Tag: crime fiction

Vintage Crimes will be a CWA anthology with a difference, celebrating members’ work over the years.

The book will gather stories from the mid1950s until the twenty-first century by great names of the past, great names of the present together with a few hidden treasures by less familiar writers.

The first CWA anthology, Butcher’s Dozen, appeared in 1956, and was co-edited by Julian Symons, Michael Gilbert, and Josephine Bell. The anthology has been edited by Martin Edwards since 1996, and has yielded many awardwinning and nominated stories in the UK and overseas.

This new edition includes an array of incredible and award-winning authors: Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Liza Cody, Mat Coward, John Dickson Robert Barnard, Simon Brett, Liza Cody, Mat Coward, John Dickson Carr, Marjorie Eccles, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Anthea Fraser, Carr, Marjorie Eccles, Martin Edwards, Kate Ellis, Anthea Fraser, Celia Fremlin, Frances Fyfield, Michael Gilbert, Paula Gosling, Celia Fremlin, Frances Fyfield, Michael Gilbert, Paula Gosling, Lesley Grant-Adamson, HRF Keating, Bill Knox, Peter Lovesey, Mick Lesley Grant-Adamson, HRF Keating, Bill Knox, Peter Lovesey, Mick Herron, Michael Z. Lewin, Susan Moody, Julian Symons Herron, Michael Z. Lewin, Susan Moody, Julian Symons and Andrew Taylor Taylor.

Martin Edwards (Editor) is the author of eighteen novels, including the Lake District Mysteries, and the Harry Devlin series. His ground-breaking genre study The Golden Age of Murder has won the Edgar, Agatha, and H.R.F. Keating awards.

He has edited twenty eight crime anthologies, has won the CWA Short Story Dagger and the CWA Margery A lingham Prize, and is series consultant for the British Library’s Crime Classics. In 2015, he was elected eighth President of the Detection Club, an office previously held by G.K. Chesterton, Agatha Christie, and Dorothy L. Sayers.

The CWA CWA (Crime Writers’ Association) was founded in 1953 by John Creasey, and organises the prestigious CWA Dagger Awards which celebrate the best in crime writing. The CWA is a pro-active, thriving and ever-expanding community of writers based in the UK but with a reach that extends worldwide.

My thoughts:

This was an excellent collection of crime stories spanning the 1950s until close to the present day.

Short stories are often where crime writers’ talents shine, so many of crime fiction’s greats wrote short stories, which pack the crime, the solving and the solution in neat, clever parcels. Perfect for dipping in and out of.

And the joy of all that genius is contained in the this volume. The stories are clever, cunning and shrewd, much like the detectives solving them.

I’ve read several of the authors included, and it’s interesting to see the differences and similarities between their short stories and longform work. The stories included are all very enjoyable and easily read as standalone works.

The CWA does a lot of work to not only promote living writers but ensure that older stories are not lost and can be enjoyed by readers long after they were first published.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

A family’s past pursues them like a shadow in this riveting and emotional novel of psychological suspense by the Amazon Charts bestselling author of All the Little Children.

American journalist Rose Kynaston has just relocated to the childhood home of her husband, Dylan, in the English village of his youth. There’s a lot for Rose to get used to in Hurtwood. Like the family’s crumbling mansion, inhabited by Dylan’s reclusive mother, and the treacherous hill it sits upon, a place of both sinister folklore and present dangers.

Then there are the unwelcoming villagers, who only whisper the name Kynaston—like some dreadful secret, a curse. Everyone knows what happened at Hurtwood House twenty years ago. Everyone except Rose. And now that Dylan is back, so are rumors about his past.

When an archaeological dig unearths human remains on the hill, local police sergeant Ellie Trevelyan vows to solve a cold case that has cast a chill over Hurtwood for decades.

As Ellie works to separate rumor from fact, Rose must fight to clear the name of the man she loves. But how can Rose keep her family safe if she is the last to know the truth?

