The Excalibur Codex by James Douglas
Jamie Saintclair is an expert in tracing works of arts. But he has just as much of a knack for finding trouble as he does for recovering art work. He has just been made an offer no treasure hunter could refuse. A chance to find the legendary sword of Arthur, but he won't be dealing with knights or chivalry in this adventure, instead he will come up against the very worst of human nature. This book will take him on a quest beginning in one of humanity's darkest chapters, the rise of Nazi Germany. The evil perpetuated in this era will be mirrored by modern men who are prepared to plunge the world into darkness once again, this time in the name of British purity. Although the sword is associated with supernatural powers, there will be nothing supernatural in the evil Jamie faces, only the unbridled hatred and lust for power that comes so naturally to some men, and because of this is ever so much more terrifying than magic or monsters. What is even more disturbing is the thought that under the right circumstances, many of us could become monsters as well. Full review...
Hell to Pay by Jenny Thomson
Nancy is trying to escape a naff Christmas with her naff boyfriend, but walks into a nightmare when she interrupts a burglary at her parents' home – a professional, violent, nay fatal, burglary. When she comes out of a therapeutic stay in an institute afterwards, she's seeking one thing – revenge. Her brother and his rap sheet might have something to do with those responsible, but only one thing will fire Nancy on – the need for vengeance against those who inflicted a double rape and such violence against her. Full review...
The Shanghai Factor by Charles McCarry
Our narrator is an American sleeper spy in China whose mission is to improve his Mandarin and attempt to blend as best he can into Shanghai society. A chance meeting results in an intelligent and enigmatic Chinese lover who becomes his perfect teacher even though he is pretty sure she is working for Guoanbu (Chinese Intelligence) and that he is constantly under surveillance. In time he infiltrates known affiliates of the Guoanbu and proves himself very valuable to both the US and Chinese intelligence services, becoming a pawn in a high stakes game of chess between two powerful and paranoid nations. Full review...
High Rollers by Jack Bowman
Tom Patrick is a far from popular air crash investigator, who is nonetheless the best there is. He has more than ruffled a few feathers and is suspended from working on cases. Despite this the largest case of his career is forced upon him when not one but two Boeing 737 jets encounter catastrophic failures resulting in many fatalities. Tom recognises a possible link between the two and potentially many more airplanes, a link that could uncover a far reaching and very dangerous conspiracy. Full review...
Shadow Woman by Linda Howard
Prelude: the President of the United States and the First Lady are on what is not being called a campaign tour. It is. It is most definitely a re-election campaign; it's just not supposed to be. They retire to their suite for the night, and the protection detail of the Secret Service are looking forward to a shift change at the end of a long day. Full review...
A Crack in the Wall by Claudia Pineiro
Pablo Simó is an architect on the verge of a mid life crisis. His work, marriage and general life is governed more by habit and routine than anything, leaving him to ponder over the attractions of his colleague Marta with whom he suspects his boss may be having a relationship. When a young girl enters the office asking if anyone knows a man called Nelson Jara, the three architects deny all knowledge, but they do know him. He was involved in a claim that one of the practice's projects caused a crack in the wall of his apartment and how this was resolved is something all three of them would rather forget. Full review...
The Lavender Keeper by Fiona McIntosh
Provence 1942: Lavender farmer Luc Bonet joins the Maquis (a rural guerrilla wing of the French Resistance) to avenge the death of his adoptive Jewish family. Meanwhile in London gifted linguist Lisette Forester is recruited by the Special Operations Executive (SOE), a group of trained specialists parachuted into enemy territory to send vital information back to the homeland. Their paths will cross as Lisette is sent into France with the aim of ingratiating herself with Nazi Colonel Markus Kilian. The mission is clear cut on paper, but life can be messier than any plan can predict. Full review...
Plan D by Simon Urban and Katy Derbyshire (Translator)
October 2011 and the Berlin wall is still intact. Inspector Martin Wegener of the East German People's Police faces another day dividing his mind between thoughts of his luscious ex-lover Karolina and work. On this particular day 'work' is a body found hanging from the GDR section of gas pipeline that joins Russian to Europe. Not only is he hanging, the deceased has eight knots round his neck and his shoe laces are tied together: a Stasi trademark. Who is he and why are the Stasi killing again? Martin needs answers and they're sending a West Berlin detective in to help him find them; not the best start to a day. Full review...
