Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023 - Longlist

Please find below the official press release announcing the longlist for the Harrogate Crime Novel of the Year. Twenty authors have been listed (12 Female, 8 Male).

Until the 18 May you can vote for your favourite book on the longlist here.

MARK BILLINGHAM | M. W. CRAVEN | FIONA CUMMINS | LUCY FOLEY | ELLY GRIFFITHS | JANICE HALLETT | MICK HERRON | LISA JEWELL | DOUG JOHNSTONE | VASEEM KHAN | CLARE MACKINTOSH | IMRAN MAHMOOD GILLIAN MCALLISTER | VAL MCDERMID | LIAM MCILVANNEY | LEONORA NATTRASS | ALAN PARKS VICTORIA SELMAN | SARAH VAUGHAN | RUTH WARE 

Harrogate, Thursday 27 April 2023: The longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023 has been announced today by Harrogate International Festivals. The search for the best crime novel of the past year gets underway as the public are now invited to vote for their favourites to reach the next stage.

The winner of the prestigious Award will be announced at the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (20 July), which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary. To mark the momentous occasion, for the first time the longlist includes twenty outstanding authors, rather than the traditional eighteen, competing for the UK and Ireland’s most coveted crime fiction writing Award.

With thrilling stories that transport readers from a burnt-out Glasgow under threat, to the hidden backstreets of Paris, from the bustle of 1950s Bombay and a mail ship bound for Philadelphia, the longlist celebrates the very best of the crime genre.

 
A number of returning champions are hoping to take home the Award once again - Mick Herron defends his 2022 title with the latest Slough House instalment, Bad Actors, alongside Clare Mackintosh’s gripping New Year’s Day murder mystery The Last Party, two-time winner Mark Billingham’s electrifying thriller The Murder Book, and the scintillating 1989, the second in the new Allie Burns series from the doyenne of crime writing Val McDermid.

Several of the crime world’s favourite crime solving protagonists are also in the running for the coveted trophy – Elly Griffith’s penultimate mystery featuring Dr Ruth Galloway, The Locked Room, is in contention, alongside M.W. Craven’s latest Detective Sergeant Washington Poe thriller The Botanist, and Black Hearts, the explosive thriller featuring Doug Johnstone’s Skelf women.

They are joined by fellow Theakston nominees, including Sarah Vaughan with her masterful psychological page-turner Reputation, the unputdownable The It Girl from Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley’s deeply unsettling, locked room mystery The Paris Apartment as well as All I Said Was True, the ticking clock thriller from barrister-turned-author Imran Mahmood. Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2023 Programming Chair Vaseem Khan is vying to win with The Lost Man of Bombay, as is Blue Water – Leonora Nattrass’ atmospheric tale aboard an eighteenth-century ship on route to Philadelphia. Joining them are Liam McIlvanney’s highly anticipated The Heretic, which sees D.I. Duncan McCormack tackling brutal gang warfare on the streets of Glasgow, and the eerily unnerving new thriller Into The Dark from Val McDermid’s 2017 New Blood selection, Fiona Cummins.

A plethora of established voices join the Theakston ranks for the first time this year. The tantalisingly tense Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister and Lisa Jewell’s chilling new domestic noir The Family Remains are longlisted along with Victoria Selman’s nerve-jangling Truly Darkly Deeply, the deftly suspenseful The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett, while chilling police procedural May God Forgive gives star of ‘Tartan Noir’ Alan Parks his first longlisting.

The full Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023 longlist is:

· The Murder Book by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown Book Group; Little Brown)
· The Botanist by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown Book Group; Constable)
· Into The Dark by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan; Macmillan/Pan)
· The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (HarperCollins; HarperFiction)
· The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
· The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett (Profile Books; Viper)
· Bad Actors by Mick Herron (John Murray Press; Baskerville)
· The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell (Cornerstone; Century Fiction)
· Black Hearts by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)
· The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan (Hodder & Stoughton)
· The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh (Little, Brown Book Group; Sphere)
· All I Said Was True by Imran Mahmood (Bloomsbury Publishing; Raven Books)
· Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Penguin Random House; Michael Joseph)
· 1989 by Val McDermid (Little, Brown Book Group; Little Brown)
· The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney (HarperCollins; HarperFiction)
· Blue Water by Leonora Nattrass (Profile Books; Viper)
· May God Forgive by Alan Parks (Canongate Books)
· Truly Darkly Deeply by Victoria Selman (Quercus)
· Reputation by Sarah Vaughan (Simon & Schuster)
· The It Girl by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster)

Simon Theakston, Executive Director of Theakston, added: “Each year I eagerly await the long list announcement for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and every year I’m reminded of the phenomenal talent in the crime fiction writing world, whether a returning icon or a rising star. I’m looking forward to a celebratory toast of Old Peculier in July, but for now, we raise a glass to all the exceptional nominees as the shortlist vote is taken to the public.”

 
Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, Sharon Canavar, commented: “We are delighted to announce the 2023 longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, with an exceptional collection of the UK and Ireland’s best crime fiction novels from the past year. The Award is an integral part of the Festival and with a gripping mix of subgenres nominated, from psychological thrillers to murder mysteries, we can’t wait to see how the public vote this year.”

The longlist was selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee, along with representatives from the media partner, Daily Express. The award is run by Harrogate International Festivals sponsored by T&R Theakston Ltd, in partnership with Waterstones and Daily Express, and is open to full-length crime novels published in paperback between 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2023 by UK and Irish authors.

The public are now invited to vote to create a shortlist of six titles from 10am on Thursday 27 April at www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com. Voting closes on Thursday 18 May, with the shortlist announced and winner voting opening on Thursday 15 June. The winner will be revealed on the opening night of Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Thursday 20 July, receiving £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd.

Petrona Award 2023 Entries

Here's a sneak peek at the forty-two Petrona Award 2023 entries. Full details to follow. 

New Releases - April 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in April 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). April and future months (and sometimes years) can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

Please note that, unless specifically mentioned, when a book has differing print and ebook release date, I use the print release date. Translators' names are included where known.

• Abell, Stig - Death Under a Little Sky #1 Jake Jackson
• Baker, Jo - The Midnight News
• Banville, John - The Lock-Up #2 Detective Inspector St John Strafford
• Bassett, Tony - Seat 97
• Beckerman, Hannah - The Forgetting
• Bonner, Sarah - Her Sweet Revenge
• Bowen, Rhys (with Clare Broyles) - All That Is Hidden #19 Molly Murphy, PI, 1900s New York
• Buchholz, Simone - The Acapulco tr. Rachel Ward #1 Chastity Riley
• Cambridge, Colleen - Mastering the Art of French Murder #1 An American In Paris Mystery
• Carson, John - Do Unto Others #17 DCI Harry McNeil
• Chapman, Julia - Date with Evil #8 The Dales Detective Series
• Chowdhury, Ajay - The Detective #3 Kamil Rahman
• Clarke, Lucy - The Hike
• Comley, M A - Son of the Dead #19 DI Sarah Ramsey
• Connelly, Lucy - An American in Scotland #1 Dr Emilia McRoy
• Conroy, Vivian - A Fatal Encounter in Tuscany #3 Miss Ashford
• Croft, Kathryn - The Lie
• Dahl, Kjell Ola - The Lazarus Solution tr. Don Bartlett
• Davis, Lindsey - Fatal Legacy #11 Flavia Albia, the adopted daughter of Marcus Didius Falco
• Daykin, Judi - The Norfolk Beach Murders #5 Detective Sara Hirst, Norfolk
• Dean, John - The Name on the Bullet #11 Detective Chief Inspector John Blizzard
• Devlin, Cara - Silence of Deceit #3 Bow Street Duchess
• Driscoll, Teresa - Tell Me Lies
• Eldridge, Jim - Murder at Down Street Station #5 Detective Chief Inspector Coburg & Sergeant Lampson
• Foster, Kate - The Maiden
• Gitsham, Paul - Web of Lies #9 DCI Warren Jones
• Greenwood, Ross - Death on Cromer Beach #1 DS Ashley Knight, Norfolk
• Harris, C S - Who Cries for the Lost #18 Sebastian St. Cyr, Regency England
• Hussey, William - Killing Jericho
• Hutton, Callie - Homicide at the Vicarage (ebook only) #5 Victorian Bookclub Mystery
• Jecks, Michael - Portrait of a Murder #1 Nick Morris
• Jensen, Louise - The Fall
• Kovach, Carla - Their Cold Hearts #13 Detective Gina Harte
• Lancaster, Neil - Blood Runs Cold #4 DS Max Craigie, Scotland
• Leadbeater, David - The Midnight Conspiracy #3 Joe Mason
• Lodge, Gytha - A Killer in the Family #5 DCI Jonah Sheens
• McCleave, Simon - The Denbigh Asylum Killings (ebook only) #15 DI Ruth Hunter
• McLean, Rachel - The Lighthouse Murders (ebook only) #8 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset
• Mace, Lorraine - The Guest
• Malvaldi, Marco - The Art of Killing Well tr. Howard Curtis #2 Pellegrino Artusi, Italy's first celebrity chef, 19C
• Marston, Edward - Death at the Terminus #21 Det. Insp Colbeck, Scotland Yard, mid 19th Century
• Mitchell, Dreda Say (with Ryan Carter) - Believe Me
• Moloney, Catherine - Crime in the High Street #19 DI Gilbert Markham
• Monroe, J S - No Place to Hide
• Morrison, Robbie - Cast a Cold Eye #2 Jimmy Dreghorn, Glasgow 1932
• Murphy, Kitty - Death in the Dark #2 Dublin Drag
• Perry, Anne - The Traitor Among Us #5 Elena Standish, Photographer, 1930s
• Perry, S W - The Sinner's Mark #6 Nicholas Shelby, Elizabethan Era
• Reynolds, Amanda - The Assistant
• Rigby, Sally (with Amanda Ashby) - The Ex-Wife
• Rowe, Rosemary - The Rewards of Treachery #20 Mosaicist Libertus, Glevum (modern Gloucester)
• Salisbury, Emma - Blood Sweat and Tears (ebook only) #9 DS Coupland
• Seeber, Claire - The Birthday Reunion
• Seong-Sun, Im - The Consultant tr. An Seon Jae
• Shelton, Paige - Fateful Words #8 Scottish Bookshop Mystery
• Slater, Alice - Death of a Bookseller
• Smith, Miranda - The School Trip
• Sullivan, Tim - The Monk #5 DS Cross, Bristol
• Taylor, Marsali - Death in a Shetland Lane #11 Shetland Sailing Mysteries
• Thomas, Will - Heart of the Nile #14 Barker and Llewelyn, Victorian London
• Walters, Victoria - Murder at the Village Church #3 Dedley End Mystery
• Ward, Sarah - The Birthday Girl #1 Mallory Dawson, Wales
• Wilkinson, Kerry - The One Who Fell #1 A Whitecliff Bay Mystery
• Wilkinson, Kerry - The One Who Was Taken #2 A Whitecliff Bay Mystery
• Wilkinson, Kerry - The Ones Who Are Buried #3 A Whitecliff Bay Mystery
• Wyer, Carol - A Truth for a Truth #4 DI Kate Young, Staffordshire

