Archives de catégorie : Crime & Thrillers

A HITWOMAN’S GUIDE TO REDUCING HOUSEHOLD DEBT de Mark Mupotsa-Russell

A thriller that hits the target.

A HITWOMAN’S GUIDE TO REDUCING HOUSEHOLD DEBT
by Mark Mupotsa-Russell
Affirm Press, September 2024
(via Kaplan/DeFiore)

Olivia Hodges used to do horrible things – back when she worked for a Spanish crime syndicate – but she fled that life and moved home to Australia, building a family in the hippie, hipster community of the Dandenong Ranges.

When a small-time criminal gang brings tragedy to her family, superstitious Olivia believes it’s the universe demanding payment for her crimes. She wants revenge, but has to get it without adding to her karmic debt. So she creates situations where these bad men get themselves killed through their anger, ego and greed – all while trying to mislead the cops long enough to finish what she started.

Olivia’s voice is astounding: she’s cynical, witty and deeply human in a way that never feels forced. It’s quite a feat to write a novel that’s all-in-one package—a deliciously tangled thriller and a searing depiction of a marriage in crisis—and to make it so funny.

Mark Mupotsa-Russell lives in Australia. Before this book, he was a screenwriter, film reviewer cocktail columnist and PR consultant. He lives among the trees with his art therapist/superstar wife and hilarious son. When not writing, he obsesses about movies and martial arts.

THE BITTER END d’Alexa Donne

Eight teens. One blizzard. Zero exits. And a killer on the loose. The trip of a lifetime might be the death of them all.

THE BITTER END
by Alexa Donne
Crown (Penguin Random House), October 2024
(via Laura Dail Literary Agency)

Willa believes she’s cursed. Now bad luck has followed her up a mountain.

Declan became TikTok-famous for pranks. But this trip is no joke.

Delaney is the perfect girlfriend. Her boyfriend? He’s the perfect liar.

Wyatt has mastered every video game. Too bad there are no extra lives IRL.

Eden has never shied away from drama. Will her secrets get the best of her?

Liam is a literal Boy Scout. Now he’ll have to put his survival skills to use.

Camille is the ultimate competitor—and she’ll fight to the death.

Piper wasn’t supposed to be on this trip at all. Or was she?

The students of LA’s elite Warner Prep can’t wait for their Senior Excursion—five days of Instagrammable adventure in one of the world’s most exclusive locations. This is not your average field trip. Which is why eight students can’t believe their bad luck when they end up on a digital detox in an isolated Colorado ski chalet. Their epic trip is panning out to be an epic bore… until their classmates start dropping in a series of disturbing deaths. The message is clear: this trip is no accident. And when a blizzard strikes, secrets are revealed, betrayals are exposed, and survival is at stake in a race to the bitter end.

Alexa Donne is the author of Brightly Burning and The Stars We Steal, YA sci-fi romances, and The Ivies and Pretty Dead Queens, YA thrillers. A graduate of Boston University, she works in TV marketing and has done pro bono college admissions mentoring since 2014. In her “free” time she manages one of the most popular writing advice channels on YouTube.

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.