The String Diaries by Stephen Lloyd Jones
Hannah Wilde flees into the Welsh mountains with daughter Leah and husband Nate while the life blood slowly seeps out of him. They run to escape the evil that has relentlessly haunted Hannah's family for generations. Some people see it as a Hungarian legend but to the Wildes it's real and insatiable and won't forget them. They know what to do: verify everyone, trust no one and, if in any doubt, RUN! Although one day that may not be enough. Full review...
A State of Fear: Britain After a Dirty Bomb by Joseph Clyde
A dirty bomb has gone off in the centre of London. Julie's first thought is to reach her daughter, waiting to be collected from school within the danger zone, but when this becomes impossible she must take refuge indoors and await rescue. Forcing her way into a beauty salon she finds herself among a disparate group of strangers, some of whom will soon find their lives interwoven with hers. Also sheltering in the salon are the Russian beauty-salon owner/madam, Mrs Marchusak, Anya, a beautician/call girl and her Chechen client, Safia, a devout Muslim (who rather strangely is in very skimpy western clothing) a Frenchman and an American gentleman. They are soon joined by Kingman, a young male of black Caribbean descent. It seems to be a regular United Nations in the salon. As a Doctor, Julie maintains her calm and does her best her to help, and the American remains a gentleman, displaying a touching act of nobility at one point, but tensions flare in the cramped quarters, especially after Kingman begins to show signs of radiation poisoning. After the event, many of these characters will find their paths crossing again. The other main characters are Julie's estranged husband Martin, a journalist, Tony an obscure MI-5 agent and finally a pair of terrorists connected to the first attack, and planning a second dirty bomb, Amer and Jayson. Full review...
Crime of Privilege by Walter Walker
In March 1996 George Becket was a guest at a party in the Cape Cod home of Senator Gregory, patriarch of America's most loved and influential family. Outwardly everything looked wholesome and fun as the Senator did an impromptu song and dance act with his sister but in the library George was present when Jamie Gregory and Peter Gregory Martin raped a young woman who was too drunk to either assent or protest. It was only George's intervention which prevented the assault becoming more violent. But for the young woman, Kendrick Powell, the rape was devastating and before long she was dead. She too was the child of an influential and wealthy family. But the Gregory clan sticks together and no action was taken against Jamie or Peter and it was the senator's influence which secured George Becket a post in the Cape Cod DA's office. It might seem that the matter was closed - but the Powell family were determined that George would suffer for not having spoken out against the Gregory family. Full review...
Penitence by Bruce Crowther
Phil Davis is a detective in a small town in Texas and he's intrigued rather than professionally involved when he sees the body of an elderly road accident victim whose back is covered with scars which have obviously been inflicted over years if not decades. There's no suggestion that the death was anything other than accidental but Davis starts to wonder when he hears of other men with similar scars who have met an untimely - if seemingly innocent - death recently. And all his investigative instincts are alive when he encounters FBI agent Luis Valdez - seemingly one of the big beasts of the agency who's spending time looking into a murder with which he was incidentally involved as an adolescent some twenty five years earlier. To cap it all, someone was tried for the crime and has been in a mental institution since, so what is Valdez doing? Full review...
Chasing Heart: 1 (Ellen Martin Disasters) by Mark Lingane
Ellen Martin is a driving, ambitious US lawyer, so when her boss sends her to the Colombian town of Barrancabermeja (Barranca for short, mercifully) for a touch of charity work it would be career threatening to protest too strongly. Besides it only amounts to getting someone out of prison. Soon after arriving Ellen realises that there's more than one person who needs rescuing; she can add herself to the list. Luckily for her Barranca is also the home of her personal trainer's nephew and, luckier still, he has a housemate called Alex. Indeed during Ellen's stay Alex is going to be more than useful. Once Barranca really shows its true colours Alex is going to be indispensable. Full review...
