International Dagger Speculation (2018)

It's time to consider the titles eligible for the 2018 CWA International Dagger.

Here's the list of translated crime novels published between 1 April 2017 and 31 March 2018 ie the period of eligibility. There's 110* so far.

*as usual this total includes titles published by AmazonCrossing. I am not sure if these count as UK publications for the CWA Dagger however I imagine people interested in this list will also be interested in these books. 

In addition to the list I have set up a Good Reads widget on the right-hand side of the blog. This allows the covers to be visible. You can subscribe to this list through RSS.

In the list below I've also included the country of birth and gender of the author(s) plus the translator's name and the publisher.

Stats:

The breakdown by gender is 73 Male, 36 Female, 2 Male & Female teams.
Authors are from 22 countries. The most represented country is Sweden (25) followed by France (13), Norway (11) and Finland (10).
71 translators (including pairs of translators) brought you these titles, with 21 individuals having translated more than one, with Neil Smith and Marlaine Delargy having translated 5 each.

NB. The CWA website has the list of official submissions

I usually list these by month but as it's already 2018, I've put 2017's titles in one list and only 2018's by month:

April 2017 - December 2017

Jussi Adler-Olsen - The Scarred Woman (Denmark, M) (tr. William Frost, Quercus)
Boris Akunin - All The World's A Stage (Russia, M) (tr. Andrew Bromfield, W&N)
Tove Alsterdal - The Forgotten Dead (Sweden, F) (tr. Tiina Nunnally, HarperCollins)
Emma Angstrom - The Man In The Wall (Sweden, F) (tr. Dominic Hinde, Bloodhound Books)
Asa Avdic - The Dying Game (Sweden, F) (tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles, HarperCollins)

Laurent Binet - The 7th Function of Language (France, M) (tr. Sam Taylor, Harvill Secker)
Samuel Bjork - The Owl Always Hunts at Night (Norway, M) (tr. Charlotte Barslund, Doubleday)
Michel Bussi - Don't Let Go (France, M) (tr. Sam Taylor, W&N)

Andrea Camilleri - A Nest of Vipers (Italy, M) (tr. Stephen Sartarelli, Mantle)
Christoffer Carlsson - Master, Liar, Traitor, Friend (Sweden, M) (tr. Michael Gallagher, Scribe)
Donato Carrisi - The Girl in the Fog (Italy, M) (tr. Howard Curtis, Abacus)

Arne Dahl - Watching You (Sweden, M) (tr. Neil Smith, Harvill Secker)
K O Dahl - Faithless (Norway, M) (tr. Don Bartlett, Orenda Books)
Torkil Damhaug - Certain Signs that You are Dead (Norway, M) (tr. Robert Ferguson, Headline)
Luca D'Andrea - The Mountain (Italy, M) (tr. Howard Curtis, MacLehose Press)
Frederic Dard - The King of Fools (France, M) (tr. Lousie Rogers Lalaurie, Pushkin Vertigo)
Polina Dashkova - Madness Treads Lightly (Russia, F) (tr. Marian Schwartz, AmazonCrossing)
Giancarlo De Cataldo & Carlo Bonini - Suburra (Italy, M & M) (tr. Antony Shugaar, Europa Editions)
Maurizio De Giovanni - Glass Souls (Italy, M) (tr. Antony Shugaar, Europa Editions)
Anders de la Motte - The Silenced (apa Ultimatum)) (Sweden, M) (tr. Neil Smith, HarperCollins)

Ramon Diaz Eterovic - Dark Echoes of the Past (Chile, M) (tr. Patrick Blaine, AmazonCrossing)

Agnete Friis - What My Body Remembers (Denmark, F) (tr. Lindy Falk Van Rooyen, Soho Press)

Santiago Gamboa - Return to the Dark Valley (Colombia, M) (tr. Howard Curtis, Europa Editions)
Pascal Garnier - Low Heights (France, M) (tr. Melanie Florence, Gallic Books)
Laurent Gaude - Hell's Gate (France, M) (tr. Emily Boyce & Jane Aitken, Gallic Books)
Philippe Georget - Crimes of Winter (France, M) (tr.Steven Randall, Europa Editions)
Malin Persson Giolito - Quicksand (Sweden, F) (tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles, Simon & Schuster)
Johana Gustawsson - Block 46 (France, F) (tr. Maxim Jakubowski, Orenda Books)
Amir Gutfreund - Last Bullet Calls It (Israel, M) (tr. Yardenne Greenspan & Evan Fallenberg,  AmazonCrossing)

Karo Hamalainen - Cruel is the Night (Finland, M) (tr. Owen Witesman, Soho Press)
Abdelilah Hamdouchi - Bled Dry (Morocco, M) (tr. Benjamin Smith, Hoopoe)
Lotte and Soren Hammer - The Lake (Denmark, F & M) (tr. Charlotte Barslund, Bloomsbury)
Sophie Henaff - The Awkward Squad (France, F) (tr. Sam Gordon)
Nir Hezroni - Three Envelopes (Israel, M) (tr. Steven Cohen, Point Blank)
Elina Hirvonen - When Time Runs Out (Finland, F) (tr. Hildi Hawkins, Zaffre)
Hjorth-Rosenfeldt - The Silent Girl (Sweden, M & M) (tr. Marlaine Delargy, Century)
Peter Hoeg - The Susan Effect (Denmark, M) (tr. Martin Aitken, Harvill Secker)
Martin Holmen - Down for the Count (Sweden, M) (tr. Henning Koch, Pushkin Vertigo)
Anne Holt - Offline (apa Odd Numbers) (Norway, F) (tr. Anne Bruce, Corvus)
Anne Holt - In Dust and Ashes (Norway, F) (tr. Anne Bruce, Corvus)
Tetsuya Honda - Soul Cage (Japan, M) (tr. Giles Murray, Titan Books)

Arnaldur Indridason - The Shadow District (Iceland, M) (tr. Victoria Cribb, Harvill Secker)

Ragnar Jonasson - Whiteout (Iceland, M) (tr. Quentin Bates, Orenda Books)

Volker Kutscher - The Silent Death (Germany, M) (tr. Niall Sellar, Sandstone)

David Lagercrantz - The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye (Millennium V) (Sweden, M) (tr. George Goulding,  MacLehose Press)
Nicola Lagioia - Ferocity (Italy, M) (tr. Antony Shugaar, Europa Editions)
Hans Olav Lahlum - The Anthill Murders (Norway, M) (tr. Kari Dickson, Mantle)
Jens Lapidus - Stockholm Delete (Sweden, M) (tr. Alice Menzies, Corvus)
Herve Le Corre - After the War (France, M) (tr. Sam Taylor, MacLehose Press)
Leena Lehtolainen - Below the Surface (Finland, F) (tr. Owen Witesman, AmazonCrossing)
Leena Lehtolainen - Before I Go (Finland, F) (tr. Owen Witesman, AmazonCrossing)
Pierre Lemaitre - Three Days and a Life (France, M) (tr. Frank Wynne, MacLehose Press)
Minna Lindgren - The Lavender Ladies Detective Agency: Escape from Sunset Grove (Finland, F) (tr. Kristian London, Pan)
Jordi Llobregat - The Secret of Vesalius (Spain, M) (tr. Thomas Bunstead, Riverrun)

Henning Mankell - After the Fire (Sweden, M) (tr. Marlaine Delargy, Harvill Secker)
Deon Meyer - Fever (South Africa, M) (tr. K L Seegers, Hodder)
Jon Michelet - The Frozen Woman (Norway, M) (tr. Don Bartlett, Oldcastle Books)
Kanae Minato - Penance (Japan, F) (tr. Philip Gabriel, Mulholland Books)
Quentin Mouron - Three Drops of Blood and A Cloud of Cocaine (Switzerland, M) (tr. W Donald Wilson, Bitter Lemon Press)

Kristine Naess - Only Human (Norway, F) (tr. Sean Kinsella, Harvill Secker)
Fuminori Nakamura - The Boy in the Earth (Japan, M) (tr. Allison Markin Powell, Soho Press)
Jo Nesbo - The Thirst (Norway, M) (tr. Neil Smith, Harvill Secker)
Hakan Nesser - The Darkest Day (Sweden, M) (tr. Sarah Death, Mantle)

Kristina Ohlsson - Buried Lies (Sweden, F) (tr. Neil Smith, Simon & Schuster)
Sofi Oksanen - Norma (Finland, F) (tr. Owen F Witesman, Atlantic Books)
Fredrik T Olsson - Acts of Vanishing (tr. Sweden, M) (tr. Michael Gallagher, Sphere)

Leonardo Padura - Heretics (Cuba, M) (tr. Anna Kushner, Bitter Lemon Press)
Andreas Pfluger - In the Dark (Germany, M) (tr. Shaun Whiteside, Head of Zeus)

Marc Raabe - The Shock (Germany, M) (tr. Caroline Waight, Manilla (Bonnier))
Karolina Ramqvist - The White City (Sweden, F) (tr. Saskia Vogel, Grove Press UK)
Dolores Redondo - Offering to the Storm (Spain, F) (tr. Nick Caistor & Lorenza Garcia, HarperCollins)
Roslund-Hellstrom - Three Minutes (Sweden, M & M) (tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel, Quercus)
Jean-Christophe Rufin - Checkpoint (France, M) (tr. Alison Anderson, Europa Editions)

