him with a particularly distressing case. Two local nuns have been bludgeoned by a mysterious man wielding a hammer. As the police fail to act while the violence against the Sisters escalates, Jack seems like their only hope.Initially wary of getting involved, Jack finds he cannot stay away from the mystery surrounding these vicious attacks. He also cannot shake a feeling of darkness that has haunted him since he awoke from his coma: a darkness that is far too close for comfort...''The raffish hero''s world feels like an unusually sordid theme park attraction. Just be sure to wipe your hands when you exit'' Kirkus''Satisfyingly complex'' Publishers Weekly''Hard-hitting'' Shelf Awareness

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Book SynopsisThe Silent Patient meets Gone Girl in this sharp psychological thriller about a psychiatrist with a shocking past and her dangerous new patient. Brooklyn psychiatrist Dr. Caroline Strange is certain she knows what's best for her patients, her family, and pretty much everyone else, but that all changes when a troubled young man named Nelson Schack arrives for his appointment and makes a pair of alarming confessions: I'm going to kill someone, and I know who you really are.When detectives show up later that day, inquiring about a missing woman, it looks like Nelson has made good on his threatyet somehow it's Dr. Caroline who becomes the prime suspect.Convinced the police are incompetent, Dr. Caroline takes matters into her own hands, chasing down the elusive Nelson and running headlong into a past she has spent her entire life trying to forget. As she closes in on her target, people begin questioning who Dr. Caroline really is, and all the polished pieces of her manicured life start to splinter.Harrowing, unpredictable, and compulsively readable, the award-winning author Louisa Luna's Tell Me Who You Are is an utterly gripping psychological thriller that asks, Can a person ever really outrun their past?

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Book Synopsis''A masterclass in thrillers'' Reader Review, ?????''One hell of a treat'' Reader Review, ?????''Blown away, almost literally'' Reader Review, ?????''Wow, wow, wow!!'' Reader Review, ?????''Proper edge-of-your-seat stuff'' Reader Review, ?????Alex and Pip are in desperate need of an escape. Their stressful roles as hostage negotiators are eased only by the fact that they get to come home to each other every night.When an old friend invites the couple up to the Scottish Highlands for an extended break, Alex and Pip jump at the chance. It''s the rest they both need.But soon after they arrive at the castle, they hear the sound of gunshots, and their perfect escape turns into a perfect nightmare. The remote mountainous landscape is now the setting for a terrifying kidnap plot targeting one of the other guests.In the desperate hours that follow, Alex and Pip must call on all their years of negotiating experience to keep everyone alive. But with Pip gravely injured and the net closing in, it might be her life that needs saving most of all...Read what everyone is saying about The Castle:''Wow wow wow!!... This was a fantastic read! This book had great suspense, murder, mystery, fantastic characters, revenge... wild twists and turns! The storyline was very interesting! I highly recommend reading this book.'' Reader Review, ?????''This is proper edge-of-your-seat stuff and moves at a blistering pace... A very tense read... Mr Sutherland is going to be someone that stays on my radar. Loved this!'' Reader Review, ?????''I will admit to crying at one point, you''ll know when you get there, and my emotions played yoyo for a while which was fabulous! Highly recommended... a tense and rewarding thriller that we''ve chosen as both a LoveReading Star Book, and Liz Pick of the Month.'' LoveReading, ?????''A masterclass in thrillers... So tense I found myself reading aggressively! I had to know what happened and I wanted more the second I had finished. Incredible.'' Reader Review, ?????

