IAN RANKIN: BLOOD HUNT Audio CD (Orion Audiobooks August 2010)

It begins with a phone call. Gordon Reeve's brother has been found dead in his car in San Diego. The car was locked from the inside, a gun was in his hand. In the US to identify the body Gordon realises that his brother has been murdered. What's more, it's soon obvious that his own life is in danger. Once back in Scotland he finds out his home has been bugged by professionals. But Reeve is a professional too. Ex-SAS, he was half of a two-man unit with someone he came to fear, then to hate. It looks like his nemesis is back...

Read by James Frain, who starred in the BBC TV adaptation of William Boyd's ARMADILLO and the films SHADOWLANDS, HILARY AND JACKIE and ELIZABETH. He has been a regular on the stage in the UK appearing with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Royal COurt Theatre as well as on the West End. He has also appeared on Broadway and was a recipient of the 2007 Drama Desk Critics Award for Best Ensemble along with the rest of the cast of THE HOMECOMING. James has also appeared in 24, GRAY'S ANATOMY and TRUE BLOOD but is best known for playing Thomas Cromwell in the Showtime series THE TUDORS.

Gordon Reeve has a funeral to go to. His journalist brother has been found dead in a car, a presumed suicide. Not a nice reason to be flying the Atlantic...Beautifully packaged, this 5CD set runs for 6 hours and 25 minutes - ideal for a long train or car journey, and Frain's voice is familiar, just right to bring out the various characters in this gripping Jack Harvey novel from the creator of Rebus. Cracking good value and read with great style... BOOKS MONTHLY RATING *****

IAN RANKIN: BLEEDING HEARTS Audio CD (Orion Audiobooks 2010)

The death of a journalist from a single bullet to the heart makes for a dramatic story - but the twist in the tale is that this time, it's the man who fired the gun who's asking all the questions... The assassin, Michael Weston, knows he has carried out his assignment successfully. One mistake was enough, a long time ago, when a young girl had accidentally received the fatal bullet. Her father hired a PI named Hoffer to track him down. Every time Weston completed a job, Hoffer was not far behind. But why had the police been on the scene so quickly? Weston has to find out - even if it means coming face to face with Hoffer...

Jamie Glover trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama. He has played titles roles in HENRY V and HAMLET and other stage performances include roles in THE GLASS MENAGERIE, THE INVENTION OF LOVE and THE NOVICE. His television works include MIDSOMER MURDERS, TRIAL AND RETRIBUTION and the role of ANDREW TRENEMAN in WATERLOO ROAD. Jamie has also read numerous audiobooks including Bernard Cornwell and Minette Walters titles.

Read by that awfully nice Mr Treneman from Waterloo Road... Another surefire winner from Orion Audiobooks - 5CDs, and a stunning running length of 5 hours 45 minutes. Glover eases you into the story almost conversation-like - brilliantly read. BOOKS MONTHLY RATING *****

RACHEL SARGEANT: LONG TIME WAITING (Robert Hale HB)

Ridiculed and nicknamed 'Agatha' by her colleagues for her Marplelike approach to a crime scene, novice detective Pippa Adams could not be having a worse start to her career at Penbury CID. Then teacher Carl Brock is discovered stabbed to death in a country lane on a hot June morning and his wife is found chained to a chair at their home. Pippa's superiors are getting nowhere with the case, stalled by false leads and growing ever more frustrated. As she takes it upon herself to uncover the truth, Pippa is led into a sinister world of drugs and cold revenge... Rookie detective Pippa Adams is cute and endearing - this is almost like a TV series screenplay - totally good fun, with a great story and thoroughly believable characters.

PETER TICKLER: BLOOD IN GRANDPONT (Robert Hale HB)

When a woman is stabbed to death in an Oxford car park, a revealing photograph on her mobile points towards a crime of sexual passion or revenge. But as DI Holden and her team investigate further, it seems that things might not be as clear-cut as they first appeared. Then another body is found in the Guardian-reading, Labour-voting area of Oxford known as Grandpont, adding a whole new dimension to the case. Now, as the complications pile up in Holden's professional and personal life. We're used to the great Morse and Lewis padding around Oxford, so any 'tec story set there has to compete just a little with them; Peter Tickler does a grand job - DI Holden is terrific and, as you would expect, comes with some baggage of her own. Brilliant read.

TOM CAIN: ASSASSIN (Corgi PB)

He is the most popular President in decades - which is why they want him dead When a people-trafficker dies a violent death in Dubai, and a gangland money-launderer has a fatal car accident in San Francisco, both bear the hallmarks of a Sam Carver 'accident'. The only problem is Sam Carver no longer plays that game. He made a promise. But someone is setting Carver up, framing him for crimes he didn't commit. And now his old paymasters at MI6 want him stopped. A copycat killer wants to crush Carver, and then beat him at his own game by hitting the world's most prominent target, the new President of the United States. Carver will have to use all his cunning and tradecraft to stop this deadly opponent. Alone and on the run, he must fight to clear his name - but first he must stop a fatal shot that will be heard around the world. James Bond-style thriller, with just the right mix of humour and thrills - ideal for a long train journey or to while away the hours on the beach in the summer hols.