Emelie Schepp - Marked For Revenge (Sweden, F) (tr. Suzanne Martin Cheadle, HQ)
Lilja Sigurdardottir - Snare (Iceland, F)  (tr. Quentin Bates, Orenda Books)
Gunnar Staalesen - Wolves in the Dark (Norway, M) (tr. Don Bartlett, Orenda Books)
Viveca Sten Guiltless - (Sweden, F) (tr. Marlaine Delargy, AmazonCrossing)
Viveca Sten - Tonight You're Dead (Sweden, F) (tr. Marlaine Delargy, AmazonCrossing)

Lone Theils - Fatal Crossing (Denmark, F) (tr. Charlotte Barslund, Arcadia Books)
Antti Tuomainen - The Man Who Died (Finland, M) (tr. David Hackston, Orenda Books)
Helene Tursten - Protected by the Shadows (Sweden, F) (tr. Marlaine Delargy, Soho Press)

Jussi Valtonen - They Know Not What They Do (Finland, M) (tr. Kristian London, Oneworld)
Fred Vargas - The Accordionist (France, F) (tr. Sian Reynolds, Harvill Secker)
Elena Varvello - Can you hear me? (Italy, F) (tr. Alex Valente, Two Roads)

Inger Wolf - Under a Black Sky (Denmark, F) (tr. Mark Kline, People's Press)
Inger Wolf - Dark September (Denmark, F) (tr. Mark Kline, People's Press)

January 2018

Stefan Ahnhem - Eighteen Below (Sweden, M) (tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles, Head of Zeus)
Oliver Bottini - Zen and the Art of Murder (Germany, M) (tr. Jamie Bulloch, MacLehose Press)
Andrea Camilleri - The Pyramid of Mud (Italy, M) (tr. Stephen Sartarelli, Mantle)
Mario Giordano - Auntie Poldi and the Fruits of the Lord (Germany, M) (tr. John Brownjohn, John Murray)
Mons Kallentoft - Earth Storm (Sweden, M) (tr. Neil Smith, Hodder)
Dirk Kurbjuweit - Fear (Germany, M) (tr. Imogen Taylor, Orion)
Sabri Luatah - Savages: The Wedding (France, M) (tr. Gavin Bowd, Corsair)
Leila Slimani - Lullaby (apa The Perfect Nanny) (Morocco, F)(tr. Sam Taylor, Faber & Faber)
Anton Svensson - Made In Sweden Part 2: The Sons (Sweden, M & M) (tr. Hildred Crill, Sphere)
Nicolas Verdan - The Greek Wall (Switzerland, M) (tr. W. Donald Wilson, Bitter Lemon Press)

February 2018

Paul Colize - Back Up (Belgium, M) (tr. Louise Lalaurie, Point Blank)
Thomas Enger - Killed (Norway, M) (tr. Kari Dickson, Orenda Books)
Camilla Lackberg - The Girl in the Woods (Sweden, F) (tr. Tiina Nunnally, HarperCollins)
Elmer Mendoza - Name of the Dog (Mexico, M) (tr. Mark Fried, MacLehose Press)
Ahmed Saadawi - Frankenstein in Bagdad (Iraq, M) (tr. Jonathan Wright, Oneworld)
Hideo Yokoyama - Seventeen (Japan, M) (tr. Louise Heal Kawai, riverrun)

March 2018

Peter Beck - Damnation (Switzerland, M) (tr. Jamie Bulloch, Point Blank)
Roxanne Bouchard - We Were the Salt of the Sea (Canada, F) (tr. David Warriner, Orenda Books)
Melba Escobar - House of Beauty (Colombia, F) (tr. Elizabeth Bryer, Fourth Estate)
Lotte and Soren Hammer - The Night Ferry (Denmark, F & M) (tr. Charlotte Barslund, Bloomsbury)
Arnaldur Indridason - The Shadow Killer (Iceland, M) (tr. Victoria Cribb, Harvill Secker)
Ragnar Jonasson - The Darkness (Iceland, M) (tr. Victoria Cribb, Penguin)
Leena Lehtolainen - The Nightingale Murder (Finland, F) (tr. Owen F Witesman, AmazonCrossing)
Harri Nykanen - Holy Ceremony (Finland) M (tr. Kristian London, Bitter Lemon Press)
Yrsa Sigurdardottir - The Reckoning (Iceland, F) (tr. Victoria Cribb, Hodder & Stoughton) (Moved to May 2018)

Award News: Petrona Award 2018 - the books

The closing date for the Petrona Award 2018 was 31 December 2017 and we received all but one of those on the eligibles list. And this is what the reading looks like....(plus 3 ebook entries).

The judging panel will be meeting on 12 April to decide the shortlist. Which titles will make it?

Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2017 - Ewa

The final entry in this series of Euro Crime reviewers' favourite British/European/translated reads of 2017 is from Ewa Sherman:

Ewa Sherman's favourite reads of 2017

Top 5 of 2017

The following Scandi books had a huge impact on me in various ways, and are simply unforgettable. In alphabetical order by title:

The Crow Girl by Erik Axl Sund (tr. Neil Smith): dark, disturbing, unpleasant – and completely addictive as the authors examine the damage caused by abuse and how people attempt to deal with it through vengeance, revenge, or developing personality disorders.

The Dying Detective by Leif G W Persson (tr. Neil Smith): inquisitive, intelligent and emotionally mature, just like the main protagonist Lars Martin Johansson, obsessed with finding the truth of a forgotten cold case. A masterpiece from the celebrated criminologist.

The Legacy by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir (tr. Victoria Cribb) full of hidden love, trademark dark humour and desire to understand the chilling impacts on those connected to a Children’s Home, while imagination runs riot, finding ways to extinguish people’s lives.

The Mine by Antti Tuomainen (tr. David Hackston) brings together environmental issues, snow and secrets, and complex relationship between family and crime, and delivers exquisite gems like ‘We don’t think rationally about the things we love’.

Snare by Lilja Sigurðardóttir (tr. Quentin Bates): a sparkling firework of a novel, tightly-plotted, fast-paced and cracking with tension. And dangerously fun as the trapped heroine survives on a cocktail of cocaine smuggling and love for her young son.

Huge thanks to the translators who continue to bring these incredible books to the English-speaking world. Without their skill, talent, hard work and magic with words the reading spectrum wouldn’t have been so exciting.

Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2017 - Mark

The penultimate entry in this series of Euro Crime reviewers' favourite British/European/translated reads of 2017 is from Mark Bailey:

Mark Bailey's favourite reads of 2017

Top 5 reads of 2017

In alphabetical order by author:

The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books by Martin Edwards (Non-fiction)
I was raised on golden age crime fiction (I have a school report from when I was aged 11 telling my parents off for allowing me to read such age-inappropriate material). Here Martin Edwards explores the evolution of the crime genre during the first half of the twentieth century through acknowledged masterpieces and some lesser known works.

The Chalk Pit (Ruth Galloway 9) by Elly Griffiths
In the underground tunnels beneath Norwich boiled human bones have been found by Dr Ruth Galloway. The finding that they are relatively recent and not a medieval curiosity means DCI Nelson has a murder enquiry on his hands.
DS Judy Johnson is investigating the disappearance of a local rough sleeper with the only lead being the rumour that she’s gone ‘underground’. This might just be a figure of speech, but the discovery of the bones and the rumours that the network of old chalk-mining tunnels under Norwich is home to a vast community of rough sleepers give cause for concern.
As the weather gets hotter, tensions rise. Another woman goes missing and the police are under pressure to find her. The dark secrets of “The Underground” seems to be the key – can Ruth and Nelson uncover its secrets before it claims another victim?
I am a big fan of the Ruth Galloway novels but I do feel that they are best enjoyed in sequence but you can probably pick up most of the background needed to enjoy the novel as you go along.
As usual there is the excellent characterisation that one expects in Elly Griffiths’ books that gives you believable albeit flawed but ultimately likeable ongoing main protagonists (Ruth Galloway, Harry Nelson & Judy especially in this one although Kate is coming to the fore). There is also the usual sufficiently twisty plot to keep you engaged whilst giving you a chance to solve the mystery before the protagonists do and there is a well-researched backdrop to hang the story on.
As I have stated about previous Ruth Galloway mysteries- if you do have a liking for modern cozies with perhaps a little hint of grit then I would strongly recommend this to you.

Police at the Station and They Don’t Look Friendly (Sean Duffy 6) by Adrian McKinty
Detective Inspector Sean Duffy is on holiday in the Donegal Gaeltacht with his girlfriend and baby daughter. He is called back to Carrickfergus where a man has been shot in the back in the Sunnylands Estate with an arrow. Uncovering who has done it takes Duffy down a dangerous road leading to a lonely clearing where three masked gunmen will force Duffy to dig his own grave. Hunted by forces unknown, threatened by Internal Affairs and with his relationship with his girlfriend on the rocks, Duffy needs all of his wits to get out of this investigation in one piece.
Once again, this a very assured police procedural with multiple serious themes (the peace process is still in the background along with the ongoing war (both in Ireland and elsewhere – the Gibraltar shootings provide a spark to more rioting)), economic regeneration (or the lack thereof in Carrickfergus) is in the middle and another cover up in the foreground) and great writing which is strongly literate but still keeps you engaged and turning the page.

A Rising Man (Sam Wyndham 1) by Abir Mukherjee (2016 publication)
Captain Sam Wyndham, formerly of Scotland Yard, is newly arrived in Calcutta seeking a fresh start after his experiences during the Great War. He has just arrived when he is caught up in a murder investigation that will take him into the dark underbelly of the British Raj. A senior British official has been murdered, and the note left in his mouth warns the British to quit India or else. With rising political dissent and the stability of the Raj under threat, Wyndham and his two new colleagues embark on an investigation that will take them from the luxurious parlours of wealthy British traders to the seedy opium dens of the city.
This is a well-researched book with Calcutta and India beautifully described. The dominant factor for me is relationship between Sam and his Indian Sergeant (who is preparing for an orderly transfer of rule by acquiring the requisite skills of a detective). This is both a very good historical novel and a very good thriller and the next in the series is on my to-be-read pile.

