New Reviews: Brett, Camilleri, Connor, Griffiths, James, Robertson, Russell, Webster, Zeh

Here are nine reviews which have been added to the Euro Crime website today, four have appeared on the blog over the last couple of weeks and five are completely new.

Plus a new competition - win an iBook of Invisible by Christine Poulson (no geographical restrictions).


NB. You can keep up to date with Euro Crime by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page.

New Reviews

Mark Bailey reviews the new Charles Paris mystery from Simon Brett, The Cinderella Killer;

I review the Judges anthology, which contains stories by Andrea Camilleri, Carlo Lucarelli and Giancarlo De Cataldo (tr. Joseph Farrell, Alan Thawley and Eileen Horne);

Amanda Gillies reviews The Caravaggio Conspiracy by Alex Connor;

Michelle Peckham reviews the latest in Elly Griffiths's Norfolk-based Ruth Galloway series, The Outcast Dead;

Geoff Jones reviews Want You Dead, the tenth in Peter James's Roy Grace series;

Terry Halligan reviews Craig Robertson's The Last Refuge, set in the Faroe Islands;

Amanda also reviews Fatal Act by Leigh Russell, the latest in her DI Geraldine Steel series;

Lynn Harvey reviews Jason Webster's Blood Med, set in Valencia

and Laura Root reviews Juli Zeh's Decompression tr. John Cullen which is set in Lanzarote.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year.

New Reviews: Fossum, Henry, James, Johnstone, Lawton, Rendell, Roberts, Vichi, Wilson

This week's set of reviews, added to Euro Crime today, is a mixture of new reviews and a catch-up of those posted directly on the blog in the last two weeks, so you may have read some of them before if you're a regular :).

News you may have missed in the last few days:

1. Margot Kinberg's has edited, contributed to and published an e-anthology of short stories, the proceeds from which are going to Maxine Clarke's (Petrona) preferred charity, the Princess Alice Hospice.
2. Borgen is back on BBC4 next weekend.
3. A "new" Hercule Poirot novella is available as an ebook.

Keep up to date with stories like these (and more) by following the blog and/or liking the Euro Crime Facebook page.

New Reviews

I review Karin Fossum's I Can See in the Dark, tr. James Anderson, a non-Sejer standalone;

Terry Halligan reviews James Henry's Morning Frost, the third in this well-received prequel series based on R D Wingfield's characters;

Michelle Peckham reviews Peter James's Dead Man's Time, the ninth in the Roy Grace series, which is now out in paperback;

Rich Westwood reviews Doug Johnstone's Gone Again, also just out in paperback;

Susan White reviews the re-released Second Violin by John Lawton, set during WWII;

Terry also reviews the new "Wexford" novel from Ruth Rendell - No Man's Nightingale - no rest for the retired chief inspector;

Another recent paperback release is Mark Roberts's The Sixth Soul reviewed here by Amanda Gillies;

Lynn Harvey reviews Marco Vichi's Death in Florence, tr. Stephen Sartarelli the fourth in the Inspector Bordelli series set in 1960s Italy

and Lynn also reviews Laura Wilson's The Riot the fifth in the DI Stratton series set in post WWII London.




Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year.

New Reviews: Bannister, Dahl, Davies, Hill, James, Kent, Macbain, Ryan, Savage

This week's set of reviews, added to Euro Crime today, is a mixture of new reviews and a catch-up of those posted directly on the blog in the last two weeks, so you may have read some of them before if you're a regular :).

