Brian Lysaght --- Eye of the Beholder --- Vista Pbk Original (0 575 60097 7) £5.99
Four years after he fled the US, taking a fortune with him and leaving three dead witnesses, criminal financier Robert Vargo is back. Assistant attorney Julie Beck wants Vargo in gaol so bad she can taste it. She's failed once and failure isn't part of her job description. But only one man can lead her to Vargo, her ex-lover Bobby Lee Baker - and he's behind bars. Where she put him.
"Mr Lysaght has just shouldered his way into the first rank of thriller writers." Peter Straub
"Persuasive and fast moving.......a pleasure to read Richard North Patterson
Alastair MacNeill --- Moon Blood --- Gollancz (0 575 06296 7) £15.99
A rip-roaring tale of adventure from the true heir to Alistair MacLean.
Donald Brennan stumbled on a terrible, fatal secret in the deepest Amazonian jungle.
Kelly McBride, owner of the Shamrock Gal, has problems of her own just keeping body and soul together, and the only way she'll help Ray Brennan find out what happened to his brother is if he pays her. Handsomely. But she soon discovers that some things matter more than money...
Moonblood is a taut, explosive thriller of political assasination and greed set on the murky, dangerous waters of the Amazon and in the mean streets and smoky back rooms of New York.
Alastair MacNeill was born in Scotland. He made his name when he wrote seven bestselling novels based on storylines left after Alastair MacLean's death. His most recent novel under his own name is The Devil's Door.
Barry Maitland --- All My Enemies --- Hamish Hamilton
(0241 136245) £16.00 Watch Out for Review Coming Soon!
The bold stratagems of London's most gifted young homicide detective have paid off, and she's being rewarded with an appointment to the inner sanctum of thief catching: New Scotland Yard, Serious Crimes Branch. Yet for all the imperatives of her boss, Chief Inspector Brock, that Kathy keep her head down and her file clean, the first case she's assigned seems destined to become her most notorious yet. A young woman is found viciously murdered in a leafy, well-heeled suburb, and the grotesque details of her slaughter appear to be well-rehearsed, even theatrical.
Indeed, as Kathy investigates further, following leads initially so implausible she doubts her own judgement, she begins to trace the outline to a narrative whose melodrama and bloody machinations recall the goriest Jacobean tragedy, yet which is all too horribly real. What's more, through a series of events Kathy herself seems least able to anticipate or control, she discovers painful elements of her own past are being written into the plot and that she is playing more than just a walk-on-part.
With this third instalment in the Kathy Kolla and Chief Inspector Brock series, Barry Maitland has created a story of dazzling intricacy and suspense. All My Enemies is an exploration of the deceptions behind marriage, suburbia and the dramatic arts, in which a corpus of plays becomes a template for murder, precipitating a climax as audacious as it is stunning and unexpected.
Barry Maitland was born in Scotland and brought up in London. He is now Professor of Architecture at the University of Newcastle in Australia. He has published a number of books on architecture, as well as the first two novels of the Kolla/Brock series, The Marx Sisters and The Malcontenta.
Ed McBain --- Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear --- Hodder (0 340 63986 5) £16.99 out August 15th
Gladly is a bear. A charming little bear with dear little crossed eyes and enchanting little spectacles that really work. She is destined for the highly competitive Christmas toy market, if only the court can decide who really owns her, who actually designed her. Is she the creation of Elaine Commins, bright young designer, sexy and slightly cross-eyed? Or can her old boss, Brett Totland of Toyland claim the inspiration for the endearing teddy?
When Brett Totland is murdered on his yacht, Elaine is the obvious suspect. Far from certain whether he is defending a murderess or a victim with a death wish, Matthew Hope takes on Elaine's defence. Matthew Hope, the brilliant Florida attorney whose most recent case nearly cost him his life. Having danced with death he returned to the more routine world of injunctions and backroom deals, only to find himself embroiled once again, in a murder case as treacherous as any he has ever encountered.
Ed Mcbain is one of the most illustrious names in crime fiction and a holder of the Mystery Writers of America's coveted Grand Master Award. He has written more than eighty works of fiction, including the 87th Precinct series and the acclaimed Matthew Hope series. His real name is Evan Hunter and he lives in Connecticut.
Lindsay Maracotta --- Turnaround....You're Dead --- Coronet Pbk (0 340 65769) £5.99 Out August 1st
"I was going to love telling these folks the property was no longer for sale. Rather gleefully, I skipped up the final flight to pool level...