The Hidden (Monika Paniatowski 12) by Sally Spencer
The prologue has the daughters of PC Michael Knightly finding the body of a woman in the grounds of a local country house – he recognises her as DCI Monika Paniatowski.
Her team believe that the girl found dead in the woods is the victim of a ritual killing by a secret society in the heart of Whitebridge but without Paniatowski to back them up they are forced to treat it as a domestic. Therefore Meadows, Crane and Beresford operate by themselves – cutting corners, ignoring procedure, and running the risk that their careers could be brought to an abrupt and dramatic end.
Monika knows who the killer is and also knows that he is stalking her daughter Louisa but there is nothing she can do about it as she is one of the killer’s victims too and is lying in a coma – hearing everything, but unable to move or speak!
This is a good solid police procedural which is well researched and plotted and you are kept engaged as the plot twists and turns. The absence of Paniatowski is an issue but the other characters make up for it especially DS Kate Meadows and Louisa Paniatowski. I would recommend it to fans of police procedurals in general but especially those set in Britain.

Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2017 - Lynn

Today it's Euro Crime reviewer Lynn's turn to reveal her favourite British/European/translated reads of 2017:

Lynn Harvey's favourite reads of 2017

2017 Top Five
In no particular order I give you my favourite Euro Crime reads of 2017, although I think one or two may have been published earlier.

Donna Leon – Earthly Remains (2017 Heinemann)
Donna Leon was one of my favourite early introductions to "European Crime" and I have always enjoyed her novels featuring Commissario Guido Brunetti of the Venice police and his wife Paola. In EARTHLY REMAINS Guido has reached crunch point with the system. Burnt out, he is ordered to rest and takes advantage of the chance of some isolation and reading on an island in the Lagoon. But Brunetti is Brunetti and sooner or later there is a death which he feels drawn to investigate. I really enjoyed this novel, its laguna setting and its insight into Brunetti's own past.
Donna Leon still has magic for me.

Frédéric Dard – Crush (2016 Pushkin Vertigo) Translated by Daniel Seton
I have never read Frédéric Dard before. A prolific French crime writer, friend of Simenon, he died in 2000. CRUSH is set in a grim industrial town in Northern France in the 1950s. It tells the story of 17 year old Louise who is fascinated by a wealthy American couple, the Roolands, with their glossy American car and totally alien lifestyle. Her fascination becomes obsession and the novel takes a dark route. A concise but gripping thriller, I read this in one sitting.

Leif GW Persson - The Dying Detective (2017 Black Swan) Translated by Neil Smith
Retired Chief of Police Lars Martin Johansson is in hospital recovering from a stroke when a chance encounter alerts him to a fact concerning an old investigation into the rape and murder of a child. The case's statute of limitations has expired. Nevertheless Johansson becomes determined to solve it. My first Leif Persson crime novel, I shall have to go retrospective.

Kati Hiekkapelto - The Exiled (2017 Orenda) Translated by David Hackston
Hiekkapelto's third "Anna Fekete" crime novel is set in Anna's home village in Northern Serbia rather than Finland. She is on holiday revisiting friends and family when she becomes a victim of a bag-snatch. The incident draws her deeper into an investigation of a death and then deeper into her own past.
I do my travelling in my crime reading and this was a captivating new landscape to explore.

Parker Bilal - Dark Water (2017 Bloomsbury)
I am a Parker Bilal fan, faithfully following the investigations of his Sudanese private eye, Makana, in his adopted country of Egypt. But this time Makana is drawn into an unfamiliar world of espionage as he is persuaded by a mysterious Englishman to escort an Iraqi scientist to safety from his hiding place in Istanbul. It's a case that once again brings Makana into contact with his own painful past.

And a sixth book for luck! And because this has become my "go to" Nordic Noir for Christmas and, yes, it is possible to re-read it and still be spellbound.

Johan Theorin - The Darkest Room (2010 Black Swan) Translated by Marlaine Delargy
Theorin's second novel in his Öland Quartet, Öland being an island off the Swedish coast large enough for its own community and towns but these days primarily home to vacationers and the elderly. Set in a bitterly cold mid-winter, this crime novel tells the stories of Katrine and Joakim who have come with their children to make a new home and renovate an isolated house near two lighthouses on the island's northern coast. Their plans are shattered by a death. What follows is a wonderful Christmas blend of snow, crime and creepiness. I had to add it to this list.

Happy New Year, best wishes and good reading for 2018.

US Cozy Review: Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend

Welcome to another entry in my irregular feature: US cozy review.

Though it's not obvious from the cover this is set in a very cold and snowy January...

Tempest in the Tea Leaves by Kari Lee Townsend, August 2011, Berkley Prime Crime ISBN: 0425242757

Tempest in the Tea Leaves introduces Sunny Meadows who hails from a wealthy but domineering family who don't believe in her psychic abilities. She buys a reputedly haunted house in Divinity, New York State where she sets up her fortune-telling business. Her first client, however, the head librarian is much troubled and when Sunny reads her tea leaves she foresees the librarian's death.

Sunny gives the librarian some of her calming home-grown tea leaves to take away but after the librarian's departure she begins to worry. About an hour later she calls the police and she meets the ruggedly handsome Detective Mitch Stone for the first time.

When the librarian is found poisoned by Sunny's tea leaves, Sunny becomes the number one suspect. In a remarkable twist though, the Mayor, who wants a speedy conclusion to the case, insists that Sunny partners Mitch in investigating the case to clear her name.

Much banter and awkward scrapes ensue as each tries to outdo the other whilst denying their obvious attraction to each other.

Sunny's house comes with an inhabitant – an eerie white cat who can be seen and touched but who doesn't eat or drink and appears and disappears at will. And proves himself very useful at times.

I enjoyed this book. I liked the sparky relationship between the two leads though some of it is a bit juvenile and some of Sunny's actions were downright dangerous. I did, though, guess correctly whodunnit nearer the end.

My only real nit-pick is that the cause of death as determined by the coroner is different to that given by the murderer and if the murderer is correct then Sunny would never have been much of a suspect in the first place.

Overall though, this was a light read in a new series to which I looked forward to returning. I have books two and three already, and there is a fourth plus a short story available on ebook.

Karen Meek, January 2018.

Audio Book News: Mistress of the Just Land

For fans of the Inspector McLevy radio series, there is now a (currently) two-book series featuring Mistress Jean Brash: Mistress of the Just Land (2016) and The Lost Daughter (2017) written by David Ashton.

Mistress of the Just Land, is currently 99p on kindle but the bonus is that the add-on Audible narration is only £2.99 and is narrated by "Jean Brash" herself, Siobhan Redmond.

Jean Brash, who first appeared in BBC Radio 4's Inspector McLevy mysteries, is a formidable woman in her prime. Once a child of the streets, she is now Mistress of the Just Land, the best bawdy-hoose in Edinburgh and her pride and joy. But a murder in her establishment could wreck everything.

New Year's Day - and through the misty streets of Victorian Edinburgh an elegant, female figure walks the cobblestones - with a certain vengeful purpose. Jean Brash, the Mistress of the Just Land, brings her cool intelligence to solving a murder, a murder that took place in her own bawdy-hoose.

A prominent judge, strangled and left dangling, could bring her whole life to ruin and she didn't haul herself off the streets, up through low dirty houses of pleasure and violent vicious men - to let that come to pass. The search for the killers will take Jean back into her own dark past as she uncovers a web of political and sexual corruption in the high reaches of the Edinburgh establishment.

A young boy's death long ago is demanding justice but, as the body count increases, she has little time before a certain Inspector James McLevy comes sniffing round like a wolf on the prowl.

Jean may be on the side of natural justice but is she on the side of the law? Or will the law bring her down?

Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2017 - Laura

Today it's Euro Crime reviewer Laura's turn to reveal her favourite British/European/translated reads of 2017:

Laura Root's favourite reads of 2017 (in no particular order)

The Dry by Jane Harper.
Lying in Wait by Liz Nugent.
A Traitor in the Family by Nicholas Searle.
The Crime Writer by Jill Dawson
The Pledge by Friedrich Durrenmatt translated by Joel Agee (Pushkin Vertigo edition)

Radio News: Angstrom on Radio 4

Starting tonight at 6.30pm on Radio 4, four-parter Angstrom, a spoof of Scandinavian crime stories...

A comedic Scandinavian detective yarn starring Matthew Holness, written by Jason Hazeley and Joel Morris.

Knut Angström is a brooding, alcoholic, maverick Swedish detective from the tough streets of Oslo. Following the death of his wife, he is posted to the Njalsland peninsula where he becomes embroiled in a labyrinthine murder (or possibly not-murder) case which bears an eerie similarity to the Askeladden killings - a case from his distant past.

Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2017 - Terry

Today it's Euro Crime's historical crime fiction expert Terry's turn to reveal his favourite British/European/translated reads of 2017:


Terry Halligan's favourite reads of 2017

The Paris Spy (Maggie Hope Mystery) by Susan Elia MacNeal

Thrilling mystery uncovering intrigue in 1942 Paris.


The Body In The Ice by A J MacKenzie

Gripping historical mystery set in 1796 Romney Marsh.


