One of America’s favourite noir authors, Gary Phillips returns with a brand new novel set in 1960s LA and the blurb for this one set off a ping here at Crime Fiction Lover HQ. Just the other day we were saying that nobody’s really written about crime scene photography and then whaddaya know, here’s Gary Phillips with an old school crime scene photographer as his main character.
As well as Los Angeles, the authors we feature this week will take you to Arizona, the Greek Islands, Lake Ontario and a sunny nursing home somewhere nice. That sounds pretty deadly, that last one… Read on to discover your next crime read.
One-Shot Harry by Gary Phillips
It’s 1963, we’re in Los Angeles, and race and civil rights are taking centre stage in Gary Phillips’ riveting historical crime novel about an African American crime and press photographer seeking justice for a friend. Korean War veteran Harry Ingram earns a crust as a news photographer and occasional process server. But when Harry attends the scene of a deadly automobile accident, he recognises the vehicle described as belonging to an old army buddy. The police dismiss the smash as a simple accident, but Harry’s pictures from the scene tell a different story. One-Shot Harry is published on 7 April.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
The Corpse with the Turquoise Heart by Cathy Ace
The unstoppable Welsh-Canadian sleuth Cait Morgan returns for her 12th mystery on 7 April and she and ex-cop husband Bud are on the road in Arizona. Once again, it’s a vacation where the criminal psychologist is drawn into a contemporary cosy mystery when her desert relaxation is shattered by a death, and it could be connected to the Faceting for Life movement. Is this seemingly benign cult up to no good? Cait and Bud will find out.
Order now on Amazon
One Last Chance by Jeffrey Siger
The 12th book in the Greece-based series featuring Chief Inspector Andreas Kaldis finds his longtime assistant, Maggie, returning home to Ikaria for her 104-year-old grandmother’s funeral. Maggie soon works out that not only was Yiayia likely murdered, but a number of other long-lived Ikariots have recently died under the same suspicious circumstances. Meanwhile, back in Athens, Andreas and his chief detective Yianni pursue a smuggling and protection ring embedded in the Greek DEA, further complicated by the killing of an undercover cop – and guess what? There look to be connections between the two cases… Jeffrey Siger’s One Last Chance is out on 5 April.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
Dead Wind by Tessa Wegert
We’re transported to the Thousand Islands of Upstate New York in Dead Wind by Tessa Wegert (out 5 April), where a body is discovered on Wolfe Island, under the shadow of an enormous wind turbine. Senior Investigator Shana Merchant is pretty new to the area, but she soon arrives on the scene with fellow investigator Tim Wellington, and has this nagging feeling that the victim looks familiar. The subsequent identification is about to send shockwaves through a community harbouring old grudges and long-kept secrets as the cracks begin to show in Merchant’s shiny new start.
Order now on Amazon
Something Shady at Sunshine Haven by Kris Bock
Death lurks in the corridors of an Arizona nursing home, and it’s not by natural causes. Is there an ‘Angel of Mercy’ killing residents to end their suffering? Are family members over keen to get their inheritance? Is an employee extorting money and removing the witnesses? It’s up to war correspondent Kate Tessler to work it all out. She’s home to recover after being injured in a bombing, but any thoughts of R&R disappear as Kate employs her investigative skills to catch a murderer. After all, her mother could be the next victim. Something Shady at Sunshine Haven by Kris Bock is out on 7 April.
Order now on Amazon