Where i could now see that what I thought was seaweed was actually long, undulating strands of hair. And that hair belonged to Julia Prentice in the muddy water, face down, bottom up.
She was stark naked
And starker dead."
Lucy Freers' family life is on the rocks. Her marriage is falling apart and her daughter is becoming more objectionable by the day. Having the naked body of your glamorous neighbour turn up in your swimming pool is inconvenient, to say the least. When this happens to Lucy Freers her hopes of making a stable life in the Palisades are blown. Quickly under suspicion herself, she undertakes to solve the crime. As she unlocks the sometimes sordid, sometimes hilarious puzzle behind Julia's demise she begins to wonder just what is "normal" in a world as intrinsically artificial as Hollywood.
Lindsay Maracotta lives and works in Hollywood as a screenwriter, script doctor and television producer Turnaround.....You're Dead is her fifth novel.
John Martel --- Conflicts of Interest --- Arrow Pbk (0 09 947531 6) £5.99 out August 15th
Conflicts of Interest combines all the pace and technical know-how of a Tom Clancy novel with the courtroom tension of a John Grisham.
The US Air Force's top secret, state-of-the-art stealth bombers are dropping from the skies. The official verdict: pilot error. But is it?
A pilot's beautiful widow doesn't think so. Neither does a maverick young lawyer in a top San Francisco law firm. For both of them the case spells trouble, as their investigations uncover government dirty dealing, billion-dollar fraud - and murder.
An ex-Air force pilot and one of the top ten trial lawyers in America, John Martel brings all his authority and experience to Conflicts of Interest, a high-octane thriller that explodes with suspense.........
Dannie M.Martin --- The Dishwasher --- Indigo Pbk (0 575 40000 5) £5.99 out 8th August
The Dishwasher is the debut novel of ex-prisoner and journalist Dannie Martin. It is a tough and sexy novel with the same raw immediacy as Martin's prison writings which have brought him much attention and numerous awards for journalism.
The dishwasher of the title is Bill Malone, an ex-con just released from prison after serving a fourteen-year sentence for bank robbery. All he wants is a peaceful life and the chance to go straight but it is simply not that easy..... He rents a room at the Star Motel on the outskirts of town which is owned by former exotic dancer Gail, the wife of Tough Tony, Malone's friend from inside. He finds a job as a dishwasher at Ferraro's restaurant and starts to think that he may have found the safety and stability that have eluded him for so long. Then Gail's fourteen-year old daughter, June-bug, is brutally raped by a Mexican drug dealer and Malone feels forced to take matters into his own hands. This sets him on a collision course with the Sandinos, a dysfunctional Mafia family, Leading to explosive consequences all round.
".....this gripping debut is both poignant and mean'n'nasty" Time Out
"Think of Chester Himes and Ed. Bunker. Now add Dannie M.Martin to the list" Crime Time
Gregory Mcdonald--- Fletch Reflected HarperCollins pbk (0 00 647993 0 £5.99 Out on 19th August
Cool, quirky and quicker with a quip than a gun .. The latest Fletch novel form award-winning crime writer Gregory Mcdonald
When Fletch’s new-found son, Jack, decides to help a former lover in distress, his kindness brings him big trouble. Shana Steufel is about to marry the son of a multi-millionaire, the eccentric inventor of the perfect mirror. But her prenuptial bliss is marred by fears that someone is trying to kill Chester Fadleigh, her fiancée’s father.
Jack agrees to go undercover to investigate and is drawn into a bizarre and increasingly deadly family drama. Meanwhile, Fletch, who is determined to help his son’s mother recover from diet madness, finds his worthy endeavour interrupted by Jack’s predicament, thrusting the duo back into action once more.
"Mcdonald mixes horror and humour, rage and suspense, in a memorably demented piece of macabre, with farcical finesse" Sunday Times
Gregory Mcdonald is the author of twenty-two books, including the highly acclaimed Fletch novels. He lives in Tennessee. He has twice won the coveted Edgar Award for Best American Mystery Novel.
Magdalen Nabb --- The Monster of Florence HarperCollins (0 00 232505 5) £14.99 See Review
A Marshal Guarnaccia novel
"She is magnificent on the medieval pageantry and sinister facades of her adopted Florence." Sunday Times
After all the years that Marshal Guarnaccia has commanded the Carabinieri Station housed in the Pitti Palace, great paintings are a familiar part of his life in Florence … Still, he doesn’t consciously know anything about art and if he joins battle with a successful forger, it is only as a favour to an old friend and because the man fascinates him.
