Monday, October 17, 2022

Published 10-17 October 2022

I've expanded on my monthly listing. Here are 20 books published between 10 and 17 October 2022.

Blurbs and covers taken from Amazon.

Bolton, R P - My Lovely Daughter

My precious daughter. You have no idea how dangerous the world is. No idea of the horrors I’ve shielded you from. The things I’ve endured . . . our past.

We’ve been happy. We’ve been hidden. We’ve been safe.

But our perfect life is about to come crashing down.

Because they’ve found me. And they’re about to reveal my darkest secret . . . to you.

I’ll do anything to protect you, darling, because if you knew – I’d lose you forever.

You can never discover what I’ve done . . . or what I’m willing to do to keep you safe.


Broadribb, Steph - Death at Paradise Palms #2 The Retired Detectives Club

It looks like an open-and-shut case―until one of the Retired Detectives disappears…

When movie producer Cody Ziegler goes missing from The Homestead’s Millionaires’ Row, his wife, retired actress Olivia, immediately claims there’s foul play afoot. A million-dollar ransom demand soon follows, with clear instructions not to involve the cops. In desperation she enlists the help of Moira, Rick, Philip and Lizzie, aka the Retired Detectives Club.

Racing against the clock, the four retirees set to work. Sure, Cody had enemies―there’s a disgruntled employee, a jilted film-maker and a hundred other people who know how much he’s worth. But when it emerges that Cody’s apparently perfect marriage isn’t what it seems, even Olivia isn’t above suspicion.

When Cody’s car turns up in a nearby lake with a shocking surprise inside, the case becomes even more complicated. But with Philip and Lizzie’s marriage on the rocks, and threatening notes sending Moira into a spin, the Retired Detectives Club risks falling apart before getting any closer to the truth.

Can Moira and the gang find Cody before it’s too late? Or will this case see them lose in more ways than one?



de la Motte, Anders - Deeds of Autumn #Seasons Quartet tr. Marlane Delargy

ONE TRAGIC NIGHT WILL CHANGE EVERYTHING


SOUTHERN SWEDEN, 1990
Five lifelong friends gather for a last farewell to their childhoods and each other at an abandoned quarry. The mood is effervescent, but under the surface tensions run deep as not everyone is ready to let go - or be left behind. When dawn breaks, only four remain alive. The police rule the death a tragic accident, but not everyone is convinced, and the incident remains an open wound in the community.

AUTUMN, 2017
When the old chief of police is replaced by Anna Vesper, a newly arrived detective from Stockholm, whispers and rumours about that night can no longer be silenced. Soon Anna is left with no choice but to ignore all warnings and reopen the case - while hoping her own sins won't catch up with her.

BUT SOMEONE WILL DO ANYTHING TO HIDE THE TRUTH . . .


Gradidge, Claire - A Conflict of Interests #3 Josephine Fox

June 1944, Romsey, England.


Josephine 'Jo' Fox is at an impasse since the unwelcome return of her wayward husband Richard. So, when he disappears again, she is neither concerned nor surprised - until a burning car is discovered with a body inside. And there are signs that Richard is somehow involved.

Jo is determined to find both her husband and answers, yet with her friend Bram Nash in hospital suffering an infection of his old war wound, she must do so alone. When information comes to light that implicates Bram too, Jo finds herself on a dangerous path to the truth.

But what will be left for her when all is revealed?


Halsall, Rona - The Wife Next Door

It was meant to be the perfect break-up…


Just because it’s over between us, doesn’t mean we can’t be friends. My ex-husband and I still care for each other a lot, and we are determined to put our sweet little boy, 
Toby first.

Now we’ve moved into houses right next door to each other, with each of our new partners and their children. We’ve even knocked down the garden fence, so Toby can easily run between our homes.

