The LA Times Festival of Books have announced the Mystery and Thriller finalists

Dark Ride by Lou Berney

All The Sinners Bleed by S A Cosby

Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper

Time's Undoing by Cheryl A. Head

Sing Her Down by Ivy Pochoda

 Congratulations to all the nominated authors! Winner will be announced at the LA Times Festival of Books on Friday 19^th April 2024 at 7:00pm.

The Barry Awards are awarded by Deadly Pleasures Magazine. The winners in each category will be announced at the Opening Ceremonies of the Nashville Bouchercon on August 29, 2024.  

Best Mystery or Crime Novel

Dark Ride by Lou Berney (Morrow)

All the Sinners Bleed by S. A. Cosby (Flatiron)

Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor (Soho Crime)

Everybody Knows by Jordan Harper (Mulholland)

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (Harper)

The Detective Up Late by Adrian McKinty (Blackstone)

Best First Mystery or Crime Novel

Better the Blood by Michael Bennett (Atlantic Monthly Press)

The Peacoock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Atria)

The Bitter Past by Bruce Borgos (Minotaur)

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua (Minotaur)

Age of Vice by Deepti Kapoor (Riverhead)

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon (Morrow)

City Under One Roof by Iris Yamashita (Berkley)

Best Paperback Original Mystery or Crime Novel

Murder and Mamon by Mia P. Manansala (Berkley)

Every Thing She Feared by Rick Mofina (MIRA)

Who the Hell is Larry Black? By Jake Needham (Half Penny)

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderer's by Jesse Sutanto (Berkley)

Expectant by Vanda Symon (Orenda)

Lowdown Road by Scott Von Doviak (Hard Case Crime

Best Thriller

Burner by Mark Greaney (Berkley)

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron (Soho Crime)

Moscow Exile by John Lawton (Atlantic Monthly)

Going Zero by Anthony McCarten (Harper)

Drowning by T. J. Newman (Avid Reader Press)

Zero Days by Ruth Ware (Gallery/Scout Press)

Congratulations to all the nominated authors.. 

23 March – 24 August 2024

Monday – Friday 9am – 6:30pm

Saturday 9am – 4:30pm

Closed Sundays, and 29 March to 1 April 2024 inclusive 

Booking is essential. Entry is FREE.

Crime fiction is the UK's most read, bought and borrowed genre. Cambridge University Library draws on its world-leading collections of British crime fiction to stage a murderously good exhibition! 

Bringing together literature, culture and heritage, Murder by the Book: A Celebration of 20th Century British Crime Fiction illuminates and celebrates the stories of the UK’s most popular fiction writing. Curated by award-winning crime novelist Nicola Upson, the Library's exhibition challenges traditional distinctions between literary fiction and genre fiction. Murder by the Book examines crime’s place in our literary history and the Library’s own Special Collections. 

The exhibition showcases rare books and audio-visual recordings looking at the genre from its origins in the works of Wilkie Collins and Charles Dickens to contemporary best-sellers Val McDermid and Ian Rankin. 

With first editions of The Moonstone and Bleak House, as well as Sherlock Holmes' debut appearance, the exhibition also looks at the Library’s remarkable collections and stylish dust jackets that represent more than a century of British book design. 

Tickets can be booked here.

Curated by crime novelist Nicola Upson.

Murder at the Island Hotel. Spring, 1936. As the boat draws into the harbour of Bird Island, Kitty is absolutely delighted to see the stunning hotel for the first time. She and her friend Alice have been asked to join the distinguished guests before the hotel officially opens its doors, but they have barely unpacked when the owner is found dead in his own study… Sir Norman’s death looks like suicide. But Kitty isn’t convinced – she cannot find a note, and he is left-handed but was shot on the right side of his head. Kitty tries to reach the police, but a violent storm engulfs the island and the power goes out. Kitty and Alice need to move quickly before anyone else finds death on their dinner menu! With several old friends amongst their suspects, Kitty decides the investigation should stay secret. But it’s not until Kitty uncovers Sir Norman’s financial difficulties that she’s on the killer’s trail. Can Kitty and Alice catch the culprit in time for tea, or will they become the next guests on the murderer’s list? 

You look so happy in your wedding photo, gazing at your perfect new husband, glass of champagne held high in a toast. You chose to ignore the warning signs, but he hid more than one secret from you. And now he’s gotten away with your murder… Every night I watch Benjamin and Gwyn in their gorgeous, glass-fronted Seattle home. Your ex-husband. Your best friend. Newly engaged, they’re busy dreaming of their future. The official story is that you disappeared, but I know the truth. They killed you. I know Benjamin’s new business is in trouble, that he desperately needs your money. I saw the way Gwyn looked at him at your wedding reception, finding any excuse to be close, to laugh too loudly at his jokes. After all, she always wanted your perfect life. But don’t worry, Madeline. I won’t let it end like this. I can see everything from my place in the shadows between the trees. With their house lit up, they are on display. I’ll bide my time and worm my way into their home, their lives. They will never know the truth about who I am. You didn’t get your happily ever after, and neither will they… Never Trust The Husband is by Jessica Payne.

Her Last Hour is by B.R Spangler. She can hear the faint lapping of waves nearby as she tries to open her swollen blue eyes. But all she can see is darkness, there is nothing but the suffocating sand that surrounds her. As her consciousness fades, she wishes she had never trusted him… When Ruby Evans is abducted on her way home from volunteering at a nursing home in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, Detective Casey White’s heart breaks for the inconsolable mother. Terrible memories flood back of when her own darling daughter was taken twenty years ago. Pushing her own pain aside, Casey vows to find Ruby and bring her home. After desperately searching the road where Ruby was last seen, Casey receives a letter from someone claiming to be the kidnapper. In cursive red letters, she is warned that she has less than twenty-four hours to find Ruby alive. And when forensics reveal the letter was written in blood, Casey knows this isn’t a hoax. Working around the clock, Casey is devastated when her team hit another dead end, and she’s shattered when Ruby’s body is discovered buried on the beach—she’s too late. Now looking for a twisted killer, Casey is shocked when she receives a call from an evil predator she put behind bars ten years ago. He says he knows who the killer is, and will help Casey in exchange for his freedom. Casey refuses, but when she receives another letter, she is forced to reconsider. Because the killer promises the next victim will be someone much closer to her, and the clock is ticking. With only hours left, Casey has to decide if she’s prepared to free one evil monster to catch another, and if she doesn’t, will her loved ones pay the ultimate price?

The end of our marriage was only the beginning…  Last night, we celebrated our anniversary. Over candlelight, we talked about the children, our work, and I was so happy, and felt so loved. But the next morning, when I check my phone, there is a message. From a friend. And a string of photos appear of my husband, Will, with another woman: walking along the street holding hands. Going into fancy hotels. Standing at a window, his arms around her, her head on his shoulder… I beg Will to tell me what’s going on. But all he can say is that it’s not what I think. As if the betrayal wasn’t bad enough, he won’t even be honest with me. And now there’s someone watching our house. Will is acting like a stranger and I think he’s following me. I can’t trust him anymore, and I desperately need to know who sent me those photos and why. But maybe Will is telling the truth. Maybe it’s not what I think. Because the more our pain stops us talking, and the more the two of us tear each other apart, the more I wonder if I ever knew him at all – and what I’ll have to risk to protect my children. And when at last the secrets are revealed, will the truth save our family, or destroy us all? The Split is by S.E.Lynes.

The Widow Bride is by Carey Baldwin. Her diamond engagement ring glitters as she tells me he’s the one. But I’m sure there’s hesitation in her voice and the way she winces when her fiancé pulls her close makes my stomach drop. Could he be as dangerous as I fear? I thought handsome, charming Blake would be the perfect fit for my quiet and sweet-natured friend Melanie. Widowed far too young, she deserved a second chance at love. So, when he proposed so soon after I set them up on a date, I convinced myself that the timing was just right. But I should have stopped it.  I tried to ignore Blake’s controlling behaviour. It started small; telling her not to have a glass of champagne to celebrate their engagement, putting cameras up around her house for “safety”. But Mel seemed so happy and in love, I couldn’t bring myself to share my creeping doubts. If only I had. Because now I’m not only worried about what Blake is doing to Mel behind closed doors. Since he warned me to back off their relationship, I’m certain I’m being followed. Then I look into Blake's past. I’m sure he’s working with someone else. Someone close to me… I need to get us both out of here. What have I done?

The joyous crowd applauds as the happy couple strides down the aisle. This Cotswolds country wedding has everything – friends and family, beautiful flowers and… murder? When Julia Bird’s ex-husband Peter and his lovely partner Christopher decide to get married in Berrywick, Julia is delighted – after all, who doesn't love a country wedding? Little does Julia know that normally calm and collected Christopher will turn into a full-on Groomzilla – and that by the end of the night, someone will end up dead. The morning after the big day, the jolly nuptial mood turns grim when Julia discovers the lifeless body of the caterer, Desmond. Someone locked him in the cold truck and the poor man froze to death. Now looking for a murderer, all eyes are on Christopher who, mid-tantrum, had publicly threatened to kill him. Convinced that Christopher is innocent, Julia vows to find the real culprit. Julia soon discovers Desmond had a long list of enemies as she races against the clock to clear Christopher’s name. Could his death be the work of the respected wedding planner who was heard exchanging choice words with the victim? Or perhaps it was his wife – ‘til death do them part – who didn’t shed a single tear at his funeral? But just when Julia thinks she’s cracked the case, her prime suspect is found dead with a knife in their back. Can Julia find the murderer before they strike again? A Country Wedding Murder is by Katie Gayle.

The Garden Party is by Wendy Clarke. It’s so kind of our neighbours to throw this party welcoming us to our new home. My husband and I finally moved to the right place. A happy, safe street where nobody knows about my mistakes. But I soon learn their smiling faces hide even deadlier secrets…  As I take in the little plates of sandwiches arranged over checked tablecloths, the lavish cocktails, and children playing, I finally feel happy in my new home with Owen. I love hearing the gossip from the local families; the whispers about which wives I should avoid, and which husbands sneak out at night. But then I notice that the mother at number 3, Phillipa, is completely ignoring her sweet little girl. All blue-eyed Lexi wants is for her mother to play with her. And as Lexi pulls on Phillipa’s skirt, I’m certain I hear the woman threaten to smack her. Isn’t anyone going to say something? Even as I’m filled with rage, terrible memories flood back: of standing in a cold, thin hospital gown, hearing I may never have my own biological child. And then a shout pierces my memory. Lexi has run away from her mother and nearly fallen into the large, deep pond in the middle of the green. Everyone rushes over to comfort her, while Phillipa stays at the party to top up her drink. I promised Owen I’d put my past behind me so that we could start a new life. But some people don’t deserve to become mothers. I plaster a smile onto my face. I need to befriend Phillipa. And do whatever it takes to keep Lexi safe…

A discovery of bones on a windswept beach, the disappearance of a young woman, and a detective whose secrets are about to come out… Summoned to a crime scene swarming with people, Detective Billie Ann Wilde is devastated to find a woman’s broken bones abandoned in a suitcase on the sand of a popular Florida beach. And Billie’s blood runs cold when she reads the name “Danni” handwritten on the luggage tag in black ink: the name of Billie’s own best friend. Rushing over to Danni’s home, Billie is relieved to find her alive, preparing dinner for her two young daughters. So whose bones are in the suitcase? And why was Danni’s name at the scene? For years, Billie has worried that the dark secrets in her past might put her loved ones in danger, and soon her connection to the case is confirmed. Another set of bones is found at a busy local mall. With shaking hands Billie reaches out to read the luggage tag where another name is written in black ink: but this time, it’s Billie’s own name. And now, Danni has gone missing… Can Billie face up to the past and unravel her connection to this twisted killer? Or, with two young women already gone, is it too late for Billie to save Danni’s life? Then She Is Gone is by Willow Rose.

I Let Her In is by Maria Frankland. I tread quietly up the plush carpeted stairs. There’s no-one here to see me as Cassie and Jon’s bedroom door creaks gently open. I’ve watched them from afar for so long. Now I’m finally in their house. But there’s no time to waste. I’m here for a reason, and I’m going to get what I came for, whatever the cost…  I open the front door and there’s Amy, smiling sweetly and ready to help. She’s been a lifesaver since Jonand I moved here – from walking the dog to picking up my little son Teddy from nursery last minute. I’m so lucky we met in the playground the first day we arrived. Amy is more than just a good friend. My only friend, really. Whenever Amy and Jon exchange glances I’m sure it seems like they’ve met before, even though Jon swears they haven’t. But then again Jon recognises lots of people from his childhood round here without truly knowing them. I’ve put it out of my mind. Just like my fear of being watched. I need to remember I’m safe now. But today, when I turn up at Teddy’s nursery, I learn I was so, so wrong. The teacher tells me Amy picked him up an hour ago. Now they have both disappeared. I am frantic. I will do anything to get my son back. I should have known I can’t trust anyone. Then the phone rings, and I know what I have to do… 

Breath catches in my throat and terror grips me as my daughter’s favourite jumper slides into focus. Time slows. Helpless, I watch my precious little girl run into the road. Screeching tyres slice through the quiet afternoon. Days from now, my friends will say the worst day of my life was all my fault… A bright and welcoming haven, the playgroup sits at the heart of the town, tucked away inside a red-brick building. The Nest should have been the safest place for my rosy-cheeked, pink-obsessed daughter, Florence. Run by mothers like me, I trusted my newfound friends – Alice, Beth and Georgie – to take care of my child. But now my choice has left Florence fighting for her life. My heart pounds thinking about what I will tell my husband, James. He stayed with me through the darkest times, and I thought some space would bring us closer. But as I watch our little girl sleeping in a hospital bed, I know our relationship may never recover from this. How can I tell James what really happened if I don’t know myself? I can’t shake the feeling the other mothers are lying to me; they know I’d never let Florence leave the nursery by herself. We’ve all got dangerous secrets we want to protect, but if they expose mine, will anyone, including my husband, believe me when I say I didn’t harm my daughter? The Playgroup is by Leah Mercer.

