Newest Crime Reviews

Review of The Night Watch (D S Max Craigie) by Neil Lancaster Crime Fergus Grigor went out for a run. The lawyer was on his honeymoon but his body was found dashed to pieces below the cliffs at Dunnett Head. Was it suicide, or did he - for some reason - climb over the stone wall and fall to his death? Or was he pushed? On balance, it looked like an accident but then his 'accident' was linked to the deaths of others associated with him. Scott Paterson was released after a 'not-proven' verdict meant that Scotland's most notorious criminal wasn't facing life imprisonment. Paterson was Grigor's last client. Full Review

Review of The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields Crime Seventeen-year-old Adriana Clarke's family moved to Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull, in search of a new life. It was a bit of a change from Las Vegas, but the family seemed determined and Adriana had shown signs of developing a social life - until she disappeared. The local police demonstrated little interest in the case (could it have been because Adriana's mother is obviously Latino?) and Rob and Isabella Clarke called in Sadie Levesque from Banff, who had successfully tracked down missing teenagers. Brandon, Adriana's twin, was upset and surly. Four-year-old Luna just knew that she missed her big sister. It took four days, but Sadie found Adriana in Mackinnon's Cave. She'd been murdered and it looked like a ritual killing. Full Review

Review of The Rising Tide (D I Vera Stanhope) by Ann Cleeves Crime It's fifty years since a group of teenagers went on a weekend retreat to Holy Island. Some of them found the Only Connect course transformative and they've been coming back for a reunion every five years since then. There was a tragedy at the first reunion when Isobel Hall drove off the island too close to high tide and her car was swept away, but her younger sister, Louisa, has returned with the group each year as her husband, Ken, was one of the original teenagers. Ken now has Alzheimer's and he's a shadow of the man he used to be. Philip Robson now a priest, always gets there early as he likes to have some quiet time alone in the chapel. Annie Laidler lives locally and she provides much of the food: her deli is famous in the area. Full Review

Review of Hope to Die (D I Fawley) by Cara Hunter Crime It began rather oddly. There was a 999 call suggesting that a shot had been fired in an isolated house but the call hadn't come from the householder. A couple of PCs went to make certain that everything was alright and it took quite a while for the elderly householder to answer the door. He somewhat reluctantly told them that they'd better come in. In the kitchen there was a body on the floor: the head had been blown off with a shotgun and the corpse was holding a knife in its right hand. Richard Swann told the police that he'd heard sounds of an intruder and had come downstairs to investigate. The ignorant young lout had called him Grandad and come at him with a knife. Swann had shot him in self-defence. Full Review

Review of Listen to Me by Tess Gerritsen Crime We're in Boston with Amy. When she set out for university this morning it was a spring day and she wore her new, buttery-leather pumps but as she comes out of the library she knows that they're going to be ruined - and unsafe - in the snow that's now falling. As she crosses the road, a car comes out of nowhere and hits her. It doesn't stop. Two months later, we're with Angela Rizzoli, mother of Detective Jane Rizzoli, and a keen defender of the suburb of Revere, north of Boston, where she lives. Nothing gets past her and whilst her boyfriend, Vince Korsak, is in California, looking after his sister, she has the time to watch what's happening in the neighbourhood. The people who are moving in at no 2533 have aroused her suspicions. Full Review

Review of The Companion by Lesley Thomson Crime James Ritchie thought of himself as a punctual man who was inexplicably never on time and he was - as usual - late to pick up his son, Wilbur, for their 'boys' day out'. These were always days which appealed more to James than to Wilbur and, competing for the boy's attention, his mother, Anna, promised him a roast dinner when he returned. The dinner would never be served, as James and Wilbur are the victims of a double stabbing on the beach. The case falls to DI Toni Kemp of Sussex police. She's feeling the pressure. You can always tell - she shoplifts Snickers Bars when the going gets tough. Full Review