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After spending a decade as a broadcast journalist for the BBC, Jo Furniss gave up the glamour of night shifts to become a freelance writer and serial expatriate. Originally from the United Kingdom, she spent seven years in Singapore and also lived in Switzerland and Cameroon.

As a journalist, Jo worked for numerous online outlets and magazines, including Monocle and the Economist. She has edited books for a Nobel laureate and the palace of the Sultan of Brunei. She has a Distinction in MA Professional Writing from Falmouth University.
Jo’s debut novel, All the Little Children, was an Amazon Charts bestseller.
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My thoughts:

This was a really interesting and enjoyable read, dealing with memory, guilt and rumour.

Rose uncovers a web of intrigue surrounding a suspicious death at her in-laws’ home and terrible rumours of child abuse. Determined to uncover the truth and free her family from these past tragedies she applies her journalistic skills to uncovering the truth.

This was really gripping, full of red herrings and muddled recollections – having two of the characters suffering from dementia and not being able to fully differentiate the past and the present means both Rose and sergeant Ellie Trevelyan miss vital clues and have to work harder to solve the series of deaths uncovered.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Jackson Birkman has the perfect life: the lead role on the popular detective show “Dispatching David,” millions of adoring fans, celebrity status, and a beautiful girlfriend. After five seasons, “Dispatching David” has just been cancelled. With the final episode quickly approaching, Jackson is worried about more than just his future acting career. His once massive fortune is dwindling and his girlfriend Clara is pressuring him to propose.

When Jackson unexpectedly dies on the set of the TV show during filming, everyone speculates whether it was suicide or murder. Why would Jackson commit suicide? If it was a setup, who would want Jackson to die? And most importantly, what was the motive of the murderer? As the investigation continues, Officer Wilson inches closer to the truth, uncovering Jackson’s secrets. She begins to think no one really knew Jackson at all, but is determined to solve the case, no matter the cost.

As the investigation continues, Officer Wilson inches closer to the truth, uncovering Jackson’s secrets. She begins to think no one really knew Jackson at all, but is determined to solve the case, no matter the cost.

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Nichole Heydenburg earned her Bachelor’s Degree in English with an emphasis in writing and a minor in theatre from Adrian College in 2014. Her one act play “The Hidden Story” won a playwriting contest and was performed at her alma mater in 2015. She also had several poems published in “The Oxcart” literary magazine. Nichole has been working full-time as the Content Manager for a start-up company for 3 years. When she isn’t writing, Nichole enjoys going on adventures with her husband, reading, playing board games, and the occasional mimosa. “The Long Shadow on the Stage” is her first novel. She currently resides near Asheville, NC with her husband, Zed.

To stay up to date on news about her second novel, as well as read writing and self-publishing tips, subscribe to her monthly newsletter on her website.

My thoughts:

A twisted tale of love, friendship and fame. Edgar and Jackson have been friends all their lives, Jackson and Clara are engaged.

Jackson has secrets, could those secrets be what gets him killed?

Twisted and dark, this story weaves between narrators, showing you glimpses of the killer as well as the victim, his friends and the officer determined to solve the case.

The ending leaves enough hanging that the brave Officer Wilson could easily be on the case and tracking the killer into a second book. *I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

One woman’s quest for revenge unearths a fatal secret from her past.

Astrid Jensen holds one man responsible for her mother’s suicide, and she’ll do whatever’s necessary to get close to Daniel Holst and destroy his life – even if it means sleeping with him to gain his trust. Astrid knows he’s not who he pretends to be. But before she can reveal his dark secret, people from her mother’s past start turning up dead, and it looks like she and Daniel are next. In order to survive, she might have to put her trust in the man she has hated for so long.

Daniel Holst has worked hard to climb into Norway’s most elite and glamorous circles, and he’s not about to let any woman bring him down. But when a psychopathic killer starts murdering people from his shadowy past, he discovers that the only person who might be able to save him is the woman who wants to destroy him.

