Boys Who Hurt – Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, translated by Victoria Cribb out 18th July Link
Fresh from maternity leave, Detective Elma finds herself confronted with a complex case, when a man is found murdered in a holiday cottage in the depths of the Icelandic countryside – the victim of a frenzied knife attack, with a shocking message scrawled on the wall above him.
At home with their baby daughter, Sævar is finding it hard to let go of work, until the chance discovery in a discarded box provides him with a distraction. Could the diary of a young boy, detailing the events of a long-ago summer have a bearing on Elma’s case?
Once again, the team at West Iceland CID have to contend with local secrets in the small town of Akranes, where someone has a vested interest in preventing the truth from coming to light. And Sævar has secrets of his own that threaten to destroy his and Elma’s newfound happiness.
Tense, twisty and shocking, Boys Who Hurt is the next, addictive instalment in the award-winning Forbidden Iceland series, as dark events from the past endanger everything…
Fresh from the scandal at Hampstead County PD, Detective Sergeant Casey Wray works a complex double-homicide that points to a killer on a murderous rampage and a shattering series of discoveries that could end her career … The shocking sequel to the addictive, twisty, bestselling Black Reed Bay…
Hampstead County Police Department is embroiled in scandal after corruption at the top of the force was exposed. Cleared of involvement and returned to active duty, Detective Sergeant Casey Wray nonetheless finds herself at a crossroads when it becomes clear not everyone believes she’s innocent.
Partnered with rookie Billy Drocker, Casey works a shocking daytime double-homicide in downtown Rockport with the two victims seemingly unknown to one another. And when a third victim is gunned down on her doorstep shortly after, it appears an abusive ex-boyfriend holds the key to the killings.
With powerful figures demanding answers, Casey and Billy search for the suspect, fearing he’s on a murderous rampage. But when a key witness goes missing, and new evidence just won’t fit, the case begins to unravel. With her career in jeopardy, Casey makes a shattering discovery that threatens to expose the true darkness at the heart of the murders… with a killer still on the loose…
The Kitchen – Simone Buchholz, translated by Rachel Ward out 11th April Link
Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley and her colleagues investigate the murders of men with a history of abuse towards women … as a startling, horrifying series of revelations emerge.
When neatly packed male body parts wash up by the River Elbe, Hamburg State Prosecutor Chastity Riley and her colleagues begin a perplexing investigation.
As the murdered men are identified, it becomes clear that they all had a history of abuse towards women, leading Riley to wonder if it would actually be in society’s best interests to catch the killers.
But when her best friend Carla is attacked, and the police show little interest in tracking down the offender, Chastity takes matters into her own hands and as a link between the two cases emerges, horrifying revelations threaten Chastity’s own moral compass … and put everything at risk.
The award-winning, critically acclaimed Chastity Riley series returns with a slick, hard-boiled, darkly funny thriller that tackles issues of violence and the difference between law and justice with devastating insight, and an ending you will never see coming…
When you are having a really bad day, drink yourself legless, abuse everyone around you, pass out and try again tomorrow. Trouble is; every day is bad in Rupert Fletcher’s world. He threatens his ex-wife, mocks his girlfriend, abuses his neighbours, and gets into a fight in the pub. Next day, he is found dead. Who’d want to kill him? Well, almost everybody, but it looks like only one person did. The police arrest his ex-wife’s therapist, Anthony. Anthony’s family claim he is innocent and employ the SeeMs Detective Agency to find the real killer. Cat, Miranda, and Stevie uncover clues that point them back to an intricate web of family injuries and an unexpected connection between the victim and his killer. Could Rupert’s murderer be The Chameleon Killer, who has already killed before and is bent on revenge? They need to act fast before the killer strikes again.
Gina has worked as a pilot, physiotherapist, freelance writer and dog breeder. As a child, Gina’s parents hated travelling and never went further than Jersey. As a result she became travel-addicted and spent years bumming around SE Asia, China and Australia, where she worked in a racing stables in Pinjarra, South of Perth. She then lived and worked in various places in Spain, the USA and London before settling in West Sussex with her husband and dogs.
This is her fourth crime novel in the SeeMs Detective Agency series. This book is set between Sussex and London.