Terry Halligan reviews Jo Bannister's new book, Deadly Virtues which is available as an ebook in the UK and a hardback in the US;

I review Arne Dahl's follow-up to The Blinded Man/Misterioso, Bad Blood, tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles;

Terry also reviews David Stuart Davies A Taste for Blood, the sixth in the 1940s-set Johnny One Eye series;

Laura Root reviews Antonio Hill's The Good Suicides tr. Laura McGoughlin (the sequel to one of my favourite books of last year: The Summer of Dead Toys);

Mark Bailey reviews the latest in the Roy Grace series from Peter James, Dead Man's Time;

Lynn Harvey reviews A Darkness Descending by Christobel Kent, the fourth in this Florence based series featuring ex-cop turned PI Sandro Cellini;

Susan White reviews Bruce Macbain's Roman Games, the first in the Pliny series, now out in paperback;

Amanda Gillies reviews William Ryan's The Twelfth Department which has been short-listed for the 2013 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Dagger;

I also review Angela Savage's Behind the Night Bazaar the first in her Jayne Keeney PI series set in Thailand

and I've also reviewed the DVD of Swedish thriller (with English sub-titles), False Trail, starring Rolf Lassgard.


Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year.

Review: Dead Man's Time by Peter James

Dead Man's Time by Peter James, June 2013, 416 pages, Macmillan, ISBN: 0230760546

Reviewed by Mark Bailey.
(Read more of Mark's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

DEAD MAN'S TIME is the ninth in the series of Detective Superintendent Roy Grace novels by Peter James.

In 1922 New York, 5-year old Gavin Daly and his 7-year old sister Aileen board the SS Mauritania to Dublin and safety - their mother has been shot and their Irish mobster father is missing. A messenger hands Gavin a piece of paper and his father's pocket watch - on the paper are written four names and eleven numbers, a cryptic message that haunts him then and for the rest of his life. As the ship sails, Gavin watches Manhattan fade into the dusk and makes a promise that he will return one day and find his father.

In Brighton in 2012, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace investigates a savage burglary where an old lady has been murdered and ten-million-pounds worth of antiques taken including a rare vintage watch. To his surprise, the antiques are unimportant to her family who care only about the watch. As his investigation continues he realizes he has stirred up a mixture of new and ancient hatreds with one man at its heart, Gavin Daly, the dead woman’s 95-year-old brother. He has a score to settle and a promise to keep which lead to a murderous trail linking the antiques world of Brighton, the Costa del Crime fraternity of Spain’s Marbella, and New York.

Again, Peter James produces crime fiction for those who like to have well-rounded detectives with a believable private life. The short snappy chapters are still there (126 chapters in 416 pages) but so is the slight hint of unrealism in the significant figure from his past and this is dragging on far too much and it really is the case now that you will appreciate this book much more if you read the series in sequence.

The other issue with this book for me is that the ending did seem rather too reliant upon coincidence to tie up the loose ends rather the intervention of Grace and his team.

Read another review of DEAD MAN'S TIME.

Mark Bailey, July 2013

New Reviews: Black, Cross, Fossum, Harris, Holt, James, Kent, Radmann, Russell

The reviews are back after a break of a couple of weeks. (I've written up last weekend's Harrogate Crime Writing Festival.)

Settings this week include Brighton, London, Italy, Norway, Scotland, South Africa and the US.

Here are the new 9 reviews:

Terry Halligan reviews the third of Sean Black's US-set Ryan Lock series, Gridlock, which is now in paperback;

Amanda Gillies reviews Neil Cross's Luther prequel Luther: The Calling now out in paperback (complete with a quote from Sarah Hilary's review);

I review the first Inspector Sejer book from Karin Fossum In the Darkness, tr. James Anderson which was originally published in 1995 (in Norwegian);

Terry also reviews Oliver Harris's debut The Hollow Man which introduces amoral policeman Nick Belsey;

Anne Holt's first Hanne Wilhelmsen investigation is even older than In the Darkness but Maxine Clarke writes that The Blind Goddess, tr. Tom Geddes "remains fresh and engaging";

Mark Bailey reviews Peter James's new Roy Grace book, Not Dead Yet which he enjoyed, but it might be time to wrap up the series-long backstory mystery;

Susan White reviews Christobel Kent's The Dead Season the third in this Florence-based PI series;

Lynn Harvey reviews Christopher Radmann's striking debut set in South Africa: Held Up

and Geoff Jones reviews Craig Russell's Dead Men and Broken Hearts the fourth in the Lennox series set in 1950s Glasgow.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here along with releases by year.

