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Upcoming: THE DEVIL’S EVIDENCE by Simon Kurt Unsworth (Doubleday/Del Rey UK)

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The Devil’s Detective, Simon Kurt Unsworth‘s debut novel, was a deliciously dark take on Heaven-and-Hell. Specifically, it focused on Fool, one of Hell’s Information Men — what passes for a detective in a place where the most brutal and depraved of crimes is everyday life. I thought it was an excellent, twisted and gripping thriller. This year, Fool returns in the sequel, The Devil’s Evidence. Here’s the synopsis:

Hell is burning out of control. Thomas Fool, Hell’s first Information Man tasked with investigating the endless stream of violence in Hell, has been promoted to the head of the newly expanded Information Office. Now in command of a legion of Information Men, his new position finds him hated by demons and almost revered by humans. He alone has survived the wrath of demon and angel alike, but he stands alone and at the center of a brewing crisis. New on the scene is the Evidence, a shadowy department whose officers do not investigate; they punish and spread fear. And its leader, Mr. Tap, is gunning for Fool.

Fool is ordered to accompany a political delegation to Heaven, and his arrival coincides with an impossible — and sinister — discovery. A dead body. Murder in Heaven. Violence, corruption, and fear are the currency of Hell, and how does one investigate a crime where these concepts are paradoxes? As the bodies pile up, Fool sees disturbing connections between Heaven and Hell. He must follow clues in a strange land where nothing is as it seems and danger can present itself in any form.

What follows is a phantasmagoric, mind-bending thriller as exciting and unsettling as anything in recent fiction. The Devil’s Evidence is an electrifying, provocative novel filled with stunning set pieces and characters who will live on in your deepest nightmares.

The Devil’s Evidence is published on July 5th in the US, by Doubleday; and on October 6th in the UK, by Del Rey. The Devil’s Detective is also published by Doubleday and Del Rey UK, and is out this month in paperback. Here are the covers:

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Upcoming: THE SUDDEN APPEARANCE OF HOPE by Claire North (Orbit)

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A couple of days ago, Orbit unveiled the cover (above) for Claire North‘s highly anticipated next novel, The Sudden Appearance of Hope. Given how much I’ve loved all of Claire North’s books, this is very easily in my top five most anticipated novels of 2016. Maybe even the most anticipated of the year.

You might have met Hope Arden before. In fact, you might have met her a hundred times.

But there’s no way that you’ll remember who she is. Because Hope’s unique problem… is that she’s the girl the world forgets.

It all started when she was sixteen years old. A slow declining, a kind of isolation, one piece at a time. Her father forgetting to drive her to school. Her mother setting the table for three, not four. A teacher forgeting to chase her missing homework. A friend looking straight through her and seeing a stranger.

No matter what Hope does – the words she says, the people she hurts, the crimes she commits – you will never remember who she is. That makes her life tricky. But it also makes her dangerous.

The Sudden Appearance of Hope is due to be published in all English-language territories in May by Orbit in UK, Redhook in US (there may be a slightly different cover for the North American market, but I’m not sure — I’ll share if there is).

Also on CR: Reviews of The First Fifteen Lives of Harry August, Touch, The Gameshouse Trilogy

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Upcoming: STRANGER OF TEMPEST by Tom Lloyd (Gollancz)

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How cool is that cover? True, it is slightly reminiscent of the Fellowship of the Ring scene in which Gandalf faces off against the Balrog while the fellowship is making its way through the Mines of Moria. BUT! The fellow has a rifle. And it looks rather cool, and it’s by Tom Lloyd, who’s a great author. It’s unclear if this is the first book in a new series, or a standalone. Nevertheless, it sounds interesting:

It’s not easy being an honest man in a lawless world…

Lynx is a mercenary with a sense of honour; a dying breed in the Riven Kingdom. Failed by the nation he served and weary of the skirmishes that plague the continent’s principalities, he walks the land in search of purpose. He wants for little so bodyguard work keeps his belly full and his mage-gun loaded. It might never bring a man fame or wealth, but he’s not forced to rely on others or kill without cause.

Little could compel Lynx to join a mercenary company, but he won’t turn his back on a kidnapped girl. At least the job seems simple enough; the mercenaries less stupid and vicious than most he’s met over the years.

So long as there are no surprises or hidden agendas along the way, it should work out fine.

Stranger of Tempest is due to be published in the UK by Gollancz, on June 16th, 2016.

Eight Anticipated Voyager Titles…

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While looking for another book, I stumbled across a couple of covers for upcoming Voyager covers. For some reason, I haven’t read many books published by Voyager for some time, despite them publishing some of my favourites — for example, Peter V. Brett, Richard Kadrey, Stacia Kane and Mark Lawrence. Whatever the reason, here (alphabetical-by-author) are some interesting-looking titles that will hit shelves this year — they are mainly UK releases, but I’ve included details for North American editions, too. [The publisher is publishing other interesting titles, of course, but I’ll share more of those in another post in the not-too-distant future.] Continue reading →

Excerpt: A COVENANT WITH DEATH by Stephen Becker (Open Road)

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BeckerS-ACovenantWithDeathToday, we have a short excerpt from Stephen Becker’s New York Times-bestselling A Covenant With Death. The novel, first published in 1964, will be released by Open Road Media in eBook next week. If the title is familiar, it might be because the novel was adapted into a movie starring George Maharis and a young Gene Hackman, in 1967. Here’s the synopsis:

On a sultry day in the spring of 1923, Louise Talbot spends the last afternoon of her life lounging in the shade of a sycamore tree in her front yard. Beautiful and vivacious, Louise is the talk of Soledad City — every man lusts after her; every woman wants to know her secrets. She is found strangled to death that evening, and when the investigation uncovers her affair with another man, the citizens of the frontier town draw the obvious conclusion: Bryan Talbot murdered his wife in a fit of jealousy and rage.