But it seems not everyone is happy about this big, blended stepfamily. I try to ignore the viciously-worded note in the ‘new home’ card, the red pen scrawled through my divorce paperwork, and the day I find myself locked into my house, all the keys suddenly missing…

But I can’t pretend it’s all in my head when a false accusation is made against me that could destroy my life – and Toby’s – forever.

Someone doesn’t like what’s happening under these two neighbouring roofs.

What they don’t know is that they’re messing with the wrong person. And that hell hath no fury like the wife next door…


Holten, Noelle - 6 Ripley Avenue

ONE HOUSE
EIGHT KILLERS
NO WITNESSES

Jeanette is the manager of a probation hostel that houses high risk offenders released on license.

At 3am one morning, she receives a call telling her a resident has been murdered.

Her whole team, along with the eight convicted murderers, are now all suspects in a crime no one saw committed…



Kaya, Kerry - Betrayal #1 The Tempests

A brand new gangland series by bestselling author Kerry Kaya!


Meet the Tempest family – and get ready for the storm.

Tracey Tempest adores her husband, Terry. But when on his 50th birthday, tragedy strikes, Tracey must face the terrifying prospect of a future without him. Desperate for answers and boiling with rage, Tracey wants revenge…

Together with her beloved sons, Ricky and Jamie, the Tempest family dig deeper into Terry’s past - who would want to kill him, and why?

But what they discover changes everything they knew about the man they loved and risks tearing their own family apart.

Can the Tempests weather the storm or will the past destroy them all?


Kitson, Bill - Skeletons in the Closet #15 Detective Mike Nash, Yorkshire

SOME FAMILIES HAVE MORE SKELETONS IN THE CLOSET THAN OTHERS . . .


Detective Mike Nash thought that moving back to Yorkshire from London would give him a quieter life. Little did he know . . .

A dead woman tied to a chair is found in a crumbling old cottage in the Yorkshire moors. She’s been there a long time.

Detective Mike Nash investigates. He soon uncovers a second body, down a well in the garden.

Then Nash’s team makes an even more grisly discovery. How many more skeletons are hidden in this tumbledown old cottage?

The suspicious death of the solicitor dealing with the property turns this cold-case investigation into an active hunt for a murderer.

Someone is killing to keep their secrets from coming to light. Detective Mike Nash must track them down before they strike again.


Leitch, Fiona - A Cornish Recipe for Murder #5 Jodie 'Nosey' Parker, Chef

Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker is back!

When popular TV baking contest and national institution ‘The Best of British Baking Roadshow’ rolls into town and sets up camp in the grounds of Boskern House, a historic stately home near Penstowan, former police officer Jodie ‘Nosey’ Parker finds herself competing to represent Cornwall in the grand final.

But with a fellow contestant who will stop at nothing to win and a drag queen host with secrets of their own, Jodie discovers that the roadshow doesn’t just have the ingredients for the perfect showstopper cake, but also for the perfect murder…

And when a body is found in the grounds of the house, Jodie is drawn into another high-stakes case along with local DCI Nathan Withers.

Can Jodie expose the culprit? Or will the murderer become the real showstopper?


MacBird, Bonnie - What Child is This? #5 Sherlock Holmes Adventure

It’s the season of peace and goodwill, but a Victorian Christmas is no holiday for the world’s most popular detective in this new book from Bonnie MacBird, author of the bestselling Sherlock Holmes novel Art in the Blood.

It’s Christmastime in London, and Sherlock Holmes takes on two cases. The angelic three-year-old child of a wealthy couple is the target of a vicious kidnapper, and a country aristocrat worries that his handsome, favourite son has mysteriously vanished from his London pied à terre. Holmes and Watson, aided by the colourful Heffie O’Malley, slip slide in the ice to ensure a merry Christmas is had by nearly everybody . . .





Martin, Lucy - The Choice #2 DS Ronnie Delmar, Halesworth

A stolen child. A missing woman. You can only save one.

A distressed young woman arrives at Halesworth police station in fear for her life, then vanishes.

Meanwhile, a local boy is snatched from his school playground.