The Outcasts Of Time by Ian Mortimer

From the grip of the Black Death of 1300 through to 1942 with time travel jumps every 99 years.


Shadow Play by Cynthia Harrod-Eagles

The body of smartly dressed businessman turns up in a dirty car workshop. DI Bill Slider investigates...


The Last Hours by Minette Walters

1348, the Black Death turns up in Dorset but is avoided in a particular estate...

New Releases - January 2018

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in January 2018 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). January and future months (and years) can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything do please leave a comment.

• Adams, Jane - Fakes and Lies #12 Naomi Blake, blind ex-police officer
• Ahnhem, Stefan - Eighteen Below #3 Fabian Risk
• Archer, Ursula P - Strangers (with Arno Strobel)
• Armstrong, Ross - Head Case
• Bailey, R J - Nobody Gets Hurt #2 Sam Wylde, Close Protection Officer
• Blaedel, Sara - The Stolen Angel #6 Detective Inspector Louise Rick
• Blaedel, Sara - The Running Girl #5 Detective Inspector Louise Rick
• Bottini, Oliver - Zen and the Art of Murder #1 The Black Forest Investigations
• Broadribb, Steph - Deep Blue Trouble #2 Lori Anderson
• Bruce, Alison - I Did It for Us
• Camilleri, Andrea - The Pyramid of Mud #22 Inspector Montalbano, Sicily, Italy
• Carver, CJ - Know Me Now #3 Dan Forrester
• Chambers, Kimberley - Life of Crime
• Charlton, Karen - Plague Pits & River Bones #4 Detective Lavender and Constable Woods
• Clements, Rory - Nucleus #2 Thomas Wilde, 1930s
• Croft, Elle - The Guilty Wife
• Dean, Will - Dark Pines #1 Tuva Moodyson, Sweden
• Deegan, James - Once A Pilgrim
• Dolan, Eva - This is How it Ends
• Fields, Helen - Perfect Death #3 DI Luc Callanach, Edinburgh
• Giordano, Mario - Auntie Poldi and the Fruits of the Lord #2 Auntie Poldi, Sicily
• Gray, Clio - Hidden Pasts #3 Scottish Mysteries
• Hawksley, Humphrey - Man on Ice
• Hilton, L S - Ultima #3 Maestra series
• Hingley, David - Traitor #3 Mercia Blakewood
• Holland, Jane - Forget Her Name
• Kallentoft, Mons - Zack (with Markus Lutteman)
• Kallentoft, Mons - Earth Storm #8 Superintendent Malin Fors, Linkoping
• Knight, Alanna - Murder Lies Waiting #9 Rose McQuinn, Lady Investigator, late 19thC, Scotland
• Koch, Emily - If I Die Before I Wake
• Kurbjuweit, Dirk - Fear
• Mark, David - Scorched Earth #7 Detective Sergeant McAvoy of Humberside CID
• May, Peter - I'll Keep You Safe
• O'Donovan, Gerard - The Long Silence #1 Tom Collins, 1920s Hollywood
• Oswald, James - The Gathering Dark #8 Detective Inspector McLean, Edinburgh
• Owen, Nikki - The Girl Who Ran #3 Project trilogy
• Peacock, Caro - The Killing Site #9 Liberty Lane, Victorian Era
• Raybourn, Deanna - A Treacherous Curse #3 Veronica Speedwell, adventuress and butterfly hunter, Victorian London
• Rhodes, Kate - Hell Bay #1 DI Ben Kitto
• Robertson, Craig - The Photographer #6 DS Rachel Narey, Glasgow
• Rowland, Laura Joh - A Mortal Likeness #2 Miss Sarah Bain, Victorian Era
• Sargeant, Rachel - The Perfect Neighbours
• Seymour, EV - Final Target #2 Josh Thane
• Seymour, Gerald - A Damned Serious Business
• Siger, Jeffrey - An Aegean April #9 Former Athens police chief Andreas Kaldis & local police chief Tassos Stamatos, Mykonos
• Slimani, Leila - Lullaby
• Spain, Jo - The Confession
• Svensson, Anton - Made In Sweden Part 2: The Sons
• Templeton, Aline - Human Face #1 DI Kelso Strang
• Tudor, C J - The Chalk Man
• Vaughan, Sarah - Anatomy of a Scandal
• Verdan, Nicolas - The Greek Wall
• Wesolowski, Matt - Hydra
• Wilkinson, Kerry - Eye for an Eye #12 DS Jessica Daniel, Manchester
• Wood, Simon - Saving Grace #2 Fleetwood and Sheils
• Wright, M P - Restless Coffins #3 J T Ellington, Bristol, 1969
• Yates, Christopher J - Grist Mill Road

Favourite Euro Crime Reads of 2017 - Karen

Here are my favourite British/European/translated reads of 2017:

Karen Meek's favourite reads of 2017

1. British/European/Translated

I recently posted about this but I make no apologies for highlighting it again by revealing that my favourite read of 2017 was The Dying Detective by Leif G W Persson translated by Neil Smith. I'm so pleased that it won the CWA International Dagger.

My other top 4 in alphabetical order:

Death of a Ghost by M C Beaton
Hellfire by Karin Fossum translated by Kari Dickson
The Shadow District by Arnaldur Indridason translated by Victoria Cribb
A Patient Fury by Sarah Ward

2. Favourite Audio Book

I've got back into listening to audio books this year but not as many as I'd have liked. Raven Crime Reads recommended this author when I picked her brains at CrimeFest, so I thought I'd try the audio and it was such fun. If you like the Bryant and May series by Christopher Fowler then why not try The Strings of Murder by Oscar de Muriel narrated by Andy Secombe. It features a mismatched due of police officers in 1888 Edinburgh and is very funny and very well narrated.

3. Favourite US Cozy

Death Crashes the Party by Vickie Fee.

Some Mini Scandi Reviews II

Here are brief reviews of some of the Scandi books I've read this year. I'm including Vargas here as Iceland plays a significant role in her latest Adamsberg.

Karin Fossum – hellfire tr. Kari Dickson

Another bleak outing from Karin Fossum. It starts with the murder of a mother and child and the narrative subsequently alternates between events of several months leading up to the present day, and the present day investigation by series regular, Sejer. Fossum really knows how to break a reader's heart.





Leif G W Persson – The Dying Detective tr. Neil Smith

Shortlisted for the Petrona Award 2017 and winner of the CWA International Dagger 2017, there's not much to add to that. I loved this book. Borrowing from a tradition (I think) begun with Josephine Tey's The Daughter of Time, our ailing detective Lars Martin Johansson is laid up and asked to investigate a cold case from his sick bed - incidentally a case messed up by one Evert Backstrom. He must find the killer of a little girl. As the statue of limitations has passed what can they do if they do find the murderer? One of the many questions pondered by Johansson.

Yrsa Sigurdardottir – Why Did You Lie? tr. Victoria Cribb

Also shortlisted for the Petrona Award 2017, Why Did You Lie? is a multi-person narrative – how do their stories overlap and who is behind the sinister events affecting each person? This is the sort of book that when you get to the conclusion you then have to go back to the beginning of the book to see how it's all been cleverly woven together. Some of the narratives are more compelling than others so overall it doesn’t quite live up to the heights of the Petrona Award winning The Silence of the Sea, which I loved.


Fred Vargas – A Climate of Fear tr. Sian Reynolds

This is the latest in the Commissaire Adamsberg series to reach us in English, and it was shortlisted for the CWA International Dagger 2017. This one is mostly set in Paris and surroundings with a significant thread playing out in Iceland which necessitates a visit by Adamsberg and some of his colleagues. Vargas weaves her usual fantastical tale this time revolving around Robespierre and the French Revolution/Reign of Terror. I found this topic interesting up to a point but the pace of the book sags in the middle after what seems like countless historical re-enactments and only springs back to life in the subsequent Icelandic section. Overall this was a bit of a disappointment compared to her usual 5-star outings. Nonetheless she's always worth a read but it's perhaps not the best one to start with.

Black Mirror: Crocodile (Netflix)

One of the episodes of Black Mirror's fourth series, available on Netflix on 29 December, is called Crocodile. Set in Iceland it stars Andrea Riseborough and is described as a Scandi-noir influenced thriller (in my tv guide).

Here is the trailer:

Website Updates: December 2017

I've updated the main files on the Euro Crime website today. Euro Crime includes both British and other European crime fiction writers (that have been published in English); non-British/European born crime writers who are strongly associated with British/European crime fiction (eg. Donna Leon), and crime writers in translation from outside of Europe.

Just a couple of reminders regarding the New Releases page:

1. The main by month/by author pages refer to when a book is published (in English) anywhere in the world however the 'by category ie historical, translated etc' is specific to the UK.*

2. When a book is released "early" in ebook I am taking the publication date as to be when the print edition comes out (this is the rule we use for determining Petrona Award eligibility).

*I've also added the breakdowns for 2018: ie published in the UK in 2018 (ALL, Anthology, First Novel, Historical, Translated) - NB the Anthology one is currently blank.

As always, if you spot something wrong or missing, please do let me know.

Here's a summary of the usual updates:

The Author Websites page now lists 1068 sites.

In Bibliographies there are now bibliographies for 2519 authors (12700 titles of which 3057 are reviewed).