The Girl in the Dark is by Zoë Sharp. The woman falls. Her body begins to shake. Her brown eyes turn upwards, showing a mix of panic and desperate hope. She takes a deep breath and says one word: 'Blake.' Then her eyes close, her face pales, and she goes still forever…  The victim: Shannon, a woman who went out of her way to help the lost and hopeless, left abandoned to die by the side of the road. Where was she in those last few days before her death, and why was she so frightened? The avenger: Blake Claremont, who knows only too well how it feels to be alone on the streets of a big city. Blake survived, thanks to Shannon. She’s determined to find out who killed her friend, and why. Before she died, Shannon was searching for answers. She knew that people were going missing… never to be seen again. Now, with the help of Detective John Byron, Blake must take up Shannon’s investigation. She knows these streets and the predators who walk in the darkness. She will follow in Shannon’s footsteps until she finds her target: the ruthless men and women who steal people’s lives and will do anything to protect their secrets. And then, they will pay. 

Mother of the Bride is by Samantha Hayes. My mother is obsessed with every detail of my wedding – controlling my dress, my ring, my happiness… But when the day finally comes, will she really let me go?  I’m smiling as I walk down the aisle, but my smile masks cold, clammy, prickling fear, even though it’s meant to be the happiest day of my life. My husband-to-be, Owen, is everything to me, with his sandy hair and sparkling blue eyes. He convinced me everything would be fine. That we’d be safe. I pray he was right as I reach for his hand. He smiles reassuringly. I swallow hard. Because last year, my sister’s fiancé was murdered on his wedding day. And I found my mother’s corsage next to his body… So when our guests are asked if they have any objections, I hold my breath. Please let me be wrong about what she did. Please let Owen be safe. But when I turn to look at my mother, my blood turns to ice. There is only dark, calculating fury in her eyes. I knew she didn’t want to let me go. But is my husband’s life actually in danger? Or is mine…?

You let her in. You shouldn’t have… I was so nervous about someone new joining our house share; after everything that happened with my parents, my friends are like my family. Our imperfect but well-loved house is the only place where I can be myself. But when Poppy knocks on our door, blonde hair, wide eyes and a friendly smile, we all agree she’s a perfect fit. I just wish I could shake the feeling that I’ve seen her before… At first, everything runs smoothly. But one day, Poppy arrives home with my housemates in tow. She says she ‘forgot’ to invite me to the movie. My stomach drops. As she sidles up to my friends, I’m gripped by a familiar panic. If Poppy is from my past, will she turn my friends against me? Will she tell them the secret I’ve so carefully buried? I feel like Poppy’s watching my every move. My home used to be the place where I felt most comfortable. But as she places a delicious home-cooked meal in front of me, I don’t even feel safe eating here. I have to find out who she really is, and what she wants. And when I do, will she realise too late which one of us is truly dangerous? The Perfect Housemate is by Lorna Dounaeva.

Stunning views across the Grand Canal and a hotel suite fit for royalty… Lady Eleanor Swift is having a jolly good time on her Italian vacation, until a gondola ride is cut murderously short! 1924. Lady Eleanor Swift has been on a grand tour around Italy for a month with her butler Clifford. Finally arriving in Venice, she’s thrilled to be attending the famous carnival: all that’s needed is the perfect bejewelled costume for her faithful bulldog, Gladstone. But on her first gondola ride to take in the sights, a passenger collapses into the canal with a knife sticking out of his back. Eleanor saw an argument break out between the gondolier and the victim, Councillor Benetto Vendelini, and it turns out they're rivals from the city's two great families. Vendelini’s murder is sure to reignite their centuries-long feud. While attending a glitzy ball that night, Eleanor learns of a plot to steal a precious family heirloom from the Vendelini household. Is the stolen item the key to solving this baffling murder? In this floating city of tiny winding alleyways, Eleanor traces the missing heirloom to an antiques dealer in a far-flung corner of town. But when her handbag is snatched by a cloaked thief, she realises the murderer is dangerously close. Can Eleanor unmask this most cunning of killers, before she joins the other victim at the bottom of the Grand Canal? A Death in Venice is by Verity Bright.

You are invited to submit eligible titles to the new and expanded 2025 CWA Dagger awards, which are now open for entries. 

Daggers Submissions

The Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Daggers are considered a marker of excellence in the industry and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century. The awards are judged by independent expert panels. 

The oldest membership organisation for crime writers in the UK, the CWA was founded in 1953. It began its awards in 1955, with Agatha Christie as the principal guest at its first awards ceremony in 1956. 

2025 includes two new Daggers, announced earlier this year - the CWA Twisted Dagger and the CWA Whodunnit Dagger. Eligibility criteria for both can be found below. 

The CWA has also refreshed the name of two of its categories: the John Creasey New Blood is now known as the John Creasey First Novel Dagger, and the Debut Dagger is now the Emerging Author Dagger. 

Vaseem Khan, Chair of the CWA, said: “It’s always exciting when the Daggers open for submission, knowing that the very best books in the genre will shortly be winging their way to our independent judging panels. This year is extra special. Expanding the Daggers was one of my pledges as chair. The new Daggers recognise two subgenres that have grown to dominate the publishing landscape in recent years and I, for one, am excited to see who the first recipients of these Daggers will be. And in terms of refreshing the titles of the John Creasey New Blood and Debut Daggers – that was simply rectifying a longstanding point of confusion. The John Creasey First Novel Dagger is for a full-length debut novel while the Emerging Author Dagger is for early chapters of a work by an unpublished, unagented author.” 

Crime fiction is now the most popular genre in publishing, with this trend showing no signs of abating. 

The CWA’s mission is to promote the genre and act as a voice for the interests of its author members. 

The Daggers are one of the most inclusive genre awards, with categories for crime fiction in translation, short stories, and new authors, alongside the Gold Dagger for the novel of the year and Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller. 

Eligible books for the CWA Twisted Dagger are psychological thrillers (set in any period), suspense thrillers, and domestic noir. The Dagger will celebrate dark and twisty tales that often feature unreliable narrators, disturbed emotions, a healthy dose of moral ambiguity, and a sting in the tail. Judges for this Dagger are Gavin Bell (aka writer Mason Cross), Tracy Fenton (founder of THE Book Club on Facebook) and writer Susi Holliday 

Eligible books for the CWA Whodunnit Dagger include cosy crime (including the ‘modern cosy’), traditional crime, and Golden Age inspired mysteries. These books focus on the intellectual challenge at the heart of a good mystery and revolve around often quirky characters. The judges for this Dagger are writers, Steph Broadribb, Derek Farrell and Gytha Lodge. 

Submission guidelines for the 2025 Daggers are now live on the CWA website. 

The longlist will be announced at the CWA annual conference on 20th April, and the shortlist at the UK’s biggest crime fiction convention, CrimeFest, hosted in Bristol on Friday 10th May; the Dagger awards ceremony takes place in the summer. 

In the basement of the psychology department at Sheffield University, where I studied for my degree, there was a nursery school in which one whole wall was a two-sided mirror. Students such as myself would file in to a thin dark room on the other side of that wall and watch. It was a sneak peek into how kids behave when they think no-one can see them. And we saw some fascinating things – like the boy behind the bookcase who hit three or four children as they were sent to fetch a book, only to then join them crying at the teacher’s table. A sign of intellect or criminal prowess? Only time would tell.

This was way before I had ideas of being a crime thriller writer, I just wanted to study people and find out what makes them tick. And TV was about to help out with that, big style, because a few years later, in July 2000, Big Brother launched and a new era of Reality TV was born. Here was the chance for all of us to stand on the other side of that two way mirror and see how real people behave in the real world. 

But no one could have anticipated the fame and shame consequences that would befall Reality TVs participants. We came to love them or we loved to hate them. And there was no going back. Ever since, the nation has tuned in to watch everything from people competing for a job on The Apprentice, to looking for love on First Dates and Married at First Sight. We’ve rooted for our favourites on The Hunted, revelled in the drama of Made in Chelsea and relished secrets and lies in The Traitors. A recent survey of 2000 people in the UK by ONEPOLL found that nearly 40% of us watch some kind of reality TV every week, and this rises to 50% for under 35s and 48% for females.* 

Why do we love it so much? Some psychologists believe it is all to do with Social Comparison Theory. We enjoy watching confrontations, people making a fool of themselves, or doing anything to entertain us, because it makes us feel better about ourselves. Others believe the shows we choose say something about our individual motivations: some of us are looking for companionship, some are looking for escapism and the competitive amongst us are enjoying taking sides. 

The truth is we love human drama in all its forms – from the books we read to the movies and TV shows we watch. But Reality TV provides something more on top. Dr Carol Lieberman, a psychiatrist who works on reality shows says, “We love reality TV because it allows us to live vicariously through the show participants without being publicly humiliated ourselves.” Many reality TV shows now employ psychologists to help them to pick the right ‘characters’ and much time is spent on designing the best scenarios to elicit an emotional reaction. So if the scenes are staged and the characters hand-picked, what is real? It turns out this question is what many people have come to most enjoy about such shows. We have to figure out what part of the show is Reality and what part is Television, so we become ever more engaged in the experience. We become part of the game.**

And so, it turns out the two-sided mirror is not enough. What we really want is to watch real people in extreme situations, and we don’t mind if this has to be stage managed. We might have been happy to watch the best of the best compete to be Sir Alan Sugar’s apprentice back in 2005, but by the time he was Lord Sugar it was more interesting to watch the egotistical being put in their place, or the whole team imploding in conflict. Perhaps this is why in 2019 the New York Times branded British Reality TV a ‘Theatre of Cruelty.’ ***

All this got me thinking, if Reality TV shows have to keep evolving to apply ever more pressure on participants so that they react in ways that keep us interested and entertained, how far would they go?

And if someone making such a show really hated the genre and the kinds of people who chose to participate - people they see as fame hungry, shallow, attention seekers – what then? What dire situation would they be willing to put people in to grab attention and make the public watch. This is the premise of The Escape Room. A reality TV show to end all Reality TV shows.

I decided that an escape room was the perfect vehicle to explore a reality TV show gone dark, because people readily volunteer to be locked inside such places to experience the thrill of being trapped. And so, my protagonist Bonnie and seven other contestants are taken to The Fortress, a three story cylindrical, concrete sea fort off the coast of Portsmouth. They arrive feeling confident that they can solve the puzzles and break free, but what they soon come to realise is that when you’re trapped inside a structure built to keep the enemy out, it can easily keep you in. 

And when one contestant’s failure on a challenge leads to his death everything changes. It’s not about fun anymore, it’s about survival. 

The death of a contestant seemed like a logical step in the dark evolution of such shows. We have all heard of the deaths sadly associated with reality TV, but thus far all have occurred outside of the show. In The Escape Room the contestants are unsure if the death is accidental or intentional. What they are sure of is that to escape they only have one option: to win. 

The Escape Room by L.D. Smithson is published by Bantam (£14.99).

Everything is a clue. Bonnie arrives on a remote sea fort off the coast of England to take part in a mysterious reality TV show. Competing against seven strangers, she must solve a series of puzzles to win the prize money, but this is no game - and the consequences of failure are deadly. No one leaves. Under scrutiny from the watching public, the contestants quickly turn on one another. Who will sacrifice the most for wealth and fame? And why can't Bonnie shake the creeping sense that they are not alone? The only way out is to win. When the first contestant is found dead, Bonnie begins to understand the dark truth at the heart of this twisted competition: there's a killer inside the fort, and anyone could be next. If Bonnie wants to escape, she needs to win... Are you ready to play?

L D Smithson can be found on “X” @LeonaDeakin1

* OnePoll (2016) The reality TV habit 

** Rose, R.L, & Wood, S. L. (2005) Paradox and the consumption of authenticity through reality television.

*** The New York Times (2019) British Reality Television Is A Theatre of Cruelty

The International Thriller Writers announced the Nominees for the Thriller Awards. 