But the answer to one lies with the other, and soon DS Ronnie Delmar is submerged deep in a world she could never have imagined.

Because to those who have created their own moral code, the truth is worth killing for...




Moncrieff, Ada - A Murder at the Theatre Royale #1 Daphne King, 1935

It's Christmas at London's Theatre Royale and journalist Daphne King is determined to solve an extraordinary mystery...


December 1935. Director Chester Harrison's production of A Christmas Carol has had a troubled run on its tour of regional theatres. With tensions amongst the cast running high, the company reach their final stop - London's Theatre Royale - a few days before Christmas.

Catastrophe, however, strikes on opening night: 'Scrooge' dies on stage, seemingly due to a heart attack. But the show must go on. Until, that is, an old rival of Chester's is murdered in a dressing room. Are those associated with the production being picked off one by one? Journalist Daphne King is determined to reveal the truth...


Moray, Keith - Death of a Poet #1 Ancient Egypt Murder Mysteries

Hanufer follows a trail of revenge…


275 BC, Alexandria

Hanufer of Crocodilopolis, newly appointed Overseer of the Police in Alexandria, is keen to prove himself worthy to both the citizens of the city and to the Pharaoh, Ptolemy Philadelphus.

When an altar is desecrated with a poem intended to insult the Pharaoh and his wife, Queen Arsinoe, Hanufer and his trusted sergeant 
Sabu are tasked with discovering who committed the outrage.

As the poet himself, Sotades the Obscene, was recently executed, Hanufer sets about finding out who else is familiar with his poetry.

Before long another poet is found murdered – a poem by Sotades left near the corpse as a macabre calling card.

With a growing number of murders to be investigated, Hanufer must make his mark and solve the mysteries.

But just where — and how high up — will the clues lead him?

Did Sotades really drown? Is there a serial killer on the loose in Alexandria?

And can Hanufer appease both the Pharoah and the gods?

Odden, Karen - Under a Veiled Moon #2 Inspector Corravan, Victorian London

September 1878.
 One night, as the pleasure boat the Princess Alice makes her daily trip up the Thames, she collides with the Bywell Castle, a huge iron-hulled collier. The Princess Alice shears apart, throwing all 600 passengers into the river; only 130 survive. It is the worst maritime disaster London has ever seen, and early clues point to sabotage by the Irish Republican Brotherhood, who believe violence is the path to restoring Irish Home Rule. 
 
For Scotland Yard Inspector Michael Corravan, born in Ireland and adopted by the Irish Doyle family, the case presents a challenge. Accused by the Home Office of willfully disregarding the obvious conclusion, and berated by his Irish friends for bowing to prejudice, Corravan doggedly pursues the truth, knowing that if the Princess Alice disaster is pinned on the IRB, hopes for Home Rule could be dashed forever.

Corrovan’s dilemma is compounded by Colin, the youngest Doyle, who has joined James McCabe’s Irish gang. As violence in Whitechapel rises, Corravan strikes a deal with McCabe to get Colin out of harm’s way. But unbeknownst to Corravan, Colin bears longstanding resentments against his adopted brother and scorns his help.
 
As the newspapers link the IRB to further accidents, London threatens to devolve into terror and chaos. With the help of his young colleague, the loyal Mr. Stiles, and his friend Belinda Gale, Corravan uncovers the harrowing truth—one that will shake his faith in his countrymen, the law, and himself.

O'Reilly, Jude - Sleep When You're Dead #3 Michael North

In thirty-six hours, thousands of innocent people will die. There's not a second to waste. And no time for sleep...

Michael North has a bullet lodged in his brain which could kill him any second. That makes him the perfect MI5 asset: he's ruthless, loyal, brave. And, best of all, disposable.

Teenage computer expert Fangfang Yu does not feel the same way. She's determined to keep her friend out of danger – however many cyber laws she has to break to keep him alive.

