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April 2008 ~ Issue One of BooksMonthly ~ Return to the Cover page

 

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Crime & Thriller Book reviews and new titles

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F G COTTAM: THE HOUSE OF LOST SOULS (Hodder PB) The Fischer House was the scene of a vicious crime in the 1920s - a crime which still resonates as the century turns. At its heart was a beautiful, enigmatic woman called Pandora Gibson-Hoare, a photographer of genius whose only legacy is a handful of photographs and the clues to a mystery. Paul Seaton was lured to the house ten years ago and escaped, a damaged man. Now three students will die unless he dares to go back. But this time he has Nick Mason at his side, and maybe Mason's military skills and visceral courage will be enough. About the Author: F.G. Cottam turns to a dark episode in Britain's past for the inspiration for this novel. A former magazine editor, he has two children. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

REGINALD HILL: A CURE FOR ALL DISEASES (Harper Collins HB) The highly anticipated return of Dalziel and Pascoe, the hugely popular police duo and stars of the long-running BBC TV series, in a new psychological thriller. Some say that Andy Dalziel wasn't ready for God, others that God wasn't ready for Dalziel. Either way, despite his recent proximity to a terrorist blast, the Superintendent remains firmly of this world. And, while Death may be the cure for all diseases, Dalziel is happy to settle for a few weeks' care under a tender nurse. Convalescing in Sandytown, a quiet seaside resort devoted to healing, Dalziel befriends Charlotte Heywood, a fellow newcomer and psychologist, who is researching the benefits of alternative therapy. With much in common, the two soon find themselves in league when trouble comes to town. Sandytown's principal landowners have grandiose plans for the resort -- none of which they can agree on. One of them has to go, and when one of them does, in spectacularly gruesome fashion, DCI Peter Pascoe is called in to investigate -- with Dalziel and Charlotte providing unwelcome support. But Pascoe finds dark forces at work in a place where medicine and holistic remedies are no match for the oldest cure of all! Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

PETER LOVESEY: THE SECRET HANGMAN (Sphere PB) Peter Diamond, the Bath detective, is having woman trouble. His boss wants him to find a missing person, the daughter of one of her friends in the choir. He is not enthusiastic. Another woman, who calls herself his Secret Admirer, wants to set up a meeting in a local pub. He tries ignoring her. Then there is sexy Ingeborg Smith, the ex-journo detective constable, distracting the murder squad from their duties. No one ignores Ingeborg. Murder becomes a possibility when a woman's body is found hanging from a playground swing in Sydney Gardens and a suspicious second ligature mark is found around her neck. Diamond investigates the victim's colourful past. More hangings are discovered and soon he is certain that a secret hangman is at work in the city ... Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

MO HAYDER: RITUAL (BANTAM PRESS HB) Just after lunch on a Tuesday in April, nine feet under water, police diver Flea Marley closes her gloved fingers around a human hand. The fact that there's no body attached is disturbing enough. Yet more disturbing is the discovery, a day later, of the matching hand. Both have been recently amputated, and the indications are that the victim was still alive when they were removed. DI Jack Caffery has been newly seconded to the Major Crime Investigation Unit in Bristol. He and Flea soon establish that the hands belong to a boy who has recently disappeared. Their search for him - and for his abductor - lead them into the darkest recesses of Bristol's underworld, where drug addiction is rife, where street-kids sell themselves for a hit, and where an ancient evil lurks; an evil that feeds off the blood - and flesh - of others ... Living as I do in what's little more than a fishing village on the North Norfolk coast, I often wonder what it must be like to live in a city, and always find myself thankful I don't. By far the majority of modern thrillers are set in inner cities, with seedy buildings, sorry people going about their drug-crazed lives; why they appeal to readers I'm not sure, as they're presumably a reflection of real life. But they do, and Mo Hayder's latest, RITUAL, captures perfectly the grim realities of modern city life, which seems, inevitably, to be dominated by drugs. Of course there is more than just a drug problem in RITUAL - there's ritual murder, for a start, and I guess that doesn't happen that often. But her mix of police officer interplay and terrifying torture scenes are just right. I just hope this way of life doesn't become the norm. Escape to this sort of thing just doesn't seem appealing, but it's the right setting for the sordid and dreadful goings on that make this a terrific read. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

JACK HIGGINS: THE IRON TIGER (HARPER PB) Classic adventure from the million copy bestseller Jack Higgins The called it the Place of Silence: the last frozen barrier between Balpur and Tibet. An icy wilderness where desperate men made a living smuggling guns across the border. Even for the bravest, the luck has to run out! On what he thought would be his last flight, Jack Drummond found his own recipe for disaster. A deadly cargo of machine guns. A band of ruthless guerrillas. And a confrontation with the Chinese Reds, leaving no chance for escape! From the Back Cover They called it the Place of Silence ... the last frozen barrier between Balpur and Tibet. An icy wilderness where desperate men made a living smuggling guns across the border. Even for the bravest, the luck has to run out ... On what he thought would be his last flight, Jack Drummond found his own recipe for disaster. A deadly cargo of machine guns. A band of ruthless guerrillas, and a confrontation with the Chinese Reds, leaving no chance to escape ...Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