BEST HARDCOVER NOVEL  

All The Sinners Bleed by S.A. Cosby (Flatiron Books) 

Her Deadly Game by Robert Dugoni (Thomas & Mercer) 

It's One of Us by J.T. Ellison (Harlequin – MIRA Books) 

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron (Soho Crime) 

Fixit by Joe Ide (Mulholland Books) 

The Drift by C.J. Tudor (Ballantine Books) 

BEST AUDIOBOOK 

The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Atria) Narrated by Pete Simonelli 

The Last Orphan by Gregg Hurwitz (Macmillan) Narrated by Scott Brick 

The Housemaid's Secret by Freida McFadden (Bookouture) Narrated by Lauryn Allman 

The House of Wolves by James Patterson, Mike Lupica (Hachette Audio) Narrated by Ellen Archer 

Bad Summer People by Emma Rosenblum (Macmillan) Narrated by January LaVoy 

BEST FIRST NOVEL 

The Peacock and the Sparrow by I.S. Berry (Atria) 

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua (Minotaur) 

Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy (Zando) 

Lenny Marks Gets Away with Murder by Kerryn Mayne (Bantam Books) 

Perfect Shot: A Thriller by Steve Urszenyi (Minotaur) 

BEST PAPERBACK ORIGINAL NOVEL 

Hide by Tracy Clark (Thomas & Mercer) 

The Paleontologist by Luke Dumas (Atria) 

The Spy Coast by Tess Gerritsen (Thomas & Mercer) 

To Die For by Lisa Gray (Thomas & Mercer) 

Cave 13: A Joe Ledger and Rogue Team International Novel by Jonathan Maberry (St. Martin’s Griffin) 

Call the Dark by J. Todd Scott (Thomas & Mercer) 

BEST SHORT STORY 

Slot Machine Fever Dreams by Chris Bohjalian (Amazon Original Stories) 

These Cold Strangers by J.T. Ellison (Amazon Original Stories) 

An Honorable Choice by Smita Harish Jain (Wildside Press) 

Rush Hour by Richard Santos (Akashic Books) 

Unknown Caller by Lisa Unger (Amazon Original Stories) 

One Night in 1965 by Stacy Woodson (Down & Out Books) 

BEST YOUNG ADULT NOVEL 

Red as Blood by Sorboni Banerjee, Dominique Richardson (Wolfpack Publishing LLC) 

Where He Can't Find You by Darcy Coates (Sourcebooks Fire) 

Where Echoes Die by Courtney Gould (Wednesday Books) 

Where Darkness Blooms by Andrea Hannah (Wednesday Books) 

Stateless by Elizabeth Wein (Little, Brown & Co.) 

BEST E-BOOK ORIGINAL NOVEL 

The Vulture Fund by Jeff Buick (Self-published) 

The Bigamist by Rona Halsall (Bookouture) 

A Good Rush of Blood by Matt Phillips (RunAmok Books) 

Close Her Eyes by Lisa Regan (Bookouture) 

The Killing Room by Robert Swartwood (Blackstone Publishing) 

The In-Laws by Laura Wolfe (Bookouture) 

Congratulations to all the nominated authors.

ITW will announce the winners at ThrillerFest XIX on Saturday, June 1, 2024 at the Sheraton New York Times Square Hotel, New York City.

Why are we so obsessed with the bad guys? There are so many books and films where the antagonists are more compelling than the protagonists. From Satan in Paradise Lost to Tyler Durden in Fight Club, I do enjoy loving a baddie. 

Five Nights is a novel set on a cruise ship, where a billionaire and his family and guests sail from Portsmouth to New York. Over the course of the cruise, secrets spill out and someone will die. 

I wanted to write a novel about the hugely wealthy – particularly those who are selfish and entitled – and look at how badly they’d behave when something threatens their wealth and lifestyle. I also wanted to watch how characters change when tempted with great riches. Greed is a powerful motivator! 

In writing about these characters, I also wanted the novel to be one people enjoyed reading. Do we love bad guys? I decided we did. But why?

I suppose one of the reasons we feel drawn to antagonists is because of a secret desire to release all the shackles on our own behaviour. It’s freeing to live vicariously through fictional characters, enjoying bad behaviour with no consequences. We spend so much of our lives trying to live well – obeying rules and being aware of the importance of trying to get things right. 

There are a few characters in Five Nights who don’t think twice about what they say. They never spend time considering the consequences of their behaviour and trying to get things right – and this was a lot of fun to write. They are rude, selfish, and they talk to other characters in ways I’d never speak to someone in real life. Sometimes when I write, I choose characteristics from people I know – certain tells or manners of speech that make someone distinct. I also put together mood boards with images of how they might dress, and things they may say, eat, watch or places they’d visit. I did this quite carefully for the Scarmardos because I just don’t have the usual pool of people in my day to day life for inspiration. I needed their terrible qualities to be exaggerated and inflated, as much as their wealth.

I think another aspect of the appeal of the ‘bad guy’ is confidence, although this runs a tight line with conceit. There’s nothing quite as attractive as a lack of self-doubt. People tend to be plagued by self-doubt. We question ourselves repeatedly, we play over scenes from our lives in our heads like a bad rehearsal. How wonderful if we never doubted ourselves at all! Characters who never question themselves, however, are often narcissistic and ultimately selfish and sometimes cruel. When Hugh Grant went from the bumbling Charlie of Five Weddings to the charming Daniel Cleaver of Bridget Jones, he’d never seemed more attractive. He never once pauses to stumble over his words or repeatedly apologise for his inadequacies. 

This is certainly true of some of the characters in Five Nights. They live a life focused on their own pleasure, no matter how it might affect others. They don’t second guess their decisions. This is as attractive as it is repellent and it was great fun to play with when writing the novel. No one wants to marry a Daniel Cleaver, but a mini-break could be a lot of fun.

Emily, my protagonist in Five Nights, finds herself briefly the object of some love-bombing by the Scarmardos. Adoration and flattery can be very appealing – these men certainly know how to turn on the charm when they need to. In practice, love-bombing can be a very selfish tactic. It’s often done in order to deflect, or to get someone on side and to reel them in, so that you can behave badly later and get away with it! Yet to be the object of love-bombing, bombarded with charm and attention, does have its moment. Emily needs to be on her toes. She is out of her comfort zone, surrounded by threatening letters, mysterious happenings and threatening behaviour. 

Attention, and its sudden withdrawal, can also make relationships seem more exciting. The on/off element, the will he call question. Reliable, steadfast partners might be what we want in real life, but on the page, we want something a little more exciting. We go on rollercoasters to feel our sense of balance upended, and we search for fictional bad guys for much the same reason. 

Writing Five Nights gave me ample opportunity to study bad behaviour and to try to work out why it can seem so appealing. I hope readers enjoy reading about my entitled characters. They are certainly characters you love to hate!

Five Nights by Rachel Wolf (Head of Zeus) out now at £9.99 as a paperback original 

A powerful family. A luxury cruise. A killer on board… You're invited to join the infamous Scarmardo family on a five night voyage aboard their glamorous new ship. It's a chance to see your best friend, Belle, newly married to Mattia Scarmardo. You haven't seen her in years. Five - On the first night, you'll be wrapped up in the glamour of the ship. Four - On the second night, you'll wonder who is sending you threatening notes. Three - On the third night, someone will die. Two - On the fourth night, you'll discover that someone knows the truth of what you did. One - On the last night, you'll be left for dead. Will you make it back to shore alive.

The following talk is part of the launch of the Open University’s new Introduction to European Crime Fiction course

Wed, 17 Apr 2024 13:00 - 14:00 BST (online)

The team is delighted to welcome Simon Brett OBE, Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and author of over one hundred published books.

About the talk

Crime fiction is the most popular literary genre in Europe today. In conversation with the Open University’s Bill Alder, author Simon Brett will lead us on a journey of discovery of crime fiction’s past, present and future.

He will share his thoughts on different types of crime fiction from the “golden age” mystery to the “hardboiled” thriller, from the “police procedural” to “cosy crime”, looking at different types of plots, detectives and approaches, and reflecting on the growing influence of non-Anglophone crime fiction from the latter years of the twentieth century to the present.

About the speaker

Simon Brett is a British author of detective fiction, a playwright, and a producer-writer for television and radio. He is best known for his mystery series featuring Charles Paris, Mrs. Pargeter, Fethering, and Blotto & Twinks. His radio credits have included The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue and Just a Minute, and a number of his Charles Paris stories have been adapted for BBC radio, featuring the acclaimed actor Bill Nighy. Simon Brett is a former President of the Detection Club and a recipient of the Crime Writers’ Association Diamond Dagger award.

To attend the online talk/get the link, register here. 

                              

Harrogate International Festivals launches inaugural 

McDermid Debut Award 

to spotlight new generation of crime writing talent 

Festival Dates: 18 – 21 July 2024 

www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com 

#Theakstons Awards 

14th March 2024 : Submissions have opened for Harrogate International Festivals ’ new award, the McDermid Debut Award for new writers, offering a unique opportunity to be recognised among the best in the crime fiction genre . The Award will be presented on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival ,the world’s largest and most prestigious celebration of crime fiction. 

Named in recognition of world-famous crime writer,Val McDermid, who co- founded the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in 2003 and whose dedication to fostering new voices in crime fiction through the New Blood panel is legendary, this new Award seeks to continue her legacy, celebrating and platforming the best debut crime writers in the UK. 

Val McDermid said: ‘Curating the New Blood panel over twenty years exposed me to an extraordinary range of crime fiction I might otherwise have missed. I’m hoping that this new a ward will do the same for the army of avid readers out there looking for new talent.’ 

The McDermid Debut Award is open to full- length debut crime novels by UK and Irish authors published for the first time in hardback or paperback original between 1 May 2023 and 30 April 2024, with submission s closing on the 21st March . A shortlist of six titles, selected by an academy of established crime and thriller authors, will be announced on Thursday 13th June, with the winner determined by a judging panel of industry experts, including literary, broadcasting and media figures. All shortlisted authors will receive a full weekend pass to the Festival. The Award will be presented at the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Awards event on Thursday 18th July , the opening night of the Festival , with the winner receiving a £500 cash prize. 

Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, Sharon Canavar, said: ‘We are delighted to announce this new award honouring Val McDermid, one of the icons of the genre, and we can’t wait to discover the stars of the future, be they writers of psychological thrillers or murder mysteries.’ 

Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston Ltd, commented: ‘The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival has always highlighted the best in crime fiction and the new McDermid Debut Award will help readers discover the next generation of crime fiction authors. I am sure this new award will attract even more of the best of crime writing talent and I very much looking forward to welcoming them along with all our friends t o this year’s Harrogate gathering.’ 

Submissions are also now open for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year , the UK and Ireland’s most prestigious crime and thriller writing award. Previous winners include Mick Herron, Lee Child, Stef Penney, Val McDermid, Clare Mackintosh, Mark Billingham, Chris Brookmyre, Steve Cavanagh and Denise Mina. 

KEY AWARD DATES: 

• The McDermid Debut Award and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year are currently open for submissions . The deadline for receipt of entries is 23.59 (GMT) Thursday, 21st March . 

•The Shortlists of the McDermid Debut Award and the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year will be announced on Thursday 13^th June . 

• Both Awards, along with the Award for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Fiction will be presented at the opening n ight of the Festival on Thursday 18^th July. 

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival , which celebrates its 21^st year in 2024, is delivered by the north of England’s leading arts Festival organisation, Harrogate International Festivals, and forms part of their diverse year- round portfolio of events, which aims to bring immersive cultural experiences to as many people as possible. 

This year’s event is curated by bestselling crime writer and 2024 Festival Programming Chair Ruth Ware, with the programming committee, and Special Guests include global bestsellers and fan favourites Chris Carter, Jane Casey, Elly Griffiths, Erin Kelly, Vaseem Khan, Dorothy Koomson, Shari Lapena, Abir Mukherjee, Liz Nugent and Richard Osman. Classic Weekend Break Packages, Author Dinners and tickets for Creative Thursday are on sale now. 

To book tickets, please call +44(0)1423 562 303 or email:- info@harrogate- festival.org.uk . More information about tickets and packages can be found here. The full programme for this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival will be announced in April 2024 . 

 LEONARDO ST PAUL’S, LONDON

30 MAY - 1 JUNE 2024

WWW.CAPITALCRIME.ORG    

THURSDAY 30TH MAY

Registration for Capital Crime 2024 12:00 - 18:00

Goldsboro Bookshop open from 12:30 – 19:30

FRIDAY 31ST MAY 2024 

Registration for Capital Crime 2023 9:30 - 17:30 

Goldsboro Bookshop open from 10:00 - 19:30 

SATURDAY 1ST JUNE 2024 

Registration for Capital Crime 2023 

9:30 - 17:00 Goldsboro Bookshop open from 10:00 - 19:00 

CrimeFest, the UK's leading crime fiction convention hosted at Bristol’s Mercure Bristol Grand Hotel has announced its full programme, with tickets now on sale.

As well as the Full CrimeFest pass, which gives access to the entire event, a limited number of Day Passes for the Friday and Saturday of the four-day convention, have now gone on sale.

CrimeFest, which runs from 9-12 May, opens with a special Murdle live event, hosted by the creator of the international crime puzzle series hit, G.T. Karber, in one of just a handful of UK appearances.

Thursday’s panels feature authors including Ajay Chowdhury, whose first novel in the acclaimed series featuring Detective Kamil Rahman, The Waiter, is being adapted for television, the Welsh-Canadian mystery writer Cathy Ace, the international bestselling author Alex North, and the award-winning, Kate Ellis.

