Newest Crime Reviews
The Crossing by Christina James
When DI Tim Yates is called to investigate a tragic collision between a train and a council lorry on a level crossing, he expects it to be a straightforward investigation. However, he soon realises there's nothing straightforward about it. Full review...
A Painted Smile by Frances Fyfield
Diana Porteous is young, rich and a widow. She's reached the stage of being over the initial grief after the death of her husband, but her life lacks focus. It's then that her beloved step-grandson, Patrick, comes up with an idea: he suggests an exhibition of portraits entitled A Question of Guilt which encourages people to really look at the pictures and work out what they think the subjects are doing. It began in a rather light-hearted way but it's not long before everyone is caught up in the preparations for the exhibition, to be presented in the large wine cellar under the old schoolhouse. Not everyone is sure that it's suitable though... Full review...
The Mystery of the Lost Cezanne by M L Longworth
Antoine Verlaque, investigating judge at Aix-en-Provence, is asked to visit a retired postman who has uncovered an old canvas in his apartment, which just happens to be the former home of famous nineteenth-century artist Paul Cezanne. When he gets there the old man is dead, there's no canvas to be seen, and an American art history professor is inexplicably in the living room. It's now up to Antoine and his team of policemen to find the murderer and the painting, and with the help of his girlfriend Marine Bonnet, work out who the woman in the painting is and if it could really be a hitherto unknown Cezanne. Full review...
The Grownup by Gillian Flynn
Our narrator, a self-confessed expert at giving, er, relief to men, is branching out. Well, carpal tunnel syndrome at such a young age isn't great. Instead of working at the back of a dodgy tarot shop, she's out front, pretending to see auras, and using her natural aptitude to read people (a skill mastered begging for years with her one-eyed mother), when a woman comes in with a serious demand. Piecing the mystery of what it might be together for us, our heroine ends up in a very malevolent building, housing what might be the step-son from hell… Full review...
Game of Mirrors by Andrea Camilleri
Inspector Montalbano came to the aid of his new neighbour when her car wouldn't start. It wasn't just gallantry which led him to do this: the fact that she was stunningly beautiful didn't harm her chances at all. Montalbano wasn't to know where this simple, courteous act would lead, although he knew something was wrong: it wasn't that the car wouldn't start - it had been deliberately damaged. Her husband, a computer salesman, seemed only to be around occasionally and obviously didn't care what Liliana got up to when he wasn't there. And then Liliana began making advances to Montalbano, whilst she was carrying on a relationship with a young assistant in a local clothes shop. What was going on? Full review...
The Glass Room (D I Vera Stanhope) by Ann Cleeves
Inspector Vera Stanhope isn't big on friends but the hippy neighbours are good to her in terms of home-brew beer and conversation and when one of them goes missing she feels obliged to investigate. She knows that she'd be furious if one of the team was playing at private investigator and it leaves her in the embarrassing position of being first on the scene after a murder has been discovered. One of the tutors has been brutally murdered at The Writers' House and the other residents have made an easy assumption about who wielded the knife, but Vera must act professionally even though she knows that's she's hardly impartial. Full review...
Blood Sisters by Graham Masterton
A young couple are walking on a cliff-top when they hear a cry of anguish from below, which leads to the discovery of not an injured person but horses – lots of them. Full review...
Even Dogs in the Wild by Ian Rankin
There's a high-profile murder case in Edinburgh. Someone has broken into the home of Lord Minton, senior lawyer and former Lord Advocate, beaten him, strangled him and then beaten him some more when he was dead. A note was found at the scene of the crime which suggested that Minton had been threatened. DI Siobhan Clarke has been seconded to the enquiry and she calls on her old friend John Rebus, kicking his heels in retirement, when Big Ger Cafferty narrowly escapes death as a shot is fired into his house. Cafferty had received the same threatening note as Minton. Fearing a turf war, he's reluctant to open up to anyone but Rebus. Clarke's friend, DI Malcolm Fox has been seconded too - to a team from Glasgow who are undercover and need local expertise, only he's not quite so well received. His former posting in Complaints is well known. Full review...
Harbour Street (D I Vera Stanhope) by Ann Cleeves
Detective Sergeant Joe Ashworth was escorting his daughter home from a pre-Christmas school concert using the Newcastle metro, not least because the snow had started. A rather smart, elderly woman took a seat but when the train was stopped because of the bad weather Jessie noticed that the old lady had not left her seat and went to wake her - only Margaret Krukowski had been fatally stabbed as she sat on the train. Christmas wasn't D I Vera Stanhope's favourite time of year and she wasn't upset to have work to do to break up the festivities; far better to be on her way to the Northumberland seaside town of Mardle with Joe Ashworth. Margaret Krukowski had lived in the boarding house at 1 Harbour Street as well as working there. In fact, she'd lived there before it became a boarding house. Full review...
Bellebrook's Secrets by Helen Stafford
Trudy Hampstead has a plan that will support her widowed mother and twin brother unwittingly involving their landlord's son. Their landlord is local gentry and philanderer Alistair Burgoyne QC and the one person who can ensure security of tenure. Trudy thinks that Peter the local curate should step in to speak to Trudy, something he's more than happy to do since he has a secret agenda of his own. Meanwhile up at the farm the Lovestocks' marriage is coming apart at the seams, a fact that may partially threaten the peace of the village but not half as much as the anonymous random acts of violence that are about to hit Bellebrook. Full review...
