Archives de catégorie : Crime & Thrillers

FAITH OF THEIR FATHERS de Samuel Sargeant

A gripping and taut Icelandic historical thriller by debut author Samuel M. Sargeant.

FAITH OF THEIR FATHERS
by Samuel Sargeant
Neem Tree Press, July 2024
(via Randle Editorial & Literary Consultancy)

At the dawn of the 11th Century in a small Icelandic settlement, these words, daubed in blood, herald the arrival of a killer. Soon, a spate of murders threatens the fragile peace between pagans and a growing Christian minority. Arinbjorn, a young pagan farmer resolves to track down the killer before the community is permanently torn apart. His investigations will draw in Freya, an isolated housewife whose secrets could either condemn or free her.

Meanwhile in Norway, King Olaf Tryggvason has his own designs upon Iceland and its people. War is rife in Scandinavia, and a Christian Iceland would bolster his control over the region. Only one thing is certain: these murders will change Icelandic society forever…

Perfect for fans of Bernard Cornwell.

Samuel Sargeant taught English Literature and Creative Writing at Cardiff University as part of his doctoral degree programme where his PhD thesis focused upon the structure of Medieval Icelandic sagas and its applicability to Historical crime and mysteries. He now lectures at the Cardiff University International Study Centre, specialising in Medieval Literature and Philosophy.

NOTES ON A DROWNING d’Anna Sharpe

A novel that goes to the heart of a political scandal involving misogyny, international corruption, and abuse of power.

NOTES ON A DROWNING
by Anna Sharpe
Orion, TBC 2024
(via Mushens Entertainment)

Alex is a solicitor trying to keep afloat in a struggling London legal aid practice. When she takes on a new case for a Moldovan woman whose younger sister’s body was found in the Thames, Alex assumes Natalia’s story will be the usual sadly predictable tale of addiction and poverty.

On the other side of the river, Kat has secured her dream job: special adviser to the charismatic new Home Secretary, introducing her to a seductive new world of power, elitism and influence.

But when the girl’s inquest is speedily shut down, and Kat begins to query why immigration cases have been quashed, both Alex and Kat suspect that they have stumbled upon high level corruption. Might it link to the disappearance of Alex’s sister twelve years before?

Anna Sharpe is the pseudonym of Anna Mazzola. She’s the award-winning author of three historical thrillers plus one ghost novel. Her debut novel, The Unseeing, won an Edgar Allan Poe award in the US. Her third novel, The Clockwork Girl, set in 18th century Paris, reached number 11 in the Sunday Times Chart.

BOMBSHELL de Rebecca Lewis Smith

BOMBSHELL is the story of Kate, an ordinary woman who begins to suspect she’s been used as an alibi by her childhood best friend, famed movie star Lena Fontaine, when the murder of Lena’s much older male co-star and rumoured lover explodes onto the news.

BOMBSHELL
by Rebecca Lewis Smith
TBD
(via Mushens Entertainment)

Scraping rock-bottom after a painful divorce, Kate hardly bats an eyelid when her childhood best friend whisks her away to Ibiza at a moment’s notice. That’s Lena Fontaine, after all – movie star, sex symbol, supportive friend. But then the news breaks that Jimmy Carvell, Lena’s much older, long-time co-star – and rumoured lover – has been shot in his London home, and the internet explodes.

Kate is disgusted by the accusations flying around online suggesting that Lena had something to do with the crime, reporting every post she sees and doing her best not to entertain the vitriolic speculation. Lena is distraught – and after all, Kate knows her. She could never do something like that.

Then CCTV footage of Lena leaving Jimmy’s home the morning of the murder is leaked. As it quickly becomes clear that Lena might be more involved than she’s letting on, Kate can’t help but wonder – did Lena invite Kate on their whirlwind trip to provide herself with an alibi? Why won’t Lena tell Kate, or the police, why she was at the house that morning?