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Book SynopsisTHE BIGGEST MYSTERIES ARE MURDER TO SOLVE . . . ''TODAY''S GREATEST EXPONENT OF PLAYFUL DETECTIVE FICTION'' GUARDIAN''One of the year''s most entertaining crime novels'' SUNDAY TIMES''When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over'' A. J. FINN''An elegantly structured, intellectually challenging and completely unique thriller that grips like a vice'' SOPHIE HANNAH_______All murder mysteries follow a simple set of rules.In the 1930s, Grant McAllister, a mathematics professor turned author, worked them out, hiding their secrets in a book of crime stories.Then Grant disappeared.Julia Hart has finally tracked him down. She wants to know what happened to him.But she''s about to discover that a good mystery can be murder to solve . . ._______''One of the most creative detective novels of the year . . . If not of all time'' STrade ReviewTODAY'S GREATEST EXPONENT OF PLAYFUL DETECTIVE FICTION. A gloriously original, intricate and often very funny series of practical jokes played on the reader * Oskar Jensen, GUARDIAN *Terrific. Alex Pavesi knows the genre inside out. One of the year's most entertaining crime novels * Sunday Times, Crime Book of the Month *Dizzying, dazzling - a potent potion of a thriller, a brew of bibliophilia (think The Shadow of the Wind), wire-taut tension (The Talented Mr. Ripley), and plot swerves so sharp and sudden you risk whiplash with each turn of the page, as bold as the best of Michael Connelly and Lisa Gardner. When did you last read a genuinely original thriller? The wait is over. * A J Finn, bestselling author of The Woman in the Window *So, so clever. A twisty story and an education in the maths of murder mysteries, Agatha Christie would take her hat off to this one - bravo! -- Sarah PinboroughAlex Pavesi is a lively writer . . . It feels like a game of Clue-do-ku * Times *An elegantly structured, intellectually challenging and completely unique thriller that grips like a vice -- Sophie Hannah * Sunday Times bestselling author of The Killings at Kingfisher Hill *This is both a wonderfully tricksy debut and a loving tribute to the golden age of crime fiction * Mail on Sunday *It's rare for me to read a book in a single day, but I couldn't put Eight Detectives down. Compelling, clever, and beautifully-constructed. It deserves to be huge. I genuinely wanted to applaud at the end -- Alex NorthA brilliantly twisty thriller. I adored this clever, game-playing book - it's like Agatha Christie for bibliophiles * Sunday Times *A box of delights . . . Pavesi's revelations are completely unexpected, right up to the end * New York Times *An absolute triumph of a novel. I read it in two greedy gulps. Intelligent and compelling storytelling. Utterly brilliant -- Ali Land, bestselling author of Good Me, Bad MeThis super-smart homage to the Agatha Christie tradition is a must. Stylish, ingenious and great fun * Sunday Mirror *Has an intricacy rare in modern crime fiction. Alex Pavesi deserves huge applause for his plot, constructed with all the skill of the old masters * Sunday Express *In Eight Detectives, Alex Pavesi constructs a remarkable puzzle that turns readers into literary detectives with every new twist. Both a celebration and a reinvention of mystery fiction -- Matthew Pearl, bestselling author of The Dante ClubMasterfully told in a unique way - this is sure to get you thinking * Woman's Weekly *An absolute juggernaut of a novel. -- Caz FrearThis debut novel, constructed with clockwork precision, has an understated creepiness that gets under your skin * Daily Mirror *Alex Pavesi's Eight Detectives is a delightfully inventive and enjoyable debut which plays fascinating games with the classic murder mystery and puts a fresh spin on the notion of whodunit. Bravo! -- Martin Edwards, winner of the 2020 Diamond DaggerSo clever and a lot of fun, fans of Golden Age crime fiction (of which I am one) will love this unique tale with a modern twist -- Jenny Blackhurst, bestselling author of How I Lost YouAlex Pavesi has written one of the most creative detective novels of the year...if not of all time. Sharp writing, crisp dialogue, and the end will leave you reeling. An incredible debut novel! -- Samantha Downing, bestselling author of My Lovely WifeA fantastic read. Utterly original, yet reads like a long-lost golden age classic. The author surprises from the first chapter, is always one step ahead, and constantly gives you this feeling that something macabre is happening behind your back! Bravo -- Ragnar JonassonI have never read a book quite like this. It's original, clever and compelling - and the revelations at the end took me totally by surprise. -- Rachel AbbottI loved this intelligent and inventive novel and I'm sure that it will find legions of fans amongst aficionados of classic crime. It's the most fun I've had in ages -- Cathy RentzenbrinkAn ingenious exploration of the crime genre * Literary Review *An enthrallingly layered literary mystery * News Letter *A brilliantly conceived novel . . . "I didn't see that coming", you'll say * Shots Magazine *Ingenious . . . perfect for fans of Agatha Christie * Best *A clever read * Woman *[An] impressive evocation of the golden age of crime fiction * Sunday Times *

