Crime

Upcoming: MOSKVA by Jack Grimwood (Penguin)

Civilian Reader Upcoming , , , , , , , , ,

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)

Civilian Reader Excerpt, Upcoming , , , , ,

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 →

Review: THE EX and DEAD CONNECTION by Alafair Burke

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , , , ,

BurkeA-FirstReads-ExDeadConnection

A stand-alone and first in an earlier series

The first novel I read by Alafair Burke, The Ex,  left me feeling a bit dissatisfied. Luckily, my second novel by the author was more engaging. I’m now looking forward to reading the rest of Burke’s backlist.
Continue reading →

Quick Review: DEPTH by Lev A.C. Rosen (Titan/Regan Arts)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , , ,

RosenLAC-DepthUSMurder and conspiracy in flooded future New York City

Depth combines hardboiled mystery and dystopian science fiction in a future where the rising ocean levels have left New York twenty-one stories under water and cut off from the rest of the United States. But the city survives, and Simone Pierce is one of its best private investigators. Her latest case, running surveillance on a potentially unfaithful husband, was supposed to be easy. Then her target is murdered, and the search for his killer points Simone towards a secret from the past that can’t possibly be real—but that won’t stop the city’s most powerful men and women from trying to acquire it for themselves, with Simone caught in the middle.

Without a doubt, my favourite thing about the novel is the setting — a partially submerged New York City, cut off from the (now-fundamentalist-Christian) mainland. The first 21 storeys are underwater, only tower blocks and sky-scrapers inhabitable — each stitched together by bridges of varying quality and safety. Rosen doesn’t give us too much about the city, but it is unquestionably a character in itself. Every scene offers a new description and development, letting readers know how the city has changed over the decades since the oceans rose, and the methods used by New Yorkers to adapt. The fundamentalist swing of the mainland was amusing to read, even though it’s mainly just offered in passing as a contrast to New York.

The story itself was pretty straight-forward, and I appreciated the fact that Rosen wove it into this world. It wasn’t the best PI/detective story I’ve ever read, and I’m sad to say I wasn’t fully gripped throughout — I ended up far more interested in visualizing the city, rather than following the case. There were moments of excellence (in particular, a handful of turns of phrase that were fantastic).

This was a pretty interesting novel and a quick read. While a bit slow, and not as gripping as I had hoped, it’s still a good introduction to this post-apocalyptic New York City. I would certainly read more novels in this setting.

*

Depth is published in the UK by Titan Books and in the US by Regan Arts.

RosenLAC-DepthBanner

Review: CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE & THE KILL FEE by Owen Laukkanen (Corvus)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , , , ,

Two more excellent Stevens & Windermere cases

LaukkanenO-S&W2-CriminalEnterprise

CRIMINAL ENTERPRISE

From the outside, Carter Tomlin’s life looks perfect: a big house, a pretty wife, two kids — a St. Paul success story. But Tomlin has a secret. He’s lost his job, the bills are mounting, and that perfect life is hanging by a thread. Desperate, he robs a bank. Then he robs another.

As the red flags start to go up, FBI Special Agent Carla Windermere hones in on Tomlin from one direction, while Minnesota state investigator Kirk Stevens picks up the trail from another. The two cops haven’t talked since their first case together, but that’s all going to change very quickly. Because Carter Tomlin’s decided he likes robbing banks. And it’s not because of the money, not anymore. Tomlin has guns and a new taste for violence. And he’s not quitting anytime soon…

In the second novel in Laukkanen’s excellent Stevens & Windermere series, the financial crisis drives a successful accountant to walk on the darkside. Unfortunately, it awakens a side of himself that had hitherto been hidden. When desperation drives Tomlin to start robbing banks, his taste for crime leads his exploits into deadly escalate. Into the mix, FBI Special Agent Windermere is assigned to the bank robberies, which eventually brings her back in touch with BCA investigator Stevens. The two haven’t been in contact since the events of The Professionals, and their relationship remains somewhat strange and comfortable-and-uncomfortable at the same time. It’s a fast-paced novel, as Tomlin spirals out of control, and Stevens (and, ultimately, his family) gets roped into the case. I enjoyed this as much as the first novel. Highly recommended.