Review of Dark Music by David Lagercrantz Crime How far from the original can a book allegedly inspired by Sherlock Holmes get before the allusion breaks? This does have a wonder-mind at the heart of what little investigating is going on, but there is not a lot that Conan Doyle fans could really pin down as on their exact wavelength. For one, the main focus of the narrative, Micaela, is no John Watson MD. She's a Chilean in the Stockholm police, put on a murder squad as she knows the prime suspect of old, in a case where a referee of a junior football match was found stoned to death shortly after the match, and just outside the stadium. Beppe, the suspect, was drunkenly antagonistic to the ref during the closing minutes, but refuses to admit anything, through days and weeks of interrogation. When some disreputable coppers (the kind who dismiss anything their superior comes up with, the kind who think they can judge Micaela from her fringe and how she might dress – that kind) are told to go and see what brainbox Professor Rekke thinks of it all, she can only smirk when he says Beppe is innocent and the investigation is a shambles. But taken off the case, she can no longer help solve the crime, and with Rekke the most erratic, irregular kind of guy, she can't get his full verdict on it all. Until, that may be, she manages to stop him in the middle of an apparent suicide attempt... Full Review

Review of To Kill a Troubadour (A Bruno, Chief of Police Novel) by Martin Walker Crime Nobody knows what the truth is any more. Bruno Courrèges is the police chief for St Denis and much of the Vézère valley and works closely with Commissaire Jean-Jaques Jalipeau (known as 'JJ'), the head of detectives for the départment of the Dordogne. They're not just policemen - they're both deeply committed to the well-being and prosperity of this most beautiful part of France. The discovery of an old, stolen Peugeot, crashed and abandoned in a ditch wouldn't normally have worried them so much had it not been for the strange bullet, with Russian letters stamped on the base, which they found in the car. Oh, and there was a golf ball too, which didn't belong to the owner of the car. A golf bag would be a good place to hide a sniper's weapon. Was there going to be an attempt to kill someone, or were the detectives being pushed in a certain direction? Full Review

Review of Blind Justice (DS McAvoy 10) by David Mark Crime Acting DI Aector McAvoy hadn't even had time for breakfast when the call came through. A body had been found in the roots of a fallen tree at Brantingham, near Hull. When he gets to the scene, he will find what greets him is even worse than he could have imagined. A young man's corpse is entangled with the roots of a newly-fallen tree – the roots have grown through him – and two silver Roman coins have been nailed through his eyes. It would seem that this was done whilst the man was still alive. McAvoy makes a promise to the victim: I will find answers. You will know justice. But justice always comes at a cost and this time the cost might be to McAvoy's own family. Full Review

Review of Little Drummer by Kjell Ola Dahl and Don Bartlett (translator) Crime Part of the Oslo Detectives series, this crime story is a mixture of police procedural and thriller. Beginning with the death of a young woman in a carpark, that looks very much like an overdose, it unravels into a far-reaching investigation of murder, fraud, and international pharmaceutical dealings. Our two detectives are Gunnarstranda and Frolich, who end up working separately on the case as Gunnarstranda remains in Norway whilst Frolich is led to Africa as they follow the twists and turns of the investigation. Gunnarstranda and Frolich are tenacious, chasing down the truth in increasingly difficult, frustrating circumstances, trying hard to uncover the truth as they are sure that something much bigger, and much more dangerous, is going on. Full Review

Review of Cold Reckoning by Russ Thomas Crime DS Adam Tyler never believed that his father committed suicide and for the last sixteen years he's been searching for evidence to prove that he's right. When a frozen body was found in Damflask Reservoir, there was a link back to a cold case from 2002. There didn't immediately seem to be any connection with DI Richard Tyler's death but Adam Tyler senses a link to the case his father was investigating before he died. Above all there's a growing sense that the criminality of Det Supt Stevens is going to be brought out into the open. Perhaps Tyler is going to get the answers he needs? Full Review

Review of No Less the Devil by Stuart MacBride Crime We're in Oldcastle and Malcolm is in trouble. He's in an abandoned house and he's being threatened by two young people. One is Allegra (we'll soon learn that she's Allegra Dean-Edwards) and Hugo. It seems that Allegra bought Malcolm a new coat to keep him warm (she often does this for homeless people, apparently) but she'd put a tracking device in it so that she and Hugo could find out where he was sleeping. It won't be long before the police realise that Malcolm was one of their own: not many other people are going to have the Oldcastle police crest tattooed on their backs. Full Review

