I spotted Brian Klingborg‘s upcoming novel in a catalogue a little while ago, and have been looking forward to reading it ever since. Earlier this week, I found the UK cover, so I decided to share the details here. Published in North America as Thief of Souls, and in the UK as City of Ice, it looks like an intriguing start to a new Chinese crime/mystery series. Here’s the synopsis:
The brutal murder of a young woman in a rural village in Northern China sends shockwaves all the way to Beijing — but seemingly only Inspector Lu Fei, living in exile in the small town, is interested in justice for the victim.
Lu Fei is a graduate of China’s top police college but he’s been assigned to a sleepy backwater town in northern China, where almost nothing happens and the theft of a few chickens represents a major crime wave. That is until a young woman is found dead, her organs removed, and joss paper stuffed in her mouth. The CID in Beijing — headed by a rising political star — is on the case but in an increasingly authoritarian China, prosperity and political stability are far more important than solving the murder of an insignificant village girl. As such, the CID head is interested in pinning the crime on the first available suspect rather than wading into uncomfortable truths, leaving Lu Fei on his own.
As Lu digs deeper into the gruesome murder, he finds himself facing old enemies and creating new ones in the form of local Communist Party bosses and corrupt business interests. Despite these rising obstacles, Lu remains determined to find the real killer, especially after he links the murder to other unsolved homicides. But the closer he gets to the heart of the mystery, the more he puts himself and his loved ones in danger.
Brian Klingborg’s first Inspector Lu Fei novel is due to be published on May 4th, 2021, in North America by Minotaur Books, as Thief of Souls; and in the UK by Headline as City of Ice.
Today, I’m very happy to be able to share with you an annotated excerpt from The Unbroken by C. L. Clark. One of the most hotly-anticipated fantasy debuts of the year, and the first novel in the Magic of the Lost series, it is the story of two women who “clash in a world full of rebellion, espionage, and military might on the far outreaches of a crumbling desert empire”. Due out next week, here’s the synopsis:
An intriguing, well-written mystery about the long tail of a Golden Age Hollywood murder
An interesting and unorthodox memoir from one of Boston’s Big Three
Let’s start with an introduction: Who is Gareth L. Powell?
In addition to the hotly-anticipated 
Next month, Tor Books are reissuing Silvia Morena-Garcia‘s 
Ok, this is actually a re-issue, but look at that stunning new cover! Next month, Head of Zeus are due to re-issue Lavie Tidhar‘s provocative award-winning novel A Man Lies Dreaming. This is a great opportunity for people to give this a read if they missed it the first time. Here’s the synopsis:
The Indomitus Crusade forges ahead
A new novel from Claire North is always something to cheer. This year, Orbit are due to publish the author’s latest novel, Notes From the Burning Age, which is “a story set in an age after the world has burned, which explores whether humankind can change the paths we seem fated to follow”. The publisher unveiled the cover 
Civilian Reader 