Friday then welcomes 25 author panels, including 2024’s featured guests: Laura Lippman, Denise Mina, and G.T. Karber.

Friday also sees the bestselling authors Holly Jackson and Abir Mukherjee discussing books that take readers on a ‘road trip,’ and former detective turned crime author, Graham Bartlett, exploring misconduct in crime fiction.

There will also be a panel celebrating Alfred Hitchcock moderated by Doctor Who writer, and author of the Hitchcock Murders, Gavin Collinson. He’ll be joined by the seminal Scottish author Denise Mina, and Barry Ryan, MD of Free@LastTV which created the TV hit series, Agatha Raisin.

A homage to PD James will feature the author Frances Fyfield, the Sunday Times chief fiction critic Peter Kemp, playwright and crime author, Simon Brett, and PD James’ granddaughter, Dr Beatrice Groves.

On Saturday 11 May, featured guest events include Denise Mina interviewed by Abir

Saturday also features panels on debut authors, an exploration of ‘partners in crime’ with Ruth Dudley Edwards, and a focus on historical fiction with Martin Edwards and Abir Mukherjee.

The CrimeFest Awards are also announced at a gala dinner event on Saturday evening.

On Sunday, highlights include an interview with the Welsh-Canadian author Cathy Ace by Free@Last TV’s Barry Ryan, who is currently adapting her Cait Morgan Mysteries for television. It also features the annual Criminal Mastermind quiz, conducted by the literary polymath, Maxim Jakubowski.

Sponsored by Specsavers, CrimeFest has been hosted in buzzing Bristol, which topped Time Out’s Best Places to Visit, since it began in 2008.

For Full Pass, Friday, or Saturday Pass tickets, visit crimefest.com 

The Nowhere Girls is by Dana Perry. My kid sister was murdered fifteen years ago. Now the killer has struck again. And this time, I’m going to take my revenge… On the anniversary of her sister’s death, FBI agent Nikki Cassidy takes a call that has her heart pounding in her chest, the image of her beautiful sister Caitlin etched in her mind. Another girl has been taken. Days later, the lifeless body of twelve-year-old Natalie Jarvis is found in a remote patch of woodland, a crown of roses delicately placed on her head. Just like Caitlin. The killer is back. Nikki rushes to her small hometown of Groveton, Ohio. She will do anything to stop another young girl dying, but she soon realises that nothing is what it seems—everyone in her hometown is keeping a secret. And when a note is discovered near Natalie’s body addressed to Nikki, it’s clear what the murderer really wants: her… She’s caught killers before, but this time it’s personal. And Nikki will risk everything—even her own life—to get justice for every victim. It’s time to stop this twisted killer, once and for all…

Ten days ago, straight-A student Jessica Stanley ran away from home. Now her lifeless body lies pale and still in an empty parking lot, her unblinking brown eyes staring up to the night sky… FBI agent Nikki Cassidy’s heart pounds as she takes in the short, dark hair and delicate features of fourteen-year-old schoolgirl Jessica Stanley. It’s another unsolved murder in Groveton, Ohio, just like her sister, Caitlin, fifteen years before. Her family beg her to keep her distance, but Nikki knows she can’t walk away. What if her sister’s killer is back? Talking to Jessica’s heartbroken family, Nikki learns that she wasn’t happy at home. Just days ago, she packed a few belongings into her school backpack and left, never to be seen alive again. Determined to give Jessica’s family the answers she never found for herself, Nikki works around the clock, trawling hours of CCTV footage from the scene. And just when she thinks she’s close to uncovering the truth, a chilling email arrives that confirms her deepest fear. There are more victims, Nikki. Can you ever stop me? This killer is playing a dangerous game, and he has Nikki in his sights now—one wrong move and she could be his next victim. She’s determined to unmask the monster who has tortured her hometown for decades. But what if the killer is someone close to her? What if it’s someone she loves?  The Last One to Die is by Dana Perry.

The Lost Ones is by Dana Perry. As dawn breaks over a small gas station on the outskirts of Groveton, Ohio, the body of a teenage girl lies totally still. Long blonde hair covers her face, and a length of frayed rope hangs loosely around her neck. It’s only a matter of time before someone finds her, just like her killer intended… When FBI agent Nikki Cassidy receives a call from Groveton’s Chief of Police, her heart pounds. A young girl just knocked on the door of Nikki’s old family home, claiming to be Nikki’s kid sister, Caitlin. But Caitlin was murdered fifteen years ago. Who is the girl and what does she want? Nikki thinks the impersonator could finally lead her to her sister’s twisted killer. But her hope is shattered when the girl’s lifeless body is found strangled at a local service stop. If the girl knew about Caitlin, could she have known the identity of the killer? Was she murdered before she could unmask them? Going against her boss’s orders to stay away, Nikki traces the girl’s last known steps to her best friend, Shirley. Nikki learns that the girl was last seen meeting with a stranger at the mall. Could it have been her killer? Closer than ever to uncovering the truth, Nikki can’t give up now. But when Shirley’s body is found at another service station, a length of rope wound around her neck, her heart shatters. Another young life has been lost. Nikki vows that this will be the last. When an intruder breaks into her old home, Nikki knows it’s the killer sending her a sign. As she walks into the familiar old house in the dead of night, will she finally get justice and catch her sister’s killer, or did she just walk into a deadly trap?

After I'm Gone is by Clare Boyd.A grieving family. A sister’s promise. A secret that will tear them apart… My husband Olly and I share a perfect life, our evenings spent curled in our candlelit flat talking about all the places we’ll travel. But my world is shattered with the news that my sister has died in a tragic accident, leaving her two girls Hayley and Mia behind. The secret I’ve buried deep in my heart means I was never meant to be a mother – but I made a promise to my sister. I’m all the girls have now. I give them everything – school on time in clean uniforms, our family’s favourite chocolate-laced chilli bubbling on the stove when they get home – but I never imagined being a mother would be this hard. Hayley and I used to be so close, but now she’s a ball of rage, screaming and lashing out wildly. Olly and I are reaching breaking point. Then I find a Polaroid picture hidden in one of the girl’s rooms: Hayley is lying about the night her mother died.  I need to find the truth – before anyone else does. Even if it means digging up the secrets that have held this family together for years. Even if it means revealing my own… But when I do, will there be anything left of this fragile family to save? 

The young girl trembles with fear as she stares at the gun pointed in her direction. She knows there’s no point in screaming. No one will hear her on the mountain. As thunder breaks overhead, she silently prays that someone will at least find her body so she can be returned to her parents. Detective Madison Harper’s heart aches when she attends a local support group for families of missing people in Lost Creek, Colorado. She wishes she could help them all, but one cold case in particular captures her attention. Five years ago, close friends Becky, Tasha and Stuart hiked the infamous Grave Mountain. But only Stuart returned. He claims they were separated by a storm, but the town has never believed him. Convinced Stuart is hiding something, Madison vows to find out what really happened. Just as Madison reopens the case, her blood runs cold when remains are discovered on the trail where the women were last seen. And when more bodies are discovered, Madison suspects she’s dealing with a serial killer who has used Grave Mountain as a dumping ground for years. How many more bodies are they about to unearth? Then, the case takes an agonizing turn when someone close to Madison is found brutally murdered. As she gets closer to cracking the case, a tip-off leads her back to the mountain, and she knows that if she’s going to catch the killer, she has to hike it alone. But as another storm closes in, Madison realizes she may have just walked into a trap that means she’ll never make it off the mountain alive… Grave Mountain is by Wendy Dranfield.

It feels like all the air has been knocked out of me. My best friend is dead, killed at her own daughter’s birthday party. All I want to do is run into my husband’s loving arms. But he’s in handcuffs, covered in her blood. His voice quivers, almost sobbing as officers put him in the police car. ‘You don’t think I did this, do you? I was trying to save her.’ At first, I’m sure he couldn’t have done it. The man I love wouldn’t hurt anyone. But as I try to prove that he didn’t murder Lucy, secrets begin unravelling… It starts with the messages between the two of them. Initially, they seem innocent enough. But the more I look, the more I become convinced they were having an affair. Then I find out about his divorce lawyer… Suddenly my whole life feels like a lie. If he was hiding his plan to leave me for Lucy, can I believe his protests that he is innocent? And if he really did murder his lover, what else is he capable of? My Perfect Marriage (AKA How Can I Trust You) is by A J Campbell.

A Body at The Dance Hall is by Marty Wingate. 1922. Amateur sleuth Mabel Canning is surrounded by the bright lights of London as she chaperones a young American woman to a dance. But when someone is murdered, a deadly tango begins… Meet plucky woman-about-town Mabel Canning, leader of the London Ladies’ Murder Club and trusted assistant to gentlewomen. When she is tasked with accompanying Roxy, a fun-loving heiress, on a glamorous night out, Mabel can’t wait to sip champagne and practice the foxtrot. But just as Roxy sashays out of sight, a mysterious man warns Mabel that the feisty young redhead is in danger. And someone is dead before the music stops... Roxy was the last person to see the victim alive, and she stumbles into Mabel’s arms with her daffodil-yellow dress splashed with blood. Determined to protect her ward, Mabel gathers her dashing beau Winstone and her pals from the murder club. Together they trace the weapon back to the ballroom, but when its twin goes missing, it is clear time is running out to prevent another murder on the dance floor… The police conclude the killer is in Roxy’s family, but Mabel finds herself spinning between a motley troupe of suspects. Mr Bryars, the anxious ballroom manager, is constantly tripping over himself to hide his secrets. But would he kill to protect his reputation? And young Ned Kettle may have looked dashing while waltzing around with Roxy, but he was once a notorious thief. Is the sticky-fingered rogue also a dab hand at murder? Just as Mabel and her murder club friends quickstep closer to the truth, Roxy is kidnapped, and Mabel comes cheek to cheek with the killer. Can she save poor Roxy and herself? Or has she danced her last dance?

My Husband's Affair is by Ruth Heald. We promised forever. But only one of us will leave this marriage alive… I thought I had the perfect marriage. But as our beautiful children sleep soundly in the next room, I stare at the messages between my husband Rob and another woman, their promises to run away together bringing tears to my eyes. My heart stops when I see the latest one: ‘Leave my wife to me. I’ll get rid of her.’ My blood runs cold. I know this woman. I’ve let her into my home, where she’s bounced my rosy-cheeked baby on her knee. She could ruin my life in moments – she knows things about me even Rob doesn’t… They think they can get rid of me so easily. They think they can just tear apart the perfect life we’ve built. But they've made a mistake underestimating me. He doesn't know I've uncovered his secrets. And now I know just enough to destroy him. I can play the perfect wife for just a little longer. I’ll do anything to protect my children and my life. And he has no idea just how far I’ll go…

Her body was found close to the university. She was on her way home after a night out. Just like in the story I wrote…  Every Monday, I meet my writing group in a warm, lively bar to drink a glass of wine or two. It’s the highlight of my week. But now something terrible is happening. At first, it didn’t seem like a big deal. My tires were slashed. A woman was hit by a car outside my apartment. Then, yesterday, someone was murdered. And all the details are copied from the stories we shared. Am I going mad, or is someone in my group a killer? I thought they were the only people I could trust, since what happened ten years ago. But now I’m terrified one of them knows the truth that lies buried in all my work—the secret I’ve tried so hard to hide. And they want to make me pay for it. I have to know who’s bringing my stories to life… but will the answer cost me everything?  The Writer is by Miranda Smith.

The Call is by Kerry Wilkinson. Your fiancé calls. ‘A little girl needs help.’ Then they both disappear… Melody gazes across the rippling lake to the trees on the shore, waiting for her fiancé Evan to arrive so their family holiday can begin. Here in this cabin in a small Canadian island town, there’s so much space for their son to play. It’s going to be perfect – just like the first time Melody visited as a child. But then a call from Evan shatters her world. ‘There’s someone in the road. I think it’s a little girl. She’s covered in mud. Or… is it blood?’ His voice becomes distant. ‘Are you OK? What’s your name?’ Then there’s a thud. Evan never arrives to the holiday cabin. Melody, and her son, are terrified and desperate for answers. But with miles of endless, empty forest, and no reports of a missing girl, what hope is there of finding Evan? The more questions Melody asks of the locals, the more she fears a terrible secret hides just out of sight. And the closer she gets to the truth, the more danger she is in…

The Anniversary is by Cole Baxter. I gaze across the candlelit table into the eyes of the man I love. It’s our anniversary dinner, a celebration of our marriage, of how far we’ve come. But within hours our romantic date has ended in murder… When I wake in a hospital bed, blinking under the blinding white lights, I hear someone saying there has been an accident. My heart misses a beat when I recognize my husband’s voice. He says I was driving the car. He says I’ve killed someone. I can’t breathe. I know I wasn’t the one behind the wheel. Tom was. The love of my life — the handsome, clever man I’ve been married to for five years — has betrayed me. But why? And on the anniversary of our wedding day… I need to uncover the secrets he’s been keeping. Before I lose my freedom — or my life…The Anniversary is by Cole Baxter. I gaze across the candlelit table into the eyes of the man I love. It’s our anniversary dinner, a celebration of our marriage, of how far we’ve come. But within hours our romantic date has ended in murder… When I wake in a hospital bed, blinking under the blinding white lights, I hear someone saying there has been an accident. My heart misses a beat when I recognize my husband’s voice. He says I was driving the car. He says I’ve killed someone. I can’t breathe. I know I wasn’t the one behind the wheel. Tom was. The love of my life — the handsome, clever man I’ve been married to for five years — has betrayed me. But why? And on the anniversary of our wedding day… I need to uncover the secrets he’s been keeping. Before I lose my freedom — or my life…

The harsh light streams into the living room. On the worn rug sits an out-of-place wooden drawer and swaddled inside, with rosy cheeks and large round eyes, a baby looks up at me. A shiver runs through me. It’s all I’ve ever wanted, but this baby is not mine. Rocking the small bundle in my arms, I’m reminded of a time when I’d pictured tiny booties in every version of my future. The day I was told I’d never have a baby, the ground fell from beneath me. Could this be my one chance to become a mother? As the sun sets, the baby begins to stir. His peaceful sleep disturbed by the sound of keys rattling against the front door. Frozen in panic, and with my heart pounding in my chest, I don’t have time to think before my husband, Miles, appears in the doorway. His face contorts in shock glimpsing the child cradled against my chest. I hear his questions, but I can’t answer them. The truth is, I really don’t know what happened. Did I steal the baby from a loving mother, or did I do it to protect him? And when dawn breaks, will I give him back? The Baby is by A J McDine.

