Today's #RecommendedRead is the brilliant standalone thriller Kill For Me Kill For You, by Steve Cavanagh.
Cavanagh is best known for his Eddie Flynn legal thrillers, which I have reviewed previously. However, he has also written some standalone thrillers, including the superb Twisted.
Unlike the Eddie Flynn series, this is not a courtroom drama. Rather it is a clever play on the premise of the classic Hitchcock film/Patricia Highsmith novel Strangers on a Train, where two apparently unconnected strangers agree to 'swap murders'.
Cavanagh's characters acknowledge the influence of the film early on; he isn't trying to pass the idea off as his own.
However, that ingenious premise is only the starting point for the story and it soon diverges and becomes a highly original story with some very clever twists that skilfully hoodwink the reader. As always, the characters are well-rounded and developed, and is told through the eyes of more than one protagonist. The motives for the crimes elicit sympathy from the reader, even if one might not agree with their actions.
I recommend this book for fans of thrillers that take a clever existing premise and use it as a jumping off point for something new and original.
I very much looked forward to this when it was published back in the summer and it took a lot of self-control to avoid buying it immediately, instead asking for it for Christmas, and it was really worth the wait.
The question is, will I exercise the same restraint when the latest Eddie Flynn is released?

Richard Osman's Thursday Murder Club series is fast becoming an annual treat, featuring on my Christmas wish list each year. I did a double review of the first two books in the series a couple of years ago, and with news that this series will be taking a brief hiatus as he launches a new series, now seemed a good time to review books 3 & 4.

Again, I won't give away too much of the plot - you can read the jacket blurbs for that - suffice to say that the in book 3, The Bullet That Missed, we see our intrepid heroes investigate a cold case, and Elizabeth's past come back to bite her.

In the fourth instalment, The Last Devil To Die, we see the gang spring into action when a friend (featured in previous novels) is murdered.
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The series is really coming into its own now, and Osman's writing becomes increasingly confident. The trademark humour is there and the characters, now well-established, all have their chance to shine. But it isn't just jokes and jolly capers, The Last Devil To Die genuinely had me crying for several chapters. If you've read the book, you will know exactly what I am referring to. It's been a long time since a book has actually moved me to that extent. If there was any doubt that Osman can't write, and is just another celebrity author, then this dispels that slur. Absolutely brilliant.
I recommend these books because they are fantastic reads. They are funny, poignant and cleverly plotted. Forget the fact that he is a celebrity, Osman deserves every accolade. I can't wait until he brings them back.

Last year, I finally got around to reading Nadine Matheson's debut police procedural, The Jigsaw Man. The book received a lot of buzz and I could see why. A fantastic hook, a really compelling central protagonist, and a well-rounded supporting cast of characters, made this a cracking read. For some reason, I didn't actually review it (I think I may have been in the depths of GCSE marking at the time), but I'm giving it a belated shout out and a recommendation that you read it before you start The Binding Room.

That's not to say you can't pick up the second book in the series first, but you'll get more out of it if you are already familiar with this world.

In this instalment, DI Anjelica Henley is still reeling from the fallout from the Jigsaw Man case, but is thrown back into the fray when the Serial Crimes Unit are called to the murder of a local pastor found stabbed to death in the church he runs. As they investigate the scene, they discover a hidden torture room with another victim bound to the bed.

The discovery of a second body, also tied down, leads to the realisation that there is a serial killer out there. Yet there are no obvious links between the two.

Matheson is not afraid of visiting some very dark places, examining evil from all angles. She is also unafraid of addressing uncomfortable and controversial subjects. In this book, we see the dark side of fringe churches; supposedly Christian organisations that seem more geared towards encouraging the congregation to worship and enrich the pastor than to actually spread the word of God.

The book is an excellent police procedural, but at its heart it is a thumping good read. I formed my own theories about what had really happened fairly early on, but had my mind changed several times and when everything was finally revealed, discovered that Matheson had successfully hoodwinked me.

I heartily recommend this book, and look forward to the third in the series, The Kill List​, available to preorder for later this year.