Buy from Amazon.
Buy from Bookshop.org and support independent sellers.

What a treat! Today's #RecommendedRead is The Botanist, M.W. Craven's latest Washington Poe and Tilly Bradshaw masterpiece. I've reviewed others in the series (The Curator and Dead Ground), but this time I was fortunate enough to get an early copy.
Yes I am being hyperbolic, but I don't care. I devoured it in 3 days and it is absolutely fantastic.
Washington Poe, former soldier, and now a detective working for the National Crime Agency, specialises in serial killers and the most fiendish of crimes, and in this book he is given a doozy. The Botanist is targeting high-profile victims, and they just can't figure out how the killer is getting to the targets. At the same time, Poe's friend, series-regular, pathologist Professor Estelle Doyle, is arrested for the murder of her father. ALL the evidence points towards her, but Poe and Tilly know that she can't possibly be guilty.
Poe hates locked room mysteries - but here he has two, and the stakes couldn't be higher, both personally and professionally.
Mike Craven has crafted an enviable series that ticks all the boxes. Central to the books is the wonderful pairing of Poe, and gifted analyst, Tilly Bradshaw. The chemistry of this mismatched duo is what sets them apart. Poe is taciturn, rude and technically inept, but he is a brilliant and tenacious detective who's never met a meat dish he doesn't love. Tilly is a technical genius, whose early cloistered upbringing amongst other intellectual giants, has left her with few social skills, and a wide-eyed naivete and forthright manner that is refreshing, toe-curlingly cringeworthy and laugh-out-loud hilarious. Much to Poe's disgust, she's also a vegetarian.
What's great is the way the author's own dry wit comes across in the narrative, and the book is full of quotable lines.
The fact is, that Craven could have given these two any investigation, and the books would have been popular and fun reads. But he hasn't. The investigations here are fiendishly clever, locked room mysteries. And the answers when they come are brilliant, but obvious when you look back and ignore the expertly placed misdirection.
What's especially impressive is the pacing. Despite two complex and detailed investigations, and the need for the series' trademark Tilly and Poe diversions off topic, the book gallops along. You get a huge amount for your money, yet the book feels neither rushed or overly long.
And on a personal note, as the title of the book suggests, the books rely on a degree of scientific expertise. Through the need for Tilly to explain everything to Poe, the readers are also kept in the loop, and it doesn't become burdensome. The science is a little out of my own area of biology, but as best I can tell is accurate and plausible. Craven has wisely taken advice from advisors such as fellow writer Brian Price, who he has credited in the acknowledgments.
All in all, the book is an excellently crafted novel, from a writer at the top of his (and anyone's) game.
If he wasn't such a nice bloke, and I didn't enjoy these books so much, I'd hate him!
The Botanist is out on June 2nd and is sure to be showered with accolades.
Have you had a chance to read The Botanist yet? Is it on your TBR pile? Feel free to comment here, or on social media.
Happy reading!
Paul

Buy from Amazon.
Buy from Bookshop.org and support independent sellers.

Today's #RecommendedRead is the latest deliciously dark psychological thriller from Victoria Selman.
The copy I have was a freebee from CrimeFest, (it's not due out until July) and the moment I saw its beautifully designed, black cover, with its sealed, folding flap, I knew it would be my next read. 

Told in two time frames, it's narrated by a twelve-year-old girl, Sophie who moves, with her single mother, from Massachusetts to North London at the beginning of the 1980s. There they meet Matty Melgren, a charismatic Irishman who starts dating Sophie's mother. With no father figure, Sophie finds in Matty someone to fill that void in her life and soon she feels her family is complete.
But there is a serial killer stalking the streets of London, killing young women in a ritualistic manner, and so we see the investigation unfold during the book, and it gets steadily darker and darker.

The second time frame, interleaved with the first, is set twenty years later. Matty is now serving life without parole for the murders - crimes that he swears he is not guilty of. Sophie is wracked with guilt for not seeing him for what he was, yet is still plagued with doubts. What if the man she loved like a father is innocent after all? And then she receives a letter from him. He's dying and he asks to see her in prison...

