Tuesday, May 31, 2022

Published 27-31 May 2022

I've expanded on my monthly listing. These are the 13 books published between 27 and 31 May 2022. Blurbs and covers taken from Amazon.

Bannalec, Jean-Luc - The King Arthur Case #7 Commissioner Dupin (translator ???)

The forest of Broceliande, with its picturesque lakes and castles, is the last remnant of the fairy kingdom, if Breton lore is to be believed. Innumerable legends spanning thousands of years are set here, inclding the tale of King Arthur and the Round Table.


It seems to be an appropriate destination for Commissaire Dupin and his team to take a late summer field trip. But when the body of a historian turns up, Dupin is called upon to investigate in the brutal murder case. Before too long, there are more victims. What knowledge do the assembled scientists have about the most recent archaeological digs in the area? Where do they stand on the controversial decision to turn parts of the forest into an amusement park? And why is no one willing to talk? Even Nolwenn, Dupin's unshakeable assistant, is concerned. And that means trouble.

Mysterious, ingenious, and suspenseful: Dupin's seventh case takes him and his team into the very heart of Brittany.


Bright, Verity - The French for Murder #10 Lady Eleanor Swift, 1920s

A grand villa, croissants for breakfast and a dead body in the wine cellar... Lady Swift can't seem to take a vacation from murder!

Summer 1923. Lady Eleanor Swift is finally persuaded by her butler, Clifford, to take a villa in the south of France for the season. She plans to do what a glamorous lady abroad should: long lunches on the balcony followed by lazy afternoons lounging by the pool. Even Gladstone the bulldog is looking forward to a daily paddle in the ocean.

But when Clifford examines the wine cellar, he discovers there are no decent reds but there is a very dead body. The victim is famous American movie star Rex Armstrong. Poor Rex seems to have been stabbed with a sword from the film set. So how did he end up in Eleanor's villa?

Before Eleanor even has time to change out of her travelling suit, her beloved butler is arrested for the crime. At sea without her right-hand man, Eleanor must gather her wits if she's to outsmart a murderer and save Clifford.

Attending a glitzy party at the luxurious Hotel Azure with the film's cast and crew so she can question her main suspects, Eleanor overhears the director having a most unsettling telephone call that throws all her theories out of the water. Can Eleanor unmask the true killer before her time abroad is cut murderously short?


Dalgliesh, J M - The Raven Song (ebook only) #11 Tom Janssen, Norfolk

One song for the dying... sung by the dead...

When the body of a young woman is discovered at the home she shared with her disabled daughter, DI Tom Janssen and his team must investigate the circumstances surrounding her death.

The woman was a single mother, well regarded and popular among the group she frequented, but she had a chequered past... a life she kept secret from those around her... a life that may, ultimately, have led to her death. Friends, past lovers, and confidants offer conflicting descriptions of the deceased... did anyone know her at all?

The team realise the daughter is missing and, away from her medication, the little girl's life hangs in the balance. Unless the team can solve a seemingly calculated murder, an innocent life will be lost...

Set within the mysterious beauty of coastal Norfolk, this fast-paced British detective novel is a dark murder mystery that will keep you guessing until the very end when the final shocking twist is revealed.


Davies, Emma - Death at the Dinner Party (ebook only) #2 Francesca Eve, Shropshire

Francesca Eve, caterer extraordinaire, has come to Claremont House to work for the cream of society. A full breakfast spread? Simple. A glorious picnic lunch? Easy as pie.

But a dead body for dinner was definitely not on the menu...

No sooner has Francesca Eve turned up for a jam-packed weekend of gourmet catering at a posh country house than she realises how challenging this event is set to be. Not only are the hosts wealthy - and demanding - beyond her wildest dreams, but each of the guests is more difficult than the last. But she never expected the host to turn up dead...