Review of Death at Friar's Inn by Rob Keeley Crime Nat Webber and Tom Barton were in the finals of the Moots to take place at The Honourable Society of Friar's Inn. For aspiring barristers, moots test the participants' knowledge of several areas of law as well as their advocacy skills: it's a great way of getting invaluable practice and of getting yourself noticed. Tom and Nat are from 'a provincial university' and they're almost looked down on because of this. The other contestants - Becca Decker-Hamilton and Lucia 'Mouse' Dawes have no such disadvantage and Becca has an abundance of confidence. Tom's £30 supermarket suit doesn't make him feel any better. Full Review

Review of City of the Dead by Jonathan Kellerman Crime When you drive large vehicles for a living, you're careful and it's not just about the way that you drive. You restrict your alcohol intake and if it's a trip that needs overnight stays you make certain you get your sleep. When you're taking a removals truck through a residential neighbourhood you head off at 5 a.m. when the roads are quieter, even if you have to wait up when you get to where you're going. And it was going well until the men hit something in Westwood Village, an upmarket neighbourhood of Los Angeles. The man was stark naked and couldn't be identified. Full Review

Review of The Patient (A DS Cross thriller) by Tim Sullivan Crime DS George Cross has an autistic spectrum disorder, quite probably Asperger's Syndrome. He can be rude, difficult and awkward with people, although it's never intentional. It's just that he thinks differently and social niceties simply don't occur to him. There's a reason why he's in Bristol's Major Crime Unit and it's that he has the best conviction rate with cases, ever. His partner is DS Josie Ottey: she regards Cross with affection (not an emotion he would recognise, or welcome being attached to himself) and even attempts to instil some of those missing social niceties into Cross's behaviour. Full Review

Review of Unhinged (Volume 3) (Blix and Ramm) by Jorn Lier Horst and Thomas Enger Crime This is the third book in a series of stories featuring Alexander Blix, a police officer, and Emma Ramm, a crime journalist. In this book we find that when one of Blix's colleagues, Kovic, uncovers a connection between several Oslo cases, she tries to contact her superior, Blix. Before she can reach him, however, she is murdered, and Blix's daughter Iselin who shares the same apartment, narrowly escapes being murdered too. We then find ourselves a few days later with Blix and Ramm, who are being interviewed by the National Criminal Investigation Service because Blix has shot and killed someone, and Ramm saw it all happen. What had Kovic discovered? And what did Blix and Ramm uncover that led to Blix killing someone? Full Review

Review of Give Unto Others by Donna Leon Crime Commissario Guido Brunetti senses that Venice has changed. The pandemia stripped the city of its tourists for nearly two years and a lot of businesses have closed, most never to reopen. There's now a cascade of money as life begins again but even 125,000 deaths have not put an end to greed. The Mafias have liquidity problems: how on earth are they going to launder all the money which is coming their way? Whilst he's thinking about this, Brunetti encounters someone he's seen only occasionally since they were neighbours when he was a child. Elisabetta Foscarini has a problem and she'd like Brunetti's advice. Full Review

Review of The Blood Tide (DS Max Craigie) by Neil Lancaster Crime Loch Torridon is the back of beyond: there's not even any light pollution which is why it was the perfect place to land illegal deliveries of drugs. Jimmy McLeish thought that he was onto a nice little earner, only to find that Macca, the man he thought he was working with, is dead. His remains would never be found. The delivery is hijacked by Davie and Callum. As the story progresses we'll get to know them quite well. Full Review

