Soon summer will be shutting down and when September comes publishers like to fire their big guns. That’s what we’ve got in our new books column this week, folks – a salvo of big names continuing their big series including Steve Cavanagh, Nicci French and Ann Cleeves. Plus, what looks like an excellent translation from Sweden with Mikael Niemi’s How to Cook a Bear, and the relative newcomer Emma Rowley’s latest novel as well.
Read on and discover your next crime fiction fix…
Fifty Fifty by Steve Cavanagh
In this follow-up to the brilliant Thirteen, Steve Cavanagh gives his New York defence lawyer character Eddie Flynn his toughest trial yet. There are two sisters in the dock, accused of murdering their father. Sofia says Alexandra did it, and vice-versa. Can Flynn, a former con artist himself, find out what really happened and achieve justice for the innocent, and for the guilty? We’ve previously reviewed The Liar and The Plea on this site, both of which received five-star reviews. Fans are clamouring for Fifty Fifty, which is out 3 September.
Pre-order now on Amazon
House of Correction by Nicci French
Tabitha killed Stuart Rees – didn’t she? After all, his body was found in her shed, so what other explanation could there be? Everyone seems so certain but as she languishes in jail, awaiting trial for murder, Tabitha scours her memory in the hope of remembering something, anything, that will prove her innocence. Maybe returning to the remote coastal village where she grew up was a mistake, but the fateful day in question is a blur. One thing is clear though, as Tabitha tries to work out who killed Stuart, she is utterly convinced it wasn’t her. And if she is to prove it, she’ll have to do it on her own. House of Correction, Nicci French’s latest psychological thriller, is out on 3 September.
Pre-order now on Amazon
To Cook a Bear by Mikael Niemi
Translated from Swedish, this historical crime novel set in 1852 looks thoroughly fascinating. It’s about a revivalist preacher called Lars Levi Læstadius and his Sami companion, Jussi. A girl has gone missing deep in the forest and the villagers fear that a hungry bear has killed her. When a second girl goes missing and a reward is offered, Læstadius and Jussi start looking for clues and using early forensics and daguerreotype photography to investigate. There’s something a bit more worrying than a bear out there, and local superstitions are leading to violence in this Arctic Circle mystery. To Cook a Bear is out 3 September.
Pre-order now on Amazon
You Can Trust Me by Emma Rowley
You don’t get more domestic noir than a book where the story centres around a woman who’s become famous because of the perfect image she portrays to the media. But now domestic goddess Olivia is planning a tell-all autobiography and she takes on Nicky as her ghostwriter. It’s the biggest job of Nicky’s career and she’s determined to do it brilliantly. However, the more she delves into Olivia’s life, the more the glamorous façade begins to crack. From the strained relationship with her handsome husband to murky details of a tragic family death in her childhood, the truth belies Olivia’s perfect public image. Just what is she so desperate to hide? Out now for Kindle and on 3 September in print. Emma Rowley’s debut Where the Missing Go came out in 2018.
Buy now on Amazon
The Darkest Evening by Ann Cleeves
It was this time last year that Ann Cleeves introduced us to a brand new character in The Long Call. On 3 September she returns to an old favourite – can you believe DI Vera Stanhope has been around in print for 21 years? It’s about time, then, that we learned more about her family history and as The Darkest Evening opens the detective is carefully driving home in heavy snowfall in Northumbria. A wrong turn leads her to a shocking discovery – an abandoned car with a toddler strapped into the back seat. As Vera seeks assistance she arrives at Brockburn, a run-down stately home, and makes another shocking discovery…
Pre-order now on Amazon