Suspicion falls on everyone in the house - could there be a murderer in their midst? Is the incredibly glamorous, and now extremely rich, widow really as upset as she's making out? What secret is the housekeeper hiding? Whose money troubles are now forgotten? As the only person without a motive, Fran's intimate knowledge of the house party puts her in the prime position to help the police.

As rumours swirl and guests' pasts come to light, someone else is found dead. But when the police arrest their chief suspect, Fran becomes convinced they have the wrong person - the evidence is almost too neat to be true. So she decides to strike out alone, in the country house where the killer is still staying... Someone has killed twice to keep their secret safe. Will Fran be able to unmask them, or will this weekend turn out to be her deadliest job ever?


Fielden, T P - Betraying the Crown #3 Guy Harford

Intrigue and scandal threaten to rock the monarchy in wartime Britain…

Windsor, 1943. Britain is in the grip of war and treachery is afoot. The body of controversial former courtier Lord Blackwater is found in the abandoned Fort Belvedere, once the country bolthole of the King’s wayward brother. And all signs point to murder.

Royal confidant Guy Harford is called in to solve the mystery quickly and quietly, before any hint of scandal reaches the public. Investigating with the help of Rodie, his roguish burglar girlfriend, his enquiries lead him into the world of the Royal Ballet, where on-stage glamour hides an undercurrent of off-stage deceit. And when the ballet company’s newest recruit turns up dead, it’s clear there’s more to this murder than meets the eye.

Meanwhile, news reaches the Palace that the King’s brother―already under strict orders to stay out of trouble―is threatening to undermine both Crown and country by taking US citizenship.

Harford must do his royal duty. It’s up to him to catch the killer and save the monarchy from crisis in wartime. Before any more heads roll…



Gatland, Jack - Paint The Dead (ebook only) #1 Ellie Reckless

Some cases need more than the police...

Meet disgraced ex-DI Ellie Reckless, a self-proclaimed 'cop for criminals', and the person the underworld calls when they can't call the police.

Working for favours, freely given at a time and place of her choosing, Ellie and her team of fallen angels work the cases the police never see--while Ellie builds enough favours to discover who in the force framed her for murder, who ordered it, and who really killed the man she loved.

And when Essex Gangster 
Danny Flynn comes to her, with a case involving art forgeries, dead bodies, and a painting stolen during the 1990 Gardner Museum Heist in Boston, Ellie realises this could be the favour that gives her everything she needs to clear her name.

As long as she, her team, and the client can survive until she 
solves it, that is...


Gatward, D J - Blood Trail (ebook only) #10 DCI Harry Grimm

A gruesome tradition, 
a blood-spattered crime scene, and a killer hiding in plain sight.

Detective Harry Grimm is a worried man. When a group of vigilante locals start patrolling the Dales in response to a recent spate of crimes, he is forced to warn them off. Things only get more complicated when he is called out to multiple crime scenes – each with plenty of blood but no bodies.

Very soon, though, body parts start turning up. Delivered in a way that echoes a local poem and an old-but-grisly village ceremony. Faced with the bloody evidence in front of him, Grimm soon realises that his worst fears have come true: someone has already taken the law into their own hands.

With an ancient tradition being used to commit modern-day murder, can this battle-scarred detective stop the lanes of the Dales running red with blood?


Greenwood, Ross - The Fire Killer #5 DI Barton

When DI Barton is asked to investigate a seemingly innocuous fire that kills, he believes it's either children fooling around or a worrying racially-motivated crime.

As he delves deeper into the case, he soon realises that there is a history of similar blazes spread out over many years, all within a close area. An idea suggested by pathologist Mortis makes Barton suspect he has the arsonist’s motives wrong.

When a night worker comes forward with a tip, Barton narrows down the suspects. But with all of them acting suspiciously, he knows for sure that one or more of them must be lying. And when a huge house blaze shocks everyone, Barton fears the killer has lost all control.

Who is The Fire Killer? What will be next to burn?