Hidden Depths by Ann Cleeves
Life hadn't been easy for Julie Armstrong, left on her own with two children. Her son Luke 'had his difficulties' too, probably best summarised as a learning disorder, and he absorbed a lot of Julie's time. She felt guilty that she neglected her daughter Laura who was bright, but rather withdrawn: being Luke's sister had never been easy and keeping herself to herself was the best way of dealing with the jibes about what he'd done now. There weren't many opportunities for Julie to get out without the kids and the chance of a night out with her girlfriends had been too good to pass up, but when she came home, perhaps a little drunk and high from meeting up with a man she felt attracted to, she found Luke dead in a flower-strewn bath full of water. He'd been strangled. Full review...
The Soul of Discretion (Simon Serrailler) by Susan Hill
The story begins with hints: an old lady hears children screaming in the middle of the night, sees children being bundled away from a property she thought was uninhabited. A teacher is horrified by a drawing from a child which suggests that she is aware of brutal sexual activity. For Simon Serrailler the knowledge had come more directly: he was approached to go undercover in prison with the aim of getting close to Will Fearnley, a convicted paedophile who had consistently refused to divulge any information about his contacts. He was currently in a therapy centre and is was here that DCS Serrailer went as Johno Miles, also a convicted paedophile. Full review...
Splinter the Silence by Val McDermid
I should probably be ashamed to say that I only know Val McDermid's Tony Hill series from the TV adaption Wire in the Blood. And I'm afraid to say that if the latest offering is par for the series, then I'll remain content with that. Full review...
Blood Brothers... Thai Style by Matt Carrell
Chatri Aromanadee and Daeng Khasajamsarun are friends, but in a rather unequal way. Daeng very much has the upper hand despite the fact that Chatri is a policeman: Daeng is manipulative and it's difficult to be polite enough to say that he 'sails close to the wind'. The man is a criminal, but he turned a problem of his own (and of his own making) into a hold over Chatri, which still holds firm even when Chatri becomes the chief of police in Baan Chailai, with its lively bar scene, on the Gulf of Thailand. Their sons have a similar relationship: Daeng's son Tong is brutal in his relationships with women and Chatri's son Sunan has the misfortune to work in the hotel complex owned by Daeng. Full review...
Holy Island: A DCI Ryan Mystery by L J Ross
DCI Ryan has decided the Holy Island of Lindisfarne in Northumberland is the ideal place for him to wait out his three months' sabbatical from the police. Sea air, peace and quiet... The sort of peace and quiet that evaporates when Lucy, a young islander, is found murdered, her body curiously arranged at the Priory ruins. Ryan volunteers to lead the investigation, enlisting the assistance of Dr Anna Taylor, expert on ancient religious practices. She'll be helpful but something gradually dawns on Ryan that isn't going to help at all: the murderer must be an island resident. Not something that will endear Ryan to the locals! Full review...
Divorce Turkish Style (Kati Hirschel Istanbul Murder Mystery) by Esmahan Aykol
Kati Hirschel still owns Istanbul's only crime book shop while still supplying bed and board to her former lover, Spanish lawyer Fofo. When Fofo dramatically points out the news report surrounding a young political activist's natural death, Kati doesn't pay much attention. But then she realises that the face of victim Sani is familiar, she double takes. There again this is nothing compared to Kati's next realisation: this death may not have been that natural. Full review...
Police at the Funeral by Margery Allingham
When Andrew Seeley, a member of the well-known Faraday family of Cambridge disappears, gentleman adventurer Albert Campion agrees to look into it as a favour to a friend. He finds a dysfunctional family living in its glorious past, with no-one at all sure they want to find their missing relative who can be a bit trying, to say the least. Before long the bodies start piling up, and both Campion and his old friend Inspector Stanislaus Oates of Scotland Yard are as baffled as each other. Until, naturally, Campion figures it all out. Full review...
The Starlings and Other Stories by Ann Cleeves (editor)
Six authors, known collectively as 'The Murder Squad', and their six accomplices were given twelve photographs of the remote landscape of Pembrokeshire by acclaimed photographer David Wilson and asked to come up with a short story inspired by what they saw. Some of the stories will be more to your taste than others, as is only to be expected in such a varied anthology, but none are weak and if you enjoy crime short stories then this book could be a real treat. Full review...
Last Resort (A Bob Skinner Mystery) by Quintin Jardine
In the space of a year life has changed dramatically for Bob Skinner. He's not going to be head of Police Service Scotland - he withdrew his application - and his third marriage went to the wall quite dramatically. On the other hand he's back with his second wife, Sarah, who's getting rather annoyed at the way he's moping around now that he's on gardening leave. She's the one who persuades him to go to his house in Spain to sort himself out. It's a cathartic trip: an old friend asks him to investigate the disappearance of a trusted employee and Skinner discovers that he himself is the target of a 'true crime' author. If nothing else he realises that what he's been missing in the job of late is the hands-on investigation. At least he's not moping any more... Full review...