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Book SynopsisTo catch an enemy with nothing to lose, MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle must venture into dangerous waters.When pirates attack a cargo ship off the Somalian coast and one of them is found to be a British-born Pakistani, alarm bells start ringing at London''s Thames House. MI5 Intelligence Officer Liz Carlyle is brought in to establish how and why a young British Muslim could go missing from his well-to-do family in Birmingham and end up onboard a pirate skiff in the Indian Ocean, armed with a Kalashnikov.After an undercover operative connected to the case turns up dead in the shipping office of an NGO in Athens it looks like piracy may be the least of the Service''s problems. Liz and her team must unravel the connections between Pakistan, Greece and Somalia, relying on their wits - and the judicious use of force - to get to the truth. And they don''t have long, as trouble is brewing closer to home: the kind of explosive trouble that MI5 could do without ...In this tense Trade ReviewShe provides lots of detail of intelligence work used to counter today's terrorists that seems real - and intriguing * Financial Times *Rimington's best work demonstrates a flair for narrative, with a sense of authenticity and an insider's grasp on the pressing issues of the day * Washington Post *She uses her knowledge of covert spy operations to create powerful story lines that are exciting yet plausible * Daily Express *Rip Tide incorporates the epic sweep and global concerns expected of a contemporary spy thriller * Irish Times *

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Book SynopsisThe eighth novel in the best-selling Inspector Lynley mystery seriesTrade ReviewA page-turning treat * Sunday Times *Gripping from start to finish * Daily Mail *A first-class, page-turning read * The Times *Ms George is the connoisseur's crime writer * Sunday Express *

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Book SynopsisAward-winning author Elizabeth George delivers another masterpiece of suspense in her Inspector Lynley series.When a Member of Parliament shows up at New Scotland Yard requesting an investigation into the suicide of the son of one of his constituents in the beautiful town of Ludlow, the Assistant Commissioner sees two opportunities in this request: the first is to have an MP owing him a favour, and the second is to get rid of Detective Sergeant Barbara Havers, whose career at the Met has been hanging by a thread for quite some time. So he assigns Havers to the case and for good measure partners her with the one person who shares his wish to see the back of her, Detective Chief Superintendent Isabelle Ardery.But Ardery has her own difficulties. She is not happy to be sent away from London and as a result is in a rush to return. This causes her to overlook certain uncomfortable facts. Soon, the case is opened again and this time, it is Lynley who must accompany Trade ReviewRich with descriptive detail and emotional nuance. Several alternating plot threads unspool at length, all of which weave tightly together with pleasing inevitability . . . What has been said before deserves repeating: From suspense to social commentary, from violence to pathos, from villainy to possible redemption, Ms. George can do it all, with style. * Wall Street Journal *Bolstered by George's polished prose, the twentieth Lynley mystery moves briskly along, showing the author at the peak of her powers. * Booklist (starred review) *She's a designer of fastidious mosaics that never fail to intrigue * Guardian *Presses all the buttons to make us hoover her stuff up * Daily Telegraph *She writes extremely well, plots brilliantly and reaches an emotional level deeper than most * The Times *The best plotter in the mystery game, [her] elegant literate flow puts many Brits to shame * Time Out *

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Book SynopsisNosy, warm-hearted travel agent Campbell Hall gets mixed up in a missing persons case when beloved Nashville socialite Bitsy Carter vanishes during her Mexican vacation.Fans of Diane Mott Davidson and Donna Andrews will enjoy this new series - BooklistTravel agent Campbell Hale isn''t surprised when she hears her good friend, socialite and talented artist Bitsy Carter, has booked a luxury Mexican spa vacation through her agency. Bitsy often takes solo trips abroad, and who''d want to spend February in grey Nashville when they could avoid it?She is, however, extremely surprised - and extremely worried - when Bitsy doesn''t come back.What could compel warm, friendly Bitsy to run away without telling anyone her plans? And most puzzling of all: what could make her leave her small children behind?The answers lie in Zihuatanejo, and Campbell barely needs to twist new boyfriend Detective Sam Davis'' arm to get him to agree