New Reviews: Goodwin, Harvey, James, Johnston, Kitson, Koppel, Marklund, Pastor, Price

As well as the 9 new reviews, don't forget to see which title, author and translator made the top spot for the Euro Crime reviewers' favourite book of 2011.

The competition's still open: win Death of the Mantis by Michael Stanley (no geographical restrictions).

Here are this week's reviews:

Susan White reviews the latest in the Yashim the Eunuch series by Jason Goodwin, An Evil Eye (and Susan has even tried some of the recipes featured in this series);

John Harvey's Good Bait features a new protagonist plus a couple of characters from earlier books including DCI Karen Shields from the heart-breaking Cold in Hand and is reviewed here by Maxine Clarke;

Michelle Peckham thinks Peter James's Dead Man's Grip signals that the series could be running out of steam;

The Silver Stain is a belated but welcome return for Paul Johnston's PI Alex Mavros, set in Greece, reviewed here by Geoff Jones;

Terry Halligan found Bill Kitson's latest DI Mike Nash, Back-Slash hard to put down;

I review Hans Koppel's She's Never Coming Back tr. Kari Dickson which I didn't enjoy very much;

Fortunately Lynn Harvey had a better experience with Liza Marklund's The Bomber which has been retranslated by Neil Smith;

Norman calls Ben Pastor's Liar Moon "grown-up crime fiction"

and Lizzie Hayes reviews Joanna Price's debut A Means of Escape set in the Glastonbury area (and incidentally is very cheap on Kindle at the moment).

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here and new titles by Mark Billingham, Kevin Brophy and Hakan Ostlundh have been added to these pages this week.

New Reviews: Anderson, Glynn, Hill, James, Nesser, Perry, Pryce

Here are this week's new reviews:

Lynn Harvey reviews the seventh (or eighth if you count the novella) in the Rhona MacLeod forensic scientist series from Lin Anderson: The Reborn and gives it a very strong thumbs-up;

Terry Halligan reviews Alan Glynn's Bloodland which he enjoyed very much;

Sarah Hilary reviews Susan Hill's latest Simon Serrailler, The Betrayal of Trust which deals with both a cold murder case and the issue of assisted dying;

[Professor] Michelle Peckham thinks that Peter James's standalone Perfect People is an interesting read though it is more science fiction than crime fiction;

Maxine Clarke reviews the latest in the 'Van Veeteren' series by Hakan Nesser, The Unlucky Lottery, tr. Laurie Thompson though it's his sidekick Munster who leads the investigation this time;

Rich Westwood reviews the twenty-seventh in the Pitt series by Anne Perry: Dorchester Terrace and suggests readers new to Perry, might want to start a bit earlier in the series

and Susan White reviews Malcolm Pryce's latest Aberystwyth Noir - The Day Aberystwyth Stood Still.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive.

Forthcoming titles can be found by author or date or by category, here and new titles by M C Beaton, Helen Black, Xavier-Marie Bonnot, Stephen Booth, William Brodrick, Sam Christer, James Craig, Adam Creed, Judith Cutler, Hannah Dennison, Paul Doherty, Carola Dunn, Giorgio Faletti, Caryl Ferey, Alex Gray, M R Hall, Patricia Hall, John Harvey, Paul Johnston, Jim Kelly, Graeme/G W Kent, Marek Krajewski, Roberta Kray, T S Learner, Donna Leon, Peter Leonard, David Mark, Edward Marston, Andrew Martin, Alex Marwood, Peter May, Kathleen McCaul, Matt McGuire, Danny Miller, Ian Morson, R T Raichev, Roz Southey, Gunnar Staalesen, Lyndon Stacey, Cath Staincliffe, D J Taylor, M J Trow, Nicola Upson, Laura Wilson, Jacqueline Winspear, Simon Wood and Tom Wood have been added to these pages this week.