This book is a masterclass in the slow reveal. The two threads are woven together seamlessly, each retaining their own separate feel and identity. 1980s London is interspersed with life twenty-odd years later. Matty's case remains an obsession to many, with numerous true crime documentaries and websites rehashing events; some believe he's guilty, others are convinced of his innocence.

Usually such books are divided into sections, with each timeline clearly labelled. But Selman hasn't done that here. The short chapters weave between the two times, but she maintains a distinctiveness between each period that means the reader is never in any doubt when the chapter is set. As the book unfolds, the reader is not quite sure if Matty is guilty. The evidence was enough to convict him in 1983, yet there is enough reasonable doubt that you can't be completely certain. 

The skill here is in the writing; the novel is an acutely observed study of uncertainty. We follow Sophie's story as she negotiates her early teenage years; then we see her as a grown woman, haunted by the events of two decades ago. Period details and references to current affairs keep the sections in the 1980s firmly grounded in that time period, whilst the contemporary sections supply a commentary on our modern obsession with serial killers from the past, and 'citizen detectives'.

The book builds to its climax slowly, yet never feels laboured, and you are immersed in the story. By keeping the book firmly in the first person throughout, you are only ever privy to what Sophie knows. But because it's set in two time periods, you find yourself scrutinising the earlier parts of the story with the benefit of hindsight. Fundamentally, the question you find yourself trying to answer, is whether Sophie was hoodwinked or not?

This was a fantastic read, and I highly recommend it.
As always, feel free to comment here or on social media.
Best wishes,
Paul

Buy from Amazon.
Buy from Bookshop.org and support independent sellers.

I admit it, I'm pretty late to the party for this one, pardon the pun.
I first encountered Michael Connelly's detective Renee Ballard when she crossed paths with the long-established Harry Bosch in Dark Sacred Night.
For some reason, I hadn't quite twigged that this was her second outing. The Late Show introduces this fascinating new character, and is entirely her own show (pardon another pun).
The premise is somewhat different to his other books. Ballard is a member of the late show - the night shift. The LAPD cops who pick up everything that happens when the regular detectives have ended for the day. They get the ball rolling on investigations, but often hand them over to other divisions, such as Robbery Homicide or burglary. They rarely close cases, or see them through to the end. This suits Ballard's partner just fine, but frustrates her.
The late show is something of a punishment duty - Ballard was banished to it because of a betrayal that we learn more about over the course of the book.
For those used to a more 'traditional' detective story, that opens with the big crime that needs solving and then follows the investigation, the initial pace may seem slow. Stick with it. Connelly is setting the scene as we follow Ballard through her shift, dealing with everything from the theft of a credit card to a brutal assault and a multiple murder. I really enjoyed it for a change, and buried within there are the seeds of the tale that will follow.
The book is ultimately a very satisfying story, with a coherent but slightly unusual structure. More importantly, it introduces us to the character that will, I suspect, one day take the torch from Harry Bosch.
Ballard is based on a real-life LAPD detective that Connelly is keen to acknowledge publicly. Tough and somewhat brittle after her betrayal, she is a fascinating character. Brought up in Hawaii, she lives her life in a camper van bedecked with her beloved paddleboards, and sleeps in a tent on the beach during the day, accompanied by her loyal rescue dog, Lola.
Renee Ballard is a great character who works well with Harry Bosch, but I highly recommend this book as an introduction to her as a fully-fledged individual. Will she one day shoulder Harry's mantle? Only Michael Connelly knows, but if she does, this book marks her as a worthy successor.

Buy from Amazon.
Buy from Bookshop.org and support independent sellers.

Today's #RecommendedRead is the multi-award-winning Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby. Believe me when I say it is worthy of all the praise that it has earned.

The book is set in the US State of Virginia and follows Beauregard “Bug” Montage. A skilled mechanic and loving family man, he's long since moved on from his former life as a 'wheelman' - the best getaway driver east of the Mississippi. Now he runs his own garage with his cousin, Kelvin, and takes part in illegal drag races in the over-powered Duster left him by his long-gone father.
But when life deals him repeated blows and everything starts to fall apart, he is unable to turn down one last job...

