Thursday 8 December 2016

Books to Look Forward to from Bonnier Zaffre

January 2017

How do you protect your family when you can't remember who's hunting them. A family in England is massacred, the father left holding the shotgun. PC Lucy Davies is convinced he's innocent A sleeper agent in Moscow requests an urgent meeting with Dan Forrester, referencing their shared past. His amnesia means he has no idea who he can trust. An aging oligarch in Siberia gathers his henchmen to discuss an English accountant. It's Dan's wife.  Tell Me a Lie is by CJ Carver.

Evil Games is by Angela Marsons.  The greater the Evil, the more deadly the game...When a rapist is found mutilated in a brutal attack, Detective Kim Stone and her team are called in to bring a swift resolution. But, as more vengeful killings come to light, it soon becomes clear that there is someone far more sinister at work. With the investigation quickly gathering momentum, Kim finds herself exposed to great danger and in the sights of a lethal individual undertaking their own twisted experiment. Up against a sociopath who seems to know her every weakness, for Detective Stone, each move she makes could be deadly. As the body count starts to mount, Kim will have to dig deeper than ever before to stop the killing. And this time - it's personal. 

1936. Europe is in turmoil. The Nazis have marched into the Rhineland. In Russia, Stalin has unleashed his Great Terror. Spain has erupted in civil war. In Berlin, a young Englishwoman evades the Gestapo to deliver vital papers to a Jewish scientist. Within weeks, she is found dead in her Cambridge bedroom, a silver syringe clutched in her fingers. In a London club, three senior members of the British establishment light the touch paper on a conspiracy that will threaten the very heart of government. Even the ancient colleges of Cambridge are not immune to political division. Dons and students must choose a side: right or left, where do you stand? When a renowned member of the county set and his wife are found horribly murdered, a maverick history professor finds himself dragged into a world of espionage which, until now, he has only read about in books. But the deeper Thomas Wilde delves, the more he wonders whether the murders are linked to the death of the girl with the silver syringe - and, just as worryingly, to the scandal surrounding King Edward VIII and his mistress Wallis Simpson...  Corpus is by Rory Clements.

February 2017

Eyes Like Mine is by Sheena Kamal.  It's late. The phone rings. The man on the other end says his daughter is missing. Your daughter. The baby you gave away over fifteen years ago. What do you do? Nora Watts isn't sure that she wants to get involved. Troubled, messed up, and with more than enough problems of her own, Nora doesn't want to revisit the past. But then she sees the photograph. A girl, a teenager, with her eyes. How can she turn her back on her? But going in search of her daughter brings Nora into contact with a past that she would rather forget, a past that she has worked hard to put behind her, but which is always there, waiting for her ...

How do you solve a murder when you can't ask any questions? The gripping new thriller from the bestselling author of Stasi Child. East Germany, 1975. Karin Muller, sidelined from the murder squad in Berlin, jumps at the chance to be sent south to
Halle-Neustadt, where a pair of infant twins have gone missing. But Muller soon finds her problems have followed her. Halle-Neustadt is a new town - the pride of the communist state - and she and her team are forbidden by the Stasi from publicising the disappearances, lest they tarnish the town's flawless image. Meanwhile, in the eerily nameless streets and tower blocks, a child snatcher lurks, and the clock is ticking to rescue the twins alive …  Stasi Wolf is by David Young

Lie in Wait is by G J Minett.  A man is dead. A woman is missing. And the police have already found their prime suspect...Owen Hall drives into a petrol station to let his passenger use the facilities. She never comes back - and what's more, it seems she never even made it inside. When Owen raises a fuss, the police are called - and soon identify Owen himself as a possible culprit - not least because they already have him in the frame for another more sinister crime. Owen's always been a little different, and before long others in the community are baying for his blood. But this is a case where nothing is as it seems - least of all Owen Hall.
 
Following her successful representation of Sherman the Schnauzer, Sally Baynard is happy to go back to working with humans. That is until a probate judge asks her to look into the case of a cat who's the beneficiary of a multi-million dollar trust. Now representing Beatrice, Sally must use her wit, charm and brains to choose between the three potential new caregivers for the lovable feline, whilst dodging the angry and mysterious former owner's son. Whilst juggling the demands of the courtroom, an aging mother and a confusing romantic life, will Sally make the right decision for Beatrice? And, as she delves deeper into the case, will she uncover the truth behind the family's secrets?  Lawyer for the Cat is by Lee Robinson.

March 2017

The Cleaner by Elisabeth Herrmann is a gripping thriller that will chill and intrigue as the sins of the past catch up with the secrets of the present. Pools of blood, scenes of carnage, signs of agonising death - who deals with the aftermath of violence once the bodies have been taken away? Judith Kepler has seen it all. She is a crime scene specialist. She turns crime scenes back into habitable spaces. She is a cleaner. It is at the home of a woman who has been brutally murdered that she is suddenly confronted with her own past. The murder victim knew Judith's secret: as a child Judith was sent to an orphanage under mysterious circumstances - parentage unknown. And the East German secret police were always there, in the background...When Judith begins to ask questions, she becomes the target of some powerful enemies. And nothing will ever be the same again. 