New Reviews: Carter, Casey, Craig, James, Kerrigan, Sigurdardottir, Vichi, Wakling

Closing today: competition: Win a set of 3 books by Armand Cabasson (UK only)

Here are this week's reviews, which include visits to Greenland, Ireland and Italy as well as the UK:

Amanda Gillies reviews globe-trotting thriller Altar of Bones by "Philip Carter" the speculation on "his" identity ranges from Harlan Coben to Penelope Williamson;

Susan White reviews Jane Casey's second novel and first in the DC Maeve Kerrigan series, The Burning;

Geoff Jones reviews James Craig's debut London Calling which has been available on Kindle for a while but the paperback is due out next week;

Mark Bailey joins the review team with his review of Peter James's Dead Man's Grip;

Terry Halligan reviews Gene Kerrigan's The Rage;

Maxine Clarke reviews Yrsa Sigurdardottir's The Day is Dark, tr. Philip Roughton in which Thora and Matthew go to Greenland (for a very X-files sounding mystery!);

I review Marco Vichi's Death in August, tr. Stephen Sartarelli set in post-war Florence, the first in the Inspector Bordelli series

and Laura Root reviews Christopher Wakling's standalone set in Bristol after the abolition of slavery: The Devil's Mask.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found by author or date, here.

New Reviews: Baraldi, Black, James, Kerr, Martin, Rubenfeld & New Competition

One competition for November and it is open to UK & Europe residents and closes on 30th November:
Win the Ellis Peters Award shortlist (6 books)

Here are this week's reviews:

Maxine Clarke reviews Barbara Baraldi's The Girl with the Crystal Eyes, tr. Judith Forshaw which unfortunately wasn't to her taste;

Amanda Gillies reviews the third in the Gus Drury series by Tony Black which is available in paperback now: Loss calling it a "storming success";

Terry Halligan reviews the paperback release of Peter James's newest Roy Grace book, Dead Like You;

Laura Root reviews the recently released 'Bernie Gunther' outing from Philip Kerr: Field Grey concluding that it is "an outstanding addition to a very impressive series";

Rik Shepherd reviews Andrew Martin's Death on a Branch Line which is the fifth in this "excellent but not flashy series" which is soon to number seven

and Michelle Peckham reviews Jed Rubenfeld's follow-up to The Interpretation of Murder - The Death Instinct.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found by author or date, here.

Review: The Sounds of Crime Anthology (audio book)

The Sounds of Crime Edited by Maxim Jakubowski with stories by Lawrence Block, Mark Billingham, Christopher Fowler, Peter James and Val McDermid, read by multiple narrators (Whole Story Audio Books, September 2010, CD ISBN: 978 1 40743 572 5)

The Sounds of Crime is a collection of especially commissioned short stories on the theme of "audio". The stories are not available in print. Each story is about 30 minutes long and there is a short introduction from editor Maxim Jakubowski at the beginning of the collection.

Dolly's Trash and Treasures by Laurence Block narrated by Buffy Davis
This is probably my favourite of the set. Set in America, Dolly a compulsive hoarder is visited by a series of officials with the story conveyed almost completely through dialogue between Dolly and her visitors. An atmospheric and very creepy story in which my sympathy switched as the tale progresses.

Meet Me at the Crematorium by Peter James narrated by Eve Karpf
Fed up with her bullying husband Trevor, Janet travels to Germany to start a new life with a man she's recently met over the internet. But the story doesn't go the way you'd expect from such a description...

Happy Holidays by Val McDermid narrated by Mike Grady
This is a mini Tony Hill-Carol Jordan outing as they are faced with a case of murders being committed on festive days such as Bonfire Night. Tony fears a Santa will die at Christmas. This is a good sampler of this series which is well known, at least in the tv version Wire in the Blood, for its unpleasant methods of murder and this one includes a couple of memorable descriptions.

The Walls by Mark Billingham narrated by Eric Meyers
Best known for the London Tom Thorne series (soon to be on SkyOne), Mark Billingham writes this unsettling tale in America. A man and woman arrive at the same hotel. The man says he's a contractor, the woman's there for a family reunion of sorts, but one them is lying. Attraction and necessity takes its course - giving a new meaning to the phrase "you'll hate yourself in the morning".