CWA Dagger Awards 2023 - Longlist for the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

The CWA Dagger Longlists were announced over the weekend. The most important one to me is the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger, formerly the International Dagger for which I was a judge over ten years ago now. 

The longlist is below and you can check out my extensive but not exhaustive list of eligible titles here.

Shortlists will be announced at CrimeFest on 12 May and the winners on 6 July at the CWA Awards Dinner.

Longlist:

Morgan Audic - Good Reasons to Die Sam Taylor (France, M, Mountain Leopard Press)

Michel Bussi - The Red Notebook tr. Vineet Lal (France, M, W&N)

Javier Cercas - Even the Darkest Night tr. Anne McLean (Spain, M, MacLehose Press)

Zijin Chen - Bad Kids tr. Michelle Deeter (China, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Erri De Luca - Impossible tr. N S Thompson (Italy, M, Mountain Leopard Press)

Pascal Engman - Femicide tr. Michael Gallagher (Sweden, M, Legend Press)

Johana Gustawsson - The Bleeding tr. David Warriner (France, F, Orenda Books)

Anne Mette Hancock - The Corpse Flower tr. Tara Chace (Denmark, F, Swift Press)

Hervé le Tellier - The Anomaly tr. Adriana Hunter (France, M, Michael Joseph)

Deon Meyer - The Dark Flood tr. K L Seegers (South Africa, M, Hodder & Stoughton)

Akimitsu Takagi - The Tattoo Murder tr. Deborah Boehm  (Japan, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Kaoru Takamura - Lady Joker, Volume 1 tr. Allison Markin Powell & Marie Iida (Japan, F, Baskerville)

Other longlists can be viewed on the CWA Website by clicking on the individual categories.

Crime Fiction in Translation (International) Dagger Speculation (2023)

The CWA Dagger longlists were announced at the weekend so I thought I'd better, rather belatedly, put together the list of eligibles for the Crime Fiction in Translation (formerly the International) Dagger 2023. I'll post the Longlist separately.

So here are 86 translated crime novels published between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022, that I know about. Please let me know if I've missed any. In the list below I've also included the country of birth and gender of the author(s) plus the translator's name (where known) and the publisher.

Stats: The breakdown by gender is 50 Male and 34 Female and 2 Female and Male authors writing together. Authors are from 21 countries. The most represented country is Sweden (24) followed by Japan (8) and France (7) and Norway (7). Around 60 translators (including pairs of translators) brought you these titles, with at least 16 individuals having translated more than one. (I've put "tbc" when I cannot find the name of the translator.) 

Jussi Adler-Olsen - The Shadow Murders tr. William Frost (Denmark, M, Quercus) 

Maria Adolfsson - Wild Shores tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, F, Zaffre) 

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir  - Night Shadows tr. Victoria Cribb (Iceland, F, Orenda Books)

Stefan Ahnhem - The Final Nail  tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, M, Head of Zeus)

Tove Alsterdal - We Know You Remember tr. Alice Menzies (Sweden, F, Faber & Faber)

Friedrich Ani - Killing Happiness tr. Alexander Booth (Germany, M, Seagull Books London Ltd)

Lina Areklew - Death in Summer tr. Tara F Chace (Sweden, F, Canelo) 

Ewald Arenz - Tasting Sunlight tr. Rachel Ward (Germany, M, Orenda Books )

Morgan Audic - Good Reasons to Die Sam Taylor (France, M, Mountain Leopard Press)

Lina Bengtsdotter - For the Lost tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, F, Orion) 

Katarzyna Bonda - Conspiracy of Blood tr. Filip Sporczyk (Poland, F, Hodder & Stoughton)

Roxanne Bouchard - Whisper of the Seals tr. David Warriner (Canada, F, Orenda Books)

Marion Brunet - Vanda tr. Katherine Gregor (France, F, Bitter Lemon Press)

Simone Buchholz - River Clyde tr. Rachel Ward (Germany, F, Orenda Books)

Michel Bussi - The Red Notebook tr. Vineet Lal (France, M, W&N)

Gu Byeong-mo - The Old Woman With the Knife tr. Chi-Young Kim (South Korea, F, Canongate Books)

Donato Carrisi - The Whisperer's Game tr. Katherine Gregor (Italy, M, Little, Brown)

Javier Cercas - Even the Darkest Night tr. Anne McLean (Spain, M, MacLehose Press)

Zijin Chen - Bad Kids tr. Michelle Deeter (China, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Kjell Ola Dahl - Little Drummer tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, M, Orenda Books)

Arne Dahl - You Are Next tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, M, Harvill Secker)

Luca D'Andrea - The Wanderer tr. Katherine Gregor (Italy, M, MacLehose Press)

Concita De Gregorio - The Missing Word tr. Clarissa Botsford (Italy, F, Europa Editions)

Anders de la Motte - Deeds of Autumn tr. Marlaine Delargy (Sweden, M ,Zaffre)

Anders de la Motte - Dead of Winter tr. Marlaine Delargy (Sweden, M ,Zaffre) 

Erri De Luca - Impossible tr. N S Thompson (Italy, M, Mountain Leopard Press)

Florian Dennisson - The List tr. ??? (France, M, Bloodhound Books)

Joël Dicker - The Enigma of Room 622 tr. Robert Bononno (Switzerland, M, MacLehose Press)

Katrine Engberg - The Harbour tr. Tara Chace (Denmark, F, Hodder & Stoughton)

Pascal Engman - Femicide tr. Michael Gallagher (Sweden, M, Legend Press)

Sebastian Fitzek - Walk Me Home tr. Jamie Bulloch (Germany, M, Head of Zeus)

Helene Flood - The Lover tr. Alison McCullough (Norway, F, MacLehose Press)

Natalia García Freire - This World Does Not Belong to Us tr. Victor Meadowcroft (Ecuador, F,  Oneworld Publications) 

Johana Gustawsson - The Bleeding tr. David Warriner (France, F, Orenda Books)

Anne Mette Hancock - The Corpse Flower tr. Tara Chace (Denmark, F, Swift Press)

Keigo Higashino - A Death in Tokyo tr. Giles Murray (Japan, M, Abacus)

Jorn Lier Horst - The Night Man tr. Anne Bruce (Norway, M, Michael Joseph)

Jorn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger - Unhinged tr. Megan Turney (Norway, M, Orenda Books)

Kotaro Isaka - Three Assassins tr. Sam Malissa (Japan, M, Harvill Secker)

Susanne Jansson - Winter Water tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles (Sweden, F, Hodder & Stoughton)

Ragnar Jonasson - Outside tr. Victoria Cribb (Iceland, M, Michael Joseph)

Anna Karolina - The Guilty One tr. Lisa Reinhardt (Sweden, F, Thomas & Mercer)

Anna Karolina - The Missing Man tr. Lisa Reinhardt (Sweden, F, Thomas & Mercer)

Lars Kepler - The Mirror Man tr. Alice Menzies (Sweden, F&M, Zaffre)

Camilla Lackberg & Henrik Fexeus - Trapped tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, F&M, HarperCollins)

David Lagercrantz - Dark Music tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, M, MacLehose Press)

Hervé le Tellier - The Anomaly tr. Adriana Hunter (France, M, Michael Joseph)

J M Lee - Broken Summer tr. An Seon Jae (Korea, M, Amazon Crossing)

Jónína Leósdóttir - Deceit tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, F, Corylus Books)

Ruth Lillegraven - Blood Ties tr. Diane Oatley (Norway, F, AmazonCrossing)

Davide Longo - Young Beasts at Play tr. Silvester Mazzarella (Italy, M, MacLehose Press)

Seicho Matsumoto - Tokyo Express tr. Jesse Kirkwood (Japan, M, Penguin Classics)

Fernanda Melchor - Paradais tr. Sophie Hughes (Mexico, F, Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Deon Meyer - The Dark Flood tr. K L Seegers (South Africa, M, Hodder & Stoughton)

D A Mishani - Conviction tr. Jessica Cohen (Israel, M, riverrun)

Fuminori Nakamura - My Annihilation tr. Sam Bett (Japan, M, Soho Press) 

Niklas Natt och Dag - 1794: The City Between the Bridges tr. Ebba Segerberg (Sweden, M, Baskerville)

Hakan Nesser - The Axe Woman tr. Sarah Death (Sweden, M, Mantle) 

Olivier Norek - Breaking Point tr. Nick Caistor (France, M, MacLehose Press)

Sergio Olguin - There Are No Happy Loves tr. Miranda France (Argentina, M, Bitter Lemon Press)

