Wallander Repeats on BBC4

The run of Swedish Wallander episodes was curtailed earlier this year with the remaining three episodes to appear around Christmas time. Presumably they will appear at the end of the upcoming series of repeats which begins on Wednesday 7 October at 11pm on BBC4. The first episode to be shown is Before The Frost


New policewoman Linda Wallander is waiting for her first big case at Ystad police station and her father, Inspector Kurt Wallander, is getting on her nerves. When her childhood friend Anna mysteriously disappears she is thrown in at the deep end and soon needs her father's help on a fascinating and very dangerous investigation.

Snaking into shops next February...The Serpent Pool

I've got my hands on the new Allison & Busby catalogue and one of the long awaited delights in it is Martin Edwards's new book in his Lake District series: The Serpent Pool. The cover below is from the US edition, published by Poison Pen Press and which is also published in February.

Synopsis: DCI Hannah Scarlett is determined to uncover the truth behind Emily Friend's mysterious drowning in the Serpent Pool.

But Hannah's distracted by a new sergeant with a troublesome reputation, a new house, and new cause to doubt her partner--second hand bookseller Marc Amos. One of Marc's best customers has been burned to death in the converted boathouse filled with priceless books.

Then Hannah meets Louise Kind, sister of the historian Daniel Kind, who has just returned from America to work on a book about Thomas De Quincey and the history of murder. How are all of these elements related?

Wallander on Radio 7

A re-run of the ten episodes of Faceless Killers by Henning Mankell starts today on Radio 7. Each 15 minute episode is on at 1.30pm and 8.30pm and 01.30am. Faceless Killers is the first in the Wallander series:

Swedish inspector Kurt Wallander investigates an attack on an elderly couple.

David Warner narrates and he also plays Wallander's father in the BBC tv show Wallander.

The BBC Radio 7 page is here.

Free e-book of Silent in the Grave

Mills and Boon have several novels available for free download and amongst them is the historical mystery Silent in the Grave by Deanna Raybourn. (Reviewed here on Euro Crime).

It looks to be available in several formats.

Visit this Mills and Boon website to get your free book(s).

New Reviews: Hannah, Mieville, Nadelson, Noort, Russell, Thompson

There are two competitions running in September. One is for 2 children's adventure-thriller books by Andy Briggs and is open to the UK, and the other is for A Visible Darkness by Michael Gregorio which is open world-wide. Details on how to enter can be found on the competition page.

Here are this week's reviews:

Michelle Peckham reviews the paperback release of The Other Half Lives by Sophie Hannah;

Laura Root reviews The City and The City by China Mieville which is an intriguing mix of detection and science fiction;

Terry Halligan is impressed with Londongrad by Reggie Nadelson the latest in the Artie Cohen series;

Maxine Clarke reviews Back to the Coast by Saskia Noort (and her review will make you rush out and buy the book);

Craig Sisterson reviews the first in a new series by Craig Russell: Lennox, set in 1950s Glasgow;

and Geoff Jones reviews The Captain's Table by Brian Thompson the second of the Bella Wallis series, which is set in Victorian England.

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

The Crossing Places - Euro Crime review quote

Elly Griffiths's The Crossing Places has recently come out in paperback and I was delighted to spot a quote from a Euro Crime review inside a library copy:


The whole review, written by Pat Austin, can be read here.
(NB. At the time the review was posted it was not widely known that the author also writes as Domenica de Rosa.)

The sequel, The Janus Stone, will be published in February 2010. here's the synopsis:
Ruth Galloway is called in to investigate when builders, demolishing a large old house in Norwich to make way for a housing development, uncover the bones of a child beneath a doorway - minus the skull. Is it some ritual sacrifice or just plain straightforward murder? DCI Harry Nelson would like to find out - and fast. It turns out the house was once a children's home. Nelson traces the Catholic priest who used to run the home. Father Hennessey tells him that two children did go missing from the home forty years before - a boy and a girl. They were never found. When carbon dating proves that the child's bones predate the home and relate to a time when the house was privately owned, Ruth is drawn ever more deeply into the case. But as spring turns into summer it becomes clear that someone is trying very hard to put her off the scent by frightening her half to death...