His Last Wife is by Ruhi Choudhary. “Do not go in there, Anna. Never go in there.” The words ring in my head as I pick the lock to the only room in the house that the man I love tells me I’m not allowed to enter. Trembling as I step inside, I’m about to finally find out what happened to his last wife… Everyone thinks my life is bliss. The love of my life, Cary, and I live in our dream home and we have a beautiful little girl, Harper. I may not have given birth to her, but I’m her mommy now. But there’s one thing we never talk about… Cary’s wife before me, Presley, was perfect in every way. But she went missing a long time ago. Cary was distraught when he told me how she was abducted from her car, leaving behind a pool of blood. No one saw a thing. The neighbors are always gossiping about Presley. I try to ignore them, but one day I hear something that makes my stomach flip. Presley was abducted from her home. The home I now live in. Cary lied to me about the car. But why? As I search our beautiful home for answers, I stumble across Presley’s diary. My heart thunders in my chest as I discover the truth: Cary had something to do with his wife’s disappearance. And I’m terrified I might be next. But Cary doesn’t know that I have a secret too. He doesn’t know how far I’ve gone to get this perfect life, and how much further I’ll go to keep it…

The Honourable Cressida Fawcett is expecting the cathedral crypt to be full of dry old bones. But when she finds a body murdered just moments before, she’ll need divine inspiration to solve her most mysterious case yet… Winchester, 1925. When heiress and amateur sleuth Cressida Fawcett is invited to her aunt’s mansion on Cloister Close, she is looking forward to a quiet stay in the historic town. The views of the cathedral are heavenly – and her aunt’s maid, Nancy, makes devilishly good ginger biscuits! But it seems Cressy and her pug Ruby won’t be allowed to rest in peace… On a tour of the crypt, they are shocked to stumble across the body of Anthony, the gentle, devoted verger. And a wild-eyed Nancy is standing over him, bloodied candlestick in hand… Since Nancy was caught red-handed and the only other suspect is the Silent Friar, the legendary local ghost, Detective Andrews of Scotland Yard thinks the case is closed. But Nancy swears she would never have killed Anthony; they were in love. And while Cressy may not believe in ghosts, she does believe Nancy. So, whose soul is full of murder most foul? And will they strike again? As she digs through parishioner gossip, Cressy discovers that for a man of the cloth, the verger had a surprising number of enemies. Was a local antiques dealer driven to murder over an illegal trade in holy relics? Would the head bellringer kill to achieve his musical ambitions? Or is the saintly Dean, whose black-cloaked figure resembles the Silent Friar and whose wife recently drowned, hiding a deadly sin? The cathedral conceals many secrets, and it seems Cressy will need a miracle to uncover the truth. But then Cressy finds a hidden passageway to the crypt. Is this how the murderer escaped? The sceptical police lack faith in her theories, but can she catch the killer and save Nancy from the hangman’s noose? Or will she be too late to prevent another funeral march? Death in the Crypt is by Fliss Chester.

The moment she sees Caitlyn, wearing her ‘bride-to-be’ sash and brimming with excitement, it hits her. She hates Caitlyn. She knows who Little Miss Perfect really is – what she’s really hiding. And the temptation to do something about it is too strong to resist…  When the first bottle of prosecco pops open I breathe a sigh of relief. As maid-of-honour, I’ve worked so hard to organise my best friend Caitlyn’s big celebration before her wedding. Even though her schoolfriends are jealous they aren’t bridesmaids like me, and her sisters won’t make eye contact, I plaster a fake smile on my face and top up everyone’s glasses. Nothing will spoil this special weekend. But as we begin the cute husband-and-wife games, Caitlyn’s sister-in-law reveals something shockingly cruel. In the silence that follows, the little question cards I’d made drop, forgotten, to the floor. We’re supposed to be celebrating her upcoming wedding but Caitlyn’s lied to me for years. Her relationship is far from the magical dream she’d made it out to be. Suddenly, everyone in the room is arguing. All of our secrets and lies are exposed. It’s clear that none of us really know each other – or Caitlyn. The next morning I find Caitlyn, beautiful, pale and unmoving in her bed. The bride is dead. One of us killed her. But which devastating truth was dangerous enough to kill for? And with us all stuck here until the murderer is found, how long will it be until someone else gets hurt…?  The Bridal Party is by Maria Frankland.

Black Crow Cabin is by Peggy Webb. Rachel wakes up, gasping for breath, and immediately knows her children are in danger. The scent of magnolias is heavy in the air, which means the Collector is coming… Schoolteacher Rachel Logan is living an ordinary life in a small community at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. As a single mother still reeling from the sudden death of her husband, she refuses to allow her life to be shaken by whispers of a local thief called the Collector. But when a little boy and girl are taken, everything changes. On her isolated ranch on the edge of the forest, Rachel feels someone is watching her. The scent of magnolias clings to her bedsheets each morning, which her family’s gift tells her is a bad omen. And when a photograph is stolen from her house with a tarot card left in its place—the Collector’s twisted signature—she knows her children will be his next victims. Terrified, Rachel is relieved when her husband’s best friend Hank offers to move in to protect her family. Especially because she can feel something dark stirring in the woods just beyond her ranch. But it soon becomes clear that the Collector isn’t after her children, and has instead set his sights on Rachel… Can Rachel outwit an unimaginable evil before time runs out for two innocent children? And even if she does manage to save their lives, can a monster like the Collector ever be stopped?

 July 2024

It's the event of the year - the company summer party. Mel can't wait. Sun, sea, cocktails, her sights set on her work crush, and letting her hair down with her colleagues. One big happy family. What could go wrong? But as the Champagne flows and the sun begins to set, cracks in the team start to appear. Secrets, lies, revenge. No one is as innocent as they seem.  But could someone be guilty of murder? Mel soon realises someone is orchestrating a deadly plan. And she needs to uncover the truth if she's going to get out alive . . . The Summer Party is by Kate Gray.

August 2024

Abel Bac, a police officer, has been suspended from duty for unknown reasons. Haunted by a recurring nightmare, he walks the streets of Paris hoping to lose himself in the city, but somehow, he always finds his way home. Solitary by nature, he retreats from the extroversion of his new neighbour Elsa, and his former colleague Camille who is pained by her unrequited love for him. All that gives Abel comfort are the ninety-four orchids which populate his small apartment.  In museums across Paris something strange is happening. A white horse appears in the library of the Pompidou Centre. In a small museum, stuffed wolves are displayed in fine garments drinking tea. The police are baffled and Abel, who is somehow linked to it all, is becoming more and more unnerved.  Soon, the hidden darkness of his life will rise to the surface and lead him to Mila, the mysterious artist at the heart of this enigma. And it is not long before we discover that nothing about these events is coincidental. Artifice is by Claire Berest.

Ruby Johnson is a nanny and maid to wealthy families in Manhattan's West 74th Street. 
She knows their routines. Their secrets. One night, on her way home, Ruby witnesses a neighbour's murder. She knows the victim. She knows the killer. She makes an anonymous call to the police and names the murderer. But Ruby didn't tell the truth... Because there's something wrong with Ruby Johnson. Eddie Flynn, conman turned trial lawyer, must defend an innocent man accused of this terrible crime. As Ruby's deadly game begins, one thing is certain. It won't be the last murder this witness is involved in. Witness 8 is by Steve Cavanagh. 

Buried too Deep is by Karen Rose. Cora-Jane Winslow's father walked out on her family 23 years ago; his letters to her over the years the only connection she has had to him. When his body is discovered in an abandoned building, she is shocked to discover he has been dead all this time. What happened to him and who would cover up his murder by writing the letters? After his post-traumatic stress disorder forced him to run away from his life, Phin Bishop returns to the Burke Broussard Private Detective Agency, only to stumble upon an armed break-in. Cora-Jane is seen running from the building and his colleague Joy has been shot.  When it appears the shooting is related to Cora-Jane's father, the Agency step in to offer protection while they hunt for the perpetrator. Someone knows what really happened to Cora Jane's father and will stop at nothing to prevent their long-buried secrets being discovered . . .

Would you keep a secret for a stranger, if it meant the blood was on your hands? Celia, Juliette and Nadia are complete strangers with one thing in common: they have all been wronged by Ellis Cobain. A wealthy philanthropist on course for a knighthood, Ellis' public persona is bulletproof - but lurking beneath this veneer is a sinister side that only the women closest to him have seen. When they meet at a boutique hotel on the Cornish coast, brought together by the blind arrogance of their tormentor, they realise what connects them and form a pact: to blackmail him and free themselves from his grasp. But when he is discovered the next morning, murdered in cold blood, they are left scrambling. None of them knows who did it, and now they must desperately cover their tracks. Will they keep each other's secrets, now they are all implicated in his death? Will one turn on the others, when any of them could be next? The Last Time I saw Him is by Rachel Abbott.

September 2024

Going to the Dogs is by Pierre Lemaitre. With Mathilde, there is never a stray bullet, her work is clean and neat. Tonight was an exception. A little whim. Obviously, she could have taken the shot from a distance, done less damage; obviously she could have made the hit with a single bullet. What can I say? I don't know what came over me. This is what she will say if anyone asks. And anyway, who cares? All that matters is that the guy is dead, right?  1985. Paris. Sixty-three-year-old Mathilde Perrin is on another mission. A widow, mother and decorated hero of the Resistance, she is also a ruthless and skilled contract killer, and the most unlikely suspect. But tonight, something has changed. Mathilde is agitated, forgetful and impulsive - so much so that even Ludo, her loyal and long-suffering Dalmatian, has noticed a dangerous shift in her mood.  For Mathilde, retirement is not an option. And no superior, nor police detective nor meddling neighbour will stand in her way. But as Mathilde's mind unravels and the bodies pile up, how long will it take before the killer herself becomes the target?

It's a prize anyone would kill to win. Ten celebrities have arrived to take part in the most gruelling - and lucrative - reality survival show ever devised: two weeks completely alone on a remote Scottish island, in the depths of winter.  With a production team that seems incapable of keeping them safe, a gathering storm and the unrelenting gaze of hidden cameras, the contestants are stretched to the limit as they try and outshine their fellow competitors and hide their darkest secrets. But when a contestant winds up dead, it soon becomes clear that the players are not just fighting for the prize, but for their lives. Isolation Island is by Louise Minchin.

Twelve year old Phoebe's world is falling apart. It's the summer of 1985 and she has just buried her parents, a fire at their family home claiming both in a freak accident. Her life is uprooted in an instant, and she takes little solace in the fact that her uncle Louis and aunt Maude have generously offered to take her in at their home in the Welsh woods. Under the summer sun, though, Phoebe falls into the rhythm of life with her eccentric guardians in their curious idyllic home, the hum of her aunt Maude's beehives filling the air. While exploring the surrounding woods, she strikes up a friendship with a strange girl, Gwyneth, but when she mentions this to her aunt she tells Phoebe that there are no children by that name in the village. Over the course of the summer the two girls strike up a strong bond, though nobody else seems to believe that Gwyneth exists. Soon, Phoebe begins to see the woods for what they truly are - a strange place where the line between life and death is blurred, where spirits roam and secrets fester. But has she learned this truth too late to escape it? Broken Ghosts is by J D Oswald.