Riku Onda - Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight tr. Alison Watts (Japan, F, Bitter Lemon Press)

Sólveig Pálsdóttir - Harm tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, F, Corylus Books)

Oriana Ramunno - Ashes in the Snow tr. Katherine Gregor (Italy, F, HarperCollins)

Petra Rautianen - Land of Snow and Ashes tr. David Hackston (Finland, F, Pushkin Press)

Paula Rodríguez - Urgent Matters tr. Sarah Moses (Argentina, F, Pushkin Vertigo) 

Hans Rosenfeldt - Cry Wolf tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel (Sweden, M, HarperCollins)

Anders Roslund - Sweet Dreams tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel (Sweden, M, Harvill Secker)

Joachim B Schmidt - Kalmann tr. Jamie Lee Searle (Switzerland, M, Bitter Lemon Press)

Hansjorg Schneider - Silver Pebbles tr. Mike Mitchell (Switzerland, M, Bitter Lemon Press)

Lilja Sigurdardottir - Red as Blood tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, F, Orenda Books)

Yrsa Sigurdardottir  - The Fallout tr. Victoria Cribb (Iceland, F, Hodder & Stoughton)

Gustaf Skördeman - Codename Faust tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, M, Zaffre)

Gunnar Staalesen - Bitter Flowers tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, M, Orenda Books)

Malin Stehn - Happy New Year tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles (Sweden, F, Penguin)

Viveca Sten - Buried in Secret tr. Marlaine Delargy (Sweden, F, AmazonCrossing)

Viveca Sten - Hidden in Snow tr. Marlaine Delargy (Sweden, F, AmazonCrossing)

Akimitsu Takagi - The Tattoo Murder tr. Deborah Boehm  (Japan, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Kaoru Takamura - Lady Joker, Volume 1 tr. Allison Markin Powell & Marie Iida (Japan, F, Baskerville) Antti Tuomainen - The Moose Paradox tr. David Hackston (Finland, M, Orenda Books)

Silje O Ulstein - Reptile Memoirs tr. Alison McCullough (Norway, F, Grove Press UK)

Christian Unge - A Grain of Truth tr. George Goulding & Sarah De Senarclens (Sweden, M, MacLehose Press)

Gerwin van der Werf - The Hitchhiker (ebook only) tr. David Colmer (Holland, M, Text Publishing)

Ferdinand von Schirach - Punishment tr. Katharina Hall (Germany, M, Baskerville)

A Yi - Wake Me Up at Nine in the Morning tr. Nicky Harman (China, M, Oneworld Publications)

Seishi Yokomizo - Gokumon Island tr. Louise Heal Kawai (Japan, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Zhang Yueran - Cocoon tr. Jeremy Tiang (China, M, World Editions Ltd)

New Releases - March 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think was published for the first time in March 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

Please note that, unless specifically mentioned, when a book has differing print and ebook release date, I use the print release date. Translators' names are included where known.

Atkinson, Heather - His Fatal Legacy #3 The Alardyce Trilogy
Ayatsuji, Yukito - The Mill House Murders tr. Ho-Ling Wong
Bartlett, Graham - Force of Hate #2 Detective Superintendent Jo Howe, Brighton
Beevis, Keri - The Summer House
Black, Cara - Night Flight to Paris #2 Kate Rees
Bright, Verity - Death on Deck #13 Lady Eleanor Swift, 1920s
Brolly, Matt - The Running Girls
Burdess, Abigail - Mother's Day
Casey, Jane - The Close #10 DC Maeve Kerrigan
Comley, M A - See No Evil #6 Justice Again
Crawley, Harriet - The Translator
Dawson, Mark - The Red Room # 3 Atticus Priest
Devlin, Cara - Death at Fournier Downs #2 Bow Street Duchess
Doherty, Paul - Dark Queen Wary #4 Margaret Beaufort
Dolby, Hannah - No Life for a Lady
Dorricott, Fran - The Loch
Dranfield, Wendy - The Night She Vanished
Duckworth, Charlotte - The Wrong Mother
Eccleston, M H - Death on the Isle #2 Astrid Swift
Eccleston, M H - Death Comes to the Costa del Sol #3 Astrid Swift
Ellis, Mark - In the Shadows of the Blitz #6 Frank Merlin
Ellory, R J - The Last Highway
Fields, Helen - The Institution
French, Nicci - The Favour
Galloway, K T - Deadly Games #6 O'Malley & Swift
Gardner, Ashley - The Ring that Caesar Wore #3 Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries
Gatland, Jack - Beneath the Bodies #14 DI Declan Walsh
Gold, Robert - Eleven Liars #2 Ben Harper
Gomez-Jurado, Juan - Red Queen #1 Antonia Scott tr. Nick Caistor
Grand, Mary - Death at Castle Cove
Hall, J M - A Pen Dipped in Poison #2 Retired schoolteachers Liz, Pat and Thelma
Harper, Izzie - Murder in the Bluebell Woods #2 The Wootton Windmill Mysteries
Harrison, Cora - The Deadly Weed #10 Reverend Mother Aquinas, Cork, 1920s
Hastings, Anastasia - Of Manners and Murder #1 Dear Miss Hermione, London, 1885
Hawkins, Alis - A Bitter Remedy #1 Oxford Mysteries
Hodges, David - Watcher on the Levels #11 DC Kate Hamblin
Hood, D K - Now You See Me #18 Detectives Kane and Alton
Hunter, Evie - The Kill
Indridason, Arnaldur - The Girl by the Bridge #2 Detective Konrad tr. Philip Roughton
Jordan, Adele - The Lost Highlander #4 Kit Scarlett, Tudor Era
Klein, Brian - The Fuhrer's Prophecy #2 Reich Trilogy
Koning, Christina - The Blind Detective (also pub. as Game of Chance by A C Koning in 2015) #2 The Blind Detective, 1920s
Larsson, Asa - The Sins of our Fathers # 6 Rebecka Martinsson, Lawyer, Sweden tr. Frank Perry
Leadbeater, David - Two Minutes to Midnight #33 Matt Drake
Lee, M J - What the Shadows Hide #10 DI Ridpath
Leon, Donna - So Shall You Reap #32 Commissario Guido Brunetti, Venice
Lindsay, Douglas - The Lonely And The Dead #3 DI Buchan
Logan, TM - The Mother
Lowe, Ali - The Running Club
Mark, David - Twist of Fate (as D L Mark)
Martin, Faith - Murder in the Parish # 20 DI Hillary Greene, Oxfordshire
Matthews, Owen - White Fox #3 Black Sun Trilogy
McLean, Rachel - The Lochside Murder #8 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset
McNeil, Robert - No Hiding Place #4 DCI Alex Fleming
Naughtie, James - The Spy Across the Water #3 Will Flemyng
Nickson, Chris - The Dead Will Rise #5 Simon Westow, Thief-taker, Regency Leeds
North, Alex - The Half Burnt House
North, L C - The Ugly Truth
Oldham, Nick - Death Ride # 29 DCI Christie
Pearson, David - Murder at the Arts Festival # 14 Detectives Lyons and Hays, Galway
Raybourn, Deanna - A Sinister Revenge # 8 Veronica Speedwell, adventuress and butterfly hunter, Victorian London
Raymond, Andrew - The Shortlist #2 DCI Lomond
Rhys, Rachel - A Murder Under the Tuscan Sun
Russell, Leigh - Barking Up the Right Tree #1 Poppy Mystery
Russell, Norman - Death at the Altar #5 Oldminster Mysteries
Ryan, OMJ - Deadly Justice #9 DCI Jane Phillips, Cheshire
Simants, Kate - Freeze
Sinclair, Rob - Deception #6 Ryker Returns
Stone, Alex - The Good Patient
Sullivan, Tim - The Ex-Wife (ebook only) #2 DS Cross short story
Swanson, Louise - End of Story
Taylor, Andrew - The Shadows of London #6 Ashes of London series
Thomas, Sherry - A Tempest at Sea #7 Lady Sherlock
Todd, Charles - The Cliff's Edge #13 Bess Crawford, battlefield nurse, WWI
Winspear, Jacqueline - The White Lady
Winters, Mary - Murder in Postscript #1 Amelia Amesbury, Agony Aunt, Victorian era
Wood, Trevor - You Can Run
Young, Debbie - Murder in the Highlands #9 Sophie Sayers

New Releases - February 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in February 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). February and future months can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

Please note that, unless specifically mentioned, when a book has differing print and ebook release date, I use the print release date. Translators' names are included where known.

Via the Future Releases page you can now filter the books published in 2023 (in the UK) by All, Anthology, First Novel, Historical and Translated.