This book is so many things, but first and foremost it is a fantastic, page-turning thriller. The action is relentless, vividly described and visceral. The plot twists and turns, and Cosby invokes a real sense of jeopardy; he's brutal when he needs to be, but isn't afraid to be tender if necessary.
The central character, Bug, is wonderfully complex. Likeable and unpleasant by turns, you find yourself rooting for him, whilst despairing at some of the choices he makes.
The book itself is a study of poverty, embedded as it is in rural communities for whom the 'American Dream' is just a fantasy. Cosby depicts both poor black Americans in a society where overt racism is still rife, and self-confessed white trash, with an equally harsh, yet oddly sympathetic eye.
But what elevates it most is Cosby's use of language. From the vivid descriptions of the sun-baked Virginian plains, which verge upon the poetic, to the authentically rendered-dialogue, the pages are filled with idiosyncratic turns of phrase.

This was an absolutely fantastic read, and I can't wait to see what Cosby writes next.

Buy from Amazon.
Buy from Bookshop.org and support independent sellers.

Neil Lancaster is a former Military Police officer and Metropolitan Police detective, and so, as a writer of police procedurals myself, I was excited to read something by somebody who really knows what he is talking about!
Dead Man's Grave is the first in a new series starring DS Max Cragie, a former Metropolitan Police detective who relocates from London to Scotland, after an armed operation goes wrong.
The book starts with the discovery of a grave by the head of one of Scotland's most notorious crime families, inscribed with the ominous words 'This Grave Can Never Be Opened' . The murder of the crime boss uncovers a blood feud dating back to the 1890s and leads to the unmasking of a corruption conspiracy at the heart of Police Scotland.

As you'd expect from a man with Lancaster's experience, the book is packed with authentic police procedure, but more importantly, it's a damned good read! The plot is complex, with enough twists and turns to keep you guessing. Several times throughout the book, the story seems to be heading for a conclusion, but Lancaster throws in a sudden swerve that takes the story off in a different direction, until it finally reaches an explosive and satisfying conclusion. 
From the outset, the characters leap off the page; from Cragie's gloriously foul-mouthed boss DI Ross Fraser, to the sparky DC Janie Calder, they are all expertly realised. Cragie and Calder make for a compelling duo, with just enough revealed about their backstory to hint that the series has legs.


In the interests of disclosure, Neil and I share the same publisher, which in part is how I obtained this advanced reader's copy. But as I have always   made clear, books only appear on this blog if I have genuinely enjoyed them and think others will also.
So I have no hesitation in making this a #RecommendedRead.


Dead Man's Grave is available for pre-order from HQ Stories, and is published in July 2021. 

Welcome to a first for this blog, a review of an entire series.

I first came across Rachel Lynch's DI Kelly Porter in the summer of 2019, when her publisher sent me an early copy of the third book, Dead End. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and was more than happy to let a quote of mine be used on the cover blurb. A few months later, the convenor of my local Crime Writers' Association chapter announced that we would have a new member joining us for our semi-regular lunch-time gatherings. Guess who turned up the following Sunday!

Since then, Rachel has written a further five books, a work-rate that puts many of us to shame!
Fast-forward to the end of 2020 and the wonderful folks who run the UK Crime Book Club Facebook page asked if I would like to do a live 'in conversation with'  interview. And if I did, who would I like to speak to? The decision took seconds, and I fired off a quick Facebook message to Rachel. Regardless of her response, I happened to be standing outside a small bookshop in Bakewell (quite literally the only time I had been out in public since March!), and it gave me the perfect excuse to march in and buy her whole back catalogue with a view to binge-reading them before our conversation.

The conversation took place on Friday 12th of February and is archived on both the UK Crime Book Club Facebook page and YouTube.

Reading the whole series back-to-back has been an absolute pleasure! As a writer of police procedurals myself, I know how difficult it can be to tread the fine-line between accuracy and the need to tell a good story, and Rachel nails it.
The stories encompass a range of different types of crime and societal issues including knife crime and teenage drug use, illegal immigation and people trafficking and a cracking messed-in-the-head serial killer! Rachel also touches on more unusual fare - the sixth in the series, Blood Rites explores ancient religions and cults. Unlike some authors, she resists the urge to over-sensationalise and treats these alternate beliefs with respect, and I came away feeling that I had learnt something genuinely interesting. Some of the themes (and antagonists) explored in earlier books are revisited later, which is extremely satisfying.