October 2024

A Reluctant Spy is by David Goodman. Jamie Tulloch is a successful exec at a top tech company, a long way from the tough upbringing that drove him to rise so far and so quickly. But he has a secret...since the age of 23, he's had a helping hand from the Legend Programme, a secret intelligence effort to prepare impenetrable backstories for undercover agents. Real people, living real lives, willing to hand over their identities for a few weeks in return for a helping hand with plum jobs, influence and access. When his tap on the shoulder finally comes, it's swiftly followed by the thud of a body. Arriving at a French airport ready to hand over his identity, Jamie finds his primary contact dead, the agent who's supposed to step into his life AWOL and his options for escape non-existent. Pitched into a deadly mission on hostile territory, Jamie must contend with a rogue Russian general, arms dealers, elite hackers, CIA tac-ops and the discovery of a brewing plan for war. Dangerously out of his depth, he must convince his sceptical mission handler he can do the job of a trained field agent while using his own life story as convincing cover. Can Jamie play himself well enough to avoid being killed - and to avert a lethal global conflict?

Guilty by Martina Cole and Jacqui Rose is due to be published in October.

November 2024

Thirty-one On The Run . . . Stephanie Plum, New Jersey's hardest working, most under-appreciated bounty hunter, returns with a bang in her latest adventure. While Stephanie's personal life is hanging by a thread, a killer case lands on her doorstep that changes everything. 

One of Us is Guilty is by Simon Kernick will be published in November.

It's 1952, and London is victorious but broken, a cityof war ruins and rationing, run by gangsters and black-market spivs. An elaborate midnight heist, the biggest robbery in British history, sends newspapers into afrenzy. Politicians are furious, the police red-faced. They have suspicions but no lead. For two families, it is more than just a sensational headline, as their fathers fail to return home on the day of the robbery. Young Addie Rowe, daughter of a missing Jamaican postman and drunk ex-club hostess mother, struggles to care for her little ssister ina dilapitaed Briston rooming house. Claire Martin increasingly rsentfu of roads not taken, strives to maake the rent and to keep her teenage son Ray from falling under unsavoury influences in Noting Dale. She finds herself caught between the interests of dangerous men who may the truth behind her husband's disappearance: Dave Lander, whose reserved nature she fnds difficult to reconcile with his reputation as a violent gang enforcer, and Teddy 'Mother' Nunn, sociopathic, evangelising outlaw and top lieutenant in Billy Hill's underworld. Drawn together through the years in the city's invisible web of crime and poverty, the fates of the broken families and violent men collide in 1958, as the West Indian community of Notting Hill's slums come under attack from thugs and Teddy Boys. For Addie, Claire, Dave and Mother, old scores will be settled and new dreams chased in the crucible of London's violent summer. White City is by Dominic Nolan.

One of my starting points for research for my novels is often reading what was written at the time. An absolute joy when writing a murder mystery set in the 1930s because it meant revisiting the Golden Age of crime, a time when female novelists ruled the genre. However, even with so many women in charge, there were very few female sleuths. Of course, from a practical point of view it makes sense. At a time when women were so constricted by social convention, not even able to open a bank account in their own name, it would have been very difficult for them to overcome those obstacles. Even Christie’s most well-known female sleuths get away with it for particular reasons: Jane Marple because she’s of a certain age, practically invisible so that people dismiss her as a threat; Tuppence Beresford who works alongside her husband Tommy.

Writing my accidental sleuth Lena Aldridge, who has had a run of the worst luck in terms of being close to murder on several occasions, I had some extra impediments to consider. A young woman who grew up in the East End of London, of mixed heritage, she’s not the usual Golden Age heroine. Her one advantage is that she’s a singer and actress. Used to playing a role and not minding if she’s the centre of attention, she survives a transatlantic crossing in her first outing, Miss Aldridge Regrets, by faking it. For the sequel, Harlem After Midnight, I began reading up on the women of the Harlem Renaissance. 

One of my favourite novels, Nella Larsen’s 1929 novel Passing, is considered a literary classic but it is also a psychological thriller. Two old acquaintances meet accidentally in a fancy hotel restaurant in Chicago after not seeing one another for years, both hiding the same secret: they’re both African American but light skinned enough to pass the hotel’s colour bar. While one of the women lives openly with her heritage, the other lives as a white woman with her openly racist husband. Of course, the rebirth of their friendship throws both women’s lives into chaos and a final tragedy that I pay homage to in Harlem After Midnight.

Larsen herself gave me permission to be freer with what Lena is able to get away with in 1930s Harlem. A former nurse and librarian, she was at the heart of the Harlem Renaissance despite her working-class background (most members of that group were of the Black middle class with university educations). After becoming the first African American woman to receive a Guggenheim Fellowship she travelled alone around Europe, staying for longer periods in Mallorca and Paris. 

If Nella Larsen could do these things, then so could Lena. What I love about history is its ability to surprise through the stories of individual people. Writing the women of the past is always interesting both in terms of those pioneers who were breaking all the rules and effecting change, but also in remembering how far we’ve come. 

Harlem After Midnight by Louise Hare.

1936, September 17th, 1am. In the middle of Harlem, in the dead of night, a woman falls from a second storey window. In her hand, she holds a passport and the name written on it is Lena Aldridge. Nine days earlier. Lena arrived in Harlem less than two weeks ago, full of hope for her burgeoning romance with Will Goodman, the handsome musician she met on board the Queen Mary. Will has arranged for Lena to stay with friends of his, and this will give her the chance to find out if their relationship is going anywhere. But there is another reason she's in Harlem – to find out what happened in 1908 to make her father flee to London. As Lena's investigations progress, not only does she realise her father lied to her, but the man she’s falling too fast and too hard for has secrets of his own. And those secrets have put Lena in terrible danger.

Harlem After Midnight by Louise Hare is published by HQ, HarperCollins in paperback, eBook and audiobook on the 11th April. 

More information about Louise Hare and her books can be found on her website. Louise Hare can also be found on “X” and on Instagram at @Lourhare. You can also find her on Facebook.

My novels often start with a little nugget of research and my second novel, ‘The Innocents’, was no different. Finding myself with time on my hands during lockdown, I came across a fascinating history of The Illustrated Police News by Linda Stratmann. And that’s where I read about the Victoria Hall disaster. 

On 16 June 1883, at the Victoria Hall in Sunderland, toys and prizes were thrown into the stalls at the end of a children’s matinee performance. Those in the upper galleries saw they were missing out and rushed downstairs, but their way was blocked by a bolted door, leaving a gap of just twenty-two inches to squeeze through. Barely enough space for one child, never mind hundreds, and nobody realised in time exactly what was happening. The rush of children from the galleries resulted in the death by suffocation of 183 children. Frederick Graham, a caretaker on that fateful day, saved some 600 children by diverting them to another exit. 

The Victoria Hall disaster was not a one-off. In 1849, at the Theatre Royal in Glasgow, 65 people died. In 1878 a false cry of ‘fire’ at the Colosseum Theatre in Liverpool led to the deaths of 37 people. Nine years later, a fire broke out at the Theatre Royal in Exeter and 186 people died.

One of the things that facilitated tragedies like these was the sheer numbers of people who attended theatres and music halls in the 19th century. For a long time there were no limits on how many people could be admitted, so a venue ostensibly for an audience of 400 might well pack in as many as 2000 people on a busy night. And if someone shouted ‘fire’, or if performers started hurling toys into the audience, there were no procedures in place to manage the crowds. 

I started asking around, and almost no-one had heard of the Victoria Hall tragedy. Only people who lived locally, or who had a knowledge of theatre history, were aware of what happened. I wondered how such terrible events could be all but forgotten. The inquest into Victoria Hall found no-one responsible. Was this because music halls were seen as largely the province of the working classes? Some of the newspaper illustrations of the tragedy show the children as wild-eyed and manic in their rush to get down to the stalls, with the suggestion they were perhaps culpable in what happened.

It got me thinking about what it would have been like to survive such an incident, particularly when no-one was made to pay for their part in it all. The groundwork for ‘The Innocents’ was laid, where a series of apparently unconnected murders all lead back to one terrible day. I’ve taken a bit of poetic license, changing the date and the location, but the details of the tragedy remain largely the same. And a fictionalised Frederick Graham makes an appearance, acknowledging his heroic actions.

The Innocents by Bridget Walsh (Gallic Books) Out Now

The Variety Palace Music Hall is in trouble, due in no small part to a gruesome spate of murders that unfolded around it a few months previously. Between writing, managing the music hall and trying to dissuade her boss from installing a water tank in the building, Minnie Ward has her hands full. Her complicated relationship with detective Albert Easterbrook doesn’t even bear thinking about.  But when a new string of murders tears through London, Minnie and Albert are thrown together once more. Strangely, the crimes seem to link back to a tragedy that took place fourteen years ago, leaving 183 children dead. And given that the incident touched so many people’s lives, everyone is a suspect . . .

More information about Bridget Walsh and her books can be found on her website. She can also be found on “X” at @bridget_walsh1

With the paperback of The Wild Coast due to be published on 11^th April 2024 Lin Anderson talks about the Dr Rhona MacLeod and forensics. 

Driftnet, the first book to feature forensic scientist Dr Rhona MacLeod was published in 2003. The Wild Coast, the latest and the hardback of no 17 in the series was published twenty years later on the 3rd August 2023.

How has the world of forensics changed during that time?

The story of Rhona MacLeod…

My father was a Detective Inspector in Greenock when I was growing up. He never spoke about his job to his three daughters, but my mother was his confidant when dark things were happening and they would go into the kitchen to talk with the door firmly shut.

With three teenage daughters, my dad had lots to worry about. One of his favourite warnings to me was…I know what men are like, Linda.

One of his deepest concerns was that he might turn up at a scene of crime to discover one of his daughters as a victim. That fear of his became the catalyst for writing Driftnet.

I imagined someone turning up at the scene of a murder only to discover the victim is linked to them. I wondered who that someone would be. In most novels, it would be a male detective, like my dad. For some reason, I thought of a former Maths pupil of mine, Emma Hart who had gone to university to study forensic science, which back then was in its infancy. She had graduated and was now working with the forensic services in London.

So in that serendipity moment, I thought I would have a female forensic scientist and that she would think the teenage victim looked so like her, he might be the son she gave up for adoption seventeen years before.

Needless to say I knew nothing about forensic science at the time, so I set about trying to buy a book on the subject. In the current Waterstones on Princes Street, Edinburgh, back then known as Ottakers, I found only one book on the subject, The Encyclopedia of Forensic Science, which I have to this day.

Fortunately, I was also able to call on Emma, to point out what things I did right or wrong.

Driftnet became Ottakers book of the month and launched my career. I also found I loved the world of forensic science which married well with my other teaching subject of Computing Science. I fell in love with my little cast of characters, Rhona, Chrissy her side kick, DS Michael McNab, DI Wilson (who was based on my father) and Orcadian psychologist Professor Magnus Pirie(I used to live in Orkney…it’s a great place). Hence the series was born.

I didn’t make the decision to set each book in a given year and move forward in real time, like Ian Rankin did with Rebus. In truth, I hadn’t planned to write a series at all. So I just had each story start where the previous one ended. This is indicated by the season. So roughly speaking during her time in the spotlight, Rhona has aged about four years.

Shortly after Driftnet was published, I took an evening course at my former university of Glasgow entitled ‘Diploma in Forensic Science’, offered to those who might have to give evidence in court, such as police officers, mortuary technicians, social workers etc…and any other interested parties. I decided that was me and I applied. I then discovered my partner in crime (and co founder of Bloody Scotland with me), Alex Gray had also spotted the advert. After which we spent many happy hours listening to the real experts in the field of forensic science.

The experts I met through that course, together with my carefully preserved notes allow me to continue with Rhona up to now.

The Wild Coast by Lin Anderson (Pan Macmillan) PB Published 11 April 2024

A remote shoreline. A lethal killer. As lone visitors disappear from the rural northwest of Scotland, campsites are becoming crime scenes. When forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod is brought in to analyse a shallow grave on Scotland's west coast, she is disturbed by a bundle of twigs crafted into a stickman and left in the victim's mouth. Then, when a young woman is reported missing from a nearby campsite with another sinister figurine left in her van, it seems that someone is targeting wild campers. An idyllic coastline known for providing peace and serenity, now the area is a hunting ground. As her investigation proceeds, Rhona is forced to reconsider her closest bonds. Rumours of sexual assault offences by serving police officers are circling in Glasgow, which may include her trusted colleague DS Michael McNab. Could it be true, or is someone looking to put him out of action? All the while a young woman's life is on the line and the clock is ticking...

Whispers of the Dead is the eighteenth book in the Dr Rhona McLeod series is due to be published in August 2024.

Whispers of the Dead by Lin Anderson (Pan Macmillan) Published 1st August 2024.

A gangland slaying. A missing movie star. When an actor goes missing in Glasgow, the clue to his whereabouts could be in the film script itself.  In the dead of night, a man’s body is found strapped to a chair in Glasgow’s Elder Park, his identity unknown. As forensic scientist Rhona MacLeod examines the scene, the violence on display suggests a gangland feud could be the cause. At the post-mortem, a bullet engraved with a snake’s head is found in the man’s stomach, lending weight to the theory. Elsewhere in the city, a major Hollywood movie is being filmed. But shooting comes to a standstill when its lead actor is reported missing. As the news spreads, Police Scotland believe the two cases may be connected. DS Michael McNab thinks the key to finding those responsible could be the film itself. A storyline playing out in real-life on the streets of Glasgow with a killer intent on revenge at any cost. A vendetta which must be paid in blood . . .