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Book SynopsisTish Tarragon is catering for Hobson Glen''s annual Turkey Trot, and soon finds herself embroiled in a deadly race to the finish line . . .Literary caterer Tish Tarragon is looking forward to opening her new Cookin'' the Books café the day after Thanksgiving, but before then she has the small matter of catering for the Thirty-First Annual Colonial Springs Turkey Trot, a highlight in the Hobson Glen community calendar.With her food stall ready to go, Tish, the spectators and participating ''trotters'' are eagerly awaiting the starter''s pistol when they are confronted with the sound of rifle shots from the woods. Deputy Mayor Behrens is dead. But was he really the intended target, or was it Tish''s ex, Mayor Schuyler Thompson? As Tish investigates with her beau, Sheriff Clemson Reade, it seems there are no shortage of residents with an axe to grind against the town council and their controversial policies. Can Tish finish first in her race against the ki

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Book SynopsisA page-turning journalistic thriller starring a rookie female reporter for the Boston Standard who''s determined to chase down a big story . . . with potentially deadly consequences.Boston Standard journalist Emily - Em - Kelton is desperate for a big story. As a new reporter Em covers the police beat, which has her responding to every crime that comes across the newsroom scanner. Despite the drudgery and the largely nocturnal hours, it''s a beat that suits her - especially with her affinity for the low-level criminals she regularly interacts with and what she considers a healthy scepticism for the rules.But she''s sick of filing short news briefs about random street murders that barely merit a byline, and when she sets out to cover yet another shooting of a low-level dealer, she begins to wonder if these crimes are somehow connected. With not much to go on but her instincts, Em sets out to uncover the truth behind these sordid crimes. Bu

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Book SynopsisDI Herbert Reardon investigates the murder of an enigmatic woman who was about to leave her comfortable life behind and mysteriously disappear in this page-turning 1930s historical mystery with gasp-worthy revelations.1935, Templewood, Worcestershire. Judge Waring?s glamorous wife Emilie is mysteriously missing and no one knows where she is ? until she?s found the morning after a party at neighbouring Falquonroy Park, in a clearing in Templewood?s grounds, strangled yet neatly laid out next to two pieces of matching luggage.What could possibly have brought Emilie to the site where the family?s new home, The Spinney, was about to be built, equipped for travelling? Was she planning to leave with someone she knew? Who was determined that she should meet such a terrible end? As Detective Chief Inspector Herbert ?Bert? Reardon and Sergeant Jago discover more about the enigmatic Emilie, they unravel terrible lies and devastating secrets stretching back years . . .This compelling historical mystery sharply conveys British society and politics of the interwar period of the 1930s. A great choice for fans of traditional mysteries with multi-layered and engaging characters from Jacqueline Winspear and Anna Lee Huber.

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Book SynopsisThe chilling prose of Karin Slaughter meets the high-stakes plotting of The Butcher and the Wren in a dark crime thriller debut following three normal sisters, their forgotten traumas, and the serial killer that lives within one.Three sisters. One killer. Which one is SHE?The Rowling sisters have always been people you can understand with partners and children, homes and dreams. And secrets; the sisters have those, too. But when Kate, the eldest, finally returns to buy her late grandfather's home, the dark things each sister has kept buried soon rise to the surface.Is Kate having unexplained visions tied to a past she can hardly recall? Is Aurora, the married mother of two, finally acting out in the face of her sisters' indiscretions? Is Peggy, the youngest and a recovering addict, able to move on from the memories that haunt her?And then there's SHE.SHE is one of them, but SHE is not like them at all. SHE is defined only by the carnage she lets the world see, the murders that have swept through their coastal community. And as the police close in on their newest serial killer, scrutiny lands on the Rowlings, forcing them to face their demons and reveal all they have kept hidden.Can you ever truly recognise the evil around you?A debut to die for, Sister, Butcher, Sister is as horrifying as it is exceptional: a masterfully crafted mystery thriller that revitalises the whodunit genre and twists it into something chillingly new.TropesSerial KillerCrime ThrillerSuspenseMysterySmall Town

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