Lloyd, Catherine - Miss Morton and the English House Party Murder #1 Miss Morton, Regency England

The options for the penniless daughter of a deceased earl are few indeed in Regency England. So, following the suspicious death of her father, the Earl of Morton, and the discovery that she and her much younger sister have been left without income or home, Lady Caroline takes a post as a lady’s companion to the wealthy widow Frogerton.
 
Just as Caroline is getting accustomed to her new position, her aunt, Lady Eleanor Greenwood, invites her and her employer to a house party in the countryside to celebrate her youngest daughter’s birthday. Mrs. Matilda (Matty) Frogerton sees this as an opportunity to introduce her own rather wild daughter, Dorothy, to the 
ton, and Caroline is eager to see her sister, who as a child lives with their aunt.
 
But all is not well at the Greenwood estate. For one thing, Lady Caroline’s former fiancĂ©, Lord Francis Chatham, is a guest and refuses to speak to her. Far worse, after a series of troubling harassments of the staff, an elderly family member is found stabbed by a knitting needle.
 
As Caroline and an unexpected ally—Mrs. Frogerton—attempt to solve the chilling crime, they discover the culprit may be leaving bizarre clues as to who will be next in the nursery. But they must make haste, for this heartless killer is engaged in anything but child’s play . . .
 

Petersen, Christoffer - Storm (ebook only) #7 Havoc

When an elderly family member living in a tornado-stricken town reaches out, Havoc goes to war with a ruthless insurance company holding the town hostage.


Storm is an intense, action-packed short story, not for the fainthearted.

Pick up Storm today and lose yourself in a wild 20-30 minute read!






Salisbury, Emma - Made To Be Broken (ebook only) #8 DS Coupland

To love, honour, cherish, kill...

The investigation into the murder of an investment banker reveals a hidden side to sharp-suited victim Adam Sinclair - and a cast-iron reason why someone would want him dead. The problem is DS Kevin Coupland knows the chief suspect. Not a friend in the conventional sense, but certainly the closest he’s had to one. Following his gut, Coupland pursues Dominic Neilson, a more likely suspect, and it helps that he keeps treading on Coupland's one remaining nerve. As he digs deeper he learns Dominic is guilty of an entirely different crime, one that forces Coupland to confront a trauma from his childhood.

Made To Be Broken is about survival at all costs, and whether sins of the past can ever truly be forgiven.


Sherratt, Mel - Hidden Secrets (ebook only) #5 DS Allie Shenton

One of them lied. One of them died. One of them is next.

Could you stay quiet about a murder? Killed on his way home from a night out, Kit Harper had lots of secrets. At the opposite end of the city, another man is found smothered in his bed. Jack Fletcher had secrets too.

A photo of a young woman reveals a clue and with dual cases to run, Detective Allie Shenton and her team are pushed to their limits. As attacks on a close group of friends continue, a link to a cold case twenty years ago is unveiled.

Can Allie figure out who is telling the truth about what happened on that fateful night? And who is lying through their teeth, to get away with murder?

Set within the gritty streets of Stoke-on-Trent, this fast-paced British detective novel is a dark murder mystery with an emotional pull.


Westerson, Jeri - Oswald the Thief - Novella

London, 1308
“All I need is a Plan!” So says Oswald of Harlech, a misplaced Welshman in the heart of London. Besides his trade as a tinker, he also robs houses, cuts purses, plays a crooked shell game, and has a way with the ladies. But this time, caught in the act of robbing a house, he is blackmailed by the scheming Keeper of the King’s Wardrobe into stealing the Crown Jewels from the impenetrable Tower of London. Gathering his gang of friends—his half-wit companion who is uncannily adept at picking locks, his greedy landlord, a mad alchemist, a desperate but beautiful alehouse owner, and a man-of-few-words blacksmith—Oswald must steal the jewels, avoid the gallows, skirt some unscrupulous moneylenders, get the girl, and escape the sheriffs’ clutches, all with sly wit and good humor. It’s Ocean’s 11 in the Middle Ages!

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