LaukkanenO-S&W3-KillFee

THE KILL FEE

In Saint Paul, Minnesota state investigator Kirk Stevens and his sometime colleague FBI special agent Carla Windermere witness the assassination of a local billionaire. The shooter flees the scene, but not before the pair see his face — and the blank expression in his eyes. Stevens and Windermere investigate and are led across the country, down dead ends and into long-forgotten cold cases, until they finally discover a chilling clue: a high tech murder-for-hire website. It’s a break in the case but only the beginning. Who is the dead-eyed shooter? Who recruits the assassins? And who profits from the fee? It is a race against the clock, and the killer has his next target in sight…

In this third novel, Laukkanen seems to be stretching his authorial-wings, in less of a rush to tell his story. This is no bad thing, but I certainly noted the less-breakneck pacing. It’s an interesting novel, and just as good, too. Stevens and Windermere have been keeping in touch, maintaining a friendship, and it is on one of their coffee dates that they witness a professional hit go down in St. Paul. They follow the killer as he flees the scene, but there’s something off about him — beyond the fact that he’s a killer,of course. Windermere and Stevens are tasked with uncovering the identity and motive of the killer. As more deaths pile up, though, they realise that there’s something far more sinister going on. The novel is an interesting look at manipulation and the depravations of PTSD. As it turns out, the novels main villain is not the killer, but someone far worse. A slower novel, but no less gripping as a result. Another great novel in what is fast becoming a favourite. Highly recommended.

*

Criminal Enterprise and The Kill Fee are published in the UK by Corvus Books; in the US the series is published by Berkley. The fourth novel, The Stolen Ones, is out now. The fifth novel, The Watcher in the Wall is out in March 2016.

Review: HOUSE RECKONING and HOUSE RIVALS by Mike Lawson (Grove/Atlantic)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , , , , ,

LawsonM-JD09-HouseReckoningThe ninth and tenth Joe DeMarco novels

When Joe DeMarco was a boy, he always knew his father, Gino, had a shadowy job, working for a violent mafioso in New York. But he didn’t know that his father had been a hit man until he was murdered. The crime was never solved, but twenty years later, one of Gino’s former mob associates wants to get something off his chest before retiring to his grave: the truth about Gino DeMarco’s killer.

Only the alleged killer was not just another hood, but a supposedly upstanding citizen who is now on the brink of taking a job in Washington, D.C., that would leave him virtually untouchable. If DeMarco has any hope of finding out the truth and avenging his father’s death, he will have to act quickly. But is revenge over a two-decades-old tragedy worth his job, and maybe even his life?

House Reckoning tells DeMarco’s personal story in full for the first time, from his upbringing in Queens to his complicated relationship with his father.

Mike Lawson’s Joe DeMarco novels are among my favourite political thrillers. The series has been pretty varied so far, taking DeMarco all over the map. In these two novels, something from his past takes him to New York City and something in his boss’s past (and a fanatical offspring) takes him to the Dakotas and Montana. Another two great additions to the series.
Continue reading →

Upcoming: EXTREME PREY by John Sandford (G.P. Putnam’s Sons)

Civilian Reader Upcoming , , , , , , , , ,

SandfordJ-P26-ExtremePreyUS

The 26th Lucas Davenport novel! After finishing Gathering Prey, I was a little concerned that the series might have ended. Thankfully, a couple of a days ago, John Sandford announced Extreme Prey! To be published in April 2016 by G.P. Putnam’s Sons, it sounds pretty interesting:

After the events in Gathering Prey, Lucas Davenport finds himself in a very unusual situation — no longer employed by the Minnesota BCA. His friend the governor is just cranking up a presidential campaign, though, and he invites Lucas to come along as part of his campaign staff. “Should be fun!” he says, and it kind of is — until they find they have a shadow: an armed man intent on killing the governor… and anyone who gets in the way.

Can’t wait to read this. If you haven’t tried the Prey series, yet, I highly recommend it. John Sandford is easily one of my all-time favourite authors.

Review: THE WAYS OF THE DEAD and MURDER, D.C. by Neely Tucker (Penguin/Windmill)

Civilian Reader Review , , , , , , , , , , ,

TuckerN-SC1-WaysOfTheDead

A fantastic, must-read new thriller series

Sarah Reese, the teenage daughter of a powerful Washington, D.C. judge, is dead, her body discovered in a slum in the shadow of the Capitol. Though the police promptly arrest three local black kids, newspaper reporter Sully Carter suspects there’s more to the case. Reese’s slaying might be related to a string of cold cases the police barely investigated, among them the recent disappearance of a gorgeous university student.

