Is there spring madness in the air? Scrolling through this week’s new releases, there’s something a little odd about each of them. In a good way, of course. We do like it when crime novels deviate from the norm. So… vampires and detectives, anyone? How about hardboiled in a World War I milieu? Or a crazy scheme to treat the children of criminals for insanity? There’s something amiss, for sure. We’ll start our report with CJ Tudor, one of the UK’s leading purveyors of dark thriller material…
The Gathering by CJ Tudor
How about a bit of vampire crime to get the pulse racing? CJ Tudor has it covered with The Gathering, out on 11 April. The quiet Alaskan community of Deadhart is rocked to its foundations when a local boy is found with his throat ripped out and the blood drained from his body. Strangely, a similar thing happened 25 years ago, and the sheriff, Jensen Tucker, who investigated that original case brings in out-of-state detective Barbara Atkins to help him finally nail the culprit. Fingers point to the vampyr colony who live close by, in an old mining settlement deep in the mountains. There are calls for drastic measures, but Barbara is not convinced – and after another teenager vanishes, it’s a race against time to get to the truth.
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The Mystery of Yew Tree House by Lesley Thomson
A mystery spanning 80 years is about to keep Stella Darnell busy in The Mystery of Yew Tree House, ninth book in Lesley Thomson‘s Detective’s Daughter series, and out now. In the early part of World War II, widow Adelaide Stride is struggling as a single parent to two young daughters. She believes enemies are on her doorstep and something terrible is going to happen. Move on eight decades, and Stella Darnell arrives for a holiday at Yew Tree House, Adelaide’s old home. The time for relaxation ends when a skeleton is found in a pillbox at the bottom of the garden, a bullet hole in the skull, and Stella begins to investigate. Perhaps Adelaide was right to be worried after all…
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Razor Country by Nicholas Wagner
On the eve of World War I, private detective Colm Steiner investigates a series of violent crimes across the British Empire in the noirish thriller Razor Country by Virginia author Nicholas Wagner. The action begins in Sydney, Australia, where Steiner is on the trail of a privileged young Englishman who has been accused of murder. It soon becomes clear that the globetrotting investigator is not a man to play by the rules. Fast paced and awash with blood, this old-school hardboiled crime novel comes out on 9 April.
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Recluse by Gabriel Zavala
At just 19 years old, could Gabriel Zavala be the youngest crime author we’ve ever featured in On the Radar? His dystopian thriller debut, Recluse, is out on 9 April. Everything changed when The Safety First Act redefined criminal justice in America, leading to the children of criminals being placed in psychiatric hospitals to be evaluated. So, let’s meet Lukas Retter, who lives as a recluse in the correctional city of East Haddam, Connecticut, washing cars and dreaming about taking back control of his life. But it soon becomes clear that his idea of control is anything but normal, and nobody is safe as Lukas sets off on a vicious killing spree.
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The Underhistory by Kaaron Warren
A woman haunted by her family’s chequered and tragic past is at the centre of The Underhistory by Kaaron Warren, published on 11 April. Pera Sinclair was only nine when a pilot deliberately flew his plane into her grand home, killing everyone inside. Now elderly, Pera has made it her life’s work to rebuild the mansion and recreate each room to relate a piece of the story of her life and that of the many people who died there, both before and after the disaster. When a group of men turn up unannounced for the final house tour of the season, Pera senses something is amiss – but if they think it’ll be easy to dispose of an old woman, these guys are in for a nasty shock.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