Now North has been sent undercover into a doomsday cult on a remote Scottish island. He has thirty-six hours to stop their charismatic leader from inciting the murder of thousands. He can only do it with Fangfang's help – but when they uncover a shocking link between the cult and the dark heart of the US defence establishment, it doesn't just put North's life at risk... it threatens Fangfang too.


Perry, Anne - A Christmas Deliverance

The festive season is fast approaching, and Dr Crowe and his young apprentice Scuff are busy, as always, tending London's sick and wounded. This year, however, Crowe is increasingly distracted by memories of a former patient, Eliza Hollister, for whom he cared deeply.

When Crowe sees Ellie being bullied by her domineering fiancé in the street, he is convinced that she is marrying a man she doesn't love, and he is determined to find out why. While Crowe starts his investigations, Scuff is left to run the clinic - with a little help from a rather unexpected source. Forced to enter a dangerous world of blackmail and deception, will Crowe manage to reveal the truth before the bells ring out for Christmas?

A Christmas Deliverance is a heart-warming festive mystery set in Victorian London from the pen of the New York Times bestselling author Anne Perry.


Pine, Alex - The Winter Killer #3 DI James Walker, Cumbria

Christmas has arrived in Cumbria, and wedding bells are ringing.
But an ice-cold killer is waiting in the fells…

As the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, DI James Walker receives a phone call that puts paid to his Christmas break. During the wedding of the year at a lakeside hotel, the bride’s sister has vanished.

When Rachel left the wedding breakfast before her speech, newly-wed Libby was furious. But as the night went on with no sign of her maid-of-honour, Libby started to realise something was very, very wrong…

Before the wedding night is out, the lake is being searched for a body.

Something old, something new. One guest is a killer. The question is: who?


Rankin, Ian - A Heart Full of Headstones #24 Inspector Rebus, Edinburgh

John Rebus had been in court plenty of times, 
but this was his first time in the dock...


John Rebus stands accused: on trial for a crime that could put him behind bars for the rest of his life. Although it's not the first time the legendary detective has taken the law into his own hands, it might be the last.

What drove a good man to cross the line? Or have times changed, and the rules with them?

Detective Inspector Siobhan Clarke faces Edinburgh's most explosive case in years, as a corrupt cop goes missing after claiming to harbour secrets that could sink the city's police force.

But in this investigation, it seems all roads lead to Rebus - and Clarke's twin loyalties to the public and the police will be tested to their limit.

A reckoning is coming - and John Rebus may be hearing the call for last orders...


Sigurdardottir, Lilja - Red as Blood #2 Arora tr. Quentin Bates 

When entrepreneur Flosi arrives home for dinner one night, he discovers that his house has been ransacked, and his wife Gudrun missing. A letter on the kitchen table confirms that she has been kidnapped. If Flosi doesn’t agree to pay an enormous ransom, Gudrun will be killed. 

Forbidden from contacting the police, he gets in touch with Áróra, who specialises in finding hidden assets, and she, alongside her detective friend Daniel, try to get to the bottom of the case without anyone catching on.

Meanwhile, Áróra and Daniel continue the puzzling, devastating search for Áróra’s sister Ísafold, who disappeared without trace. As fog descends, in a cold and rainy Icelandic autumn, the investigation becomes increasingly dangerous, and confusing. 

Chilling, twisty and unbearably tense, 
Red as Blood is the second instalment in the riveting, addictive An Áróra Investigation series, and everything is at stake…


Viner, P D - The Choice

To save your life

You must kill the one you love

Can you do it?

Sarah is madly in love with boyfriend Theo, and can’t wait to go on their first weekend away.

But by the end of the first night, Theo is dead. And Sarah has killed him. But she swears she had no choice.

She was forced to kill Theo because of something that happened a lifetime ago … something buried in her past.

Now, Sarah has one week to find the truth of what happened back then and prove her innocence, before she’s turned over to the police.

She’s spent years running from the truth – but now the choices of her past might destroy her future.

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