December 10 2024
Good moaning! Or it may well be afternoon wherever you are. Whichever, we bid you compliments of the season and are fervently hoping for a substantially less grotty 2025. We hope you’ll put your feet up and enjoy a selection of reviews from our loyal team that range across the genre.
Police procedurals, special agents, domestic noir, dystopian fic … We got ‘em. And ta-da, there’s even a magic act as investigators. Hand us that magic wand, please!
Click on the links below to read the reviews:
Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh, reviewed by John Verpeleti
Two women agree to kill two paedophiles who ruined their lives. To avoid association with the proposed crimes, they agree to swap targets.
Judgement Prey by John Sandford, reviewed by Chris Roberts
When a judge and his two sons are murdered, crime agencies work overtime. Davenport and Flowers, the A-Team, are called in to help.
The Great Deceiver by Elly Griffiths, reviewed by Viv Beeby
Ted English, aka The Great Deceiver, is in trouble. His right-hand woman has been found murdered in a Brighton boarding house and she won't be the first magician's assistant to perish in this story. It’s another case for Superintendent Edgar Stephens and his right-hand man, the legendary Max Mephisto.
The Case of the Lonely Accountant by Simon Mason, reviewed by Chris Roberts
A chance discovery generates interest in a cold case, the assumed suicide of an accountant, and a Finder is appointed to investigate.
The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas, reviewed Sylvia Maughan
Alice and husband Kyle lend their Venice apartment to Alice’s sister Tasha and husband Aaron for a much-needed child-free holiday, taking on the children’s care for the week themselves. On the second night an intruder breaks into the UK house and leaves Kyle dead and Alice injured.
Open Season by Quintin Jardine, reviewed by Linda Wilson
The aftermath of a massive storm reveals a clandestine burial in the grounds of a luxury hotel. At the same time, the hunt continues for a missing crime writer believed to be implicated in the murders of several elderly people near the home of retired Chief Constable Bob Skinner.
Laying Out the Bones by Kate Webb, reviewed by Kim Fleet
In this second outing for DI Matt Lockyer, the discovery of a skeleton leads to a cold case reinvestigation of the murder of a young woman.
Disturbing the Bones by Andrew Davis and Jeff Biggers, reviewed by Kerry Hood
A Chicago cop is forced to return to his home town of Cairo, Illinois, when an archaeologist digs up bones that prove to be his mother’s – a well-known journalist and Civil Rights activist who disappeared when he was a child.
Kallocain by Karin Boye, reviewed by Ewa Sherman
Leo Kall, a research chemist and a very obedient citizen, has been working on a revolutionary new drug that will force anyone to share the most private and innermost personal thoughts. Police are keen to use Kallocain as a new interrogation technique to crush citizens of the totalitarian ‘World State’. Leo begins to feel alienated and terrified.
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner, reviewed by Linda Wilson
When the Queen of Attolia metes out a barbarous punishment to Eugenides, the Royal Thief of Eddis, his own queen is determined to avenge the insult. War is inevitable, and Eddis is soon beset from all sides.
If you want to keep up with what’s new among US and Canadian releases, pop over to see our friends at Reviewing the Evidence.
If you’d like to subscribe to our update email which we send into cyberspace every time there’s a new issue out, drop us an email (the email address is on our About page).
We're delighted to welcome author Nadine Matheson to the Countdown hotseat and we couldn't agree more with her rants!
Police procedurals, special agents, domestic noir, dystopian fic … We got ‘em. And ta-da, there’s even a magic act as investigators. Hand us that magic wand, please!
Click on the links below to read the reviews:
Kill For Me Kill For You by Steve Cavanagh, reviewed by John Verpeleti
Two women agree to kill two paedophiles who ruined their lives. To avoid association with the proposed crimes, they agree to swap targets.
Judgement Prey by John Sandford, reviewed by Chris Roberts
When a judge and his two sons are murdered, crime agencies work overtime. Davenport and Flowers, the A-Team, are called in to help.
The Great Deceiver by Elly Griffiths, reviewed by Viv Beeby
Ted English, aka The Great Deceiver, is in trouble. His right-hand woman has been found murdered in a Brighton boarding house and she won't be the first magician's assistant to perish in this story. It’s another case for Superintendent Edgar Stephens and his right-hand man, the legendary Max Mephisto.
The Case of the Lonely Accountant by Simon Mason, reviewed by Chris Roberts
A chance discovery generates interest in a cold case, the assumed suicide of an accountant, and a Finder is appointed to investigate.
The Wrong Sister by Claire Douglas, reviewed Sylvia Maughan
Alice and husband Kyle lend their Venice apartment to Alice’s sister Tasha and husband Aaron for a much-needed child-free holiday, taking on the children’s care for the week themselves. On the second night an intruder breaks into the UK house and leaves Kyle dead and Alice injured.
Open Season by Quintin Jardine, reviewed by Linda Wilson
The aftermath of a massive storm reveals a clandestine burial in the grounds of a luxury hotel. At the same time, the hunt continues for a missing crime writer believed to be implicated in the murders of several elderly people near the home of retired Chief Constable Bob Skinner.
Laying Out the Bones by Kate Webb, reviewed by Kim Fleet
In this second outing for DI Matt Lockyer, the discovery of a skeleton leads to a cold case reinvestigation of the murder of a young woman.
Disturbing the Bones by Andrew Davis and Jeff Biggers, reviewed by Kerry Hood
A Chicago cop is forced to return to his home town of Cairo, Illinois, when an archaeologist digs up bones that prove to be his mother’s – a well-known journalist and Civil Rights activist who disappeared when he was a child.
Kallocain by Karin Boye, reviewed by Ewa Sherman
Leo Kall, a research chemist and a very obedient citizen, has been working on a revolutionary new drug that will force anyone to share the most private and innermost personal thoughts. Police are keen to use Kallocain as a new interrogation technique to crush citizens of the totalitarian ‘World State’. Leo begins to feel alienated and terrified.
The Queen of Attolia by Megan Whalen Turner, reviewed by Linda Wilson
When the Queen of Attolia metes out a barbarous punishment to Eugenides, the Royal Thief of Eddis, his own queen is determined to avenge the insult. War is inevitable, and Eddis is soon beset from all sides.
If you want to keep up with what’s new among US and Canadian releases, pop over to see our friends at Reviewing the Evidence.
If you’d like to subscribe to our update email which we send into cyberspace every time there’s a new issue out, drop us an email (the email address is on our About page).
We're delighted to welcome author Nadine Matheson to the Countdown hotseat and we couldn't agree more with her rants!
Linda and Sharon
Ten words to sum up your working life to date ...
I’ve taken the scenic route to reach my many destinations.
Nine things you can see from where you're sitting ...
Photographs. Star Wars clock. iPad. Headphones. DC comic canvas print. Framed quote from Breaking Bad. Dictionary. Blackstone’s Criminal Practice. Microphone.
Eight minutes to prepare a meal. What's it going to be ?
Chicken Saltimboca sandwich.