The Deceivers by Christopher Fowler narrated by John Hasler
This has a Tales of the Unexpected feel to it. Presented as a monologue, the young narrator tells of how he and a friend relieved the boredom of living in a small town on the Devon-Cornwall border and the unforeseen consequences.

I enjoyed The Sounds of Crime. The stories are well written, as you'd expect from these top crime authors. Each story held my interest throughout. Stories of this length are very suitable for commuters or those who struggle a bit to fit in a full length audio book or for someone to just sample the audio book experience. The narrators are very good with special credit to Buffy Davis who made Dolly very memorable.

New Reviews: Campbell, Doherty, Hughes, James, Jungstedt, Rayne

Here are this week's reviews:

Terry Halligan reviews the paperback edition of Karen Campbell's After the Fire which is a strong contender for his top 5 of 2010;

Craig Sisterson goes to Ancient Egypt with Paul Doherty's The Anubis Slayings;

Michelle Peckham enjoyed the new Ed Loy, PI from Declan Hughes: City of Lost Girls;

Maxine Clarke is disappointed with the "mind of a killer" scenes in Peter James's Dead Like You but enjoys The Killer's Art by Mari Jungstedt, tr. Tiina Nunnally much more

and Amanda Gillies has high praise for Sarah Rayne's new chiller (set in the Fens), House of the Lost.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found by author or date, here.

New Reviews: Bauer, Benacquista, Blake, Cleeves, James, Scott

Just a few hours left to enter the January competition: 3 copies of A K Shevchenko's Bequest are up for grabs. There are no geographical restrictions. Details of how to enter can be found here.

Here are this week's reviews:

Paul Blackburn reviews the much talked about (in the UK) Blacklands by Belinda Bauer which made his 'top 5 reads of 2009';

I review the violent black comedy that is Tonino Benacquista's Badfellas, tr. Emily Read which may make my 'top 5 reads of 2010';

Amanda Gillies praises the second in Richard Blake's Roman Empire series, now out in paperback - The Terror of Constantinople;

The last part of Ann Cleeves's Shetland Quartet, Blue Lightning, is out this week and Maxine Clarke's review will want to make you read it and the previous three if you haven't already;

Terry Halligan continues to be impressed with the Roy Grace series by Peter James; the latest - Dead Tomorrow is now out in paperback

and Michelle Peckham reviews the reissue of Manda Scott's The Crystal Skull, now prefixed with 2012 (nb. the film 2012 is not based on it) and is the third euro crime reviewer to enjoy the book very much.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found here.

Publishing Deal - Peter James

Peter James has just signed a three book deal with Pan Macmillan. The details at The Bookseller:

The first book in the new contract, Dead Like You, will be published in June 2010, with the second and third following at yearly intervals.

In a separate deal in the US, St Martins Press crime thriller imprint Minotaur has also negotiated a contract for the same three books. James has not been published in the US since Carroll & Graf launched the Roy Grace series in 2005/6.

Read the rest of the article at The Bookseller.

Read the reviews of the first five books in the Roy Grace series at the Euro Crime website.

Peter James on Mayo's Book Review Show

Last Thursday's Simon Mayo's Book Review show featured Peter James and his latest book Dead Tomorrow.

You can listen again or download the podcast at the BBC website.

Read the Euro Crime review of Dead Tomorrow.

New Reviews: Black, Franklin, Hill, James, Lackberg, Stone & New Competition

A new competition is now up and running (UK only I'm afraid). Win a copy of The Library of Shadows by Mikkel Birkegaard, donated by the translator Tiina Nunnally.

The following reviews have been added to the review archive over on the main Euro Crime website:

Michelle Peckham reviews Murder in the Latin Quarter by Cara Black;

Laura Root reviews Mistress of the Art of Death by Ariana Franklin;

Mike Ripley reviews the new Dalziel & Pascoe, Midnight Fugue by Reginald Hill;

Maxine Clarke reviews the new Roy Grace, Dead Tomorrow by Peter James;

Sunnie Gill reviews The Preacher by Camilla Lackberg

and Norman Price reviews The Jerusalem File by Joel Stone.