• Abbott, Rachel - No More Lies #11 DI Tom Douglas
• Ace, Cathy - The Case of the Cursed Cottage #7 A Wise Enquiries Agency Mystery
• Alsterdal, Tove - You Will Never Be Found tr. Alice Menzies #2 Detective Eira Sjödin
• Amphlett, Rachel - The Dying Season #12 Detective Kay Hunter
• Baker, Tina - Make Me Clean
• Beaton, M C (with R W Green) - Death of a Traitor #36 PC Hamish Macbeth, Lochdubh, Scotland
• Brannigan, Ellie - Murder at an Irish Castle #1 Rayne McGrath
• Bruce, Camilla - The Witch in the Well
• Burnside, Heather - Blackmail #2 Manchester Thrillers
• Butler, D S - Find Her Alive #7 DS Karen Hart, Lincolnshire
• Campos, Simone - Nothing Can Hurt You Now tr. Rahul Bery
• Candlish, Louise - The Only Suspect
• Chester, Fliss - Death by a Cornish Cove #2 Cressida Fawcett, 1920s
• Clarke, Sarah - My Perfect Friend
• Comley, M A - To Control Them #8 DI Sam Cobbs
• Craig, James - Sink or Swim #17 Inspector John Carlyle
• Croft, Kathryn - The Suspect
• Crombie, Deborah - A Killing of Innocents #19 Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, Scotland Yard
• Cross, A J - Reflections of Deviance #4 Will Traynor, Criminologist
• Dalgliesh, J M - Dead To Me #13 Tom Janssen, Norfolk
• Daws, N R - A Perfect Time to Murder #3 Lizzie Hayes, Pilot & DI Jonathan Kember, 1940
• Durrant, Helen H - The Wrong Woman #3 Detectives Lennox & Wilde
• Ellis, Bella - A Gift of Poison #4 The Brontë Mysteries
• Engberg, Katrine - The Sanctuary (apa The Island) tr. Tara Chace #4 Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner,Police, Copenhagen
• Fairfax, John - Fatal Proof #4 William Benson and Tess de Vere, Lawyers
• Flint, Emma - Other Women
• Gatland, Jack - The Boardroom
• Gatward, D J - The Dark Hours (ebook only) #13 DCI Harry Grimm
• Gerlis, Alex - Agent in the Shadows #3 The Wolf Pack Spies
• Gibney, Patricia - Three Widows #12 Detective Lottie Parker
• Goodhind, J G - Marriage Is Murder #11 Honey Driver, Hotelier, Bath
• Gray, Alex - Questions for a Dead Man #20 DCI Lorimer & psychologist Solomon Brightman, Glasgow
• Hamer, Kate - The Lost Girls #2 Carmel
• Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia - Before I Sleep #24 Bill Slider, Shepherd's Bush CID
• Hendy, Hannah - A Terrible Village Poisoning #3 The Dinner Lady Detectives
• Hindle, Tom - The Murder Game
• Hunter, Evie - A Date To Die For (as E V Hunter) #1 Hopgood Hall Murder Mysteries
• Keane, Jessie - Never Go Back
• Kirk, JD - One For the Ages (ebook only) #16 DCI Logan
• Koch, Emily - What July Knew
• Koning, Christina - The Blind Detective (also pub. as Line of Sight by A C Koning in 2014) #1 The Blind Detective, 1920s
• Lincoln, John - Grey in the Dark #2 Gethin Grey
• Lloyd, Chris - Paris Requiem #2 Detective Eddie Giral, Paris, 1940
• MacBride, Stuart - The Dead of Winter
• Markin, Wes - The Lonely Lake Killings #2 DCI Emma Gardner, Yorkshire
• Mason, Simon - The Broken Afternoon #2 DI Ray Wilkins, Oxford
• McCleave, Simon - The Llandudno Pier Killings #14 DI Ruth Hunter
• McDermott, Alan - Empires Will Fall (ebook only) #5 Eva Driscoll
• McLean, Rachel - The Blue Pool Murders #7 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset
• Mount, Toni - The Colour of Bone #11 Sebastian Foxley Medieval Murder Mystery
• Murphy, Margaret - The Scarecrow Killer #2 DC Cassie Rowan, Liverpool
• Parker, Steve - Slaughtered As They Slept #9 Detective Ray Paterson
• Rayne, Sarah - Chalice of Darkness #1 Theater of Thieves, London 1908
• Scarrow, Simon - Dead of Night #2 Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke
• Seeck, Max - The Last Grudge tr. tbc #3 Jessica Niemi
• Sheehan, Bilinda P - Lake of Tears (ebook only) #7 Harriet Quinn
• Shindler, Will - The Blood Line #4 DI Alex Finn & DC Mattie Paulsen, London
• Shrager, Rosemary - The Proof in the Pudding #2 Prudence Bulstrode, Retired Chef
• Smith, Alexander McCall - The Private Life of Spies - Short Stories
• Smith, Anna - If I Should Die #2 Billie Carlson, Glasgow
• Speechley, Ruby - Gone
• Stacey, L H - The Weekend
• Stockham, Alison - The Cuckoo Sister
• Takamura, Kaoru - Lady Joker, Volume 2 tr. Allison Markin Powell & Marie Iida
• Templeton, Aline - Blind Eye #5 DI Kelso Strang
• Waller, Anita - Fatal Secrets #1 Forrester Family
• White, S R - Red Dirt Road
• Yarwood-Lovett, Sarah - A Mischief of Rats #3 Nell Ward

New Releases - January 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in January 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). January and future months can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

Please note that, unless specifically mentioned, when a book has differing print and ebook release date, I use the print release date. Translators' names are included where known.

• Abdullah, Kia - Those People Next Door
• Adolfsson, Maria - Cruel Tides (paperback) #3 Doggerland tr. Agnes Broomé
• Austin, Stephanie - Death Comes to Dartmoor #6 Juno Browne
• Barnes, Kerry - Nemesis (ebook only)
• Baylis, Edie - Mirrors Never Lie (ebook only) #1 Scarred
• Baylis, Edie - Payback #4 Allegiance
• Blackhurst, Jenny - The Hiking Trip
• Blake, Sam - The Mystery of Four
• Bruce, Camilla - All The Blood We Share
• Bryndza, Robert - Devil's Way #4 Kate Marshall
• Buckler, James - The Simple Truth
• Callaghan, Jo - In The Blink of An Eye
• Carson, John - Famous Last Words (ebook only) #16 DCI Harry McNeil
• Clements, Rory - The English Führer #7 Thomas Wilde, 1930s
• Comley, M A - Deadly Passion (ebook only) #18 DI Sarah Ramsey
• Conroy, Vivian - Last Seen in Santorini #2 Miss Ashford
• Cotterill, Colin - The Motion Picture Teller
• De Giovanni, Maurizio - Winter Swallows #10 Commissario Ricciardi, Naples, 1930s tr. Antony Shugaar
• Dixon, Helena - Murder at the Charity Ball #11 Miss Underhay
• East, Philippa - I'll Never Tell
• Fraser, Anthea - Tendrils of the Past
• Gatland, Jack - Target Locked (ebook only) #2 Tom Marlowe
• Gilman, David - Resurrection #3 Dan Raglan
• Goodwin, Sarah - The Resort
• Griffin, Martin - The Second Stranger
• Griffiths, Elly - The Last Remains #15 Dr Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist and DCI Harry Nelson
• Hallett, Janice - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
• Hattersley, Matthew - White Heat (ebook only) #1 Annihilation Pest Control
• Hayes, Samantha - The Engagement
• Howells, Debbie - The House Sitter
• Ivar, Katja - Trouble #3 Hella Mauzer
• Keogh, Valerie - The Trophy Wife
• Leather, Stephen - Still Standing #3 Matt Standing
• Lindsay, Douglas - Painted In Blood (ebook only) #2 DI Buchan
• Louth, Nick - The Body in the Shadows #11 DCI Craig Gillard
• McCleave, Simon - In Too Deep #2 DCI Laura Hart, Anglesey
• McNab, Andy - Shadow State #1 Nathan Pike
• Masters, Priscilla - Undue Influence #1 Florence Shaw
• Mauvignier, Laurent - The Birthday Party tr. Daniel Levin Becker
• Maxwell, Alyssa - A Fashionable Fatality #8 Lady and Lady's Maid Mystery
• Maxwell, R S - Through a Darkening Glass
• May, Peter - A Winter Grave
• Murphy, Kitty - Death in Heels #1 Dublin Drag
• Murphy, Martina - The Branded #2 DS Lucy Golden
• Perks, Heidi - The Other Guest
• Renand, Antoine - Empathy tr. Frank Wynne
• Rogers, Gemma - The Neighbour
• Rowland, Laura Joh - River of Fallen Angels #7 Miss Sarah Bain, Victorian Era
• Russell, Leigh - Final Term #19 DI Geraldine Steel
• Seymour, Gerald - In at the Kill #3 Jonas Merrick
• Slater, K L - The Narrator
• Spencer, Sally - The Final Beat of the Drum #15 DCI Monika Paniatowski, Whitebridge
• Steed, Cailean - Home
• Thorogood, Robert - Death Comes to Marlow #2 The Marlow Murder Club
• Tope, Rebecca - The Askham Accusation #12 Persimmon Brown, Florist, Lake District
• Trow, M J - Breaking the Circle #2 Margaret Murray, Archaeologist, London 1900
• Tudor, C J - The Drift
• Weatherley, Anna-Lou - The Lie in Our Marriage
• Webb, Kate - Stay Buried #1 Detective Inspector Matt Lockyer, Wiltshire
• Westerson, Jeri - Courting Dragons #1 King's Fool
• Wilkins, Susan - See Me Fall (ebook only) #4 Detective Jo Boden
• Woods, Karen - The Deal

New Releases - December 2022

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in December 2022 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date).

If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

Please note that, unless specifically mentioned, when a book has differing print and ebook release date, I use the print release date. Translators' names are included where known. 

Ace, Cathy - The Case of the Absent Heirs #6 A Wise Enquiries Agency Mystery
Atkinson, Heather - Wicked Girls
Bailey, Elizabeth - The Vengeance Trail #9 Lady Fan
Baker, J A - Local Girl Missing
Base, Ron & Emery, Prudence - Death at the Savoy #1 Priscilla Tempest, London, 1960s
Baskerville, B- Finders Keepers #6 DCI Erica Cooper
Bonda, Katarzyna - Conspiracy of Blood #2 Sasza Zaluska tr. Filip Sporczyk
Cameron, Iain - Pictures of Lily (ebook only) #11 DI Angus Henderson
Cartwright, Jack - Dance With Death #8 Wild Fens Murder Mystery
Cookman, Lesley - Murder by Mistake # 23 Libby Sarjeant, middle aged actress/investigator, Kent
Croft, Adam - Moment of Truth #5 Rutland crime series
Davies, Emma - Death at Beresford Hall #4 Francesca Eve, Shropshire
Fullerton, John - Emperor
Gatland, Jack - Murder By Mistletoe #13 DI Declan Walsh
Godden, Gillian - Queen of Diamonds #3 Diamond
Harte, Stephanie - Rolling the Dice #2 East End Crime Family
Higashino, Keigo - A Death in Tokyo #9 Detective Kaga tr. Giles Murray
Hollow, Mike - The Camden Murder #7 Blitz Detective
Jordan, Adele - A Spy at Hampton Court # 3 Kit Scarlett, Tudor Era
Karolina, Anna - The Missing Man #2 Emma Tapper tr. Lisa Reinhardt
Kirk, JD - Eastgate #4 Robert Hoon
Lancaster, Neil - The Night Watch #3 DS Max Craigie, Scotland
Lindsay, Douglas - Buchan #1 DI Buchan
McLean, Rachel - The Riverside Murder #1 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset - Novella
MacLeod, Torquil - Mission in Malmo #9 Inspector Anita Sundstrom
Mark, David - The Whispering Dead #2 Cordelia Hemlock
Mohlin, Peter & Nystrom, Peter - The Other Sister #2 Agent John Adderley tr. Ian Giles
Moloney, Catherine - Crime in the Boutique #18 DI Gilbert Markham
Morris, M S - Beneath Cold Earth #2 DCI Tom Raven
Organ, Emily - Disaster at the Christmas Dinner #8 Churchill and Pemberley
Phifer, Helen - Their Burning Graves #8 Detective Morgan Brookes
Ramsay, Caro - The Devil Stone #1 DCI Christine Caplan, Highlands
Rowson, Pauline - The South Binness Murders #16 DI Andy Horton and his sidekick Barney Cantelli, Portsmouth
Sten, Viveca - Hidden in Snow # 1 The Åre Murders tr. Marlaine Delargy
Tallon, Emma - Her Fight #5 Scarlet Drew
Trow, M J - The Clerk's Tale #3 Geoffrey Chaucer
Wilde, Darcie - The Secret of the Lost Pearls # 6 Rosalind Thorne
Woodbury, Sarah - The Honorable Traitor #15 Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mystery
Wyer, Carol - Behind Closed Doors

Happy Holidays!

Just a quick post to wish everyone a lovely break. Thank you so much for following and commenting over the past year. I have been spending quite a bit of time on the Petrona this month which is why there hasn't been a December new books post (yet).

I've just finished reading the Alan Rickman Diaries and have just started Tom Felton's biography, Beyond the Wand. To accidentally continue the Harry Potter theme we rewatched the first 3 films yesterday whilst trying to do a jigsaw at the same time. It was only 500 pieces so really shouldn't have taken that long!

The Petrona Award 2022 - Winner

 

Winner of 2022 Petrona Award announced

The winner of the 2022 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year is: 

FATAL ISLES by Maria Adolfsson, translated from the Swedish by Agnes Broomé and published by Zaffre.

Maria Adolfsson will receive a trophy, and both the author and translator will receive a cash prize.

The judges’ statement on FATAL ISLES:

This captivating winning novel is the first in a series featuring the beautifully flawed protagonist Detective Inspector Karen Eiken Hornby, whose take on life and work make for a strong down-to-earth and modern heroine in the relicts of a man’s world.

Set in the fictional yet completely credible location of Doggerland, this three-islands archipelago in the North Sea, reflects Scandinavian, North European and British heritages. Doggerland is shaped and influenced by its geographical position; the  atmospheric setting, akin to the wind- and history-swept Faroe and Shetland Islands, and Nordic climes, enhances the suspenseful and intriguing plot of a police procedural that combines detailed observations and thoughts on the human condition. A brutal murder sets in motion an investigation into layers of hidden secrets and of societal attitudes, and the interaction between the superbly portrayed characters creates a thrilling tension and believable environment. 

Comments from the winning author, translator and publisher:

Maria Adolfsson (author):

I feel so honoured and want to send my warmest thanks to the Petrona Award jury. This appreciation for my work means a lot to me!

For me it is especially exciting that the British readers enjoy exploring Doggerland together with me. I’ve always been interested in what unites people in Scandinavia and the British Isles, how we are culturally linked, and what sets us apart. To me, Doggerland is - or at least might have been - the link between us. Or to quote Herman Melville: “It’s not down on any map; true places never are.”

Agnes Broomé (translator):

I am deeply honoured to receive the Petrona Award 2022. With such an impressive shortlist it is truly humbling to be chosen. I am grateful to the jury for their unswerving commitment to bringing Scandinavian crime literature to an English-speaking readership. My warmest thanks to everyone at Zaffre for their support along this journey and, above all, to Maria Adolfsson for introducing me to Detective Inspector Karen Eiken Hornby. 

Zaffre (publisher):

Many thanks to the jury for choosing FATAL ISLES as the worthy winner of this year’s Petrona Award. It’s wonderful to see Maria’s brilliantly imaginative crime debut, expertly realised in English by Agnes Broomé, recognised for its excellence. DI Karen Eiken Hornby is a universally relatable character and Adolfsson’s vividly drawn island nation, Doggerland, is a perfectly picturesque place for the darkest deeds to occur. It is such a pleasure to publish this internationally bestselling series. 

The Petrona team would like to thank the following: firstly, David Hicks, for his generous sponsorship of the Petrona Award; secondly the co-creators and original judges of the Award: Barry Forshaw, Dr. Kat Hall and Sarah Ward and thirdly, Adrian Muller for his support via the CrimeFest platform.

The Petrona Award website

An option to receive details of new posts has also been added to the Petrona Award website (see top right), using follow.it as well as a link to Bloglovin'. 

The winner of the Petrona Award 2022, for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel in Translation, will be announced on Thursday.

Email Notifications of new posts

I have been tinkering with the email subscriptions as Feedburner is apparently now kaput. I have set up a follow.it option on the top right of the blog and I've tried to redirect existing subscribers to it. I'm not sure if this is working but do let me know if it is, or is not, or of any issues or even alternatives.

New Releases - November 2022

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in November 2022 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). November and future months can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

Please note that, unless specifically mentioned, when a book has differing print and ebook release date, I use the print release date. Translators' names are included where known.

• Allingham, Merryn - Murder at St Saviour's #5 Flora Steele, Sussex, 1955
• Bateman, E C - Death at the Auction #1 Felicia Grant, Stamford, Lincs
• Boland, Shalini - The Daughter-in-Law
• Bolton, Sharon - The Buried #2 Craftsman series
• Bright, Verity - Murder in an Irish Castle #12 Lady Eleanor Swift, 1920s
• Cannell, Dorothy - Peril in the Parish #3 Florence Norris, Housekeeper, 1930s
• Carson, John - Never Go Home #15 DCI Harry McNeil
• Carver, Will - Suicide Thursday
• Charlton, Karen - Dancing With Dusty Fossils #2 York Ladies' Detective Agency
• Clark, Cassandra - Dark Waters Rising #12 Hildegard, Nun, 14thC, Yorkshire
• Clarke, Georgina - The Dazzle of the Light
• Comley, M A - To Entice Them #7 DI Sam Cobbs
• Conway, Simon - The Survivor #3 Jude Lyon, MI6
• Cooper, Catherine - The Cruise
• Cutler, Judith - A House Divided #4 Matthew Rowsley, Steward & Mrs Faulkner, Housekeeper, Victorian Era
• Dahl, Arne - You Are Next tr. Ian Giles #3 Detective Sam Berger
• Dams, Jeanne M - A Deadly Web #25 Dorothy Martin
• Denzil, Sarah A - Find Her (ebook only)
• Eldridge, Jim - Murder at Aldwych Station #4 Detective Chief Inspector Coburg & Sergeant Lampson
• Farrington, C J - Blood on the Siberian Snow #2 Olga Pushkin
• Fellowes, Jessica - The Mitford Secret #6 Louisa Cannon, Maid to the Mitfords, 1919
• Fitzek, Sebastian - Walk Me Home tr. Jamie Bulloch
• Flynn, Sophie - If They Knew
• Gallagher, Charlie - Last One Alive #7 Detective Maddie Ives
• Gatward, D J - Unquiet Bones (ebook only) #12 DCI Harry Grimm
• Goacher, Lucy - The Edge`
• Hain, Peter - The Elephant Conspiracy
• Hancock, Anne Mette - The Collector (ebook Nov, pb June 23) tr.?? #2 Journalist Heloise Kaldan and Police Officer Erik Schäfer
• Harper, Izzie - Murder at the Christmas Carols #1 The Wootton Windmill Mysteries
• Haughton, Emma - The Sanctuary
• Heley, Veronica - Murder for Profit #22 Ellie Quicke, widow, London suburbs
• Herron, Mick - Standing by the Wall #3 Slough House Novella
• Horst, Jorn Lier - The Night Man tr. Anne Bruce #16 Chief Inspector William Wisting, Larvik
• Hunter, Evie - The Scam
• James, Ed - False Start #1 DI Rob Marshall Mystery
• James, Ed - The Last Thing to Die #9 DI Fenchurch, London
• Johnstone, Stuart - Run to Ground #3 Sergeant Don Colyear
• Keogh, Valerie - The Widow (ebook only)
• Kinsey, T E - An Act of Foul Play #9 Lady Emily Hardcastle, 1908
• Leósdóttir, Jónína - Deceit tr. Quentin Bates
• Lynch, Rachel - Sudden Death #10 DI Kelly Porter, Lake District
• MacDonald, Dee - A Body at Lavender Cottage #6 Kate Palmer, Cornwall
• Mariani, Scott - Graveyard of Empires #26 Ben Hope, Ex-SAS
• Marshall, Laura - My Husband's Killer
• McLean, Rachel - Deadly Christmas #7 DI Zoe Finch, West Midlands
• Middleton, Ant - Red Mist #2 Mallory
• Mistry, Liz - Dying Breath #5 DS Nikki Parekh
• Muir, T F - Dead Find #11 DI Andy Gilchrist & team, St. Andrews
• Nadel, Barbara - Web of Lies #8 PI Lee Arnold and his assistant, Mumtaz Hakim. East End London
• Newport, Christie J - The Raven's Mark #1 DCI Beth Fellows
• Norek, Olivier - Breaking Point tr. Nick Caistor #3 Banlieues Trilogy
• Organ, Emily - The Camden Spiritualist (ebook only) #12 Penny Green, Victorian Era
• Paris, B A - The Prisoner
• Perry, Tasmina - The Ivy (ebook only) #3 Lara Stone, Investigative Reporter
• Reid, Rebecca - The Will
• Riches, Marnie - The Silent Dead #2 Detective Jackie Cooke
• Rodríguez, Paula - Urgent Matters tr. Sarah Moses
• Ross, L J - Lady's Well (ebook only) #20 DCI Ryan
• Scarr, Louisa - Seen To Be Believed #4 DS Butler & DC West
• Scarrow, Alex - Argyle House #7 DCI Boyd
• Skördeman, Gustaf - Codename Faust tr. ??
• Slater, Sofia - Auld Acquantance
• Smith, Alex - King Rat (ebook only) #11 DCI Robert Kett, Norfolk
• Stehn, Malin - Happy New Year tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles
• Steiner, Peter - The Inconvenient German #3 Detective Willi Geismeier, Munich, 1920
• Waller, Anita - The Family at No.12
• Walter, B P - The Locked Attic
• Ward, R M - Safe With You
• White, M J - The Silent Child #2 Cora Lael, Suffolk
• Wood, Michael - Silent Victim #10 DCI Matilda Darke
• Wood, Tom - Traitor #10 Victor, Assassin
• Yueran, Zhang - Cocoon tr. Jeremy Tiang

The Petrona Award 2022 - Shortlist

From the press release which was embargoed until 8.00am today:

Exceptional crime fiction from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden shortlisted for the 2022 Petrona Award

Six exceptional crime novels from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have been shortlisted for the 2022 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. The shortlist is announced today, Wednesday 16 November and is as follows:

Maria Adolfsson - FATAL ISLES tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, Zaffre)

Helene Flood - THE THERAPIST tr. Alison McCullough (Norway, MacLehose Press)

Ruth Lillegraven - EVERYTHING IS MINE tr. Diane Oatley (Norway, AmazonCrossing)

Anders Roslund - KNOCK KNOCK tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel (Sweden, Harvill Secker)

Lilja Sigurðardóttir - COLD AS HELL tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Orenda Books)

Antti Tuomainen - THE RABBIT FACTOR tr. David Hackston (Finland, Orenda Books)

The winning title will be announced on Thursday 8 December 2022. The winning author and the translator of the winning title will both receive a cash prize.

The Petrona Award is open to crime fiction in translation, either written by a Scandinavian author or set in Scandinavia, and published in the UK in the previous calendar year.

The Petrona team would like to thank our sponsor, David Hicks, for his continued generous support of the Petrona Award.

The judges’ comments on the shortlist:

There were 31 entries for the 2022 Petrona Award from five countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden). The novels were translated by 23 translators and submitted by 14 publishers/imprints. There were 16 female, 14 male and one male/male pair of authors.

This year’s Petrona Award shortlist sees Norway represented with two novels; Sweden with two and Finland and Iceland with one each. The judges selected the shortlist from a particularly strong pool of candidates with the shortlisted titles ranging from police procedural and domestic noir to the darkly comic.

As ever, we are extremely grateful to the six translators whose expertise and skill have allowed readers to access these outstanding examples of Scandinavian crime fiction, and to the publishers who continue to champion and support translated fiction. The significantly increasing number of female writers being translated is also to be commended.

The judges’ comments on each of the shortlisted titles:

Maria Adolfsson - FATAL ISLES tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, Zaffre)

Maria Adolfsson’s gripping debut, FATAL ISLES, set in Doggerland - a group of islands in the North Sea between Denmark and the United Kingdom - paints a vivid picture of a northern island community with traditions, rich and poor families, and a stormy climate. Doggerland comes alive on the pages so much that you would never guess it is totally fictional. DI Karen Eiken Hornby is tasked with investigating the murder of her boss’s ex-wife. Does the motive have any connection to a secretive commune that existed on the island in the past? FATAL ISLES is a high tension, character driven, atmospheric police procedural. 

Helene Flood - THE THERAPIST tr. Alison McCullough (Norway, MacLehose Press) 

A man goes missing under mysterious circumstances. Police detective Gundersen is officially working the case whilst therapist Sara tries to understand where her husband is. Set in the leafy Oslo outskirts, THE THERAPIST is a tense read that keeps us intrigued with unsettling twists and turns. Sara is constantly analysing herself and the people around her as her whole life is turned upside down. At the same time she fears for her own safety and tries to remain professional with her clients. Author Helene Flood is a trained psychologist who has used her experience to inform the characters and the narrative in this page-turning debut thriller. 

Ruth Lillegraven - EVERYTHING IS MINE tr. Diane Oatley (Norway, AmazonCrossing)

EVERYTHING IS MINE is the story of two happily married professionals, Clara an ambitious child rights activist at the Ministry of Justice, and Henrik, a compassionate paediatrician. Dedication to their twin sons and their respective causes begins to crack when they are faced with cases of murder and abuse and an unravelling of a tangled web of emotional secrets follows. A powerful narration and detailed observations show a stark contrast between social standing and geographical differences in Norwegian life, and leave the readers with questions of how, and if, individuals can deal with unfairness and pain. EVERYTHING IS MINE combines important issues, thrilling action and a smart intricate plot, with a strong focus on social injustice and complex family relations. 

Anders Roslund - KNOCK KNOCK tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel (Sweden, Harvill Secker)

Anders Roslund has published nine novels to date as part of the successful writing duos of Roslund & Hellström and Roslund & Thunberg, as Anton Svensson, and has been the recipient of numerous, prestigious international awards. Since the death of Börge Hellström, Roslund has continued their Ewert Grens series and KNOCK KNOCK is his first solo venture. Set over the course of three days, KNOCK KNOCK is another fine example of Roslund's talent for seamlessly blending together a solid police procedural with a high octane thriller, leading to a gritty and fast-paced read set against his astute observations on the societal and political issues of contemporary Sweden. 

Lilja Sigurðardóttir - COLD AS HELL tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Orenda Books) 

COLD AS HELL, the first novel in a new slick series, introduces Áróra who returns from UK to her homeland Iceland following the disappearance of her estranged sister Ísafold. She uncovers a corrupted world of dark secrets but needs help from her policeman uncle to navigate an Icelandic society with which she is now unfamiliar. The author creates a chilling and tense atmosphere where the midnight sun hides crimes and all relations are tested. The richness and intensity of the writing makes the investigative accountant Áróra, who will stop at nothing to understand and trace her sibling, a thoroughly modern and captivating protagonist in a league of her own.   

Antti Tuomainen - THE RABBIT FACTOR tr. David Hackston (Finland, Orenda Books)

Antti Tuomainen was shortlisted for the Petrona Award twice before winning it in 2020 with, LITTLE SIBERIA. THE RABBIT FACTOR, which was also shortlisted for this year’s CWA Dagger for Crime Fiction in Translation, superbly demonstrates Tuomainen's singular gift for dark, absurd crime fiction undercut with poignancy. THE RABBIT FACTOR puts at its heart an ordinary man drawing on his previously undiscovered and extraordinary resolve, to carve out and keep his place in a hostile world, with often darkly funny results.

The judges

Jackie Farrant - creator of RAVEN CRIME READS and a bookseller/Area Commercial Support for a major book chain in the UK

Miriam Owen - founder of the NORDIC NOIR blog and creator of content for communities

Ewa Sherman - translator and writer, and blogger at NORDIC LIGHTHOUSE.

Award administrator

Karen Meek – owner of the EURO CRIME website and blog.

Further information can be found on the Petrona Award website: http://www.petronaaward.co.uk.

On social media, please use #PetronaAward22.

The Petrona Award 2022 - Longlist

 From the press release which was embargoed until 8.00am today:

OUTSTANDING CRIME FICTION FROM DENMARK, FINLAND, ICELAND, NORWAY AND SWEDEN LONGLISTED FOR THE 2022 PETRONA AWARD

Twelve outstanding crime novels from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have made the longlist for the 2022 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year.

 

 

They are:

Maria Adolfsson - Fatal Isles tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, Zaffre)

Kjell Ola Dahl - The Assistant tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, Orenda Books)

Katrine Engberg - The Butterfly House tr. Tara Chace (Denmark, Hodder & Stoughton)

Helene Flood - The Therapist tr. Alison McCullough (Norway, MacLehose Press)

Óskar Guðmundsson - The Commandments tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Corylus Books Ltd)

Jørn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger - Smoke Screen tr. Megan Turney (Norway, Orenda Books)

Ruth Lillegraven - Everything Is Mine tr. Diane Oatley (Norway, AmazonCrossing)

Sólveig Pálsdóttir - Silenced tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Corylus Books Ltd)

Anders Roslund - Knock Knock tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel (Sweden, Harvill Secker)

Lilja Sigurðardóttir - Cold as Hell tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Orenda Books)

Gustaf Skördeman - Geiger tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, Zaffre)

Antti Tuomainen - The Rabbit Factor tr. David Hackston (Finland, Orenda Books)

The quality of the entries for the Petrona Award, now in its tenth year, remains consistently high, so much so that for the first time, the judges have decided to release a longlist. These twelve titles will be whittled down to a shortlist, to be announced on 16 November 2022.

The longlist contains a number of new faces as well as Petrona Award-winning authors, Jørn Lier Horst and Antti Tuomanen and the previously shortlisted Kjell Ola Dahl and Thomas Enger.

Both large and small publishers are represented on the longlist, with Orenda Books leading with four entries, and the breakdown by country is Norway (4), Iceland (3), Sweden (3), Denmark (1) and Finland (1) with translator Quentin Bates being longlisted for all three Icelandic titles.