The Watch by Joydeep Roy-Bhattacharya
Nizam pushes a barrow up to a fortified US army base in Afghanistan. What is she doing there? How will the soldiers react? What do they believe: their experience, their training, their gut reaction or a young girl amputee in the middle of the desert who may be the last thing they ever see? Full review...
The Shining Girls by Lauren Beukes
As The Shining Girls’ tagline says, this is a thriller that breaks all the boundaries. It’s a vicious murder plot that’s based on science fiction concepts, a science fiction novel which leaves its central concepts barely, sparely explained. I haven’t read anything like it before, and in a strong and crowded crime fiction field it stands out like a searchlight. But beware. If you’re sitting comfortably as you begin reading The Shining Girls, you won’t be for long. This book sets out to cut you up inside. Full review...
Traitor's Field by Robert Wilton
It's 1648 and the embers of Charles I's reign start to fade as Britain slowly turns the monotone colour of Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth. However, Royalist passion still exists and it's up to Sir Mortimer Shay, the Comptrollerate-General for Scrutiny and Survey, to gather the intelligence, maintain his spy network and fan the embers towards the Royalist victory for which he longs. He's a wily veteran so not easily stopped but among the confusion and brutality that tears Britain in half, former lawyer Cromwell's spymaster John Thurloe is the man charged with the task. Full review...
Just What Kind of Mother Are You? by Paula Daly
Lisa Kallisto is almost the typical Mum. She's got a husband and three children and she's permanently tired. Her full-time job at the local animal rescue centre frequently spills over into her home life and she's constantly chasing around trying to catch up with what she ought to have done. Husband Joe is a taxi driver and they can only just manage to afford the rent on their cottage in the picturesque lake district. It's normally pretty crime free but then a young girl - really only a child - is abducted and brutally raped. Then another girl of about the same age goes missing and Lisa was responsible for her safety. What do you say, what do you do in that situation? Lisa is about to find out. Full review...
A Delicate Truth by John le Carre
It's 2008 and Paul is recruited by, apparently, the government to assist in an undercover operation in Gibraltar. It's perfectly straightforward and its success will impede a cell of Al Qaeda. Paul performs, is thanked and taken home without complications. Fast forward to 2011 and Toby Bell is promoted to the role of private secretary for Paul's recruiter, MP Fergus Quinn. Whilst acquainting himself with Quinn's CV, Toby uncovers the story of the mission, discovering not only Quinn's involvement but hints that it may not have been as straightforward as all that. Quinn also appears to have been connected with an organisation that's not all it seems, unfortunately for a particular pillar of a Cornish community for whom life will never be the same again. Full review...
4 Bones Sleeping by Gerald Wixey
There's quite a contrast between the settings in 4 Bones Sleeping. To begin with there's the time. Just about everything that happens goes back to the end of the Second World War and just afterwards, when people were coming to terms with having won the war, but not quite knowing what to do with the peace. Then there's 1980 when we wondered if we'd won the war, but lost the peace. The places are very different too: the people involved in this story have their being in the seedier parts of London in the post-war years, but what are they all doing in a one-horse town in rural Oxfordshire? And where did the money come from which allowed Jack to own the local newspaper and make Harry the landlord of the pub? Full review...
Last Snow (Jack McClure Trilogy) by Eric Van Lustbader
Jack McClure, aide and friend to the US president, is back at work after the death of his daughter and the resolved kidnapping of President Carson's own daughter, Alli. However, Jack hasn't fully recovered; he's still in mourning and full of self-recrimination but the show must go on. When an American senator is killed in Capri Jack's on hand to investigate, starting a mission that will take him into the Ukraine and the seamier side of power on both sides of the Atlantic. Apparently not all the President's closest advisors can be trusted and that's not Jack's only complication. After Alli's traumatic experiences at the hands of Morgan Herr Jack is the only person she trusts, so she's coming along for the ride, through hell, high water and a few murders. Full review...
Maria & The Devil by Graham Thomas
The Devil has ridden out.