My thoughts: the SeeMs Detective Agency are dealing with a terrible murder close to home. Cat’s former son-in-law is dead and her daughter Caroline is a person of interest, as is former therapist Anthony.
But there’s a rather odd woman who’d crowbarred her way into Rupert’s life, could she be his killer and might she be the criminal they’ve been hunting for some time – the elusive Victoria? She seems to have multiple identities, and yet no one truly knows who she is.
With Stevie hunting down DNA and learning about family connections, Cat and Miranda are out and about asking questions. This mysterious woman seems to be after Caroline’s daughter, Lagartha, but why?
As they unravel the clues, more people disappear, and there’s some odd goings on at the pub Rupert was last seen drinking in. Are they connected?
It’s all very convoluted but they seem sure they can unravel it and prove that the wicked kidnapper and murderer is Victoria or Bella or whoever she is this week. Can they get justice, they’re pretty sure of it.
Once things start to slot into place and the killer’s multiple identities are uncovered, the story starts to really pick up, between all the mistaken sightings, the names and addresses, the odd connections, a case is being built. The police need evidence, but the private eyes of SeeMs don’t.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Cocktails, chaos, and an unexpected twist. Can Perry and his hens unveil the truth before time runs out?
Death at Prestigious Hotel and Spa, Chasingham House
We are hearing reports that a young woman has been found dead at Chasingham House, the exclusive venue in the Cotswolds. She has not been named, and the cause of death is unknown at this time. This will no doubt cast a cloud over the bachelor weekend being hosted there by Lady Beatrice (36), the Countess of Rossex, for her business partner Perry Juke (34) ahead of his wedding to bestselling author and celebrity chef Simon Lattimore (40). Also staying at Chasingham House are top models Camile Redmaine (35) and Mel Parks (35), who are celebrating newly-single Cammy’s birthday with a group of friends.
When one of the birthday girls is found dead in her room, it’s clear Bea plans for her, Perry, and their friends to chill around the pool, have a few treatments, and generally relax, seem to have gone down the drain. When the local police are quick to dismiss the death as an accident, Bea is determined to help investigate anyway, along with the rest of Perry’s party. Can Perry and his hens catch the killer before the weekend is over and the trail goes cold?
Hello. I’m Helen Golden. I write British contemporary cozy whodunnits with a hint of humour. I live in small village in Lincolnshire in the UK with my husband, my step-daughter, her two cats, our two dogs, sometimes my step-son, and our tortoise. I used to work in senior management, but after my recent job came to a natural end I had the opportunity to follow my dreams and start writing. It’s very early in my life as an author, but so far I’m loving it. It’s crazy busy at our house, so when I’m writing I retreat to our caravan (an impulsive lockdown purchase) which is mostly parked on our drive. When I really need total peace and quiet, I take it to a lovely site about 15 minutes away and hide there until my family runs out of food or clean clothes.
My thoughts: Bea and Perry and some pals are celebrating Perry’s impending wedding at a local spa hotel with a swanky bar, along with another group of models and their friends, some of whom Bea knows.
After a night of drinks and dancing, one of the other party is found dead in her room, a half drunk cocktail by her bed. Was it a horrible accident or did someone kill her?
The local police are investigating, but so are Bea, Perry and their friends. With a more relaxed and friendly approach to both staff and their fellow guests, they uncover lots of important clues, and maybe even the killer. If it was murder…
I really enjoy this series, and this was another fun addition to the series, can’t wait for the wedding!
*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 failing hotel… With its reputation in tatters, Alexi Ellis is determined to save her beloved Hopgood Hall from any more bad press. A writing course for wannabe journalists shouldn’t cause too many issues and will hopefully take the heat off Hopgood Hall….
A shocking death… But disaster strikes, when one of the group is found dead in a local pub. What’s worse Alexi was the last person to see the victim alive, which makes her suspect number one.
A case too close to home? Alexi is sure she is being set up but who would go to such deadly lengths? With her reputation and liberty on the line, this is a case Alexi, Jack and Cosmo can’t afford to leave unsolved!
Perfect for fans of Faith Martin, Frances Evesham and Emma Davies.