A journalist brought home from war-torn Bosnia and hobbled by loss, rage, and alcohol, Sully encounters a city rife with its own brand of treachery and intrigue. Weaving through D.C.’s broad avenues and shady backstreets on his Ducati 916 motorcycle, Sully comes to know not just the city’s pristine monuments of power but the blighted neighborhoods beyond the reach of the Metro. With the city clamoring for a conviction, Sully pursues the truth about the murders — all against pressure from government officials, police brass, suspicious locals, and even his own bosses at the paper.

A wry, street-smart hero with a serious authority problem, Sully delves into a deeply layered mystery, revealing vivid portraits of the nation’s capital from the highest corridors of power to D.C.’s seedy underbelly, where violence and corruption reign supreme — and where Sully must confront the back-breaking line between what you think and what you know, and what you know and what you can print. Inspired by the real-life 1990s Princeton Place murders and set in the last glory days of the American newspaper, The Ways of the Dead is a wickedly entertaining story of race, crime, the law, and the power of the media. Neely Tucker delivers a flawless rendering of a fast-paced, scoop-driven newsroom — investigative journalism at its grittiest.

It’s taken me a while to finally get around to reading this series, despite buying The Ways of the Dead on the day of its UK release last year. Nevertheless, with the recent publication of Murder, D.C., I decided it was time to give it a try — and I’m really glad that I did. I read both of these novels back-to-back, and in a handful of blissful days of reading. Both of these novels are fantastic — brilliantly written, plotted and paced, they are easily two of the best crime novels I’ve read in quite a few years. Continue reading →

Upcoming: THE HOUSE OF FAME by Oliver Harris (Vintage)

Civilian Reader Upcoming , , , , , , , , ,

HarrisO-3-HouseOfFameUK

I haven’t read Oliver Harris’s first two novels, yet, but Alyssa is a fan. I first heard of his books when I was living in London, and therefore wasn’t really in the mood to read fiction set in the city. However, after spotting the cover for his upcoming third novel, above, I must say my interest was piqued. I know one should never judge a book by its cover, but that cover above and the new covers for The Hollow Man and Deep Shelter (below) are stunning.

First, though, here’s the synopsis for House of Fame:

Amber Knight is London’s hottest ticket – pop star, film star, the front-page subject of daily tabloid gossip.

Nick Belsey is less celebrated. His decade-long career at Hampstead CID seems to be coming to an end, and his habit of getting into serious trouble is ongoing. He is currently of no fixed abode.

But when Belsey is asked by a desperate mother to help find her son, he finds himself infiltrating the entourage of Amber Knight. It is a world of excess, obsession, lust and greed – precisely as Belsey had expected, and perhaps even hoped for. Soon, though, the blood begins to flow, one sickening crime is followed by the next, and Belsey finds himself in a far more deadly world, whose mysteries he must solve and whose grip he must escape.

The House of Fame is due out in February 2016, published by Vintage Books. It doesn’t have a page, yet, on the publisher’s website, but it is available for pre-order on Amazon.

HarrisO-1&2-New2015

And, in case you haven’t read the first one as well, here’s the synopsis for ??:

Detective Nick Belsey is broke. Now it looks like he’s out of a job – something happened last night, something with the boss’s wife…

At dawn, on what should be the last day of Belsey’s career, Hampstead CID is ghostly quiet. Belsey checks the overnight files. There’s a missing-person report. But this one’s different. It’s on the Bishops Avenue, London’s richest street. Belsey sees a scam, an escape route.

But he hasn’t got there first.

Furiously paced and thrillingly plotted, The Hollow Man is a black love letter to London’s shadow world. It marks the beginning of a seductive contemporary detective series, and the arrival of a future master of the genre.

Guest Post: “My Audiobooks…” by Mark Ellis

Civilian Reader Guest Post , , , , , , , , ,

EllisM-AuthorPicThe experience of having my first two Frank Merlin books, Princes Gate and Stalin’s Gold, which are set in World War 2 London, turned into audiobooks was very straightforward and enjoyable. Audible, Amazon’s audiobook arm, got in touch with me through my publishers in the latter part of 2014. There are different ways in which audiobooks are published on Audible. Sometimes the book publisher remains the main publisher but is given access to the Audible platform at various levels. Alternatively Audible themselves become the publishers. In my case it was agreed that Audible would buy the audio rights to the books from me and be the publishers. This, I learned, was the best outcome as my audiobooks would then have the full weight and support of the Audible and Amazon organisations behind them. Continue reading →