Review of The Locked Room (Dr Ruth Galloway) by Elly Griffiths Crime It was some time since her father had remarried but his wife was now keen to do some decorating and Dr Ruth Galloway volunteered to clear out her mother's belongings. She was intrigued by the discovery of a picture of her own house: it was an old photograph, taken in misty conditions and on the back it said 'dawn 1963', some years before Ruth was born. It was before her parents were married. When she returned to Norfolk she was determined to find out what was behind the photograph but Covid intervened and the country was in lockdown. Ruth and Kate are restricted to the cottage with Ruth attempting to home school Kate and continue with her university teaching duties. The good thing was meeting Zoe, the new tenant from next door whom they got to know whilst clapping for carers. Full Review

Review of Blood Games (DS Nikki Parekh 4) by Liz Mistry Crime It's the third murder in the space of a few weeks and they've all been because of machetes used on teenagers. DS Nikki Parekh and DC Sajid Malik are amongst the first to arrive on the scene at Chellow Dene Reservoir on the outskirts of Bradford. Only, this time, it's going to be different. The body appears to Nikki to be that of her beloved nephew, Haqib, and she has a very public meltdown. It isn't Haqib: there are similarities but the body is clad in designer clothes and comes from an obviously monied background. What it does mean though is that Nikki is going to be on sick leave for some time with anxiety and depression. Full Review

Review of One Step Too Far by Lisa Gardner Crime It's five years since the stag weekend. Five of them had set out: Tim (the groom) and his four groomsmen, Scot, Miguel (who was usually called Miggy), Neil and Josh. The first night they had plenty of alcohol - too much really - and in the night Scot managed to wander off. The remaining four searched for him in vain and it was decided that Tim, who was experienced in survival techniques, would go for help. When help didn't come the remaining three finally made their way back to town. Scott followed soon after but there was no sign of Tim. Every year, Tim's father, Martin, and the four friends have been back to continue the search although they do now acknowledge that they're looking for 'remains' rather than for Tim. Full Review

Review of Something to Hide: An Inspector Lynley Novel by Elizabeth George Crime It's late July and Deborah St James is at a meeting with Dominique Shaw, Undersecretary for the school system, a representative from the NHS, Mr Oh from Barnardos, someone from Orchid House whose name she didn't catch but would later turn out to be Zawadi and Narissa Cameron, a filmmaker. It follows on from the success of Deborah's book London Voices: the meeting is an exploration of the possibility of the idea behind the book being used to highlight an area which is causing concern in some communities. Deborah's uncertain about quite how successful she could be as the problem seems to occur in Nigerian and Somali communities as she relies on getting the trust of the people she speaks to and photographs. Full Review

Review of The Lost by Simon Beckett Crime The disappearance of Metropolitan police firearms officer, Jonah Colley's young son, Theo, just about finished him, particularly as he blamed himself for what had happened. He'd fallen asleep in the park whilst Theo was playing and when he woke, Theo had gone. It cost him his marriage and his home. Ten years later he's largely come through it and he's out with his team when he gets a phone call from DS Gavin McKinney. Gavin used to be his best friend but it's a long time since they've spoken. He's obviously in some difficulty now - Jonah can hear it in his voice - and he asks Jonah to meet him at Slaughter Quay. There's no one else I can trust, he says. Full Review

Review of Bruno's Challenge and Other Dordogne Tales by Martin Walker Short Stories I'm not usually a fan of short stories - I find it all too easy to put the book down between stories and forget to pick it up again - but I am a fan of Martin Walker's Bruno Courreges Mysteries so the temptation to read Bruno's Challenge was hard to resist and I'm rather glad that I didn't even try. For those new to the series, there's an excellent introduction that will tell you all you need to know about who's who and the background to why Bruno is in St Denis. Full Review

Review of Buried Lies (Gaby Darin Book 5) by Jenny O'Brien Crime Hannah Thomas was having her first night away from her son. Hunter had diabetes and this was controlled by a pump attached to his stomach, so her over-protectiveness was understandable, but her fiance, Ian, was pestering her to get married and she thought it would be a good idea for him to find out what parenting was really like. Her friend, Milly, had arranged to take her boyfriend, Liam, for a night in a posh hotel but then he dumped her and she couldn't get the money back, so Hannah was offered the opportunity to go in his place. She would return home to find Ian dead and five-year-old Hunter missing. Full Review

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