I've added new bibliographies for: Emma Angstrom, Natasha Bell, James Buckler, Tana Collins, Elle Croft, Alex Day, Teresa Driscoll, Sarah Dunnakey, Jessica Ellicott, Caroline England, Caroline Eriksson, Ramon Diaz Eterovic, Jessica Fellowes, Elina Hirvonen, Cara Hunter, Corrie Jackson, Luke Jennings, Margaret Kirk, Emily Koch, Nicola Lagioia, Amy Lloyd, Alan Parks, Christoffer Petersen, Andreas Pfluger, Jenny Quintana, Khurrum Rahman, Laura Joh Rowland, Jackson Sharp, Lilja Sigurdardottir, M J Tija, Jussi Valtonen, Nicolas Verdan, Rachel Ward, Stephen Weeks, Chris Whitaker and James Wolff.

I've updated the bibliographies (ie added new titles) for: Stefan Ahnhem, Boris Akunin, Alaux & Balen, Tasha Alexander, David Ashton, M C Beaton, Simon Beaufort, James Becker, Mark Billingham, Jenny Blackhurst, Sara Blaedel, Simon Booker, Rhys Bowen, Alan Bradley, Graeme Macrae Burnet, Tom Callaghan, Stella Cameron, Andrea Camilleri, Sam Carrington, Andrea Carter, Alys Clare, Cassandra Clark, Ann Cleeves, Rory Clements, Martina Cole, Chris Collett, Sheila Connolly, Lesley Cookman, A J Cross, Judith Cutler, Lindsey Davis, Sandrone Dazieri, Giancarlo De Cataldo, Anja de Jager, Luke Delaney, P C/Paul Doherty, Eva Dolan, Matthew Dunn, Paul Finch, Dick Francis, Nicci French, Frances Fyfield, Santiago Gamboa, Pascal Garnier, Elizabeth George, Philippe Georget, Mario Giordano, Abdelilah Hamdouchi, Sophie Hannah, Mark Hardie, Indrek Hargla, Robert Harris, Tessa Harris, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Sarah Hawkswood, Veronica Heley, Mandasue Heller, Peter Helton, Mick Herron, Keigo Higashino, Sarah Hilary, Matt Hilton, Peter Hoeg, Martin Holmen, Tetsuya Honda, Anthony Horowitz, Catherine Ryan Howard, Arnaldur Indridason, P D James, Quintin Jardine, Lene Kaaberbol, Claire Kendal, Simon Kernick, Philip Kerr, Vaseem Khan, Joseph Knox, R J Koreto, Lynda La Plante, Hans Olav Lahlum, Janice Law, Adam Lebor, Leena Lehtolainen, Catherine Lloyd, Peter Lovesey, Walter Lucius, Stuart MacBride, Torquil MacLeod, Gilly Macmillan, Susan Elia MacNeal, Adrian Magson, G M Malliet, Michael J Malone, Scott Mariani, David Mark, Edward/A E Marston, Priscilla Masters, Alyssa Maxwell, Val McDermid, Andy McDermott, James McGee, Claire McGowan, Andy McNab, Catriona McPherson, Kate Medina, Eduardo Mendoza, Denise Mina, Mandy Morton, Abir Mukherjee, James Nally, Jo Nesbo, Harri Nykanen, Pat O'Keeffe, Mark Oldfield, Nick Oldham, Ronnie O'Sullivan, James Oswald, Julie Parsons, Chris Petit, Christine Poulson, Anthony J Quinn, Caro Ramsay, Ruth Rendell, Kate Rhodes, Peter Robinson, Rosemary Rowe, James Runcie, Norman Russell, Tony Schumacher, EV Seymour, Zoe Sharp, William Shaw, Alexander McCall Smith, Anna Smith, Sally Spencer, Cath Staincliffe, Michael Stanley, Viveca Sten, Vidar Sundstol, William Sutton, Gard Sveen, Will Thomas, Robert Thorogood, Marilyn Todd, Kerry Tombs, Rebecca Tope, M J Trow, Valerio Varesi, Marco Vichi, Ashley Weaver, Jason Webster, Lee Weeks, Marianne Wheelaghan, Neil White, Kevin Wignall, Andrew Wilson, Emily Winslow, Jacqueline Winspear, Inger Wolf, Patricia Wynn and Hideo Yokoyama.

New books from Sara Blaedel

Fans of Danish author Sara Blaedel will have a bumper year in 2018. January seems some infilling of the Louise Rick series with two new books plus a reissue of an earlier book under a different title, and February sees the start of a new series. These are all US publications. Unfortunately I haven't been able to identify the translators yet.


The first book in the Louise Rick series is not yet available but the author says on her Goodreads page: "my publisher Grand Central just bought the rights, so it will be translated, but I don't know when they will publish".

Louise Rick

Books 5 and 6: The Running Girl and The Stolen Angel are out in January with book 4, Farewell to Freedom being reissued as The Night Women.

Ilka Nichols Jensen

Book 1: The Undertaker's Daughter is out in February.

Reading order from the Euro Crime website:

Detective Inspector Louise Rick
• Call Me Princess (apa Blue Blood) 2011 #2
• Only One Life 2012 #3
• Farewell to Freedom (apa The Night Women) 2012 #4
• The Running Girl 2018 #5
• The Stolen Angel 2018 #6
• The Forgotten Girls 2015 #7
• The Killing Forest 2016 #8
• The Lost Woman 2017 #9

Ilka Nichols Jensen
• The Undertaker's Daughter 2018 #1

TV News: French crime drama aplenty

Currently we have Witnesses series two, A Frozen Death, on BBC Four at 9pm on Saturday nights but next week on Wednesday (13 Dec), Channel 4 are showing the first of six parts of Vanished by the Lake. (The remaining five episodes can be watched via All 4).

Episode 1

Detective Lise Stocker hears a teenager has vanished from her hometown during a local celebration. Her two best friends disappeared in identical circumstances 15 years earlier. Is there a connection?

 

Even bigger news is that we finally have an air-date for Spiral series six. Courtesy of The Killing Times, the long awaited date is...30 December.

New Releases - December 2017

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in December 2017 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). December and future months (and years) can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything do please leave a comment.

• Beaufort, Simon - Mind of a Killer #1 Alec Londale, Victorian Era
• Cameron, Stella - Whisper the Dead #5 Alex Duggins, Folly-on-Weir, Cotswolds
• Carrington, Sam - Bad Sister
• Corrias, Pino - We'll Sleep When We're Old
• Eterovic, Ramon Diaz - Dark Echoes of the Past
• Flint, Sarah - Liar Liar #3 DC 'Charlie' Stafford
• Heley, Veronica - False Pride #12 Bea Abbott, Sixty-something owner of The Abbott (Domestic) Agency
• Heller, Mandasue - Save Me
• Helton, Peter - Lock 13 #7 Chris Honeysett, artist/PI, Bath
• Hunter, Cara - Close to Home #1 DI Adam Fawley, Oxford
• Kaaberbol, Lene - A Lady in Shadow #2 Madeleine Karno, 1894
• Lloyd, Amy - The Innocent Wife
• Lovesey, Peter - Beau Death #17 Peter Diamond, Bath
• Maxwell, Alyssa - A Devious Death #3 Lady and Lady's Maid Mystery
• McCrery, Nigel - Flesh and Blood #5 DCI Mark Lapslie, synaesthesia sufferer
• Nally, James - Games with the Dead #3 PC Donal Lynch, London
• Oldham, Nick - Bad Cops #23 DCI Christie
• Parks, Alan - Bloody January #1 Harry McCoy, Police Officer, Glasgow, 1973
• Quinn, Anthony J - Undertow #5 Celcius Daly, Police Inspector, Northern Ireland
• Quintana, Jenny - The Missing Girl
• Robins, Jane - White Bodies
• Rogers, Bill - The Tangled Lock #3 National Crime Agency
• Rowland, Laura Joh - The Ripper's Shadow #1 Miss Sarah Bain, Victorian Era
• Seymour, EV - A Deadly Trade #1 Josh Thane
• Tursten, Helene - Protected by the Shadows #10 Inspector Huss, Gothenburg

TV News: Wisting

Sven Nordin is to take the lead role in Wisting, based on the books by (Petrona Award winning) Jorn Lier Horst. Fingers crossed for UK transmission. Here is some of the official press release:

Cinenord and Good Company Films to produce the new major Norwegian drama series Wisting

SVEN NORDIN TO PLAY WILLIAM WISTING

Jørn Lier Horst’s wildly popular and award-winning books about homicide detective William Wisting will now become a TV series – with Sven Nordin in the leading role.

Sven Nordin is a beloved and revered character actor in Norway, and has also enjoyed great international success recently with the Norwegian drama series “Valkyrien” (NRK).

In the role of William Wisting, Sven Nordin will portray the hard-working, compassionate investigator who is trying to be a force of good in the world, without losing himself to the darkness. Wisting has dedicated his life to solving the senseless and vicious murders that shock his small coastal town. But trying to make the world a safer place comes at a huge cost – failing your own family.

– ”Wisting is a complex and intriguing person, and I can’t wait to portray him. I am a great admirer of the author Jørn Lier Horst and it is with great humility and joy that I embark on this task. This will be exciting! I look forward to it!” says actor Sven Nordin.

– “I am delighted by the great enthusiasm the project has been met with, and that the Wisting series will become a reality. I’m grateful that Sven Nordin has accepted the leading role of William Wisting. It is an excellent choice. He is stylistically assured and one of our very best character actors”, says author Jørn Lier Horst, a former Senior Investigating Officer in the Norwegian police force.

The first season of the series is based on two of the most popular
and prized books in the Wisting literary series, The Hunting Dogs and The Caveman. Shooting commences on January 17th, 2018 on location on southeastern Norwegian twin towns Larvik and Stavern.