2009 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award - shortlist

The shortlist for the 2009 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award has been announced:

Rennie Airth THE DEAD OF WINTER, Macmillan

Philip Kerr IF THE DEAD RISE NOT, Quercus

Shona MacLean THE REDEMPTION OF ALEXANDER SEATON, Quercus

Mark Mills THE INFORMATION OFFICER, HarperCollins

Andrew Williams THE INTERROGATOR, John Murray

Laura Wilson AN EMPTY DEATH, Orion

2009 CWA Ellis Peters Historical Crime Award - shortlist imminent

I've been asked by the CWA to remove the shortlist I posted earlier today as it pre-empted the official announcement which has not been checked etc. I'll repost the list once the press release has gone out, which will hopefully be tomorrow.

The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest - sneak peek

The final part of Stieg Larsson's Millennium trilogy, The Girl Who Kicked the Hornets' Nest (translated by Reg Keeland) will be published on 1 October. Waterstone's in Picadilly is to open at 8am to sell copies. Here are the opening lines...

Chapter 1

Friday, 8.iv

Dr Jonasson was woken by Nurse Nicander five minutes before the helicopter was expected to land. It was just before 1.30 in the morning.

"What?" he said, confused.

"Rescue Service helicopter coming in. Two patients. An injured man and a younger woman. The woman has a gunshot wound."

"Alright," Jonasson said wearily.

Nesbos for young and old in 2010

On 4 March 2010, Jo Nesbo's seventh Harry Hole book, The Snowman, translated by Don Bartlett, will be published in the UK.

Synopsis: The night the first snow falls a young boy wakes to find his mother gone. He walks through the silent house, but finds only wet footprints on the stairs. In the garden looms a solitary figure: a snowman bathed in cold moonlight, its black eyes glaring up at the bedroom windows. Round its neck is his mother's pink scarf. Inspector Harry Hole is convinced there is a link between the disappearance and a menacing letter he received some months earlier. As Harry and his team delve into unsolved case files, they discover that an alarming number of wives and mothers have gone missing over the years. When a second woman disappears Harry's suspicions are confirmed: he is a pawn in a deadly game. For the first time in his career Harry finds himself confronted with a serial killer operating on his turf, a killer who will drive him to the brink of insanity. A brilliant thriller with a pace that never lets up, "The Snowman" confirms Jo Nesbo's position as an international star of crime fiction.

Watch the trailer below:



and on 1 April (?) (5 January in the US) Doctor Proctor's Fart Powder:

Dr Proctor is an ageing inventor just waiting for his big break. And when he teams up with his next-door neighbour Lise and her peculiar friend Nilli in making the world's most powerful fart powder, it seems his dream may be coming true. But the ruthless twins Truls and Trym Thrane are lurking in the background just waiting to spoil their plans. The drama that follows has repercussions that stretch beyond the imagination, inolving a wild chase through the sewer system of Oslo, anacondas and NASA. Full of humour and witty dialogue, Jo Nesbo creates wonderfully weird characters and lets his imagination run wild in this delightful children's book debut, reminiscent of Roald Dahl.

and further described by this press release as:

a Dahl-esque adventure full of wonderfully weird characters and inventions from bestselling international thriller writer, Jo Nesbo, writing his first book for children. Translated from the original Norwegian, where it was the biggest selling children's debut ever. Illustrated throughout by Mike Lowery.

More on the Kingston Killers Event

Rather than update the original post here is a repeat with the additional information I've received:

Event Title: KINGSTON KILLERS

DATE: Thursday 22nd October 2009

Waterstone's
Kingston Bentalls Centre
Wood Street
Kingston
KT1 1TR

Start of Event - 6.30pm
End of Event - 8.30/9pm.