Hider/Seeker by Tom Claver
Harry Bridger is an ex-policeman who now makes his living helping people disappear. His clients aren't always whiter than white, but when a wealthy woman fleeing domestic violence asks him to help, his chivalrous instincts override the doubts that lurk in the back of his mind. A few things about Angela Linehan don't chime right but she's been vouched for by an old friend and Harry's basic decency won't allow him to leave a woman and her child in danger. And there's another advantage to helping Angela. It brings Harry back into the orbit of his ex-wife Bethany. And Harry would do almost anything to redeem himself in her eyes. Full review...
Post Mortem by Kate London
I enjoyed this police crime novel by a talented new writer, Kate London. It is a well written and intelligently thought out book. The characters are clearly drawn and you are able to see the drama unfold from different perspectives. The action constantly shifts from the present, back to the events that lead to the crime taking place and then forward to reveal a little more of the plot with each shift. This helps you engage immediately with the story and with the characters. Full review...
So Nude, So Dead by Ed McBain
What's in a name? A lot if you decide to call your book So Nude, So Dead. This is a title to conjure with, what on Earth is it about? As this is a Hard Case title it is likely to be hardboiled and not adverse to a little violence and titillation. However, consider that the book was once call The Evil Sleep! and has since been renamed; is this more a case of the title selling the book rather than accurately portraying its content? Full review...
Affinity Bridge by George Mann
London, 1901: airships and automata herald a shining future in a city of steam-powered road trains and carriages. Queen Victoria is still alive (after a fashion) and one of her trusted Crown Agents has his work cut out investigating some decidedly odd goings-on in the capital alongside the chaps at Scotland Yard. Revenant corpses and vengeful, ghostly policemen in the dense fog of Whitechapel don't phase Newbury, however, accustomed as he is to dabbling in the occult. Full review...
Dead in the Water (Campbell and Carter) by Ann Granger
It was the wettest winter on record and coming up to Christmas it wasn't the floods that the residents of Weston Saint Ambrose were worried about - or even the forthcoming festivities. On his way to a call the local vet had spotted something in the river and closer inspection showed that it was a body of what he thought was a young woman. When he managed to get back to the scene and meet the police the body had disappeared, but it drifted under the landing stage of a large house down river and was spotted by a man delivering logs. The owner of the house, a reclusive writer, was shocked to realise that he recognised the girl. Inspector Jess Campbell and Superintendent Ian Campbell had to investigate the brutal killing. Full review...
The Dying Season: A Bruno Courreges Investigation by Martin Walker
It's said that you should never meet your heroes but Bruno Courrèges, chief of police of the sleepy Dordogne town of St Denis, has no such thoughts when he's invited to the 90th birthday celebrations of the man who has been his hero since he was a child. Marco Desaix is a war hero, flying ace and a man with high level political connections in France, Russia and Israel - and he's known as The Patriarch. The party - if you can use such a mundane word for an occasion which includes a fly past by the air force - went well, with only one minor disruption when an old family friend accosted one of the daughters of the Desaix family and was disinclined to let go. Still, it was well known that he was an alcoholic and no one seemed surprised when Gilbert was removed without ceremony by the gamekeeper. Full review...
Manhattan Mayhem – New Crime Stories from the Mystery Writers of America by Mary Higgins Clark (editor)
I was unsure how to open this review. I heart Manhattan, big time. I am always attracted to any work set in Manhattan, but I don’t want to pigeonhole this remarkable collection of stories into a slot that says 'only for Manhattan lovers'. Far from it – it is a superb collection featuring the highest standards of both mystery writing and the form of short story. Full review...
Gray Mountain by John Grisham
Gray Mountain is the latest exciting legal thriller from John Grisham. In this gripping book, two small town lawyers, Donovan Gray and Samantha Kofner, take on the might of some devious coal companies who have never played by the rules. As a result, many of their previous employees are both dying and destitute. All they ask for is some compensation and dignity to live with for the rest of their lives. However, the coal companies don’t see things the same way and are not prepared to give an inch. Will Donovan and Samantha be able to ensure that justice is done? Full review...
Stalin's Gold: A Frank Merlin Novel by Mark Ellis
When we last saw DCI Frank Merlin he was champing at the bit to enlist and do his bit but frustrated by the fact that he could not be released. On the positive side there were signs that he was recovering from the death of his wife a couple of years earlier and he's now in a relationship with Sonia, a refugee from Poland who's working in the dress department at Swan and Edgar. The phoney war is well and truly over and London is suffering daily bombing raids: the capital is a dangerous place to be. Some people are taking advantage of the situation and looting is disappointingly frequent. It's one of the problems that have been dropped on Merlin's toes. Full review...
Speaking in Bones by Kathy Reichs
Sometimes you really do need to start at the beginning of a series to get into it. And sometimes it doesn't matter a jot. Kathy Reichs' Tempe Brennan novels fall into the latter category. There's a bit of a back-story in there, but let's be honest, it's only there to make Temperance Brennan seem half-way human. Full review...