JACK HIGGINS: TOUCH THE DEVIL (Harper PB) Classic adventure from the million copy bestseller Jack Higgins If there's such a thing as a grade A terrorist then his name is Frank Barry. His ideology is money and his track record is flawless. When the Russians want review copies of the latest NATO missile system, Barry's the man to deliver them. Stopping him will be near enough impossible, but one man knows all the moves. Martin Brosnan is a poet, scholar and trained killer. A graduate of Vietnam and polished in the ranks of the IRA he could be the key to ending Barry's reign. There's one problem, Brosnan is languishing in a French prison, and only the powerfully persuasive Liam Devlin can get him out and working for British intelligence. From the Back Cover 'TOUCH THE DEVIL AND YOU CAN'T LET GO ...'  Frank Barry is a terrorist of the highest order. His ideology is money and his track record is flawless. When the Russians want review copies of the latest NATO missile system, Barry is the man to deliver them. Martin Brosnan is a poet, scholar and killer. Trained in Vietnam then polished in the ranks of the IRA he now languishes in a French prison fortress of Belle Isle. Liam Devlin, Brosnan's best and oldest friend. Devlin wants Brosnan out of jail and on Barry's tail, and he'll use everything in his power to do so ...Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

JACK HIGGINS: THE SAVAGE DAY (HARPER PB) Simon Vaughan knows what it's like to fight a dirty war, he's had first-hand experience in Korea. Now he languishes in a Greek jail. When it comes to firearms and gun-running nobody does it better, but those days are behind him, until the British army propose a deal. His freedom for his help against the IRA in Belfast. He doesn't haven't any choice, if he wants his freedom back he'll have to conquer a new battleground…Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

JACK HIGGINS: WRATH OF THE LION (HARPER PB) A rogue U–boat is patrolling the Atlantic coast, its fanatical crew ready to slaughter for a self–proclaimed dream of France. In the long dark years of the Cold War, not every battle merited centre stage. Many threats to Europe were imagined, but this one is very real. L’Alouette has to be stopped, eliminated before all out war prevails once again. Only one man can stop the threat, and the prospect of peace in Europe rests in his hands. They call him ‘the Butcher of Perak…’Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

JUNE HAMPSON: BROKEN BODIES (ORION PB) Daisy Lane returns to her home town of Gosport after a spell abroad. She's been getting over the bad times, having lost both her husband Kenny and her lover Eddie to violent deaths. But in the months away from home Daisy has not been idle - she's given birth to a baby boy, and she's been plotting her revenge on Roy Kemp, the man who killed her lover. But is it possible for a vulnerable woman to take on a man like Roy Kemp and not be badly hurt? Roy's dealings are not confined to London; his reach extends south, right down to the coast. Could he be the man behind the recent slaying of prostitutes? And is the killer of these women also responsible for the two badly abused bodies of young boys that have been found on waste ground in Gosport? Meanwhile Daisy's best friend Vera has given up the life of the streets to run a massage parlour, and policeman DS Vinnie Endersby, on the trail of the Krays in London, finds himself pulled back to Gosport by his powerful attraction to Daisy. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

JUNE HAMPSON: DAMAGED GOODS (ORION HB) Things have been going too well for Daisy Lane. Her murdered lover, Eddie Lane, has left her comfortably off and his son little Eddie is adorable and a constant reminder of his father. The new man in her life, South London gangster Roy Kemp, looks out for her and is kind to little Eddie. But someone is watching Daisy's every movement, like a predator choosing the perfect moment to pounce. He is a man with murder in his heart - a man obsessed with Daisy and enraged that she turned to Roy Kemp for love instead of him. He plans to teach Daisy a lesson she will never forget. Set in 1966, DAMAGED GOODS re-acquaints us with several memorable characters from the previous books - notably Daisy's friend Vera, queen of her massage parlour and the best mate a girl ever had, and Gosport policeman DS Vinnie Endersby who puts his job on the line for Daisy. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

STEVE HAMILTON: NIGHT WORK (Orion PB) Joe Trumble is a probation officer with a tragedy in his past. Two years ago his fiancee was brutally killed three days before their wedding. No one has yet been caught. As the story opens, Joe is heading for a blind date with Marlene, a jewellery designer, his first encounter with a woman since his late fiancee Laurel's death. The evening is a success, but next day Marlene is reported missing and, two days later, her body is found. As the last person to see her alive, Joe is at the very least a material witness and, as the evidence mounts and another body is found, suspicion begins to centre on him. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