Evie Hunter has written a great many successful regency romances as Wendy Soliman and is now redirecting her talents to produce dark gritty thrillers for Boldwood. For the past twenty years she has lived the life of a nomad, roaming the world on interesting forms of transport, but has now settled back in the UK.
My thoughts: Alexi has organised a course for aspiring journalists, ones who can afford it, that is. The six attendees are supposed to find local stories to write about…not become the story! But unfortunately she’s now associated with another murder as one of the course members is found aggressively strangled to death in the gents of a local pub.
The dead man has a mysterious past, and a tragic one at that. Is it his childhood in an awful care home that has led to his death or is it something more recent? Which government department does he work for, is it his work or the story he’s been chasing?
As Alexi and Jack (and obviously Cosmo, my favourite crime favourite crime sniffing moggy) start to dig, they find links to a missing local woman, another attendee and Alexi’s former boss Patrick. There seems to be a lot more to Peter Foreman than it first appeared. And who killed him?
Another clever, knotty and entertaining read in this series.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
Art expert Emma Lindahl is anxious when she’s asked to appraise the antiques and artefacts in the infamous manor house of one of Sweden’s wealthiest families, on the island of Storholmen, where a young woman was murdered nine years earlier, her killer never found.
Emma must work alone, and with the Gussman family apparently avoiding her, she sees virtually no one in the house. Do they have something to hide? As she goes about her painstaking work and one shocking discovery yields clues that lead to another, Emma becomes determined to uncover the secrets of the house and its occupants.
When the lifeless body of another young woman is found in the icy waters surrounding the island, Detective Karl Rosén arrives to investigate, and memories of his failure to solve the first case come rushing back. Could this young woman’s tragic death somehow hold the key?
Battling her own demons, Emma joins forces with Karl to embark upon a chilling investigation, plunging them into horrifying secrets from the past – Viking rites and tainted love – and Scandinavia’s deepest, darkest winter…
Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and television. Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in nineteen countries. A TV adaptation is currently under way in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding was a number-one bestseller in France and received immense critical acclaim across the globe. Johana lives in Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.
My thoughts: this is not a Christmas book, despite the title, it’s a creepy, dark read about obsession, murder, and how twisted some minds can get.
And it is also so, so good. Totally compelling, very enjoyable as I like dark, weird stuff, and peopled with very normal individuals, and some very disturbed ones passing as normal. Which of course makes it worse.
There are several narratives that once you realise what’s happening and how they interconnect, build to reveal the total horror that has taken place in the Gussman family’s manor house.
This is the second book I’ve read from this author, and it is deeply chilling but incredibly interesting and her writing (and the excellent work of the translator) just sucks you into the world Johana has created on this island. It’s that good. If you prefer your winter reading to be dark and full of horrors, monsters hidden in plain sight, then this is absolutely for you.
*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 plane on route from London to New York City has disappeared out of the sky. This breaking news dominates every TV channel, every social media platform, and every waking hour of the Metropolitan Police and US Homeland Security.
A PRIVATE TRAGEDY
The love of DCI Kate Daniels’ life was on that aircraft, but she has no authority to investigate. This major disaster is outside of her jurisdiction and she’s ordered to walk away.
A SEARCH FOR THE TRUTH
But Kate can’t let it lie. She has to find out what happened to that plane – even if it means going off book. No one is safe.
And there are some very dangerous people watching her…
My thoughts: when Kate believes Jo is on a plane that has just been destroyed, she leaps into action, crashing into the investigation and demanding full access. Bright is playing catch up getting the paperwork in place, and as the case builds, it seems there’s a link not to terrorism, but to a murder in Kate’s own back yard. Could this all be about a war between drug dealing gangs in Northumberland?
Kate is recruited to help the FBI to investigate and get justice for the flight’s passengers, which may or may not include Jo. This case is personal and then becomes something so much bigger than Kate could imagine, and also incredibly local. It’s all hands on deck and it could end up costing the MIT everything.
A Hidden Clue
A victim leaves a note for the SIO who will investigate her death. This not what DCI Kate Daniels expects to find concealed at a crime scene.
A Desperate Plea
The note contains a last request: ‘Find Aaron’. But is Kate searching for a potential second victim, or a killer?
The Countdown is on…
Following the clues, Kate becomes the obsession of her adversary who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Will she find Aaron before he does?