Then he is dragged into a last-ditch attempt to nail the serial killer who has ritually slaughtered seven courting couples over the last ten years, only to find himself faced with a forgery in his own line of business and the problems are distressingly familiar. Nobody wants to know the truth about a fake: not the buyer, not the seller, not the fooled expert or the general public. If a false case is made against the wrong man, who is going to admit it? The Marshal has the courage to speak out but no one wants to listen. It is more comfortable for everyone, event he wrongly accused man, if the blood-soaked vineyards keep their secret of what really happened on those Saturday nights of the new moon … Magdalen Nabb moved to Florence from her native Lancashire twenty years ago and pursues a dual career as a crime writer and children’s author.
Magdalen Nabb --- The Marshall Makes His Report HarperCollins pbk (0 00 649695 4) £4.99 Out on 19th August
Homicide, Suicide or Accident? When a member of one of the oldest noble families in Florence suffers a sudden death, the only acceptable choice is Accident. But Marshal Guarnaccia of the Carabinieri doesn’t believe what happened at the Palazzo Ulderighi was an accident, although he’ll be risking his career if he says so.
The trouble is that the Marshal has a way of making his presence felt, and it isn’t long before the accident is acknowledged as suicide. Still the Marshal isn’t satisfied, and while he claims he isn’t accusing the Marchesa of killing her husband, exactly what does he believe?
Threatened, afraid and baffled, the Marshal paces the courtyard inside the palazzo, always accompanied by the music of flute or piano and haunted by the conviction that something sinister has happened there. When at last the music stops the Marshal is proved right, and after nine hundred years of survival by bloodshed the Palazzo Ulderighi yields up its last victim.
"Magdalen Nabb’s books are set in Florence so vividly brought to life that I long to go back there after reading each one." Susanna Yager, Sunday Telegraph
Ian Rankin --- Let It Bleed--- Orion Pbk (075280 401 4) £4.99
Two boys hug and jump.
One man blows his brains out and does his lady a last favour.
Alone in his cell another sets a ball rolling that may demolish a glittering political career.
Everyone keeps secrets, and sometimes not just their own ...
Struggling through another Edinburgh winter Rebus finds himself sucked into a web of intrigue that throws up more questions than answers. Was the Lord Provost's daughter kidnapped or just another runaway? Why should Councillor Tom Gillespie be shredding documents that were waste paper from a fraud case years old? And why is Rebus himself suddenly invited to a clay pigeon shoot at the stately home of the Scottish Office's Permanent Secretary, Sir Iain Hunter?
Pulled into the machine that is modern Scotland, Rebus is confronted by the fact that some of his enemies may be beyond his reach, even beyond justice.
"Rankin strips Edinburgh's polite facade to its gritty skeleton" The Times
"First rate plotting, dialogue and characterisations" Literary Review
"Rebus is the kind of detective who enjoys a deep dark mystery with a good moral conundrum" New York Times
Jay Russell --- Blood --- Raven Pbk (1 85487 466 7) £5.99
Street gangs from hell are slaughtering each other for control of a drug with terrifying side-effects. A trail of mutilated bodies leads from the sidewalks of Hollywood to a sterile research laboratory, where two mysterious figures of awesome powers play a demonic game of cat and mouse.
Dorothy Simpson --- A Day for Dying --- Warner Pbk (0 7515 1377 6) £5.99 out 1st August
When a young man with everything to live for is found tragically drowned in a swimming pool at his own engagement party, Inspector Thanet is quick to suspect foul play. For the picture-perfect lifestyle of Max Jeopard and his close knit circle masks a web of relationships held together by ties of jealousy and anger, as much as by admiration and love.
These buried secrets may have the power to harm the innocent as well as the guilty. Yet one of them holds the key to Max's death, and Thanet must try to tease it out without bringing further suffering on the bereaved families.
Dorothy Simpson is one of the finest British crime writers. This gripping and suspenseful mystery is sure to delight all her existing admirers and win her many more.
A really excellent example of the genre: well thought out and and equally well executed, with some cunningly concealed surprises. Inspector Thanet is a definite find. TLS
Pace, plot and subtle characterisations all combine to make this a cracking good read Sunday Telegraph
The fifth Thanet title Last Seen Alive won the CWA Silver Dagger in1985
Charles Spencer --- Full Personal Service --- Gollancz (0 575 06293 2) £15.99
We first met portly showbiz writer Will Benson in I Nearly Died, in which he learned how dangerous giving bad notices can be. Now he has left the theatrical newspaper for the loucher but possibly safer world of soft-porn publishing. Although he is settled in connubial bliss with the lovely Kim, certain aspects of their marriage (don't ask) necessitate the occasional visit to a tart with a heart in Pimlico. When one day Will finds that his predecessor has overstepped the mark, to say the least, he reluctantly finds himself once again forced into the role of reluctant private eye.......