The evening will consist of a short reading, a brief Q&A with each author followed by 'Any Questions' with the audience at the end of the session. Then a signing session.

Attending Authors:

Yaba Badoe
Chris Carter
N. J. Cooper
R. J. Ellory
Ariana Franklin
Johan Theorin
Cathi Unsworth
Nicola Upson
Laura Wilson

This is a FREE event but registration is ESSENTIAL. Please contact Anita, Ben or Chris at Waterstone's Kingston on 020 8974 6811.

For one night only, all books of the attending authors will be 3 for 2, both new titles and backlist. 

Kingston Killers - Event (22nd October)

Here's a very tempting event, on at Waterstone's in Kingston on 22 October:

Kingston Killers
R.J. Ellory, Johan Theorin, Ariana Franklin
WATERSTONE'S KINGSTON BENTALL
Thursday, 22 October 2009, 6:30PM - 9:00PM

Waterstone’s with Crimesquad.com invite you to ‘Kingston Killers’, an evening of murderous chat, Q&As and book signings with a host of crime authors; established names like R J Ellory and Ariana Franklin, and acclaimed newcomers including Swedish writer, Johan Theorin.
3 for 2 on all participating authors’ titles. Free event, but phone reservation essential.

Further details: 020 8974 6811

I wonder who else will be there? (According to Natasha "NJ" Cooper's website, she will also be there.)

The Gigolo Murder - sneak peek

I've finished this enjoyable tale at the weekend and I'll be reviewing it for the website very soon. The Gigolo Murder is the third in the Hop-Ciki Yaya series after The Prophet Murders and The Kiss Murder. The author, Mehmet Murat Somer, was kind enough to answer a few questions last year on the blog.

Chapter 1

Superhandsome Haluk was pale when he returned. Even in the dimly lit room, it was clear the color had drained from his face.

"That was Faruk on the phone. He's been arrested for murder."

We both looked at him in astonishment.

"I don't understand," gasped his wife, Canan, who was dressed as a stylish Nisantasi girl.

"On suspicion of killing a minibus driver."

He looked at me apologetically as he spoke, sorry for having ruined what had promised to be a pleasant evening with this news.

That's how it all started. While my dear friend Ponpon was on-stage, putting on a sensational show at one of the trendiest, hippest, and priciest nightclubs in Istanbul, yet another murder fell right into my lap. My passion for amateur sleuthing was suddenly inflamed, my stomach full of butterflies.

(translated by Kenneth Dakan)

Chiswick Book Festival - Crime Event

The first Chiswick Book Festival is next weekend. There's a good line-up of authors but of particular interest to crime readers is on the Sunday:

4.00pm: The Perfect Crime - from book to screen

Top crime writers discuss their craft, including Sophie Hannah (The Other Half Lives), Roy Mitchell (creator of BBC One’s New Tricks), Stav Sherez (The Black Monastery) and Dan Waddell (Blood Atonement). St Michael & All Angels Parish Hall upstairs. Refreshments available afterwards. Admission by Sunday Day Pass.

(Day passes are £5).

Catch-Up with Trinity

If (like me) there was too much on last night to watch/record then you can catch the first episode of Trinity on ITV2 on Wednesday at 9pm, though it's not available on the ITV player.

You can also watch the second episode at the Trinity website before it's showing next Sunday at 10pm on ITV2.

What is Trinity? Here's the summary from the website:

Set in the gothic, oak panelled halls of residence and lecture theatres of the fictional Bridgeford University, Trinity College, the ITV2 eight part series brings a whole new meaning to the phrase "first term nerves".

For over 900 years, Trinity has been an elite playground solely for the über rich and powerful. However, for the first time in its long and illustrious history, Trinity is about to throw open its doors to the hoi polloi!

As new girl Charlotte and her fellow students settle in, they begin to realise that all is not what it seems at Trinity.