The Petrona Award 2022 judging panel comprises Jackie Farrant, the creator of RAVEN CRIME READS and a bookseller/Area Commercial Support for a major book chain in the UK; Miriam Owen, founder of the NORDIC NOIR blog and creator of content for communities, and Ewa Sherman, translator and writer, and blogger at NORDIC LIGHTHOUSE. The Award administrator is Karen Meek, owner of the EURO CRIME blog and website.

Notes to editors

The award is open to crime fiction in translation, either written by a Scandinavian author or set in Scandinavia and published in the UK in the previous calendar year.

More information on the history of the Award and previous winners can be found at the Petrona Award website (https://www.petronaaward.co.uk/).

The Petrona team would like to thank our sponsor, David Hicks, for his generous support of the 2022 Petrona Award.

Published 26-31 October 2022

I've expanded on my monthly listing. Here are 21 books published between 26 and 31 October 2022.

Blurbs and covers taken from Amazon.

Atkinson, Heather - The Cursed Heir #2 The Alardyce Trilogy 

Edinburgh 1896. At Alardyce House, the family are gathered to celebrate the engagement of the heir to the estate, Robert, to his childhood sweetheart. But what should be a precious memory for his mother Amy, is marred by darkness. For Robert’s biological father was a demon and a criminal, and now Robert is coming-of-age, disturbing reports are beginning to emerge about his behaviour.

Amy is torn between her love and loyalty to her son, her hope that she can save his soul, and her growing sense of dread that the streets of Edinburgh aren’t safe when Robert is in town. Meanwhile the increasing distance between Robert and his stepfather Henry threatens the peace of her loving marriage.

The Alardyce family is riven by secrets and scandal, but will this most cursed heir of all, be the one to ruin their reputation forever, or can the power of a mother’s love save them all?

Beaton, M C (with R W Green) - Agatha Raisin: Devil's Delight  #33 Agatha Raisin, Retired PR person, Cotswolds

 

Agatha and her assistant, Toni, are driving to their friend Bill Wong's wedding, thinking of nothing more than what the beautiful bride will be wearing when a terrified young man comes running down the country lane towards them wearing. . . nothing at all.

The encounter leads them to become embroiled with a naturist group, a disappearing corpse, fantasy games, witchcraft, an ice cream empire, intrigue and murder. In the meantime, Agatha's hectic life swirls along at dizzying pace, her private detective agency as busy as ever and her private affairs in turmoil - old loves to contend with and a new suitor on the scene.

Then she finds herself in deadly danger when she begins to close in on a suspected murderer and the sinister nature of the ice cream business leads her to a chilling conclusion. 

Brittany, Amanda - I'm Watching You

 

Quarry Lake. Twelve years ago. Three young women are attacked, all with long, dark hair. The attacker wears a yellow hi-vis jacket.

One is murdered.
One is left in a coma.
One escapes.

A small town lives in fear.

It’s Riona’s last summer before heading to university. One reckless night, she lets her two friends persuade her to spend the evening at Quarry Lake, drinking cider, sharing secrets, planning their futures.

They hear a scream and a splash. They’re scared but they feel they have to go and see what it is. But a sudden noise frightens them, and they run off.

NOW, Riona is back in her hometown, facing thirty with some of her dreams still intact.

They never did catch the Quarry Lake killer.

But one day Riona glimpses a mysterious figure in a hi-vis jacket. Staring intensely at her.

A note is shoved through her letterbox: I’m watching you.

Is the past coming back to threaten her? Is the killer back?

 

Broadfoot, Neil - Violent Ends #5 Connor Fraser, Stirling 

 

Having the wrong client can be murder...

The voice was smooth, cultured, almost tender as it oozed from the phone into Connor Fraser's ear. "I've heard about you, Mr Fraser, and I'm very impressed by your work. So I've decided to employ you. I am going to kill Father John Donnelly sometime in the next seven days. And you are going to stop me - or die trying. If you check your account, you'll see I've deposited £70,000. And, just to be fair, I'll give you an hour, starting now, to find Father Donnelly before the games begin. Refuse my offer, and someone you love will die. Good hunting, to both of us."

The thought it's a sick joke lasts for as long as it takes Connor to find that £70,000 has been deposited into his PayPal account, and for him to receive an email with a picture of his grandmother. With no choice but to make a deal with the devil, Connor races to unmask a killer before he strikes and uncovers a mystery that stretches back decades, threatening the people closest to him.

Buchanan, Tracy - Secrets Between Friends

The old house hides her darkest secret―and there’s no running away this time…

Twenty years ago, Liz left Easthaven to escape the memory of one tragic night at Lakewell Manor. Only she and her best friend Tamsin saw what really happened, and in the aftermath they drifted apart. Now she’s forced back after a nasty divorce, with two daughters in tow, the shadows of that terrible night lurking on every corner. With a custody battle looming, she’s one wrong move away from her life falling apart completely.

So when news arrives that Tamsin, too, is returning to Easthaven, Liz fears their reunion will bring the awful truth spilling out into the open. But when she finally meets Tamsin, now mistress of the clifftop house whose locked gates have guarded the friends’ secret all these years, she’s in for a surprise. Tamsin looks different, and she doesn’t remember Liz, let alone what happened that night…

Something is clearly wrong. But confronting Tamsin means reliving the nightmare Liz has been running from for twenty years. Can she risk exposing what happened that night, knowing that the truth will destroy everything?

Cambridge, Colleen - A Trace of Poison #2 Phyllida Bright, housekeeper to Agatha Christie

 

In England’s stately manor houses, murder is not generally a topic for polite conversation. Mallowan Hall, home to Agatha Christie and her husband, Max, is the exception. And housekeeper Phyllida Bright delights in discussing gory plot details with her friend and employer . . .
 
The neighboring village of Listleigh has also become a hub of grisly goings-on, thanks to a Murder Fête organized to benefit a local orphanage. Members of The Detection Club—a group of celebrated authors such as G.K. Chesterton, Dorothy L. Sayers, and Agatha herself—will congregate for charitable events, including a writing contest for aspiring authors. The winner gets an international publishing contract, and entrants have gathered for a cocktail party—managed by the inimitable Phyllida—when murder strikes too close even for her comfort.
 
It seems the victim imbibed a poisoned cocktail intended for Alastair Whittlesby, president of the local writers’ club. The insufferable Whittlesby is thought to be a shoo-in for the prize, and ambition is certainly a worthy motive. But narrowing down these suspects could leave even Phyllida’s favorite fictional detective, M. Poirot, twirling his moustache in frustration.
 
It’s a mystery too intriguing for Phyllida to resist, but one fraught with duplicity and danger, for every guest is an expert in murder—and how to get away with it . . .
 

 

Child Lee & Andrew -  No Plan B #27 Jack Reacher, ex MP, USA 

 

When your name is Jack Reacher, the truth is always worth doing time for.

Gerrardsville, Colorado. One tragic event. Two witnesses. Two conflicting accounts. One witness sees a woman throw herself in front of a bus - clearly suicide. The other witness is Jack Reacher. And he sees what really happened - a man in grey hoodie and jeans, swift and silent as a shadow, pushing the victim to her death, before grabbing her bag and sauntering away.

Reacher follows the killer, not knowing that this was no random act of violence. It is part of something much bigger...a sinister, secret conspiracy, with powerful people on the take, enmeshed in an elaborate plot that leaves no room for error. If any step is compromised, the threat will have to be quickly and permanently removed.

Because when the threat is Reacher, there is No Plan B...
 

Dalgliesh, J M - Angel of Death #12 Tom Janssen, Norfolk

 

 An innocent man has everything to fear...

When the partial remains of a young woman are unearthed during a violent storm, it falls to DI Tom Janssen and his team to discover her identity and what brought her there.

A man is released from prison having been the apparent victim of a miscarriage of justice and returns home to rural Norfolk. Questions are being asked, not only of the police and their flawed investigation, but also of the man himself. A loner, strange and disinterested, is he truly innocent? Convicted without a body, if he didn't commit the murder he was sent to jail for, then where is she? Has a guilty man managed to evade justice and get away with murder or has a killer been hiding within the community all along?

Tensions are running high among the locals, people are split, with some threatening to take justice into their own hands. Old wounds, still to fully heal, are reopened and everyone wants resolution. But will Tom and his team be able to offer it, or will the investigation reveal dark secrets, long harboured, that will tear families apart?

 

Giuliani, C P -  A Treasonous Path #2 Tom Walsingham 

 

When one deadly plot is foiled, another begins…

England, 1583

Tom Walsingham is back in London, being groomed for intelligence work by his spymaster cousin, Sir Francis.

An anonymous informer has started sending letters from the French ambassador’s residence, claiming to have bribed the man’s secretary to pass on information.

The informer has discovered messages between the French and Mary, Queen of Scots, which could harm the English Queen Elizabeth.

When someone who works for the French Ambassador is killed in suspicious circumstances, Sir Francis sends Tom to investigate the matter – and to uncover the identity of the informer.

Tom must find a way into the French Ambassador’s good graces and make friends within his retinue without giving himself away.

And as the news from Scotland grow more and more alarming, it becomes imperative that Tom unveils the identity of the secret informer and exposes the intrigues at play.

Can Tom unravel the mystery and protect the Queen? Will he unmask the killer?

Or could he find himself the target of a deadly plot…?

Gray, Lisa - The Dark Room

Ex–crime reporter Leonard Blaylock spends his days on an unusual hobby, developing strangers’ forgotten and discarded rolls of film. He loves the small mysteries the photographs reveal to him. Then Leonard finds something no one would ever expect, or want, to see captured on film―the murder of a young woman.

But that’s impossible, because the woman is already dead. Leonard was there when it happened five years earlier.

He has never been able to shake his guilt from that terrible night. It cost Leonard everything: his career, his fiancée, his future. But if the woman didn’t really die, then what actually happened?