Review: In Dust and Ashes by Anne Holt tr. Anne Bruce

In Dust and Ashes by Anne Holt translated by Anne Bruce, November 2017, 400 pages, Corvus, ISBN: 1782398821

Reviewed by Lynn Harvey.
(Read more of Lynn's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

Oslo, Norway: January 2016
Kjell Bonsaksen is looking forward to his retirement from the police and his move to Provence. Squeezing ketchup onto the hot dog, he glances through the window towards the petrol pumps as a man approaches the entrance doors. Their eyes meet and Bonsaksen freezes mid-bite. The man fills his cup at the coffee dispenser and as he passes Bonsaksen, he softly says: “You knew I was innocent. You did nothing.”

Oslo: December 2001
Jonas has continuously recalculated the chronology: if he hadn’t had that extra coffee; if he hadn’t cut his hand and allowed little Dina to bandage it; if he hadn’t fumbled the keys or stopped to sort out the junk mail in the mailbox; those misplaced seconds that led to the fatal timing of a little girl running out into the road and stumbling. He had screamed as he tried to push the wheel of the car from his daughter’s body and he had screamed “My fault” at the bewildered driver, “Mine.”

Oslo: January 2016
Henrik Holme is blocked and jostled by the waiting crowd of journalists as he pushes Hanne’s wheelchair out of the courtroom. Flash photography and shouted questions gradually subside as the journalists examine their phones; the news of the death of Iselin Havorn has pushed the Extremist Trial’s verdict off their agenda.

These days Henrik has his own office and reports to Chief Inspector Sorensen. From seven in the morning until ten at night, he shuttles between this office and his mentor Hanne's apartment, should she need him. Now it is evening and he is staring despondently at his empty in-tray when a burly man darkens the doorway and places an old blue ring-binder on his desk, insisting that Henrik and Hanne look into the case.

Henrik explains that he cannot take a case unless it is referred by the Chief, no matter how much he sympathises over a criminal getting away. The man interrupts, “He didn’t get away,” and tells Henrik that he, Superintendent Bonsaksen, cannot enjoy his retirement until … well. The man was convicted and served time. He never fought the charge of killing his wife. But Bonsaksen always doubted the verdict. When, the other day, he bumped into the man – his eyes were … dead. That man lost everything, Bonsaksen tells Henrik. Jonas Abrahamsen deserves another chance.

Confined to a wheelchair, Hanne Wilhelmsen advises the Oslo police on cold cases from the apartment she shares with her wife and daughter and is assisted by Detective Henrik Holme, a talented but isolated investigator. Hanne is between official cases when she becomes obsessed with the suicide of wealthy businesswoman and blogger Iselin Havorn. Havorn (meaning Sea Eagle) was a successful Marxist-Leninist journalist who, after becoming ill with what she decided was mercury poisoning and electromagnetic sensitivity, had turned towards alternative cures, an alternative lifestyle, conspiracy theories and eventually right-wing nationalism. Her wealth had been founded upon business interests in her wife’s herbal cure company. Recently she became notorious when unmasked as the writer of a virulently racist blog and her sudden death with its suicide note is a media sensation. But Hanne cannot believe that a woman such as Havorn would have killed herself.

Meanwhile Henrik becomes equally concerned by the guilty verdict that convicted Jonas Abrahamsen of the murder of his wife on New Year’s Eve two years after their daughter’s death. The couple were divorcing and Henrik thinks that the traumatised man’s mistake had been to deny visiting his wife on that New Year’s Eve. When Jonas was identified as the figure on the path in the background of a neighbour’s party photograph, with no other suspect in the shooting of his ex-wife, he was convicted. With no fight left in him to appeal, he went to prison for eight years.

Now Henrik and Hanne are at odds with each other. Each is convinced that their cases need investigation, each disagrees with the other’s preoccupation but neither have official permission to investigate. Then everything, it appears, must be put on hold when the child of a national lottery winner is abducted.


IN DUST AND ASHES is described by its publisher as the tenth and “final instalment” in Anne Holt’s “Hanne Wilhelmsen” crime series. An undoubted giant of Nordic crime fiction, Holt has a fine reputation and a host of fans. I have failed to keep up with Hanne since the earlier novels – not following her as a character and the twists, turns and shooting that have led to her confinement to a wheelchair. Nor have I got to know Henrik Holme until now. Therefore I’ll admit to finding the going a bit difficult. The novel unfolds from the working relationship of Hanne and Henrik. Hanne appears to be withdrawing from all social contact other than with Henrik and her family whilst Henrik struggles to modify his compulsive tics and obsessions and to draw closer to “fitting in”. As the plot throws it spotlight on Jonas – it seems as if most of this book’s characters are expressing psychological misery and alienation (with due cause you could say) and this leaves me with the uneasy feeling that Holt has become the queen of bleak. Except for the happy retiree Bonsaksen, whose insistence on re-examining the murder conviction of Jonas provides the impetus for unfolding an ingenious puzzle of a plot.

A thorough police procedural and a tour de force in character study and plotting, IN DUST AND ASHES eventually develops suspense and pace and hurtles towards its ending. But it left me unsure of my feelings about it all. I don’t mind my Nordic Noir being dark but I’m not too sure of almost (and I do say almost) relentlessly bleak.

Lynn Harvey, November 2017

Publishing Deal - Philip Kerr

From the Bookbrunch newsletter:

Quercus has signed three novels by Philip Kerr, continuing his historical noir series featuring Detective Bernie Gunther.

Reviews and series order can be found on the Euro Crime website.

TV News: The Sinner

The Sinner starts on Netflix on Tuesday. Based on German author Petra Hammesfahr's novel, is stars Jessica Biel and Bill Pullman.

"When a young mother inexplicably stabs a stranger to death, a sympathetic detective struggles to unlock the mystery buried in her missing memories."

Fiona Walker reviewed THE SINNER, translated into English by John Brownjohn, for Euro Crime back in 2008:

Petra Hammesfahr's THE SINNER is a brilliant book, an absolutely masterly piece of crime fiction. Once again I find myself endlessly grateful for the continuing zeitgeist of translated crime, which means that we English readers get the treat of reading this exemplary psychological thriller, a haunting descent into the torments of one woman's youthful years.

...there's been a lot of buzz about Stieg Larsson's THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, and deservedly so, but this first translation from Hammesfahr is without doubt of equal quality, and deserves just as much praise.

New Releases - November 2017

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in November 2017 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). November and future months (and years) can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything do please leave a comment.

• Anthology - CWA Anthology of Short Stories: Mystery Tour (ed. Martin Edwards)
• Anthology - Murder on Christmas Eve (ed. Cecily Gayford)
• Amphlett, Rachel - Hell to Pay #4 Detective Kay Hunter
• Blackhurst, Jenny - The Foster Child
• Boland, Shalini - The Secret Mother
• Bonda, Katarzyna - Girl at Midnight
• Bowen, Rhys - The Ghost of Christmas Past #17 Molly Murphy, PI, 1900s New York
• Bruen, Ken - The Ghosts of Galway #13 Jack Taylor
• Caan, Alex - First to Die #2 DCI Kate Riley and Zain Harris
• Carrisi, Donato - The Girl in the Fog
• Child, Lee - The Midnight Line #22 Jack Reacher, ex MP, USA
• Cutts, Lisa - Buried Secrets
• de Jager, Anja - Death on the Canal #3 Lotte Meerman, a Cold Case Detective, Amsterdam
• Dearman, Lara - The Devil's Claw #1 Jennifer Dorey, journalist & DCI Michael Gilbert, Guernsey
• Doherty, Paul/P C - Devil's Wolf #19 Hugh Corbett
• Fielden, T P - Resort to Murder #2 Miss Dimont, Temple Regis, Devon
• Fortin, Sue - The Birthday Girl
• Fyfield, Frances - Welcome the Stranger #4 Di Porteous
• Griffiths, Elly - The Vanishing Box #4 Stephens and Mephisto, Brighton, 1950s
• Gunn, Alastair - Cold Christmas #4 DCI Antonia Hawkins, London
• Hamdy, Adam - Freefall #2 John Wallace
• Harvey, John - Going Down Slow and Other Stories
• Holliday, Susi - The Deaths of December
• Holt, Anne - In Dust and Ashes #10 Hanne Wilhelmsen
• Jackson, Corrie - The Perfect Victim #2 Sophie Kent, Journalist
• Jonasson, Ragnar - Whiteout #4 Ari Thor, Policeman
• Kernick, Simon - The Hanged Man #2 DI Ray Mason and Tina Boyd, London
• Kirk, Margaret - Shadow Man #1 ex-Met Detective Inspector Lukas Mahler, Inverness
• Koreto, R J - Death at the Emerald #3 Lady Frances Ffolkes, Edwardian era
• Kray, Roberta - Survivor
• Law, J S - The Fear Within #2 Lieutenant Danielle Lewis, Royal Navy
• Lebor, Adam - District VIII #1 Balthazar Kovacs, Detective, Budapest
• Lehtolainen, Leena - Below the Surface #8 Detective Maria Kallio, Helsinki
• Llobregat, Jordi - The Secret of Vesalius
• Lloyd, Catherine - Death Comes to the School #5 Kurland St. Mary Mysteries
• MacBride, Stuart - Now We Are Dead #1 DS Roberta Steel
• MacLeod, Torquil - Menace in Malmo #5 Inspector Anita Sundstrom
• Mariani, Scott - The Bach Manuscript #16 Ben Hope, Ex-SAS
• Marsons, Angela - Broken Bones (ebook only) #7 DI Kim Stone
• McIntyre, WHS - Last Will #9 Best Defense
• O'Keeffe, Pat - Blind Chance
• Oksanen, Sofi - Norma
• O'Sullivan, Ronnie - Double Kiss #2 Frankie James
• Petit, Chris - Pale Horse Riding #2 Schlegel and Morgen, Germany, 1943
• Pfluger, Andreas - In the Dark #1 Jenny Aaron
• Poulson, Christine - Cold, Cold Heart #2 Katie Flanagan
• Rahman, Khurrum - East of Hounslow #1 Jay Qasim
• Ramsay, Caro - The Suffering of Strangers #9 DCI McAlpine, DS Anderson and DS Costello, Glasgow
• Riches, Marnie - The Cover Up #1 O'Briens, Manchester
• Sharp, Zoe - Fox Hunter #12 Charlie Fox, ex-Special Forces soldier turned bodyguard
• Shaw, M B - Murder at the Mill #1 Iris Grey, portrait painter and amateur sleuth, Hampshire
• Sten, Viveca - Tonight You're Dead #4 Sandhamn Murders
• Taylor, Marsali - Death in Shetland Waters #6 Shetland Sailing Mysteries
• Todd, Charles - Casualty of War #9 Bess Crawford, battlefield nurse, WWI
• Tyler, L C - Fire #4 John Grey, lawyer, 1657
• Valtonen, Jussi - They Know Not What They Do
• Veste, Luca - The Bone Keeper #1 DC Louise Henderson
• Wynn, Patricia - Whisper of Death #6 Gideon Mars & Mrs Kean