Praise for I Nearly Died
If there's a funnier, sexier or sharper showbiz novel in print today, I'm Micheal Jackson's love child. Charles Spencer knows whereof he writes - only the names have been changed to protect the guilty. It's spiteful, it's rude and i'm still laughing. Bob Monkhouse
Excessively funny, extremely entertaining and only occasionally offensive, this is not a book to miss. T.J.Binyon Evening Standard
Daniel Evan Weiss --- The Roaches have no King --- Serpents Tail High Risk Pbk (1 85242 326 9) £8.99 Out August 22nd
When Ira Fishblatt's girlfriend, Ruth Grubstein, moves into his apartment, he has his kitchen renovated to make her feel at home. She is tickled pink, but hundreds of other houseguests aren't - the cockroaches who'd been living high on the hog before they were Sheerocked in and starved out. Famine slowly drives them into a frenzy until one, named Numbers, comes up with a diabolical plan: with the unwitting help of Rufus, the local cocaine dealer, they'll encourage a romance between Ira and that pretty neighbour, Elizabeth, and rid themselves forever of Ruth and her damnable tidiness.........
A shockingly funny, intelligent and even brave novel Iain Banks
Funnier than Kafka's Metamorphosis, and manages to touch just as many social and metaphysical bases.....an uncanningly sharp analysis of modern manners and neuroses. The Times (London)
Barbara Whitehead --- Secrets of the Dead --- Constable (0 09 476150 7) £14.99
When Chris Simmers murdered his mother, the neighbours wondered why he hadn't done it years before. They'd all had the benefit of her racous, vulgar voice, her opinions and her prying ways. Poor, downtrodden Chris had obviously reached breaking point. It took them a while to see the other side of things. For the bloody, brutal and sordid slaying, Simmers had been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Twelve years later, Chris returned to the shuttered, decaying house and to the nagging blank in his memory of those drunken hourswhen the fatality occured. Was this seemingly mild and balanced man, his belief in himself undimmed by over a decade in gaol, really a matricide?
R.D.Wingfield --- Hard Frost --- Corgi Pbk (0 552 14409 6) £5.99
Television's top detective is back. Detective Inspector Jack Frost is scruffy, apparently bumbling, unliked by his colleagues and bullied by his superiors, and yet shrewd, canny, and - in the end - right.
A young boy is found dead in a rubbish sack, suffocated and one finger cut off. Another boy of the same age, Bobby Kirby, is missing. A psychopath is stabbing babies as they lie sleeping in their cots. Enter Detective Inspector Jack Frost, insubordinate, foul - mouthed, intuitive and fearless. The next problem for the under - staffed Denton force is the abduction of Carol Stanfield, a fifteen-year-old who's found naked by the roadside, her father having paid a ransom. Robert Stanfield is a dicey customer, and Frost has his doubts.....
"Crime pick of the year. Darker, funnier and more violent than the television adaptation, but just as high quality". Mike Ripley, Daily Telegraph
"Inspector Jack Frost is deplorable yet funny, a comic monster on the side of the Angels." Mattthew Coady, Guardian
Hard Frost is the fourth Frost novel.
Eric Wright --- Death of a Sunday Writer HarperCollins (0 00 232606 X) £14.99
"Wright has a beautifully light touch, trailing a mean red herring" John Coleman, Sunday Times
Bored with her job as a librarian, Lucy Brenner jumps at the chance to inherit her cousin’s down-at-heel detective agency in Toronto. Despite the scepticism of Jack Brighton, a fellow investigator, and several false starts, she soon finds herself building a new career.
Hired by ?Brighton to trace Brian Potter, heir to a substantial inheritance left by his English mother, Lucy traces Potter’s aunt, Nora Denton, to a squalid farmhouse which she shares with a bullying husband, to be told that Brian died of meningitis before he event reached the farm. Unconvinced, Lucy checks in the newspapers of the day, only to find the Dentons’ story confirmed. But then Brighton shows her a photograph of the dead boy which does not match that of the boy in the newspaper article and, in her attempts to solve a fifty-year old mystery, Lucy sets off for England on a voyage of discovery…
Eric Wright was born in England and moved to Canada as a young man. He is now a teacher in Toronto.