The books are set in the lake district, an area Rachel knows intimately and whilst the alarmingly regular murders, and hidden secrets are probably not entirely to the Cumbria Tourist Information Office's taste, I think they are more than compensated for by her clear love of the area. DI Kelly Porter is a keen runner and outdoorsperson, and Rachel's descriptions of this breath-taking National Park, through all its varied seasons, remind me of the wonderful visits I have made there. I think that readers of her books who are unfamiliar with the area will be entranced, and may contemplate a future holiday there.

Porter is a compelling character; dogged and determined, she follows a really satisfying arc over the course of the books. Her personal life is well mapped-out, and whilst it has enough drama to keep readers hooked and keen to catch-up with her in the next book, she isn't a dark, depressed alcoholic.
In many ways, I find this comforting; my own DCI Warren Jones isn't plagued by as many demons as some of his fictional peers, and Rachel has proven that you can write dark stories without the need for a relentlessly dark central protagonist.

There are many excellent crime series out there, and this is up with the best of them. And with its beautiful backdrops, complex and likeable central character, and satisfyingly complex plots, this is one that is crying out for TV. The success of Vera, DCI Banks and Shetland have shown that there is a big appetite for stories such as these. Perfect fodder for Sunday evening on ITV1!

I highly recommend this whole series!

Please feel free to share your thoughts here or on social media.

Today is another double bill!

Steve Cavanagh's Eddie Flynn series is fast becoming one of my 'can't miss' reads, and these two latest entries have raised the already high bar he set with his previous books even more. The books have won numerous awards and are quite rightly bestsellers.

For those unfamiliar with the set-up, Flynn is a New York-based con-artist turned defence lawyer. He only represents those that he knows are innocent; unfortunately his shady past and successful reputation have sometimes made him the 'go to advocate' for some decidedly unsavoury characters, who will make him an 'offer he cannot refuse', leaving Flynn with the unenviable task of trying to balance his own, ethical standards with the demands of his employers.

The books are legal thrillers in the vein of Michael Connelly's Micky Haller (Lincoln Lawyer) series, with a mixture of courtroom drama and outside thrills. Both aspects of the story are equally exciting. Remarkably, Cavanagh is a Belfast-born lawyer in real-life, who has never practised in the state of New York, yet his stories are filled with authentic detail and procedure, often with a very clever twist that demonstrates his deep understanding of the NY legal system.

The series started with a bang in 2015's The Defence and a very tasty short story The Cross, before continuing with The Plea and The Liar.
The subjects of this post are the two latest, Thirteen and Fifty-Fifty.

Thirteen has, in my opinion, the most gripping tag-line in recent years.
'The serial killer isn't on trial. He's on the jury.'
I mean, seriously, how can you not pick that off the shelf?
The premise for the book is summed up in that tag-line. The question, of course, is why? Why is he so desperate to get onto that jury? The serial killer is named on the novel's jacket blurb - an audacious move that tells you immediately that you can trust nothing in this book. Of course, Eddie Flynn doesn't take what he is presented with at first glance, and whilst the reader is shown glimpses of the killer that Flynn is not privvy to, you are chasing clues alongside Flynn throughout the book.

Fifty-Fifty is another high-concept thriller, that lives up to the standard set by the previous book. The book opens in characteristic style - full-on, straight into the action, setting up the premise immediately. No slow-burn here!
A man has been murdered in his own home. The 911 dispatch operator is called by a terrified young woman who claims that the killer is still in the house and the murderer is her sister. Moments later another call is received. Same house, same murder, different sister - and she's pointing the finger at the sibling who made the first call...
It's a high-profile case and when both are charged, Flynn fights for the right to represent the sister that he is convinced is innocent. The other sister is represented by a young, inexperienced lawyer, and she is equally convinced of her client's innocence.
As in Thirteen, we are shown extensive glimpses of the killer covering their tracks. But again, Cavanagh skilfully hides their identity. As the story unfolded, I found myself convinced that I knew who the killer must be - before having my mind changed. Repeatedly. The book is a masterclass in plotting and the art of the precisely placed reveal, and most importantly - a thumping good read!

