Wednesday, April 01, 2020

New Releases - April 2020

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in April 2020 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). April and future months (and years) can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.
• Abbott, Rachel - The Murder Game #2 Stephanie King
• Allott, Susan - The Silence
• Atkins, Lucy - Magpie Lane
• Baldwin, Jackie - Avenge the Dead #3 DI Frank Farrell, Dumfries
• Balzano, Marco - I'm Staying Here
• Black, Cara - Three Hours in Paris
• Blaedel, Sara - The Third Sister #3 Ilka Nichols Jensen
• Casey, Jane - The Cutting Place #9 DC Maeve Kerrigan
• Chapman, Julia - Date with Danger #5 The Dales Detective Series
• Dahl, Kjell Ola - Sister #9 Gunnarstranda and Frolich, Oslo Police
• Davis, Lindsey - The Grove of the Caesars #8 Flavia Albia, the adopted daughter of Marcus Didius Falco
• Edwards, Martin - Mortmain Hall #2 Jacob Flint, Journalist, 1930
• Erskine, Fiona - The Chemical Reaction #2 Jacqueline Silver
• Finlay, Mick - Arrowood and the Thames Corpses #3 Arrowood, PI, 1895
• Gunnis, Emily - The Lost Child
• Hall, Matthew - The Black Art of Killing
• Harris, C S - Who Speaks for the Damned #15 Sebastian St. Cyr, Regency England
• Hawkswood, Sarah - Vale of Tears #5 Bradecote and Catchpoll, Worcestershire, C12
• Howe, Samantha Lee - The Stranger in Our Bed
• Jonasson, Ragnar - The Mist #3 Detective Inspector Hulda Hermannsdotti
• Jones, Philip Gwynne - Venetian Gothic #4 Nathan Sutherland
• Kent, Tony - Power Play
• La Plante, Lynda - Buried #1 DC Jack Warr
• Lackberg, Camilla - The Gilded Cage
• Lawton, John - Hammer to Fall #3 Joe Wilderness
• May, Peter - Lockdown (ebook only)
• McGilloway, Brian - The Last Crossing
• McPherson, Ben - The Island
• Morris, R N - The Music Box Enigma #6 Silas Quinn, police detective
• Naughton, Sarah J - The Mothers
• O'Connor, Carlene - Murder in Galway #1 Tara Meehan
• O'Reilly, Judith - Curse the Day #2 Michael North
• O'Sullivan, Darren - Dark Corners
• Parris, S J - Execution #6 Italian monk Giordano Bruno, Elizabethan era
• Perks, Heidi - Three Perfect Liars
• Perry, Anne - A Question of Betrayal #2 Elena Standish, Photographer, 1930s
• Perry, S W - The Saracen's Mark #3 Nicholas Shelby, Elizabethan Era
• Ripley, Mike - Mr Campion's Seance #7 Albert Campion
• Savin, Jennifer - The Wrong Move
• Schellman, Katharine - The Body in the Garden #1 Lily Adler, London, 1815
• Smith, Alexander McCall - The Talented Mr Varg #2 Detective Varg, Malmo
• Tallon, Emma - Fearless Girl (ebook only) #6 Anna Davis
• Taylor, Andrew - The Last Protector #4 Ashes of London series
• Taylor, C L - Strangers
• Thomas, Joe - Bent
• Vaughan, Sarah - Little Disasters
• Walter, B P - Hold Your Breath
• Watt, Holly - The Dead Line #2 Casey Benedict, Investigative Journalist
• Whishaw, Iona - A Match Made for Murder #7 Lane Winslow
• Whitaker, Chris - We Begin at the End
• Wilkins, Susan - Buried Deep #1 Detective Megan Thomas
• Wyer, Carol - The Secret Admirer #6 Detective Natalie Ward

Review: Kat Wolfe Investigates by Lauren St John

Yesterday I posted my review of Lauren St John's Kat Wolfe Investgates on my library's Facebook page:

KAT WOLFE INVESTIGATES, the first in a new series from Lauren St John, won CrimeFest’s, Best Crime Novel for Children (8-12) last year. And I loved it too.

After an unpleasant incident in their London home, Kat's mum, a veterinary surgeon, and Kat relocate to a slightly mysterious job in an idyllic Dorset sea-side town called Bluebell Bay. One of the conditions is that they take on the previous owner's cat, which is no ordinary British Domestic Shorthair... Plus Dr Wolfe has to be able to treat monkeys at the local sanctuary.

As it's the school holidays Kat is soon running her own small business – pet sitter for hire, and meets a temporarily housebound American girl of her own age (12) who has been thrown and badly injured by the very horse that Kat is to look after. Kat also offers to look after a parrot whose Paraguayan owner is returning home for a while. This latter job is what instigates an involving adventure with international implications.

This is a very rich book, with quite a complicated storyline. I don't want to say anything more about the plot but it is I think, quite an unusual story for this age group. Kat is a great animal-whisperer and not surprisingly her and her mum are vegan. She has a good heart and those around her respond to it. This book beams with good messages, has an exciting story and is quite funny as well.