Hill, Reginald - Dalziel and Pascoe Hunt the Christmas Killer & Other Stories 

 

A Christmassy crime collection – the perfect gift this winter!

A vicar nailed to a tree in Yorkshire.
The theft of a priceless artefact during a fire.
A detective forced to tell the truth for 24 hours.
A body hidden in a basement.

From the restless streets of London to the wilds of the Lake District, displaying all his trademark humour, playfulness and clever plotting, this landmark collection brings together the very best of Reginald Hill’s short stories for the first time, complete with a foreword from Val McDermid.

 

Lawler, Liz - The Nurse's Secret 

My husband has been murdered. Everyone thinks I did it. Now I have to prove my innocence but I can’t tell the truth. Because then I’d have to confess who I really am…

My name is Sarah Shaw. I’m a nurse. I’m working at the hospital on my usual night shift when I receive an urgent call from the nurse’s station. As I rush down the brightly lit corridor I see two police officers. And I know it’s terrible news…

The words blur together as the officer standing in front of me tells me that my husband William is dead.

We were only married for a few short months. Our life together hadn’t even started. Now I’m thirty years old and a widow.

As the investigation begins, all eyes are on me: the young wife.

Even if it would clear my name, I can’t tell them the truth about my shocking past. But when a young nurse is killed, it’s a clear warning. My life is in danger too…

Lloyd, Robert J - The Poison Machine #2 Hunt and Hooke, C17

 

1679. A year has passed since the sensational attempt to murder King Charles II. Harry Hunt - estranged from his mentor Robert Hooke and no longer employed by the Royal Society - meets Sir Jonas Moore, the King s Surveyor-General of the Board of Ordnance, in the remote and windswept marshes of Norfolk. There, workers draining the fenland have uncovered a skeleton. Accompanied by his friend Colonel Fields, an old soldier for Parliament, and Hooke's niece, Grace, Harry confirms Sir Jonas's suspicion: the body is that of a dwarf, Captain Jeffrey Hudson, once famously given to Queen Henrietta Maria in a pie.

During the Civil Wars, Hudson accompanied the Queen to France to sell the Royal Jewels to fund her husband's army. He was sent home in disgrace after shooting a man in a duel. But nobody knew Hudson was dead. Another man, working as a spy, has lived as him since his murder. Now, this imposter has disappeared, taking vital information with him. Sir Jonas orders Harry to find him. Harry's search takes him to Paris, another city bedevilled by conspiracies and intrigues. He navigates its salons and libraries, and learns of a terrible plot against the current Queen of England, Catherine of Bragança, and her gathering of Catholics in London. Assassins plan to poison them all...

McKenna, Clara - Murder at the Majestic Hotel #4 Stella and Lyndy, 1905

 

Against all expectations in Edwardian England, newly married American heiress Stella Kendrick and British aristocrat Viscount “Lyndy” Lyndhurst are bucking traditions—and investigating murder—on their honeymoon . . .
 
Leaving behind tragedies surrounding their wedding at Morrington Hall, travel-worn Stella and Lyndy arrive at the grand Majestic Hotel in York to more misfortune—their stately honeymoon suite has been given away to Horace Wingrove, owner of England’s largest confectionery. Stella refuses to let an innocent booking mistake spoil the mood, but her optimism vanishes when Horace suffocates in the room where she and Lyndy should have stayed . . .
 
Unlike authorities on the scene, Stella can’t believe the business magnate’s death can be explained away as an accident. Troubling signs are everywhere—strange murmurs in the hallway, tight-lipped hotel staff, and a stolen secret recipe for Wingrave’s famous chocolate. Then there are Horace’s murky intentions for visiting the historic cathedral city, and those who were closely watching his every move . . .
 
As Stella and Lyndy tour Yorkshire and mingle with royals as husband and wife, they face a sinister mystery that puts their vows to the test. Can the couple work together to discover the truth about their romantic destination and the strange happenings haunting their trip before they’re treated to another terrifying surprise?

 

Morris, Vera - Death by the Sea #6 Anglian Detective Agency series 

 

Thorpeness, 1973. Wrongly exiled from London, Judge Neville Hanmer sought solace and a quiet life on the Suffolk coast. But then a face from the past unexpectedly resurfaces and he turns to The Anglian Detective Agency for help.

Laurel, Frank, and the rest of the team are busier than ever trying to solve the mysterious theft of rare plants from Yoxford Hall Gardens. But when Judge Hanmer doesn't show for their meeting, they find themselves embroiled in yet another case - one that will take them to darker places than they've ever been before.

With Laurel and Frank's relationship see-sawing out of control, can the team uncover the truth before it's too late? Or will a depraved killer succeed, and separate Laurel and Frank forever?
 

O'Connor, Carlene - No Strangers Here #1 Dimpna Wilde

 

Set in Ireland’s striking, rugged countryside, the USA Today bestselling author’s unsettling, atmospheric new crime fiction novel combines the eerie mood of Tana French and Louise Penny with the compulsively taut plotting of Dervla McTiernan and Lucy Foley, as an Irish veterinarian grapples with life, death, family dynamics, and the secrets at the heart of her small community…

On a rocky beach in the southwest of Ireland, the body of Johnny O’Reilly, sixty-nine years old and dressed in a suit and his dancing shoes, is propped on a boulder, staring sightlessly out to sea. A cryptic message is spelled out next to the body with sixty-nine polished black stones and a discarded vial of deadly veterinarian medication lies nearby. Johnny was a wealthy racehorse owner, known far and wide as The Dancing Man. In a town like Dingle, everyone knows a little something about everyone else. But dig a bit deeper, and there’s always much more to find. And when Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien is dispatched out of Killarney to lead the murder inquiry, he's determined to unearth every last buried secret.
 
Dimpna Wilde hasn’t been home in years. As picturesque as Dingle may be for tourists in search of their roots and the perfect jumper, to her it means family drama and personal complications. In fairness, Dublin hasn’t worked out quite as she hoped either. Faced with a triple bombshell—her mother rumored to be in a relationship with Jimmy, her father’s dementia is escalating, and her brother is avoiding her calls—Dimpna moves back to clear her family of suspicion.
 
Despite plenty of other suspects, the guards are crawling over the Wildes. But the horse business can be a brutal one, and as Dimpna becomes more involved with her old acquaintances and haunts, the depth of lingering grudges becomes clear. Theft, extortion, jealousy and greed. As Dimpna takes over the family practice, she's in a race with the detective inspector to uncover the dark, twisting truth, no matter how close to home it strikes . . .

Rhodes, Kate - The Brutal Tide #6 DI Ben Kitto 

 

REVENGE
DI Ben Kitto made many enemies in his time working as an undercover officer for the Met police, none more ruthless and calculating than gang leader Craig Travis.
IS WORTH
Travis has longed to make Kitto pay for his role in getting him convicted – and that day has finally arrived. Now, a dark and twisted killer is heading for the Scilly Isles, one who has waited a long time for revenge.
WAITING FOR . . .
With Kitto busy investigating the discovery of a body on the islands and distracted by the imminent arrival of his first child, his defences are down. He has so much to lose.

And Travis will stop at nothing to take it all from him.
 

Sherratt, Mel - Twisted Lives #6 DS Allie Shenton 

 

Honour among thieves. Keep your enemies close. Loyalty is everything.

When DI Allie Shenton is called out to a murder suicide, it quickly becomes clear that it’s a double slaying, and there is a killer on the loose. The bodies are found in a property owned by local entrepreneur/drug dealer Kenny Webb. Several young women are staying there, they are refusing to talk and one of them is missing.

While she waits on forensic evidence, Allie decides to do what she does best. She takes to the community to see who will talk. Right now, she’s the only one who can get answers. But then a third murder rattles everyone. Another known dealer is taken out.

With lives and lies being twisted, Allie needs to work out how everything is connected. It’s clear someone is out to finish things. Can she and her team rid the streets of Kenny Webb and his gang of merrymen, once and for all? And in doing so, stop the top man, Terry Ryder, from getting out of prison?

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

 

Slater, K L - The Girlfriend 

 

My husband’s dead. She’s at my door. She owns my home…

The doorbell rings, just days after my beloved husband’s sudden death. I don’t recognise the woman on our doorstep, with her buttery blonde highlights, a diamond bracelet identical to my own and a bouncing baby boy in her arms.

As I show her inside, I notice her eyes grow wide as she takes in our spacious hallway, and the big squashy sofas that we all used to pile on. She glances at the silver-framed family photos and my little daughter hiding behind my skirts.

She looks at me, her blue eyes serious. ‘I’m sorry’ she says. ‘I know this will be hard to hear. But I am your husband’s girlfriend. And this is his son.’

My world implodes. And then she tells me that she owns our home – and that she’s not going anywhere…
 

Tuomainen, Antti - The Moose Paradox #2 Rabbit Factor Trilogy tr. David Hackston 

 

Insurance mathematician Henri Koskinen has finally restored order both to his life and to YouMeFun, the adventure park he now owns, when a man from the past appears – and turns everything upside down again. More problems arise when the park’s equipment supplier is taken over by a shady trio, with confusing demands. Why won’t Toy of Finland Ltd sell the new Moose Chute to Henri when he needs it as the park’s main attraction?

Meanwhile, Henri’s relationship with artist Laura has reached breaking point, and, in order to survive this new chaotic world, he must push every calculation to its limits, before it’s too late…

Absurdly funny, heart-stoppingly poignant and full of nail-biting suspense, The Moose Paradox is the second instalment in the critically acclaimed, pitch-perfect Rabbit Factor Trilogy and things are messier than ever…
 

Wright, Susan Elliot - All You Ever Wanted 

 

You are inside.
With your husband and baby. Your life warm and calm and untroubled.
 
I am outside.
Alone. Looking in. Watching you.
                                               
You have all I ever wanted. 
Now it's time for you to share.