Presiding over the trial is twenty-nine-year-old Ben Lewis. Appointed to the bench as a tribute to the memory of his late father, he fears he is too inexperienced to sentence another man to death. All the evidence points to Talbot, however, and it is a magistrate’s sworn duty to see that justice is served. But when a last-second twist casts the question of the defendant’s guilt or innocence in a shocking new light, Judge Lewis must decide whether to uphold the law — or let a murderer go free.

A thrilling suspense story and a fascinating inquiry into human nature and the true meaning of justice.

Read on for the excerpt, which is taken from early in the novel. Continue reading →

Covers: The Gorgeous UK Jackets of David Mitchell

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Sceptre has published David Mitchell’s novels in the UK with some truly gorgeous covers (above) — it’s a little hard to tell which of these are recent re-jackets, but I’m pretty sure a number of them are new.

I have still not read anything by Mitchell. I really don’t know why, to be honest. Alyssa’s mother waxes lyrical about his novels on a weekly basis, and I have to say she has excellent taste (I also bought Slade House for her for Xmas). I’ve heard such great things from so very many people about The Bone Clocks, but apparently reading Slade House will point out that they are all (at least in some small way) connected.

Despite writing the other week that I wasn’t going to set any reading goals in 2016, maybe I should propose one: read David Mitchell.

Here are links to the books: Ghostwritten, number9dream, Cloud Atlas, Black Swan Green, The Thousand Lives of Jacob de Zoet and The Bone Clocks.

Excerpt: THE GALAXY GAME by Karen Lord (Jo Fletcher Books)

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LordK-2-GalaxyGamesUKPBJo Fletcher Books publishes Karen Lord‘s critically-acclaimed novel The Galaxy Game in paperback on January 7th, 2016. It is the sequel to the equally-acclaimed The Best of All Possible Worlds. In advance of it hitting shelves, JFB have sent me this short extract to share here, to whet readers’ appetites for the novel. First up, the synopsis:

For years, Rafi Delarua saw his family suffer under his father’s unethical use of psionic power. Now the government has Rafi under close watch but, hating their crude attempts to analyse his brain, he escapes to the planet Punartam, where his abilities are the norm, not the exception. Punartam is also the centre for his favourite sport, wallrunning – and thanks to his best friend, he has found a way to train with the elite.

But Rafi soon realises he’s playing quite a different game, for the galaxy is changing; unrest is spreading and the Zhinuvian cartels are plotting, making the stars a far more dangerous place to aim. There may yet be one solution — involving interstellar travel, galactic power and the love of a beautiful game.

And now, read on for the prologue… Continue reading →

Upcoming: MOSKVA by Jack Grimwood (Penguin)

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GrimwoodJ-MoskvaUKJack Grimwood is a pseudonym for Jon Courtenay Grimwood, the extremely talented author of, among others, The Fallen Blade, End of the World Blues and The Last Banquet. Now, he adds Moskva, a serial killer thriller set in Cold War Moscow. Here’s the synopsis:

Christmas Eve, 1985. The shaved, exsanguinated body of a young man is found in Red Square, frozen solid — like marble to the touch — missing the little finger of his right hand.

A week later, Alex Masterton, the 15-year-old stepdaughter of the British ambassador, goes missing. Army Intelligence officer, Tom Fox, posted to Moscow, is asked to help find her. It’s a shot at redemption.

Fox’s investigation drags him ever deeper towards the dark heart of a Soviet establishment determined to protect its own…

Moskva is due to be published by Michael Joseph/Penguin, on May 6th, 2016. It looks fantastic, and I can’t wait to read it.

Also on CR: Interview with Jon Courtenay Grimwood; Guest Posts on “We Know Goblins Don’t Exist” and group-post “Should You Write What You Read?”; Review of The Fallen Blade

Excerpt: THE 8TH CIRCLE by Sarah Cain (Crooked Lane)

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CainS-1-8thCircleSarah Cain‘s debut thriller, The 8th Circle is published by Crooked Lane Books on January 12th, 2016. Here’s the synopsis:

A year ago, Danny Ryan lost his wife and son in a car accident. He’s still reeling from the tragedy when Michael Cohen, his friend and fellow journalist, drives into the pond in front of his house with a bullet through his gut.

With Michael’s death ruled a murder, Danny must work to get his name crossed off the list of suspects, and that means digging into Michael’s last article, an expose of the twisted side of Philadelphia politics and nightlife. But powerful people are ready to kill to protect what Michael was about to uncover, and if Danny’s not careful, he’ll be next.

Crooked Lane Books have allowed me to share the first two chapters from the book. Continue reading →