Previous reviews can be found in the review archive and forthcoming titles can be found here.

New Reviews: Franklin, Furst, Izner, James, Seymour, Templeton

Here are this week's new reviews and details of the current competition:

Latest Reviews:

Norman Price reviews Ariana Franklin's follow-up to her prize winning Mistress and the Art of Death - Death Maze (aka The Serpent's Tale) and finds it good but not as good as the first in the series;

Mike Ripley reviews the latest excellent espionage thriller from Alan Furst - The Spies of Warsaw;

Terry Halligan reviews Murder on the Eiffel Tower by Claude Izner, set during the Universal Exhibition of 1889;

Maxine Clarke reviews the newest from Peter James: Dead Man's Footsteps, a story that encompasses 9/11 in "a realistic, exciting yet dignified way";

Geoff Jones reviews E V Seymour's The Last Exile and his advice is to stick with it as it gets much better

and I review the latest available on audio book in the Marjory Fleming series by Aline Templeton: Lying Dead - it's a fine police procedural series coupled with a brilliant narrator in the shape of Cathleen McCarron.


Current Competitions:

Win a copy of The Bellini Card by Jason Goodwin*

* no restrictions on entrants (ends 31 July)

Peter James sponsors police car

From the Daily Mail:

In the first commercial deal between an author and the police, a £9,000 Hyundai Getz will soon be patrolling the streets of Sussex, embellished on all four sides with the name of Peter James.

His series of Brighton-based Roy Grace novels has sold more than three million copies worldwide and been translated into 30 languages.

Now Mr James and his publishers Pan Macmillan have agreed to sponsor the Brighton and Hove policing division’s new five-door saloon.

Read the rest of the article here and read the Euro Crime reviews of his best-selling series - here.

The French Adore...Peter James

From Book2Book:

Blake Friedmann are thrilled to announce that the second book in Peter James' Roy Grace series, LOOKING GOOD DEAD, has been nominated for Le Grand Prix de littérature policère, considered to be the most important crime writing award in France. This comes in addition to his shortlisting for the Prix SNCF du polar 2007, the winner of which will be announced in autumn.

Since Edition du Panama's publication of DEAD SIMPLE (COMME UNE TOMBE) in 2006, the Roy Grace series has made giant strides in France and has already picked up the Salon de Cognac for the 2006 Prix SNCF du polar and the 2007 Le Prix Coeur Noir at the Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines festival, Paris.

Read the Euro Crime review of LOOKING GOOD DEAD.

Peter James on Radio 4

On last Monday's Front Row:

Mark Lawson's guest is best-selling crime writer Peter James - who balances writing with working in film and television - he was the producer of the Al Pacino film version of The Merchant of Venice and creator of the Channel 4 series Bedsitcom. As his new book Not Dead Enough is published - Peter James discusses how he came up with the character of Roy Grace - a Brighton based Detective Superintendent whose wife has gone missing.

Listen again here until next Monday.

You can also read Maxine Clarke's review for Euro Crime, of Not Dead Enough.

New Reviews on Euro Crime

As usual, a quick reminder of this month's competitions:

Win one of five copies of 'Haggard Hawk' by Marcus Barr (UK & Europe)

Win one of five copies of 'Cross' by Ken Bruen (No restrictions)

Win one of ten copies of A Greater Evil/Evil is Done by Natasha Cooper (US, UK & Europe)

Win one of two sets of Seasons 1-3 of Wire in the Blood on DVD (R1) (US only)

This week's new reviews are:

The Death of Dalziel by Reginald Hill, reviewed by Karen Chisholm, Dead Simple by Peter James, reviewed by Geoff Jones, Carte Blanche by Carlo Lucarelli reviewed by me and Hit and Run by Cath Staincliffe, reviewed by Sunnie Gill.

Bibliographies have been added for - Fred Johnston, John McAllister, Joe Stein and Camilla Way - and updated for - Michael Dibdin, Ian Rankin and Ruth Rendell.

The news page was updated yesterday with links to the previous week's UK reviews and articles.

Details of all the updates can be found on the site progress page.