Awards News: Ngaio Marsh Awards 2017 - Winners

Last month, Euro Crime took part in the Ngaio Marsh Awards blog tour and I'm very pleased to publish the press release revealing the winners:

Fresh blood on the ferns: new voices dominate Ngaio Marsh Awards

The usual suspects took a back seat as first-time crime writers Fiona Sussman, Finn Bell, and Michael Bennett swept the spoils at the 2017 Ngaio Marsh Awards in Christchurch on Saturday night.

The talented trio made history on several fronts at a special WORD Christchurch event hosted in Dame Ngaio’s hometown by Scorpio Books as part of nationwide NZ Bookshop Day celebrations.

“Each of our winners this year is a remarkable storyteller who uses crime writing as a prism through which to explore broader human and societal issues,” said Ngaios founder Craig Sisterson. “When we launched in 2010 we wanted to highlight excellence in local crime writing, beyond traditional ideas of puzzling whodunits or airport thrillers. Our 2017 winners emphasise that broader scope to the genre, and showcase the inventiveness and world-class quality of our local storytellers.”

Sussman is the first female author to win the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel. THE LAST TIME WE SPOKE (Allison & Busby) is her second novel but the first foray into crime storytelling for the former GP who grew up in Apartheid South Africa. It explores the ongoing impact of a brutal home invasion on both victim and perpetrator. “Laden with empathy and insight,” said the international judging panel. “A challenging, emotional read, harrowing yet touching, this is brave and sophisticated storytelling.”

It took Sussman seven years to research and write her winning novel. She travelled Aotearoa visiting prisons, talking to police and victims, inmates and ex-gang members, and seeking advice from Māori writers to ensure she brought authenticity to the disparate worlds of her characters. She won a Ngaios trophy, special edition of a Dame Ngaio book, and $1,000 cash prize courtesy of WORD Christchurch.

Self-published e-book author Finn Bell won Best First Novel for DEAD LEMONS and was a finalist for Best Crime Novel for PANCAKE MONEY. His debut explores themes of addiction, loss, and recovery as a wheelchair-bound man contemplating suicide decamps to a remote cottage in Southland, only to be obsessively drawn into a dangerous search for a father and daughter who went missing years before.
Bell has worked in night shelters, charities, hospitals, and prisons. He is the first author to ever have two books become finalists in a single year. The judges called him "a wonderful new voice in crime writing” who “delivers a tense, compelling tale centred on an original, genuine, and vulnerable character."

Experienced filmmaker Michael Bennett (Te Arawa) won the inaugural Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Non Fiction for IN DARK PLACES (Paul Little Books), the astonishing tale of how teenage car thief Teina Pora spent decades in prison for the brutal murder of Susan Burdett, and the remarkable fight to free him. The international judging panel called it “a scintillating, expertly balanced account of one of the most grievous miscarriages of justice in New Zealand history".

“Decades ago a woman from Christchurch was among the biggest names in the books world,” said Sisterson. “In recent years there’s a growing appreciation abroad for the top talent of our contemporary Kiwi crime writers; a reputation that’s going to flourish even more thanks to this year’s winners.”

For more information about the Ngaio Marsh Awards, contact the Judging Convenor:
craigsisterson@hotmail.com or ngaiomarshaward@gmail.com.

Awards News: CWA Daggers 2017 - Winners

The Press Release announcing the winners (shortlists can be found here):

CWA Daggers 2017 Awarded to

The Dry, Spook Street and Tall Oaks

The 2017 winners of the prestigious CWA Daggers were announced at a gala dinner sponsored by publishers Pan Macmillan at the Grange City Hotel, Cooper’s Row, London on Thursday 26 October.

The CWA Daggers, the crème de la crème of crime-writing awards, were awarded to:

Gold – for the best crime novel of the year: Jane Harper for The Dry

Ian Fleming Steel – for the best crime thriller of the year; Mick Herron for Spook Street

John Creasey New Blood – for the best debut crime novel; Chris Whitaker for Tall Oaks

Endeavour Historical – for the best historical crime novel; Abir Mukherjee for A Rising Man

Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction – for non-fiction crime; Stephen Purvis for Close But No Cigar: A True Story of Prison Life in Castro’s Cuba

Short Story – for a short crime story published in the UK; L C Tyler for ‘The Trials of Margaret’ from Motives for Murder, edited by Martin Edwards

International – for crime fiction translated into English and published in the UK; Leif G W Persson for The Dying Detective, translated by Neil Smith

Dagger in the Library – for the author of the most enjoyed collection of work in libraries; Mari Hannah (announced earlier in the year)

Debut Dagger sponsored by Orion Books – for the opening of a crime novel by a writer with no publishing contract at time of submission: Sherry Rankin for Strange Fire

The Diamond Dagger, for a career’s outstanding contribution to crime fiction as nominated by CWA members, was announced earlier in the year and awarded to the very popular author Ann Cleeves, who received the stunning Cartier Diamond Dagger. Ann is known for her work with libraries and for her TV series: with Vera and Shetland, she is the only living author to have two major drama series broadcast at the same time.

The after-dinner speaker was Robert Thorogood, creator and writer of TV series Death in Paradise, and Master of Ceremonies was leading crime fiction expert Barry Forshaw, author of Brit Noir. The quality of entertainment and crime-writing erudition on display was excellent, and much enjoyed by the authors, publishers, literary agents, CWA members, actors and crime writing fans at the event.

For more details on the authors and the books, including publishers, and for photos of the event soon to be posted, please visit the website: www.thecwa.co.uk/daggers

Dagger Review Competition

The CWA is launching a public competition for the best review of a CWA Dagger-shortlisted or winning title, or a book by the Diamond Dagger or Dagger in the Library winners. The competition is open to anyone; simply submit a review on www.daggerreads.co.uk. The writer of the best review wins a full weekend pass to CrimeFest 2018 (event only), and a copy of the new anthologies shortly to be released by both the CWA and CrimeFest.

CWA Daggers 2018

Nominations from publishers are now open for the CWA Dagger Awards 2018. Longlists will be announced at CrimeFest on 18 May 2018.

Publishing Deal - Isabel Ashdown

From today's Bookseller:

Trapeze will publish an “unsettling thriller” set in Norway from novelist Isabel Ashdown which promises “jawdropping twists and turns”.

Sam Eades, editorial director at the Orion imprint, acquired world rights (all languages) for two more books by Isabel Ashdown.

The first book, Lake Child, will be published in spring 2019, set in Norway and London, exploring the "dangerous lengths parents will go to in the name of love".

Lake Child follows a young Norwegian woman who wakes from an accident missing her most recent memories and trusts her parents’ advice that she must stay confined to her bedroom while she recuperates. However when she breaks out she discovers a world of secrets and lies which force her to question her who her parents really are.

Review: I Am Missing by Tim Weaver

I Am Missing by Tim Weaver, July 2017, 544 pages, Penguin, ISBN: 1405917849

Reviewed by Geoff Jones.

(Read more of Geoff's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

Richard Kite is someone who has no memory of who he is or where he came from. He was found besides a lifeboat station on the Hampshire coast. His name has been made up for him. He asks private investigator David Raker to try and find out who he is. He seems to have a west country accent but is not recognised locally.

Richard sees psychologist Naomi Russum based in London. Raker visits Russom's clinic but finds her evasive. He gains access to her office illegally and finds photographs that she uses in her sessions with Richard, they include two photographs of a mysterious woman. Raker follows Russum to a school – The Red Tree City of London school.

Raker finds a mutilated woman's body on a disused railway site and connects this to the school, and particularly to a teacher – Jacob Howson. He meets the school's head Roland Dell and meets the sinister security chief Alexander Marek. Can Raker find out who Richard is and why he has lost his memory?

There are three parts to the book. The main part is with Raker's investigation. The second part is a diary written by a young girl Penny Beck. She appears to live on an island in the south Atlantic, very similar in climate to the Falklands. She lives with her mother and stepfather and step sister Beth. There is an area on the island fenced off called the Brink and all islanders are warned to keep away. The third part is a travel book around Britain's shores.