Maria's lover is Montana's most feared outlaw. He has left her alone in a secluded cabin deep in the wilderness. Maria is pregnant. Left in solitude, she develops a familiar routine that feels safe. But the isolation is pervasive and Maria's defences against it are crumbling. And while she waits for her lover to return, she is discovered by Rickman Chill, whose gang is tracking the Devil in a relentless quest for revenge. What will happen when Chill discovers Maria's identity? Will the Devil return in time? Full review...
The Coldest War (Milkweed Triptych) by Ian Tregillis
England 1963: The war is over, Hitler defeated and the Russians (Britain's ally) retain most of mainland Europe. The Briton in the street believes that it was Dunkirk and the Battle of Britain that saved the nation but ex-naval intelligence officer Raybould 'Pip' Marsh and his former friend Lord William Beauclerk know differently. The nation was saved by warlocks like Lord Will, the same warlocks that are now being murdered. However, fighting over, Pip and Will are both war-weary and want to be left alone but the Secret Intelligence Service has other ideas. For the Nazi experimental 'willpower' children are now adult and assembling in England, still equipped with the super powers of their childhood. This means Will and Pip have old scores to settle and greater evils waiting to be faced… Yes… those greater evils are back. Full review...
The Carrier by Sophie Hannah
Due to a delayed flight home, Gaby has to stay overnight in a German hotel with fellow passenger Lauren. During the night Lauren tells Gaby about a man charged with the murder of his paralysed wife. At this point two things strike Gaby: 1. Lauren believes him to be innocent. 2. He's Tim Breary, Gaby's former lover with whom she has unfinished business. Once home Gaby is determined to prove his innocence but that's easier said than done. Full review...
Burden of the Desert by Justin Huggler
Journalist Zoe Temple can't believe her luck when she's sent to Iraq to cover the birth of an emerging nation, not thinking that such luck can sometimes run out. Mahmoud earns his money driving journalists from story to story, sometimes only just escaping intact. However, the most dangerous thing he will ever do is fall in love. Rick Benes is one of the American soldiers on the news, his only ambition being to get his platoon home safely as Iraq's birth pangs are violent and unrelenting. And then there's Adel, a young Iraqi lad who never dreamt of violence; not until the day that Benes killed his family. Full review...
Blood Pool by J E Ryder
Samantha Shelley was surprised to become the owner of a boatyard when her husband died in a cliff fall. She had worked in the East Devon boatyard - run it in fact - for quite some time but it's the men of the Shelley 'blood pool' who have always inherited the land for the past two hundred years. She was aware of ill-feeling against her in the village, but her priority was to keep the business running as smoothly as possible for herself and for the staff she employed. There was some support in the village - an old friend, known to one and all as 'the Prof' - had always been there for her and willing to listen to her outpourings or just to chatter as she drank coffee. Then he disappeared in violent circumstances. Full review...
Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
There’s a distressing moment in any long-term relationship where you realise that, in practice, happily ever after looks a lot like an eternity of small, snarling arguments about who forgot to buy food, who should take out the rubbish and who is responsible for that mouldering pile of clothes in the corner of the bedroom. Domestic bliss is often more like very polite guerrilla warfare between two people who love each other so much that they want to spend the rest of their lives fighting about it. You and your partner are absolutely in each other’s pockets – but no matter how close you are, there’s always one last barrier you can’t break down. You aren’t them, and they aren’t you, and so you can never truly know what’s really going on inside that well-known head. Full review...
The Rook (The Checquy Files) by Daniel O'Malley
A woman wakes up with amnesia surrounded by dead people wearing gloves. In her pocket she discovers a letter from Myfanwy Thomas, the previous inhabiter of her body. Myfanwy tells a strange story of working for 'the Checquy', a paranormal version of MI5 which has been permeated by a web of betrayal and danger. The problem is that Myfanwy never discovered the source before her body changed hands (so to speak). The amnesiac has a clear choice: to continue Myfanwy's investigation or to do a runner. It's her decision but Myfanwy's warning is less than encouraging:
- Remember they want you dead.
Something for her to bear in mind along with the fatal, unintended consequences of permitting cheap cheese into the UK. Full review...