Kate has long lived in the shadow of her best friend – even long before ‘Lena Fontaine’ existed, and she was just Helen, from down the road. But now, Lena is in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons, and Kate must decide whether she can trust her oldest and closest friend, even when all the evidence points to her being a murderer…

Rebecca Lewis Smith grew up splitting time between the UK, Massachusetts, and Norway. She studied Drama at the University of East Anglia, and settled in Norfolk, where she now writes. Rebecca co-founded a digital marketing agency in her twenties, growing it to a thriving, well-regarded local employer. As she was able to step away from the day-to-day running of the business, she delighted in rediscovering her creative core, and her joy in writing. She completed a fiction course with the National Centre for Writing in 2021, and in 2022 gained a place on the selective Curtis Brown Creative six-month novel writing course.

THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING de Jason Rekulak

The author of Hidden Pictures returns with a deliciously twisty new thriller about a mysterious family and the lengths parents will go to protect their children.

THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING
by Jason Rekulak
Flatiron, October 2024
(via Sterling Lord Literistic)

Meet Frank Szatowski, a widowed UPS driver in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania. He has spent the last three years estranged from his adult daughter Maggie—but as our story opens, Maggie calls home to announce that she’s getting married, and she wants her father to walk her down the aisle.

Maggie is marrying into one of the wealthiest families in the United States, and Frank is overjoyed for a chance to finally reconnect. But then he makes some alarming discoveries about his future son-in-law, Aidan Gardner, and learns that Aidan’s previous girlfriend has gone missing. Is Maggie about to make a fatal mistake? And can Frank express his concerns to his daughter without losing her all over again?

Set over a three-day wedding weekend on a lake in New Hampshire, THE LAST ONE AT THE WEDDING features all the same storytelling that made Hidden Pictures an international bestseller: a murder mystery, class warfare, lots of heart, and big surprises around every corner.

Jason Rekulak is the author of the international bestselling thriller Hidden Pictures (winner of the 2022 Goodreads Choice Award for Horror) and The Impossible Fortress (an Edgar Award finalist). His novels have been translated into more than 30 languages. He lives in Philadelphia with his wife and children.

KAISERWALD d’Anja Jonuleit

A gripping novel about a young woman’s search for the truth behind her mother’s death that leads her deep into the sinister circles of right-wing nationalists.

KAISERWALD
The Kaiserwald Duology, Book 1
by Anja Jonuleit
Penguin, February 2024

‘Your mother has disappeared.’ That’s all he said, while a series of emotions crossed his face: disbelief, shock, and finally that fear. That’s what I remember most: the fear, which now haunted the world like a genie released from its bottle. St John’s Eve, 1997: 15-year-old Alise is found unconscious on the shores of Lake Kisezers in Riga. Easter 1998: Rebecca Maywald, a teacher at the German School in Riga, disappears without a trace. She leaves behind an 8-year-old daughter, who is convinced she’ll find her mother again some day. The years that follow are years of uncertainty – and then an anonymous letter changes everything. Berlin, 2023: Ex-mountain trooper Mathilda intentionally crashes her car in order to meet Falk von Prokhoff, scion of a distinguished diplomatic family. Mathilda desperately wants to break into their inner circle – but her motives are as yet unclear. Little does she suspect that she’ll end up falling in love with Falk… and so begins a dangerous game of false identities, unsolved crimes and nefarious far-right political schemes… For readers of Donna Tartt, Alena Schröder and Trude Teige.

Anja Jonuleit, born in 1965, grew up on Lake Constance and spent a few years working for the German Embassy in Rome. After a secondment at the Embassy in Damascus, she studied Italian and English at the SDI in Munich. Back on Lake Constance, she worked as a freelance translator and court interpreter before becoming a full-time writer in 2007. Her books are immensely popular and regular bestsellers. She tackles the big topics of our time with great sensitivity and insight, telling stories of dysfunctional families and relationships, toxic social structures, and threats against which it’s hard to protect ourselves and those around us. Following « Herbstvergessene », « Der Apfelsammler », « Rabenfrauen », « Das letzte Bild » and other novels, she has now written a panoramic two-book family drama (« Kaiserwald », out in Spring 2024, and « Solstice », out in Autumn 2024).