I have read a couple of the author's David Raker series and enjoyed his compelling storytelling. This book is equally rewarding. I didn't find the storyline around the Brink very plausible, however this is a minor criticism. Recommended as a good read.

Geoff Jones, October 2017

Review: The Magdalena File by Jon Stenhugg

The Magdalena File by Jon Stenhugg, August 2017, Endeavour Press, ISBN: 978-1549581441

Reviewed by Ewa Sherman.

Sara Markham, 36-year-old Homicide Investigator at Sweden’s National Bureau of Investigation is called to a crime scene: a body of a tortured man was found in his own home on Sela Island. He seemed to have been electrocuted and then shot twice closely in the chest. Initial investigation showed that the victim was Leo Hoffberg, outspoken and rebellious MP who had recently quit Parliament, interested in environmental matters, former member of the Defence Department Committee. Just before his death he had seemingly delivered a letter to the Prime Minister, threatening to expose secrets and to destroy the entire city of Stockholm.

His shocked and grieving wife Kristina couldn’t fathom any reason for the murder, though she pointed at Magdalena, a cleaner from Poland, and decided to check through all her husband's possessions. Documents come to light showing that Hoffberg might have bought a manual for a Shkval, a nuclear Russian torpedo.

But as Sara begins to work on the case, she gets contradictory messages from her superiors. She’s also required to look for Martin Spimler, whose boat was found drifting empty in the waters opposite Stockholm’s City Hall. The missing man, a retired Navy diver was interested in a ‘fish project’ and travelled to Estonia some time ago with Hoffberg.

At the back of her mind is the tragedy of MS Sally, brought to her attention at the victim’s home. The sinking of MS Sally in September 1994, off the coast of Sweden and close to Estonia, had put the entire nation into a state of mourning. The wreckage of the ship has never been discovered, but several theories float around, implying that the dangerous weapon, the infamous Shkval, was being smuggled to Stockholm.

The quote at the beginning of the book is indeed very apt: "Three may keep a secret, if two of them are dead". The author cleverly moves between different points of views, to muddy the waters, not just for the readers for also for the main players. Hard-working Sara is kept in the dark; her boss Sven Peterson wants quick results yet seems to withhold certain information; Chief Inspector Lars Ekman, head of the Counter Terrorism seems to be pulling all the strings, and then a legendary retired US Army CID Lieutenant John Hurtree is brought to Europe as a ‘tourist’ and the only person who might have seen the elusive Schneller, an ex-Stasi secret agent. Sara tries to balance the conflicting demands and her own equilibrium while convinced that a certain Kim Lemko, somehow connected to the murdered man, and a technological company in Tallinn, is behind the murder, and also a link to the dangerous torpedo hidden underwater.

Jon Stenhugg is a pen name of a Swedish author born in California, USA. A graduate of Education, Psychology and Statistics from Stockholm University his career involved teaching and IT. THE MAGDALENA FILE follows his debut novel THE SECOND CHILD, and again demonstrates his fascination with European history. The fast-moving tight plot offers plenty of surprises, and an occasional cynical sense of humour which lightens the mood of an otherwise very serious thriller and shady politics, with the caricature-like Swedish Prime Minister and a sleazy Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs at the centre of the current investigation. Relationships between central characters keep changing as quickly as the priorities which move from the local searches to the wider international arena. The dark past is never far behind and its enigmas can have devastating consequences, as shown by the background stories of Kim Lemko and the mysterious Magdalena.

THE MAGDALENA FILE is a good solid read.

Ewa Sherman, October 2017

TV News: Jordskott Series 2

The second series of Swedish drama, Jordskott, starts on ITV Encore tomorrow night (19 Oct) at 10pm. There are 8 episodes.

Episode 1

Two years have passed since Silverhöjd was rocked by harrowing events. Eva Thörnblad has left Silverhöjd to return to the grey concrete of the big city and her job with the Stockholm police. Eva is trying to move on, but struggles with her grief over Josefin and the pain that the Jordskott causes her. Soon, Eva is drawn into a mysterious case with a connection to her own past, and she is forced to confront the mystical world she decided to put behind her.

Review: The House of Four by Barbara Nadel

The House of Four by Barbara Nadel, May 2017, 336 pages, Headline, ISBN: 1472234650

Reviewed by Susan White.
(Read more of Susan's reviews for Euro Crime here.)

There is an old crumbling house that the locals know as the Devil’s House, believed by most to have been long abandoned. However it was occupied by 3 brothers and their sister – all in their 90s – and all apparently stabbed through the heart on the same day.

Inspector Ikmen slowly unravels the history of the house and the sad history of the four old people who only communicated with each other by letters which show their hatred of each other. Ikmen comes to believe that their murder can only be solved by uncovering the events of years before.

At the same time someone is killing people at random in the City and Inspector Mehmet Suleyman is charged with identifying and stopping the killer. The cases move slowly together but is it the same killer?

This is the latest of the series featuring Inspector Cetin Ikmen. Set in Istanbul, a secular city but with a rising number of citizens who would like to see the return of a more conservative Muslim society.

For me the history of Istanbul and its people is an important and interesting part of this series. The complexity of that history and how that still influences life today make these a fascinating read.

Susan White, October 2017

New Releases - October 2017

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in October 2017 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). October and future months (and years) can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything do please leave a comment.

• Anthology - The Usual Santas: A Collection of Soho Crime Christmas Capers
• Anthology - Deadlier: 100 of the Best Crime Stories Written by Women (ed. Sophie Hannah)
• Akunin, Boris - All The World's A Stage #11 Erast Fandorin, Gentleman Sleuth, Russia
• Alexander, Tasha - Death in St. Petersburg #12 Lady Emily
• Beaton, M C - Agatha Raisin and the Witches' Tree #29 Agatha Raisin, Retired PR person, Cotswolds
• Becker, James - The Templar Brotherhood #3 The Lost Treasure of the Templars
• Brightwell, Emily - Mrs Jeffries and the Three Wise Women #36 Mrs Jeffries
• Brody, Frances - Death in the Stars #9 Kate Shackleton, Bradford, 1920s
• Brown, Vivien - Lily Alone
• Burnet, Graeme Macrae - The Accident on the A35
• Carter, Andrea - The Well of Ice #3 Benedicta 'Ben' O'Keeffe, Solicitor, Inishowen peninsula in County Donegal, Ireland.
• Chapman, Julia - Date with Malice #2 The Dales Detective Series
• Clare, Alys - The Rufus Spy #8 Lassair, 11thC, East Anglia
• Cookman, Lesley - Murder by the Barrel #18 Libby Sarjeant, middle aged actress/investigator, Kent
• Cutler, Judith - Head Count #2 Jane Cowan, Wrayford, Kent
• D'Andrea, Luca - The Mountain
• Day, Alex - The Missing Twin
• Driscoll, Teresa - I Am Watching You
• Dunn, Matthew - Act of Betrayal #7 Will Cochrane, Super-spy
• Edmondson, Elizabeth - A Matter of Loyalty (with Anselm Audley) #3 Very English Mystery
• Ellicott, Jessica - Murder in an English Village #1 Beryl and Edwina Mystery, 1920s
• England, Caroline - Beneath the Skin
• Finch, Paul - Shadows #2 Lucy Clayburn
• Hamdouchi, Abdelilah - Bled Dry #1 Detective Hanash, Casablanca
• Harris, Robert J - The Thirty-One Kings #1 Richard Hannay
• Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia - Shadow Play #20 Bill Slider, Shepherd's Bush CID
• James, P D - Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales
• James, Peter - Absolute Proof
• Jardine, Quintin - State Secrets #28 Detective Chief Superintendent Bob Skinner, Edinburgh
• Law, Janice - Mornings in London #6 Francis Bacon
• Macmillan, Gilly - Odd Child Out #1 Detective Jim Clemo, Bristol
• Magson, Adrian - Rocco and the Nightingale #5 Inspector Lucas Rocco, Poissons-Les-Marais, 1960s
• Malliet, G M - Weycombe
• Mankell, Henning - After the Fire
• Marston, Edward - Under Attack #7 Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy
• Masters, Priscilla - The Deceiver #2 Dr Claire Roget, Forensic Psychiatrist
• Masterton, Graham - The Coven #2 Beatrice Scarlet, 1750s
• McNab, Andy - Line of Fire #19 The Nick Stone Missions
• Nesser, Hakan - The Darkest Day #1 Inspector Barbarotti
• Poulson, Christine - Cold, Cold Heart #2 Katie Flanagan
• Purcell, Laura - The Silent Companions
• Rendell, Ruth - A Spot of Folly (Short Stories)
• Rowe, Rosemary - The Price of Freedom #17 Mosaicist Libertus, Glevum (modern Gloucester)
• Schumacher, Tony - An Army of One #3 John Rossett
• Sharp, Zoe - Fox Hunter #12 Charlie Fox, ex-Special Forces soldier turned bodyguard
• Sigurdardottir, Lilja - Snare
• Smith, Anna - The Hit #9 Rosie Gilmour, Crime Journalist, 1990s
• Spencer, Sally - Dry Bones #2 Jennie Redhead, PI, Oxford, 1974
• Thomas, Will - Old Scores #9 Barker and Llewelyn, Victorian London
• Thomson, E S - The Blood #3 Jem Flockhart, Apothecary, 1850s
• Tuomainen, Antti - The Man Who Died
• Upson, Nicola - Nine Lessons #7 Josephine Tey, real-life crime writer
• Watson, Allan - Heart Swarm
• Wilson, Laura - The Other Woman
• Winslow, Emily Look for Her #3 Detective Inspector Chloe Frohmann and her partner, Morris Keene, Cambridge