As Astrid digs deeper into her past, she uncovers secrets long buried and realizes everything she once believed is based on lies. What began as a quest to avenge her mother’s death becomes a desperate struggle for survival and leads to the truth about what happened one fatal night ten years ago—and the surprising mastermind behind the most recent murders.

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Hélene is an Anglo-Swedish fiction author currently residing in her home town of Malmo, Sweden, after relocating back from London after 20 years.

Her thrilling character-driven psychological fiction novels are known for their explosive, pacy narrative and storylines.

Hélene is the proud author of four novels – One Fatal Night, Because of You, We Never Said Goodbye and His Guilty Secret.

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My thoughts:

A lot happens very quickly in this novel as everything Astrid believes to be true unravels and the race to find the real killer of her mother kicks into high gear.

The body count increases and more secrets are revealed as both Astrid and the police desperately search for a killer with no remorse.

Fast-paced and full of twists, the plot unfolds in snowy woods outside Oslo as the killer goes to ground.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

It’s a small story. A small town with small lives that you would never have heard about if none of this had happened. Hinton Hollow. Population 5,120. Little Henry Wallace was eight years old and one hundred miles from home before anyone talked to him. His mother placed him on a train with a label around his neck, asking for him to be kept safe for a week, kept away from Hinton Hollow. Because something was coming. Narrated by Evil itself, Hinton Hollow Death Trip recounts five days in the history of this small rural town, when darkness paid a visit and infected its residents. A visit that made them act in unnatural ways. Prodding at their insecurities. Nudging at their secrets and desires. Coaxing out the malevolence suppressed within them. Showing their true selves. Making them cheat. Making them steal. Making them kill. Detective Sergeant Pace had returned to his childhood home. To escape the things he had done in the city. To go back to something simple. But he was not alone. Evil had a plan.

Will Carver is the international bestselling author of the January David series. He spent his early years in Germany, but returned to the UK at age eleven, when his sporting career took off. He turned down a professional rugby contract to study theatre and television at King Alfred’s, Winchester, where he set up a successful theatre company. He currently runs his own fitness and nutrition company, and lives in Reading with his two children. Good Samaritans was book of the year in Guardian, Telegraph and Daily Express, and hit number one on the ebook charts.

My thoughts:

Sort of following on from Nothing Important Happened Today (a book that scrambled my brains) this is narrated by Evil, and is another brain scrambler of a book.

Someone is shooting children in a small suburban town, an abattoir worker has taken to cruelty and people are having affairs, breaking windows and going missing.

I feel sorry for DS Pace, he’s trying to solve these awful killings while also maintaining some semblance of order in his own life (and failing).

The ending did a number on my noggin and Evil somehow triumphs despite insisting they did very little to affect events.

Will Carver is an evil genius of a writer and I can’t wait to see what he comes up with next, once I’ve rested my poor scrambled brain.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

A serial killer will stop at nothing…

The Killer. His most valuable possession has been stolen. Now he must retrieve it, at any cost.

The Girl. Angela Wood wanted to teach the man a lesson. It was a bag, just like all the others. But when she opens it, the worst nightmare of her life begins.

The Detective. A journal ends up at Robert Hunter’s desk. It soon becomes clear that there is a serial killer on the loose. And if he can’t stop him in time, more people will die.

If you have read it. You must die.

Born in Brazil of Italian origin, Chris Carter studied psychology and criminal behaviour at the University of Michigan. As a member of the Michigan State District Attorney’s Criminal Psychology team, he interviewed and studied many criminals, including serial and multiple homicide offenders with life imprisonment convictions. He now lives in London.

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My thoughts:

This is a dark thriller with a determined detective and a man insensible to others’ suffering pitched against each other in a race against time.

When a pickpocket steals a serial killer’s diary and the LAPD become involved, the killer determines to get back his property – no care for the consequences.

