Here we go, a fabulous clutch of crime novels in a variety of guises.
Departing Shadows by Paul Charles. Pub by Dufour Editions @ £18.99
A young woman is run over outside one of Regents Park’s foreign Embassy buildings. DI Christy Kennedy is on the case, and is sure it’s not your normal hit and run.
The victim, Gabriella Byrne, is soon discovered to be a closed book, and as she is in no position to tell all, Kennedy is soon on the trail to find out what’s what. However he is muscling in on the corridors of power, and these, of course, are also closed books, and steps will be taken to keep them unread.
Deceit and intrigue, and yep a bit of love propel this novel to the denouement. I have longed for a successor to one of my favourites – Reginald Hill. I reckon I might well have found him in the books by Paul Charles.
Murder your Darlings by Mark McCrum pub by Severn House. Hb at £20.
I like McCrum’s gentle but none the less intriguing novels. They’re old fashioned in the nicest possible way, and with nostalgia every popular, are such a delightful read. This one is set on a creative writing course in Umbria, led by Francis Meadowes. A student is discovered, dead, in a sauna. Surely it wasn’t that hot?! Is this an accident – or NOT?
But then another death presents itself. Oh lawks. Commissario Marti Moretti leads the charge with her flamboyant local police, but it is up to Francis Meadowes to solve things, and probably get back to the serious stuff of teaching students how to ‘stay in the moment’ and keep the tension up. The author, McCrum, does both rather well. Bravo.
Nightingale Point by Luan Goldie, a BBC Radio 2 Book Club Pick.pub HQ. pb £8.99
This is the debut novel from the winner of the 2017 Costa Short Story Award.
Good to see a short story writer tackle very successfully the rather difficult beast – the novel.
Set back in 1996 Nightingale Point is a pretty normal residential area, with the usual extraordinary characters presenting as ordinary, as we all do. For we all have pasts, shadows, baggage. In this case, the sun goes down on Nightingale Point and sets something alight, (not really, I’m waxing metaphorical) and as the flames of drama roar, the residents must endure, but not just that, they must find their way back to the safety of one another.
This is a confident emotionally intelligent debut novel, with pace.
Nine Elms by Robert Bryndza pub by Sphere. hb ebook and audio available
Bryndza, the author of the extraordinarily successful Detective Erika Foster Series, is heading for similar success again with a new series, featuring Kate Marshall. Marshall is a detective with integrity and potential in the Metropolitan police force. She is tasked with capturing the Nine Elms serial killer, but things don’t go quite to plan, for she narrowly escapes adding her name to the list of victims.
After a gap of 16 years, now living a quiet life on the English coast, Kate Marshall hasn’t quite put the past behind. Unknown to her, neither has her nemesis. One day she received a letter … Arghhh.
This is well worth reading, pacey, nail biting, hide behind the sofa time. Let’s give it another – Arghhh.
Annie Clarke is the author of the Home Front Girls series pub Arrow.