Beneath the glamorous veneer of wealth and privilege lurks a much darker world, ruled by the mysterious Dandelion Club: a select group of over-privileged students used to getting their own way.

New Reviews: Carter, Leather, Medieval Murderers, Seymour, Templeton, Verhoef

There are two competitions running in September. One is for 2 children's adventure-thriller books by Andy Briggs and is open to the UK, and the other is for A Visible Darkness by Michael Gregorio which is open world-wide. Details on how to enter can be found on the competition page.

Here are this week's reviews:

Craig Sisterson reviews The Crucifix Killer by Chris Carter;

Terry Halligan reviews Live Fire by Stephen Leather and thinks it's his best yet;

Amanda Gillies reviews the paperback edition of The Lost Prophecies by The Medieval Murderers;

Norman Price reviews The Collaborator by Gerald Seymour - which tells what happens when you go against the Camorra;

Michelle Peckham reviews the latest in one of my favourite series: Dead in the Water by Aline Templeton;

and Maxine Clarke reviews Dutch author, Esther Verhoef's English translation debut - Close-Up concluding with "if you like your crime fiction suspenseful, erotically romantic, tense and pacy, this is definitely a book for you".

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

A rare-ish find in Hay today

I've been over to Hay on Wye today. Unfortunately the crime section in Richard Booth's shop is still roped off whilst renovations are in order however I did manage to pick up a gem in the specialist crime bookshop Murder & Mayhem: one of Swedish author Maria Lang's three novels translated into English - No More Murders (translated by Joan Tate) which was published in 1967.


If you click on the photo you should be able to read the synopsis. Also, inside there's a cast of characters which includes: Thotmes III - sacred white cat from Egypt...

More on Maxim's Imprint

I mentioned Maxim Jakubowski's new imprint a few days ago and predicted a Bookseller follow-up to the brief announcement on BookBrunch, and here it is:

Maxim Jakubowski, writer, editor and former proprietor of crime bookshop Murder One, is to launch a new crime fiction imprint, maXcrime, for John Blake Publishing in March.

Nine maXcrime titles will be published in 2010, all mass market paperbacks priced at £7.99, in what is described as a "commercial" but very varied list, covering hard-boiled, historical, cosy, women-oriented crime and crime in translation.

The lead title for 2010 will be Hit by Tara Moss, Australia's biggest-selling crime writer, which will launch the imprint in March alongside a crime novel by film director Mike Hodges. Moss, who sells in 20 languages and is a six-foot ex-model described in the maXcrime catalogue as "the most glamorous author in crime fiction", was an obvious purchase, says Jakubowski. "She's never been published in the UK, and I've never understood it." Hit is one of a series of five and maXcrime has the option on the other titles.

Also on the 2010 list is an Italian serial killer bestseller, The Girl with the Crystal Eyes by Barbara Baraldi (May), and a debut by a writer described as a Scottish Janet Evanovich, Donna Moore's Old Dogs (April).

Read the whole article, here.

NB. Old Dogs is Donna Moore's second book, her first being Go to Helena Handbasket.

Highlights from new Quercus Catalogue

The Spring catalogue has arrived from Quercus/MacLehose Press. The crime highlights include:

January

Peter Temple - Truth (Australian)

February

Elly Griffiths - The Janus Stone

March

Shona MacLean - A Game of Sorrows

April

Marjolijn Februari - The Book Club

May

Colin Cotterill - Love Songs from a Shallow Grave
Adrian Hyland - Gunshot Road (Australian)
Guillermo Orsi - No-One Loves a Policeman (Argentinian) (nb. says Oct on amazon)

June

Elena Forbes - Evil in Return
Valerio Varesi - River of Shadows

OT: The Forest of Hands and Teeth

This is another recent example of an excellent young adult novel (which due to the zombie content is also filed in adult horror in my library) and I recently reviewed on my teenage fiction blog.

It's a tense read but the biggest attraction to me was the world created by the author and all the questions that arose from that setting...