Hunter is a sympathetic protagonist, the hero cop with nothing but his job to live for, I would have liked Angela to have been a bit more central, but the cat and mouse game between Hunter and the mysterious murderer is very cleverly done. The killer’s diary is an interesting plot device, the cold dispassionate tone of his observations clinical and then emotionally driven.

The denouement is satisfying and the final showdown cinematic in its execution.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

A DETECTIVE UNDER PRESSURE

Deputy Coroner Clay Edison is juggling a new baby who won’t sleep with working the graveyard shift. For once he’s trying to keep things simple.

A HAUNTING DISCOVERY

When infant remains are found by developers demolishing a local park, a devastating cold case is brought back to light.

A DESPERATE SEARCH FOR ANSWERS

Clay has barely begun to investigate when he receives a call from a man who thinks the remains could belong to his sister – who went missing fifty years ago. Now Clay is locked in a relentless search that will unearth a web of violence, secrets and betrayal.

Because in this town, the past isn’t dead. It’s very much alive. And it can kill.

About the authors

Jonathan Kellerman is the Number One New York Times bestselling author of more than forty crime novels, including the Alex Delaware series, The Butcher’s Theater, Billy Straight, The Conspiracy Club, Twisted, True Detectives, and The Murderer’s Daughter.

With his wife, bestselling novelist Faye Kellerman, he co-authored Double Homicide and Capital Crimes.

With his son, bestselling novelist Jesse Kellerman, he co-authored Crime Scene, The Golem of Hollywood, and The Golem of Paris.

He is also the author of two children’s books and numerous nonfiction works, including Savage Spawn: Reflections on Violent Children and With Strings Attached: The Art and Beauty of Vintage Guitars.

He has won the Goldwyn, Edgar, and Anthony awards and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Psychological Association, and has been nominated for a Shamus Award.

My thoughts:

This was a compelling novel of investigation and excavating the past. There are two cases, one that of a dead child’s remains found buried in a park and the other of a child, missing or perhaps dead, fifty years ago.

Clay is an engaging protagonist, juggling his job as a coroner’s deputy and new fatherhood, the scenes between him and his tiny daughter are gentle relief to the cases he’s working.

The deaths of children are highly emotive, and the remains found spark protests and political wrangling, even as Clay is trying to reunite them with their family.

The cold case of the missing child from fifty years ago isn’t remotely clear cut – there’s little to no evidence that there even was a child, making Clay’s life even harder.

The cases are compelling and the investigations detailed and engaging, it’s clear the authors are confident and knowledgeable in their field, making the narrative flow and keeping the reader connected.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.

Four victims. Killer caught. Case closed . . . or is it?

Growing up in a London family with ties to organized crime, Detective Constable Cat Kinsella knows the criminal world better than most cops do. As a member of the city’s Metropolitan Police, she’s made efforts to distinguish herself from her relatives. But leading an upstanding life isn’t always easy, and Cat has come close to crossing the line, a fact she keeps well hidden from her superiors.

Working their latest case, Cat and her partner Luigi Parnell discover a connection to a notorious criminal: serial killer Christopher Masters, who abducted and killed several women in 2012. Though the cops eventually apprehended him, his final victim, Holly Kemp, was never found and he never confessed to her murder, despite the solid eyewitness testimony against him. Now, six years later, the discovery of Holly’s remains near Cambridge seems to be the definitive proof needed to close the case.

Still, a few key items of evidence don’t quite line up. As Cat and Parnell look closer, they find discrepancies that raise troubling questions. But someone will do anything to keep past secrets hidden—and as they inch closer to the truth, they may be putting themselves in jeopardy . . .

My thoughts:

This started off as a pretty average police procedural but then took off in a completely different direction, the plot gathering pace as the investigation sped up. The brilliant twists towards the end were not easy to spot and very little foreshadowing suggested where it might all end.

*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in this blog tour but all opinions remain my own.