BRIAN KEENE: A GATHERING OF CROWS (Dorchester PB)

Brinkley Springs is a quiet little town. Some say the town is dying. They don’t know how right they are. Five mysterious figures are about to pay a little visit to Brinkley Springs. They have existed for centuries, emerging from the shadows only to destroy, to kill. To feed. They bring with them terror and carnage, and leave death and blood in their wake. As the night wears on, Brinkley Springs will be quiet no longer. Screams will break the silence. But when the sun rises again, will there be anyone left to hear? Keene's mastery of the horror genre grows by the title. This is assured and most enjoyable.

JAMES L. THANE: NO PLACE TO DIE (Dorchester PB)

Beverly Thompson has been kidnapped and brutalized, but she refuses to be a passive victim. She will never stop fighting the unknown man who’s keeping her prisoner. And she will never give up hope.  When the attractive attorney was snatched from her home, her husband was callously shot to death with the same gun used to kill an elderly woman two days earlier. Since then, four more victims have been murdered with the same weapon. Now Phoenix homicide detective Sean Richardson must somehow stop an elusive killer with few clues to work on and no idea where the madman will strike next. Until he can find him, Beverly Thompson will be left to struggle against ever-dwindling odds, battling desperately to survive long enough to see her husband’s murderer brought to justice. I'll be surprised if this doesn't make it to the big screen; big characters and a small town mystery - terrific combination handled perfectly!

BRETT HALLIDAY: MURDER IS MY BUSINESS (Dorchester PB)

MURDER AT THE RIO GRANDE
Ten years ago, private eye Mike Shayne did a job for one of the richest men in El Paso, digging up dirt on a boy courting the tycoon’s daughter. Now the daughter’s back, all grown up and dangerous. And so’s Shayne—but this time it’s to investigate murder... Hard Case Crime have a genius for publishing crime noir, and Halliday's Mike Shayne is one of the finest private detectives in the canon. Brilliant.

JACK CLARK: NOBODY'S ANGEL (Dorchester PB)

TWO KILLERS STALK THE STREETS OF CHICAGO— CAN ONE TAXI DRIVER CORNER THEM BOTH? 

Eddie Miles is one of a dying breed: a Windy City hack who knows every street and back alley of his beloved city and takes its recent descent into violence personally. But what can one driver do about a killer targeting streetwalkers or another terrorizing cabbies? Precious little—until the night he witnesses one of them in action... Shades of Jack the Ripper in 21st Century USA!  Great fun...

SCOTT SIGLER: ANCESTOR (Hodder & Stoughton PB)

On a remote island in the Great Lakes, an unusual group of scientists are using extinct DNA to create the perfect organ donor. It could save millions of lives and win Dr Claus Rhumkorrf the Nobel Prize he craves. The donor animal is genetically the ancestor of all species on the planet – but Nature wiped it out two hundred million years ago. Rhumkorrf and his team are about to find out why. JURASSIC PARK meets THE ISLAND OF DR MOREAU! Terrifying concept, but then no one really thought they'd clone animals, did they? Sigler carries the tension right the way through this excellent thriller, and has you looking iver your shoulder all the while. Edge of the seat, gripping, tremendous fun.

ADRIAN MAGSON: DEATH ON THE MARAIS (Allison and Busby HB)

The intriguing first in a new historical mystery series. France, 1963. On his first day in the village of Poissons-Les-Marais, the last thing Inspector Lucas Rocco expects to find, in a British military cemetery, is the body of a murdered woman wearing a Gestapo officer’s uniform. When the murdered woman’s body is removed from the police mortuary on the authority of a Paris magistrate, Rocco traces the order back to the dead woman’s father, Philippe Bayer-Berbier, and realises that Berbier has something to hide. Following an attempt on one villager’s life and the disappearance of another, Rocco uncovers how each is connected to Berbier, and at the risk of his own life must find out which of them could have been involved with the woman’s murder.

Just arrived - reviewed next month!

LIZA MARKLUND: RED WOLF (Corgi PB)

"An Accidental Death?" - Reporter Annika Bengtzon is working on the story of a devastating crime when she hears that a journalist investigating the same incident has been killed. It appears to be a hit-and-run accident. "A Series of Murders" - Several brutal killings follow - all linked by handwritten letters sent to the victims' relatives. When Annika unravels a connection with the story she's writing, she is thrown on to the trail of a deadly psychopath. "The Hunt is On" - Caught in a frenzied spiral of secrets and violence, Annika finds herself and her marriage at breaking point. Will her refusal to stop pursuing the truth eventually destroy her? This is a translation from the original Swedish, but this doesn't detract from the original (although I don't, of course, read Swedish!). Scandinavian crime novels always have that dark, gloomy, ethereal quality, and this is no exception. Enjoyable as the plot is, I find it slightly depressing to read. Very well written but just that bit too dark for me to really enjoy.

OLIVER STARK: AMERICAN DEVIL (Headline PB)

Taut, tense and terrifying - AMERICAN DEVIL marks the thrilling debut of an outstanding new talent. The Progression of Love: his ultimate artistic creation. Now all he needs is seven beautiful women. For the violent killer stalking New York’s streets, the trophies he will take from his victims are essential if he is to complete his masterpiece. That he also likes playing games with the police and his prey is a bonus. He can outwit everyone he comes up against. Or can he? Detective Tom Harper is the NYPD’s best chance of catching the American Devil. But he’s on suspension for punching his superior. With panic gripping the city, Harper wants the challenge even if it means he has to undergo therapy from police psychologist Denise Levene. She believes he can be brought back into the fold, but can the NYPD trust him not to fall apart? A deranged murderer and a volatile cop. Time is running out and there can only be one winner...