STEVE MOSBY: CRY FOR HELP (Orion PB) Dave Lewis is a man with a history. Haunted by his brother's murder when they were children, and scarred by his parents' grief, he's built a bitter life denying everything they ever stood for. He spends his time working as a magician, running a cynical magazine that derides his parents. New Age beliefs, and drowning his sorrows over his lost love, Tori. He's trying to convince himself the past is the past. A promise he made to Tori has got him into trouble before, and Dave's determined to move on and not let that happen again. Detective Sam Currie is a man with a past. His failure to prevent his son's death has ended his marriage and cast a shadow over his life and career. He's directed his hatred towards the one man he sees as responsible, but he has other priorities right now. A killer is stalking the city, abducting girls and sending texts and emails to their families before he kills them. When Dave Lewis appears to connect both investigations, it's an opportunity Currie can't resist... Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

LESLEY HORTON: TWISTED TRACKS (Orion PB) From honour killings to domestic violence, forbidden affairs and ritual sacrifice - Lesley Horton shows with chilling accuracy what can happen behind closed doors...Years of policing have turned John Handford and Khalid Ali into two of the best investigators on their force. But nothing stays the same for ever - and promotion has set the newly-styled DCI Handford and DI Ali on separate cases. Handford is on the trail of a young woman who's vanished without a trace, while Ali is tracking the killer of a 96-year-old pensioner murdered in her own home. But the stories of these two woman, generations apart, look set to converge in gruesome fashion. Handford and Ali must investigate spurned lovers, feuding families, cash-hungry conmen and even the ghosts of men buried alive a century back, to unpick the bitter motivations behind the rising body count. With her trademark fiendish plotting and shocking realism, Lesley Horton once again lifts the lid on the horrors that can hide behind the facade of everyday life. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

HARLAN COBEN: THE WOODS (Orion PB) Paul Copeland's sister went missing twenty years ago. Now raising a daughter alone, after the death of his wife, Paul - known as Cope - balances family life with a career as a prosecutor. But when a homicide victim is found with evidence linking him to Cope, the well-buried secrets of the past are threatening everything. Is this body one of the campers who disappeared with his sister? Could his sister be alive? Cope has to confront so much he left behind that summer so long ago: his first love, Lucy, his mother who abandoned the family, and the secrets that his parents might have been hiding even from their own children. Cope must decide what is better left hidden in the dark and what truths can be brought to the light. And can he find absolution? Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

TAMI HOAG: THE ALIBI MAN (Orion PB) She was avision. She was a siren. She was a nightmare. She was dead. Now he needed her to disappear. And he knew just how to make it happen. The Palm Beach elite go to great lengths to protect their ownand their own no longer includes Elena Estes. Once a child of wealth and privilege, Elena turned her back on that life. Betrayed and disillusioned by those closest to her, she chose the life of an undercover cop, the hunt for justice her own personal passion. Then a tragic, haunting mistake ended her career. Now Elena exists on the fringes of her old life. But a shocking event is about to draw her back into the painful vortex she's fought so hard to leave behind. First she finds the bodya young woman used, murdered, and dumped in a canal. Not just a victim, but a friend. As Elena delves into her dead friend's secret life, she discovers ties not only to the Russian mob but also to a group of powerful and wealthy Palm Beach bad boys known for giving each other alibis to cover a multitude of sins. A group that includes a man Elena once knew very well her former fiance, Bennett Walker, a man she knows has already escaped justice at least once in his life.Finding her friend's killer will put Elena at odds with her old life, with her new lover, and with herself. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

MICHAEL CONNELLY: THE OVERLOOK (Orion PB) The pulse-quickening new thriller from master of suspense Michael Connelly sees Harry Bosch plunged into the dangerous world of international terrorism. When a physicist is murdered in LA it seems the killer has no fear of publicity, leaving the body on The Mulholland overlook, a site with a stunning view over the city. And when it's discovered that the victim turned over a quantity of a lethal chemical to his killer before he died, Harry knows he has more than just a single death to worry about. Alongside the forces of Homeland Security, Harry realises he must solve the murder or face unimaginable consequences. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

 

SVEN HASSEL: O.G.P.U. PRISON (Phoenix PB) It stood at the top of the hill, dominating the Russian landscape - menacing, impenetrable - the O.G.P.U Prison. They were told to take it anyway they could, with machine guns, flame-throwers, entrenching tools, their bare hands. They were used to war, to blood, death, the vilest savagery that man could deviseBut the O.G.P.U. Prison was something different - a hell they hadn't met beforea bastion, an inferno that rained blood and butchery on Porta, the Legionnaire, Tiny, Barcelonathe men of the Panzer battalion who no longer had tanks, only a creeping barrage of death. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

 

SVEN HASSEL: THE COMMISSAR (Phoenix PB) The Commissar had the biggest secret of the Russian war. He had hidden 30 million dollars of Soviet gold behind Russian lines - and Porta was determined to make sure his band of prison-soldiers got their share. For enemy gold they were prepared to take the company through the ice and blood of the Soviet lines, prepared to kill or be killed, prepared to fight like animals and cheat, lie, and steal like the criminals they had become. The lure of gold, the promises of the Commissar, were to carry them into the bloodiest battles of the Russian war. Available from the Gateway Amazon store!

 

 

 

   

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