More information about Lin Anderson and her books can be found on her website. You can also find her on “X” @Lin_Anderson on Instagram @Linandersonwriter and on Facebook.

OVERALL CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

NONE OF THIS IS TRUE by Lisa Jewell

THE SECRET HOURS by Mick Herron

IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE by Jo Callaghan

STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND by Liz Nugent

FEARLESS by M W Craven

THE SILENT MANby David Fennell

THE RULE OF THREE by Sam Ripley

THE ONLY SUSPECT by Louise Candlish

THE HOUSE HUNT by C. M. Ewan

HISTORICAL BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

DEATH OF A LESSER GOD by Vaseem Khan

THE SQUARE OF SEVENS by Laura Shepherd-Robinson

THE MURDER WHEEL by Tom Mead

THE GOOD LIARS by Anita Frank

THE HOUSE OF WHISPERS by Anna Mazzola

TRUE CRIME BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

NO ORDINARY DAY by Matt Johnson

MY GIRL by Michelle Hadaway

VITAL ORGANS by Suzie Edge

UNLAWFUL KILLINGS: LIFE, LOVE AND MURDER: TRIALS AT THE OLD BAILEY by Her Honour Wendy Joseph QC

ORDER OUT OF CHAOS by Scott Walker

AUDIO BOOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

THE RUNNING GRAVE by Robert Galbraith (narrated by Robert Glenister)

THE LAST GOODBYE by Tim Weaver (narrated by Joe Coen, Brendan MacDonald, Peter Noble, Dominic Thorburn and Candida Gubbins)

THE BEDROOM WINDOW by K. L. Slater (narrated by Clare Corbett)

CONVICTION by Jack Jordan (narrated by Sophie Roberts)

OVER MY DEAD BODY by Maz Evans (narrated by Maz Evans)

GENRE -BUSTING BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

INK BLOOD SISTER SCRIBE by Emma Torzs

THE MYSTERIOUS CASE OF THE ALPERTON ANGELS by Janice Hallett

KILLING JERICHO by William Hussey

MURDER IN THE FAMILY by Cara Hunter

THE LOOKING GLASS SOUND by Catriona Ward

DEBUT BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023

DEATH OF A BOOKSELLER by Alice Slater

THE LIST by Yomi Adegoke

GENEVA by Richard Armitage

THE BANDIT QUEENS by Parini Shroff

THIRTY DAYS OF DARKNESS by Jenny Lund Madsen

Voting is now open and you can vote for your favourite book here.

Left Coast Crime 2024 presented the four Lefty Awards at the 34th annual convention in Bellevue, Washington: Humorous, Historical, Debut, and Best. The awards were voted on at the convention and presented at the banquet on Saturday, 13^th April at the Hyatt Regency in Bellevue. 

The Lefty nominees have been selected by convention registrants, and LCC is delighted to announce the 2024 Lefty Award winners for books published in 2023:

Lefty for Best Humorous Mystery Novel: 

Cheap Trills by Wendall Thomas (‎Beyond the Page Books)

Lefty for Best Historical Mystery Novel for books set before 1970 (Bill Gottfried Memorial):

Evergreen by Naomi Hirahara (Soho Crime)

Lefty for Best Debut Mystery Novel:

Mother-Daughter Murder Night by Nina Simon (William Morrow)

Lefty for Best Mystery Novel:  

Hide by Tracy Clark (Thomas & Mercer)

The Left Coast Crime Convention is an annual event sponsored by mystery fans, both readers and authors. Held in the western half of North America, LCC’s intent is to host an event where readers, authors, critics, librarians, publishers, and other fans can gather in convivial surroundings to pursue their mutual interests. Lefty Awards have been given since 1996. 

For all you puzzle enthusiasts that fell in love with volume 1 and volume 2 of Murdle you will be pleased to know that there will be a third volume of these exceedingly fiendish puzzles being released in May 2024.

G T Karber will be appearing this year at CrimeFest where he will be hosting a special Murdle event on CrimeFest's opening night. 

He will also take part in a panel on Columbo, alongside fellow aficionados of the iconic TV show, Laura Lippman, and Vaseem Khan, chair of the Crime Writers’ Association (CWA)

There will also be another X competition taking place to celebrate the launch of the third volume so do look out for a tweet about the competition on X.

G.T Karber’s third instalment, Murdle: Even More Killer Puzzles is published on 9 May by Souvenir Press.

CrimeFest, one of Europe’s leading crime writing conventions, has announced the shortlists for its annual awards.

The 2024 CrimeFest Award Shortlists in full:

SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD

In association with headline sponsor, the Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award is for debut authors first published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The winning author receives a £1,000 prize. 

Death Under a Little Sky by Stig Abell (Hemlock Press/HarperCollins)

In The Blink Of An Eye  by Jo Callaghan (Simon & Schuster)

The Messenger by Megan Davis  (Zaffre)

Thirty Days of Darkness by Jenny Lund Madsen translated by Megan Turney (Orenda Books)

Needless Alley by Natalie Marlow (Baskerville)

Death of a Bookseller by Alice Slater  (Hodder & Stoughton)

H.R.F. KEATING AWARD

The H.R.F. Keating Award is for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction first published in the United Kingdom in 2023. The award is named after H.R.F. ‘Harry’ Keating, one of Britain’s most esteemed crime novelists, crime reviewers and writer of books about crime fiction.

Contemporary European Crime Fiction: Representing History and Politics by M, J, F & A Dall'Asta, Migozzi, Pagello & Pepper (Palgrave)

Ocular Proof and the Spectacled Detective in British Crime Fiction by Lisa Hopkins (Palgrave)

 How To Survive a Classic Crime Novel  by Kate Jackson (British Library Publishing)

Love Me Fierce In Danger: The Life of James Ellroy by Steven Powell (Bloomsbury Academic)

Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare (Harvill Secker)

The Secret Life of John Le Carré by Adam Sisman (Profile Books)

LAST LAUGH AWARD

The Last Laugh Award is for the best humorous crime novel first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

The Last Dance by Mark Billingham (Sphere)

The Great Deceiver by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)

The Secret Hours by Mick Herron  (Baskerville)

Mr Campion's Memory by Mike Ripley (Severn House)

Vera Wong's Unsolicited Advice for Murderers by Jesse Sutanto (HQ)

The Beaver Theory by Antti Tuomianen  (Orenda Books)

eDUNNIT AWARD 

For the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format in the United Kingdom in 2023.

Don't Look Away by Rachel Abbott (Wildfire)

The Close by -Jane Casey (HarperCollins)

Sepulchre Street by Martin Edwards(Head of Zeus)

Murder at Bletchley Park by Christina Koning (Allison & Busby)

Prom Mom by Laura Lippman (Faber & Faber)

The Devil's Playground by Craig Russell (Constable)

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR CHILDREN

This award is for the best crime novel for children (aged 8-12) first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

Mysteries At Sea: Peril On The Atlantic by A.M. Howell  (Usborne Publishing)

The Detention Detectives by Lis Jardine  (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

The Swifts by Beth Lincoln (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

 The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in the School by Marcus Rashford (with Alex Falase-Koya) (Macmillan Children's Books)

The Ministry of Unladylike Activity 2: The Body in the Blitz by Robin Stevens (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Portraits and Poison by J.T. Williams (illustrated by Simone Douglas) (Farshore)

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS

This award is for the best crime novel for young adults (aged 12-16) first published in the United Kingdom in 2023.

The Brothers Hawthorne by Jennifer Lynn Barnes  (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

Promise Boys by Nick Brooks (Macmillan Children's Books)

This Book Kills by Ravena Guron (Usborne Publishing)

Catch Your Death by Ravena Guron (Usborne Publishing)

One of Us is Back by Karen M. McManus (Penguin Random House Children's UK)

Stateless by Elizabeth Wein (Bloomsbury YA)

THALIA PROCTOR MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED TV CRIME DRAMA

This award is for the best television crime drama based on a book, and first screened in the UK in 2023. 

Dalgliesh (series 2), based on the Inspector Dalgliesh books by P.D. James (Channel 5)

Reacher (series 2), based on the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child (Amazon Prime)

Shetland (series 8), based on the Shetland books by Ann Cleeves (BBC)

Slow Horses (series 3), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron (Apple)

The Serial Killer's Wife, based on the Serial Killer books by Alice Hunter (Paramount+)

Vera (series 12), based on the Vera Stanhope books by Ann Cleeves (ITV)

The 2024 longlists for the prestigious Crime Writers’ Association (CWA) Dagger awards, which honour the very best in the crime-writing genre, have been announced [8pm, April 20 at the CWA annual conference, Brighton].

Created in 1955, the world-famous CWA Daggers are the oldest awards in the genre and have been synonymous with quality crime writing for over half a century.

Past winners of the prestigious Gold Dagger, which is awarded for the best crime novel of the year, include Ian Rankin, John le Carré, Reginald Hill, and Ruth Rendell.

Authors in contention for the Gold Dagger this year include the debut novel Black River from Nilanjana Roy. She is up against stalwarts of the genre Mick Herron, Chris Hammer, and Dennis Lehane.

Also in the category are historical crime writer Alis Hawkins, the journalist turned international bestseller, Julia Haeberlin, and the bestselling children’s author Maz Evans with her first adult debut novel, Over My Dead Body. 

The Ian Fleming Steel Dagger, sponsored by Ian Fleming Publications Ltd, showcases the thriller of the year.

The longlist for 2024 includes James Wolff, who was a British intelligence officer for over ten years before leaving to write espionage novels, with The Man in the Corduroy Suit.

He’s joined by giants of the genre Linwood Barclay, David Baldacci, and Karin Slaughter alongside relative newcomers such as Jordan Harper, whose second thriller, Everybody Knows, makes the longlist. 

Also in contention are TJ Newman, the former flight attendant who became a Hollywood sensation with her latest thriller, Drowning, and Japanese author Isaka Kotaro for The Mantis; Kotaro is best-known for Bullet Train, which was adapted into a Brad Pitt movie.

Vaseem Khan, Chair of the Crime Writers’ Association, said: "As ever, the announcement of the CWA Daggers longlist is greeted with immense excitement in the crime and thriller writing world. Once again, our independent panels of expert judges have mulled, cogitated, debated, and, when all else has failed, challenged each other to duels, in their sterling efforts to pick longlists from the incredible array of books submitted to each Dagger. The Daggers are the gold standard of awards in the genre, and Dagger recognition has often served as a stepping stone for careers. More importantly, a Dagger longlisting means that genre readers can be assured of quality. Buy these books. You will not be disappointed."

The much-anticipated John Creasey (New Blood) Dagger highlights the best debut novels.

Among the rising stars of 2024 is Jo Callaghan with her BBC Between the Covers Book Club pick, The Blink of an Eye; the sensational fiery debut featuring a crime-solving queer punk nun, Scorched Grace by Margot Douaihy, and the Victorian gothic, The Tumbling Girl from Bridget Walsh.

Booker Prize winner John Banville is a heavyweight contender on the Historical Dagger longlist. The prizewinning novelist and literary polymath is in the running foriThe Lock-Up. Banville is up against established names including Ambrose Parry, S.G. MacLean, Alis Hawkins, and James Lee Burke with Flags on the Bayou.

The Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger includes international hits such as The Prey from the Icelandic author Yrsa Sigurðardóttir’s, translated by Victoria Cribb.

Maud Ventura’s My Husband, translated by Emma Ramadan, which was a sensation in France, likened to Patricia Highsmith and Gone Girl. And the Spanish writer Javier Castillo behind the international phenomenon, The Snow Girl, which was adapted to screen by Netflix, translated by Isabelle Kaufeler.

The ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction includes Nicholas Shakespeare’s Ian Fleming: The Complete Man, The Art Thief by Michael Finkel, the true story of the world’s most prolific art thief who accumulated a collection worth over $1.4 billion, and No Comment by Jess McDonald, who quit her job as a Met detective to tell all about her work on rape and domestic violence cases that left her with PTSD and a determination to speak out.

The CWA Daggers are one of the few high-profile awards that honour the short story.

This year sees the bestselling juggernaut Lee Child with his story Safe Enough. He’s up against Robert Scragg with Revenge is Best Served Hot, Sanjida Kay’s The Divide, and Rachel Amphlett with Three Ways to Die.

The Dagger in the Library nominees are voted by librarians and library users, chosen for the author’s body of work and support of libraries. This year sees firm favourites from the genre including MW Craven, Anthony Horowitz, Vaseem Khan, and LJ Ross.

The Best Crime and Mystery Publisher of the Year Dagger, which celebrates publishers and imprints demonstrating excellence and diversity in crime writing, pits big publishing houses including Harper Fiction Headline and Simon & Schuster against independent publishers Joffe Books, Bitter Lemon Press and Canelo. 

The Debut Dagger, which has been going for over 20 years, celebrates aspiring crime novelists.

The competition is open to unpublished authors, and is judged on the best opening for an unpublished crime novel. The winner will gain the attention of leading agents and top editors; over two dozen past winners and shortlisted Debut Dagger authors have signed publishing deals to date.

The CWA Diamond Dagger, awarded to an author whose crime-writing career has been marked by sustained excellence, is announced in early spring and in 2024 it was jointly awarded to Lynda La Plante and James Lee Burke.