I can't recommend these two books highly enough. And whilst I've known Steve personally for several years, as always his books are featured here on their own (considerable) merits.

Today you are treated to a double-bill!
I've known Craig Robertson for a number of years and he is a generous and lovely man. A stalwart of the Scottish crimewriting scene, The Mirror says that "Robertson is doing for Glasgow what Rankin did for Edinburgh". High praise indeed.
But as always, these two books are listed here as they are damn good reads (which I have bought people for Christmas... shhh), not because Craig is a mate.

These are the two latest releases in Robertson's Glasgow-based DI Rachel Narey series. I like Robertson's writing as he always brings an original twist. As a writer of police procedurals myself, I know how hard it is to make a book stand out, and both of these distinguish themselves in a crowded field.

In The Photographer, a dawn raid by the police leads to the discovery of a chilling collection of photographs hidden under floorboards. The story has a nice balance of surprising twists with a growing sense of impending dread, with readers never sure what will come next. 
As always, the book has a strong supporting cast - both series regulars and new characters for this book, and each is written as an individual with their own strengths and foibles, with readers easily becoming invested in their fates. 

The next in the series Watch Him Die is another high-concept idea. The book opens in Los Angeles, with the apparently non-suspicious death of a man in his own home. However, closer inspection of the residence soon reveals something disturbing...
Back in Glasgow, Robertson's series regular, Rachel Nary is embroilled in a missing person case - she believes she knows who is responsible, and furthermore believes that he has killed her. 
These two seemingly unrelated cases, thousands of miles apart, become linked when the detectives in California discover a live internet feed broadcasting the slow and painful death of another victim...
I love this book. The marrying together of these two disparate cases is both chilling and plausible, and the blending of the familiar world of DI Nary with the radically different culture of US law enforcement is handled skilfully.
In 'race against time' books, it can be difficult to engender a true sense of danger for the victims. We want our heroes to succeed, and we know that the writer is also rooting for them. Here, Robertson genuinely has you wondering 'will they or won't they'? From the outset, there is no foregone conclusion, and it really is a 'page-turner'.

I heartily recommend both of these books, and others by Craig Robertson. He deserves the respect that he receives from reviewers, readers and his peers. I'll definitely be keeping an eye out for whatever he releases next.

Buy From Amazon.
Buy a physical copy from Bookshop.org and support independent sellers.

I raced through The Last Resort in just three sittings, it was that good!
I've known Susi for a few years, and we both had short stories in the CWA Mystery Tour Anthology, but this is the first time I've read a full-length novel of hers. 
It seems that I've been missing out! I will be sure to read her other books, including those penned under SJI Holliday. As always though, the book is a recommended read because I really enjoyed it, not because I know the author.

The book is a great blending of a modern, hi-tech thriller with some futuristic technology, and a traditional 'strangers trapped on an island together' mystery.
The basic premise is that seven people agree to travel to a 'luxury resort'. They've all been summonsed individually, and aside from one couple, are unknown to one another. The way that the whole thing has been organised is sketchy from the outset, but as is common with these stories, the protagonists all have their own reasons for accepting the invite. You, the reader, are already shouting "run away, you fools, it's a trap"... I love that sort of set-up.

It gives nothing away to tell you that each of the guests have their own hidden pasts, and the pleasure is trying to guess what secret each person harbours that they would rather nobody else knew. As the book progresses, things start to go horribly wrong...

The book is told in short chapters, and although it is 3rd person narration, each chapter is told from the perspective of one of the seven characters. This allows the reader a privileged glimpse into the mind of that chapter's subject, even as they strive to maintain their own facade. It's a technique that works really well, avoiding the need for extensive exposition from an omniscient narrator. 

Interspersed between the chapters is a shocking event that happened long ago in the summer of 2000. Which character is hiding this secret and how will it feed into the modern day narrative?

As I said at the start, I raced through this in three sittings, and it was only heavy eyes that stopped me from reading 'just one more chapter' in bed. Definitely a page-turner, and definitely a recommended read.