My thoughts: imagine you know that you’re going to die, in fact, you’re going to be murdered. Would you carefully leave a trail of evidence to lead the police to your killer? Ensuring that they can’t reach the one person you’d do anything to keep safe in the process.
Kate’s newest case has a victim so determined to protect someone and ensure their killer ends up where he belongs. But only if Kate can figure out all the clues and follow the trail left behind. It’s a clever, complex case, and Kate needs to ensure the team is at their best, but after the events of the last book, they’re still reeling.
This series just gets better and better, the cases more intriguing, complex and ingenious. And Kate finally starts to understand the concept of a work/life balance, as opposed to her eat sleep breathe the job behaviour. Thankfully the ever loyal Hank Gormley is always right behind her, trying to stop her going off the rails completely.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
When a celebrated government official is found dead after his surprise birthday party, a young police officer uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives. Icelandic politician KatrÍn JÚlÍusdÓttir’s award-winning, breathtaking debut, and first in a chilling series.
When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn’t until young police officer SigurdÍs finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.
As Óttar’s shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when SigurdÍs finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in SigurdÍs’s own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…
Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off an addictive, mind-blowing new series.
KatrÍn received the Blackbird Award, an Icelandic crime-writing prize, for her first novel, Dead Sweet. Her debut novel was reviewed well by critics and hit the best-selling lists in the first weeks after publication. KatrÍn has a political background and was a member of Parliament from 2003 until 2016. Before she was elected to Parliament, KatrÍn was an advisor and project manager at a tech company and a senior buyer and CEO in the retail sector, as well as the Managing Director of a student union during her uni years.
Translator – Quentin Bates escaped English suburbia as a teenager, jumping at the chance of a gap year working in Iceland. He is the author of a series of crime novels set in present-day Iceland (Frozen Out, Cold Steal, Chilled to the Bone, Winterlude, Cold Comfort and Thin Ice which have been published worldwide. He has translated all of Ragnar JÓnasson’s Dark Iceland series.
My thoughts: this was really good, but also really awful because when the truth comes out about the victim, Óttar, he turns out to have been one bad man and I didn’t really want the cops to find his killer, because weirdly I felt bad for them – not him!
SigurdÍs is a really good investigator, even if she does go off on her own – she just wants to prove to her bosses that she’s a great cop and not keep getting left out of investigations or given paperwork to shuffle.
I really hope this grows into a series as I was completely hooked, the writing (and Quentin’s brilliant translation work) was so gripping and compelling, even as I realised, oh no, he’s guilty of really gross and horrible things, I wanted to keep reading.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
At the very moment when Daniel Littlewood decides to end his worthless life, he’s not himself any more.He’s the suave and deadly hero of a Hollywood dream filled with fast cars, beautiful women and jetsetting intrigue.As fantasy and reality begin to collide and a global conspiracy threatens the fate of the world, the only question is,𝙅𝙪𝙨𝙩 𝙝𝙤𝙬 𝙗𝙖𝙙𝙡𝙮 𝘿𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙚𝙡 𝙇𝙞𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚𝙬𝙤𝙤𝙙 𝙨𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙬𝙨 𝙪𝙥 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚…
The Beggar and The Ghost is Part One in the stunning high concept thriller Eidolan Trilogy. Part Two coming Summer 2024.
Vincent lives in Leeds with his wife and an assortment of plush hippos. As a child he was constantly disappointed that his wardrobe didn’t open into Narnia, but eventually realised writing about excitement and adventure is a lot less stressful than living it. He works for a major metropolitan university doing the kind of IT that doesn’t involve telling people to switch it off and on again.
My thoughts: this was quite interesting, Daniel’s life is falling apart, it can’t get much worse but now he’s having strange blackouts and waking up in someone else’s body, someone else’s life. In which he seems to be a kickass assassin or something. If only he could work out what’s going on.
As he flips back and forth between his two lives – the rubbish old one and the exciting but terrifying alternate one, he’s spiralling and the two lives are slowly scaring him. Especially as his dream one is edging into reality, and reality is bad enough.
*I was kindly gifted a copy of this book in exchange for taking part in the blog tour but all opinions remain my own.
ramblingmads 