The CWA Dagger shortlists will be announced on 10 May at the UK’s largest crime fiction convention, CrimeFest, hosted in Bristol.

The winners will be announced at the award ceremony at the CWA gala dinner on 4 July 2024 

The Longlists in Full:

Dead Man’s Creek by Chris Hammer, (Wildfire Books)

A Bitter Remedy by Alis Hawkins, (Canelo)

Night Will Find You by Julia Haeberlin, (Penguin, Michael Joseph)

The Secret Hours, by Mick Herron (Baskerville, John Murray)

The White Lie by J G Kelly (Hodder & Stoughton)

 Death of a Lesser God, by Vaseem Khan (Hodder & Stoughton

Small Mercies by Dennis Lehane (Abacus, Little Brown)

Tell me What I Am, by Una Mannion (Faber & Faber)

 Homecoming by Kate Morton, (Mantle, Pan Macmillan)

Black River, by Nilanjana Roy (Pushkin Vertigo)

Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, by Jesse Sutanto (HQ ,Harper Collins)

 Simply Lies, by David Baldacci (Macmillan Pan Macmillan)

 The Lie Maker, by Linwood Barclay (HQ HarperCollins)

All the Sinners Bleed, by S A Cosby (Headline, Hachette)

Ozark Dogs, by Eli Cranor  (Headline Hachette)

The House Hunt by C M Ewan  (Macmillan, Pan Macmillan)

Everybody Knows, by Jordan Harper (Faber & Faber)

The Mantis by Kotaro Isaka, (Harvill Secker, Penguin Random House) 

Gaslight by Femi Kayode (Raven Books, Bloomsbury)

 77 North by D L Marshall, (Canelo)

Drowning, by T J Newman (Simon & Schuster)

After that Night, by Karin Slaughter (HarperCollins)

The Man in the Corduroy Suit, by James Wolff (Bitter Lemon Press

A Most Unusual Demise by Kathryn Black  (Bloodhound Books)

In The Blink of An Eye, by Jo Callaghan  (Simon & Schuster UK)

The Golden Gate by Amy Chua, (Corvus, Atlantic Books)

Scorched Grace, by Margot Douaihy (Pushkin Vertigo)

Murder By Natural Causes, by Helen Erichsen (Muswell Press)

The Maiden, by Kate Foster (Mantle Pan Macmillan)

The Golden Spoon, by Jessa Maxwell (Penguin)

West Heart Kill, by Dann McDorman (Raven Books)

Obsessed, by Liza North (Constable)

Go Seek by Michelle Teahan (Headline)

The Other Half, by Charlotte Vassell (Faber & Faber)

The Tumbling Girl by Bridget Walsh, (Gallic Books)

Clara & Olivia, by Lucy Ashe (Magpie, Oneworld Publications)

The Lock-Up by John Banville  Faber & Faber

Flags on the Bayou, by James Lee Burke  Orion Fiction (Hachette)

Murder in the Bookshop by Anita Davison (Boldwood Books)

Harlem After Midnight by Louise Hare  (HQ, HarperCollins)

A Bitter Remedy by Alis Hawkins (Canelo)

Viper's Dream by Jake Lamar (No Exit Press)

The Winter List by S.G. MacLean (Quercus Fiction, Quercus)

The Murder Wheel by Tom Mead (Aries Head of Zeus)

Scarlet Town by Leonora Nattrass (Viper, Profile Books)

Voices of the Dead by Ambrose Parry (Canongate Books)

Lady MacBethad by Isabelle Schuler (Raven Books, Bloomsbury)

The Snow Girl by Javier Castillo (translated by Isabelle Kaufeler), Penguin Books

Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado, (translated by Nick Caistor,) Macmillan

The Girl By The Bridge by Arnaldur Indridason (translated by Philip Roughton,) Vintage

The Mantis by Kotaro Isaka, (translated by Sam Malissa,) Vintage

The Sins Of Our Fathers by translated by Frank Perry), Maclehose Press

Thirty Days Of Darkness, by Jenny Lund Madsen (translated by Megan E.Turney), Orenda Books

Nothing Is Lost, by Cloé Mehdi (translated by Howard Curtis), Europa Editions UK

He Murder Of Anton Livius, by Schneider Hansjörg (translated by Astrid Freuler), Bitter Lemon Press

The Consultant, by Im Seong-sun (translated by An Seong Jae,) Raven Books

Not Russian by Mikhail Shevelev (translated by Brian James Baer & Ellen Vayner), Europa Editions UK

The Prey by Yrsa Sigurdardottir (translated by Victoria Cribb), Hodder & Stoughton

My Husband by Maud Ventura (translated by Emma Ramadan,) Hutchinson Heinemann

The Art Thief, by Michael Finkel (Simon & Schuster)

G-Man, by Beverly Gage (Simon & Schuster)

The Many Lives of Mama Love, by Lara Love Hardin (Endeavour)

No Ordinary Day by Matt Johnson with John Murray  (Ad Lib Publishers)

Chasing Shadows by Miles Johnson, (The Bridge Street Press)

The Snakehead by Patrick Radden Keefe (Picador)

Devil’s Coin by Jennifer McAdam with Douglas Thompson  (Ad Lib Publishers Ltd)

No Comment by Jess McDonald (Raven Books)

Seventy Times Seven by Alex Mar (Bedford Square Publishers)

How Many More Women? By Jennifer Robinson & Keina Yoshida  (Endeavour)

Ian Fleming: The Complete Man by Nicholas Shakespeare, (Vintage)

Murder at Home, by David Wilson (Sphere)

Three Ways to Die by Rachel Amphlett from No W.W.M.  - Thrill Ride #3, edited by M. L. "Matt" Buchman, (Buchman Bookworks, Inc)

Safe Enough by Lee Child from An Unnecessary Assassin, edited by Lorraine Stevens, (Rivertree)

The Last Best Thing by Mia Dalia from Bang!:An Anthology of Modern Noir Fiction, edited by Andrew Hook, (Head Shot Press)

Slap Happy by Andrew Humphrey from Bang!:An Anthology of Modern Noir Fiction edited by Andrew Hook, (Head Shot Press)

The Also-Rans by Benedict J Jones from Bang!:An Anthology of Modern Noir Fiction edited by Andrew Hook, (Head Shot Press)

The Divide by Sanjida Kay from The Book of Bristol edited by Joe Melia and Heather Marks, (Comma Press)

The Spendthrift and the Swallow, by Ambrose Parry (Canongate Books)

 Drive Bye by DG Penny from An Unnecessary Assassin edited by Lorraine Stevens, (Rivertree)

Best Served Cold by FD Quinn from An Unnecessary Assassin edited by Lorraine Stevens, (Rivertree)

Revenge is Best Served Hot  by Robert Scragg from An Unnecessary Assassin edited by Lorraine Stevens, (Rivertree)

Louise Candlish 

MW Craven

Lucy Foley

Cara Hunter

Anthony Horowitz

Vaseem Khan

Angela Marsons

Kate Rhodes

LJ Ross 

Diane Saxon

Bitter Lemon Press

Canelo

Harper Fiction (HarperCollins)

Harvill Secker (PenguinRandomHouse)

Headline (Hachette)

Joffe Books

Michael Joseph (PenguinRandomHouse)

Pushkin Press

Raven (Bloomsbury)

Simon & Schuster

Burnt Ranch by Katherine Ahlert,

Unnatural Predators by Caroline Arnoul

Vilomah by Matt Coot

Good Criminals by Judy Hock

Vigilante Love Song by JR Holland

Bluebirds by Alan Jackson

Makoto Murders by Richard Jerram

Long Way Home by Lynn McCall, 

Not a Good Mother by Karabi Mitra

The Last Days of Forever by Jeremy Tinker

A Politician’s Guide to Murder by James Tobin 

The Blond by Megan Toogood

By the late 1990s, I was working as a Prisoner Custody Officer in the cells and court rooms of London’s Magistrates and Crown Courts. When you’re standing in the dock at the Old Bailey, right beside someone on trial for murder, you watch them as closely as you watch the jury filing back in to deliver their verdict. After years of studying jurors’ body language, I generally knew what the verdict would be, before the foreman/forewoman said ‘guilty’ or ‘not guilty’. It was a job that I loved, but again, it came at a cost. Having been assaulted more times than you can shake a stick at, I still suffer wrist pain from the time a six-foot Thai boxer, who I was handcuffed to, decided to drag me to the floor. All the ‘how to restrain a prisoner’ techniques that I’d been taught, went out of the window. Luckily for me however, as we both fell, he ended up underneath me. So, I decided to sit on him and that’s where I stubbornly remained, until my colleagues arrived to help. When they asked me what had happened, I simply replied, ‘He was kicking off, so I dropped him.’ They thought I was cool. Did I ever admit to them what had really happened? Of course I did. Eventually.

Then there was the defendant who started to catch butterflies, while I stood next to him in the dock at Horseferry Road Magistrates Court. Just to clarify, there were no butterflies in the court room, just this guy hallucinating, or pretending to. The Magistrate remanded him in custody for psychiatric reports, but this fella refused to leave the dock. The Magistrate was furious and I may have panicked. Not wanting to cause a scene, I did the only thing I could think of. I picked him up and carried him out of the court room. (The defendant, not the Magistrate. Although that would have been fun.)

This reminds me of another prisoner who was six foot five and about thirty stone (and I’m not exaggerating). I was alone with him, and he was refusing to go into his cell. He could have flicked me away like a bug and I knew it. And so did he. I had two choices. Choice one was to single-handedly try to drag him into the cell, which was probably going to hurt (me, not him). Choice two was to offer him a cup of tea and a cigarette if he complied. There was only one problem with these two choices. I was stubborn and refused to ever let a prisoner intimidate me. And I NEVER backed down. So, I went for the only other choice that I could think of, humour. I put my hands on my hips and smiling broadly, I looked up at him and said, ‘You can either walk into your cell like a man, or I will drop you right here on the floor and drag you in there, screaming like a baby.’ From his lofty height, he frowned down at me. Then, he placed an enormous hand on my shoulder, burst out laughing and replied. ‘Well, you’re either really brave or really crazy.’ And he was still laughing as he turned, walked into his cell, and sat down.

Then there was a prisoner who was brought in for rape. Multiple rapes. His whole demeanour had me fooled for a while. The first time he arrived in court, I actually turned to my colleague and said, ‘Do you think the police might have the wrong guy?’ Don’t get me wrong, I had dealt with thousands of prisoners, watched them, talked to them, learned their tricks, listened to their lies. I was no fool, but this guy was hauntingly deceptive. In court, he carried himself with such a compelling and frightening ‘air of innocence’, that I wondered just how many other people in the court room that day, thought the same as me. That this guy could be innocent. He came back a week later and everything about him had completely changed. He literally made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. They hadn’t got the wrong guy. He was a monster, a monster who’d been caught. Eventually convicted and sentenced to life, he is deemed to be one of the worst sexual predators this country has ever seen. He had fooled me, just as he had fooled his victims.

Having left the courts of London, I went on to spend 14 years with Norfolk Police, working as a Case Investigator in the Domestic Violence Unit. Far too many stories of the abuse that the victims I dealt with, still echo in my ears today. I will never forget how I felt every day, arriving at work, hoping and praying that the victims I had been dealing with, had not been murdered overnight. Domestic abuse can happen to anyone, regardless of age, sex, or social standing. I have dealt with far too many victims, from all walks of life. Even serving police officers.

So, when I write, I write about what I know. I will never use actual cases in my novels, but I will use my experience in life and the Criminal Justice system, to bring stories of crime to the reader. Stories with an echo of the raw truth of real life. My characters will never be directly based on anyone that I know or have met. But maybe part of them pours out of me and onto the pages that I write.

When I finished my debut crime fiction novel, Long Time Dead, with DI Sheridan Holler at the heart of it, I knew that it had to be a series because I could never let her go. She is a detective with a strong moral compass and isn’t afraid to push the boundaries in order to get justice. Long Time Dead is out now, set in Liverpool and the Wirral and published by Thomas and Mercer. The second in the series, This Ends Now, is out in October 2024 and the third will be published in April 2025.

Long Time Dead is by Tina Payne (Thomas & Mercer) Out April 2024

A cold case that is no longer cold. A suspect who's been murdered. A silenced witness. DI Sheridan Holler is used to solving crimes on Liverpool’s streets, but after a decayed corpse turns up in a cemetery, she finds herself reopening not one but two cold cases. Seven years earlier, two women were gunned down and the only suspect, small-time drug dealer John Lively, was never seen again. Case closed. Until the body in the cemetery is identified as his. Holler needs to work out if Lively was killed out of revenge, or was just a victim of the criminal world he inhabited. When shocking evidence is revealed about the murder weapon, Holler’s cold case starts to look hopeless once more. But defeat is not an option. Driven by the unsolved and traumatic murder of her brother when they were children, DI Holler’s pursuit of justice is relentless. As old wounds are reopened, the police close in on the killer, but the threat of them striking again is all too real. Can DI Holler put the pieces of the puzzle together before anyone else winds up dead?

You can find T M Payne on X @Tinap66payne