Judith Rashleigh has made it.  Living a life of luxury amidst the splendour of Venice.  She’s just starting to grow comfortable.  Which is when her past catches up with her.  Someone knows what she’s done.  Facing blackmail, Judith can only save herself by finding a priceless picture – unfortunately, one she’s convinced doesn’t exist.  And she isn’t the only one seeking it.  This time Judith isn’t in control.  Outflanked and out-thought, out run and outgunned she faces an enemy more powerful and more ruthless than she ever imagined. And if she doesn’t win she dies.  Domina is by L S Hilton

April 2017

Hope to Die is by David Jackson.  When the victim seems perfect, is it the perfect crime? On a bitterly cold winter's night, Liverpool is left stunned by a brutal murder in the grounds of the city's Anglican Cathedral. A killer is on the loose, driven by a chilling rage. Put on the case, DS Nathan Cody is quickly stumped. Wherever he digs, the victim seems to be almost angelic - no-one has a bad word to say, let alone a motive for such a violent murder. And Cody has other things on his mind too. The ghosts of his past are coming ever closer, and - still bearing the physical and mental scars - it's all he can do to hold onto his sanity. And then the killer strikes again.

The Body of Ice is by A J MacKenzie. Christmas Day, Kent, 1796. When an unidentifiable body is discovered in the ice-covered pond of the empty manor house, it soon becomes clear that foul play was involved and the villagers of St Mary fear a murderer amongst them. Local law enforcement is distracted by the on-going smuggling runs between Dover and Calais, and the victim's servant status doesn't warrant great attention so it falls to the Reverend Hardcastle in his new appointment as justice of the peace to investigate. But with the identity of the victim unknown, no murder weapon and no motive, this seems like an impossible mission. Employing the help of his trusted friend, Amelia Chaytor, Hardcastle begins the process - and soon discovers there's more to the mystery than he first thought.

May 2017

WHAT IF YOUR WHOLE LIFE WAS BASED ON LIES? When Joe Lynch stumbles across his wife driving into a hotel car park while she's supposed to be at work, he's intrigued enough to follow her in. And when he witnesses her in an angry altercation with family friend Ben, he knows he ought to intervene. But just as the confrontation between the two men turns violent, and Ben is knocked unconscious, Joe's young son has an asthma attack - and Joe must flee in order to help him. When he returns, desperate to make sure Ben is OK, Joe is horrified to find that Ben has disappeared. And that's when Joe receives the first message.  Lies is by T M Logan.
  
June 2017

A vicious Serbian gang whose profits come from fake nuclear weapons.  A disgraced Russian general, with access to the real thing.  A vengeful Somali warlord, with a cause for which he'd let the world burn.  A jaded government agency, without the information to stop him.  Only one man sees what's coming. And even he might not be able to prevent it . . .  Racing breathlessly from uncharted CIA prisons to the skyscrapers of Dubai, from storm beaten oil rigs off the African coast to the ancient caverns beneath the city of Naples, Marc Dane returns.  Exiled is by James Swallow.

The Assassin of Verona is by Benet Brandreth.  All is not well in Venice.  Threatened daily by Papal assassins, William Shakespeare and his close friends Oldcastle and Hemminges are increasingly isolated - the lies that have protected them so far beginning to wear thin.  His companions want desperately to leave, but Will is tied to the city - his lover, the beautiful Isabella, is growing ever more sick. As tensions reach breaking point, their company is forced to split…

The Mayfly is by James Hazel.  It's happening again.  A mutilated body discovered in the woods.  A murderous plan conceived in the past.  A reckoning seventy years in the making… Charlie Priest, ex-detective inspector turned London lawyer, is hired by influential entrepreneur Kenneth Ellinder to investigate the murder of his son. But Priest is no ordinary lawyer. Brilliant, yet flawed, this case will push him, and those closest to him, to the edge.  Priest traces the evidence back to the desperate last days of the Second World War. Buried in the ashes of the Holocaust is a secret so deadly its poison threatens to destroy the very heart of the establishment. With more victims going missing, Priest realises that not everyone should be trusted. As he races to uncover the truth, can he prevent history from repeating itself?

July 2017

First to Die is by Alex Caan.  A body is found covered in sores after an anonymous protest.  As the research team looking into the origins of the deadly virus narrow down the possibilities, first one then another pharmacist go missing.  Its up to DCI Kate Riley and Zain Harris and Unit 3 to find out what happened and why.

August 2017

From The Shadows by Neil White introduces Dan Grant – The lawyer you want in your corner.  The Lawyer - When defence lawyer Dan Grant inherits a murder case just weeks away from trial, he's just expected to babysit it and take his fee. But Dan's not that kind of lawyer. If he takes on a case then he investigates it his way - wherever the evidence takes him. The Investigator - Jayne Brett is Dan's investigator and a woman with a terrible secret in her past - one that still haunts her today. Needing the money, she takes on the task of investigating the case that Dan's inherited. But has she taken on more than she can handle?  The Case - Mary Kendricks was a pretty, smart, twenty-four-year-old teacher. Now Mary Kendricks is dead and Robert Carter is in the dock, accused of her brutal murder.   But as Dan and Jayne investigate, they discover that perhaps there is more to this case than meets the eye - but in order to do their jobs they need to push the limits of the system, even if it means putting themselves in danger . . . 

When Laura Bjely goes missing during a storm on the Cote d’Azur, the only thing her friend Jan finds is her smartphone – with a disturbing film in the memory. As Jan searches for answers about what happened to Laura he is thrown into a nightmare of madness and murder.  The Shock is by Marc Raab.

Splinter is by Mike Thomas.  A bomb explodes in a busy souk, causing massive devastation.  A gunman walks into a mosque and starts shooting.  But this isn’t the Middle East –this is Cardiff. 

No comments: