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Thriller Recommendations for National Crime Reading Month
Run by the Crime Writers' Association in partnership with The Reading Agency and culminating in the prestigious CWA ceremony at the end of the month, June is National Crime Reading Month. A celebration of the joys of reading crime novels and thrillers and supported by events across the United Kingdom and Ireland, the initiative is gaining in popularity and reputation with every passing year. In this exclusive piece, ten Crime Writers' Assocation authors recommend one of their favourite page-turning reads.
Andrea Mara Recommends Breaking by Amanda Cassidy
I recently read a fantastic crime novel called Breaking by Amanda Cassidy. It's about a mother whose daughter goes missing on a beach in Florida where the family are on holidays. It's not just an ordinary missing child story though, because the mother had been drinking, and the media spotlight soon turns on her, asking if she'd been negligent, if she'd somehow let it happen. The story moves between the frantic present-day search and mother's past, showing why she became the conflicted, somewhat cold woman we meet in the novel. The mystery unravels as the search continues, and the reveal is both satisfying and inevitable, exactly as it should be in a good crime novel.
Victoria Selman Recommends Mindhunter by John Douglas and Mark Olshaker
As my readers know, I’m fascinated by true crime and the criminal psyche although what intrigues me just as much as the mentality of evil is how serialists are able to dupe those close to them. This is a theme I explore in my latest novel, Truly Darkly Deeply which examines a serial killer’s legacy through the eyes of his daughter. The story was part inspired by BTK, the Green River Killer and Bundy- all of whom had families. And all of whom kept their proclivities hidden from those closest to them. It was also inspired by Mindhunter, the seminal work that takes us behind the scenes of the FBI and the inception of offender profiling. Mindhunter kickstarted my interest in criminal psychology and how perpetrators leave a portrait of their mind at every crime scene. It’s riveting read and a must for true crime fans!
Penny Batchelor Recommends Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Rebecca is the book that inspired me to write crime thrillers. The fact that the eponymous character is dead drew me in immediately as did the country house setting and Mrs Danvers, the chilling housekeeper. The two Mrs de Winters are wonderful psychological portraits of desire, dislocation and deceit, whilst the plot brilliantly weaves cliffhangers and red herrings together with jaw-dropping moments. Rebecca is a classic that doesn't date - who could forget the first line 'Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again'? - and has spawned many a movie. It's my desert island book choice.
Victoria Dowd Recommends Murder on the Orient Express by Agatha Christie
It is one of the greatest crime books of all time for a reason. The denouement is breath taking, the plot perfectly clued. One of the world’s finest detectives faces the most fiendish murder mystery involving a vast array of suspects. Trapped in this glamorous setting, Poirot must rely solely upon his little grey cells. But there are many more layers to it than that. Beneath the glamour and the complicated puzzle, there is a very dark heart. This book does not just ask ‘whodunnit,’ it questions the nature of justice itself. What should we do when justice fails us?
Robin Stevens Recommends The Swifts by Beth Lincoln
There are so many wonderful children's crime novels coming out this year, but my favourite so far has to be The Swifts by Beth Lincoln, illustrated by Claire Powell: a country house murder mystery with a Gothic twist. It stars Shenanigan Swift, a girl who's desperately trying to work out where she fits in her strange family - and who's bumping her relations off one by one. Witty, weird, fast-paced and with a huge amount of heart, this is a brilliantly engaging mystery that had me laughing out loud and wishing I could be a Swift too.
Sam Blake Recommends Grave Expectations by Alice Bell
Grave Expectations is Alice Bell’s hilarious crime debut - Claire Hendricks is a directionless 30-something true crime fan who works as a freelance medium, assisted by the ghost of her best friend, Sophie, who was murdered when she was seventeen. Hired for a séance at a birthday party at The Cloisters, they realise the unbearable aristocratic family, are hiding some deadly secrets. Teaming up with the least awful members of the clan, including an ex-cop Basher, and teen Alex, Claire and Sophie must figure out not just whodunnit, but who they killed, to release a grim and unhappy spirit. Sophie is a classic, deeply sarcastic teen who regularly points put Claire’s failings as, assisted by the living and the dead, they race against misunderstanding and disaster to find the truth. I loved it!
Steve Cavanagh Recommends The Talented Mr. Ripley by Patricia Highsmith
Patricia Highsmith’s most famous creation is the grifter, con-man, art connoisseur and killer – Tom Ripley. I keep coming back to this book for two reasons. First, so that I can enjoy Ripley’s various schemes and so that I can try to understand how Highsmith pulled off such an amazing premise. In any other novel, Ripley would be a villain who we would delight in being vanquished at the end of the story, but in this one – he is our hero. And not only do we want him to get away with his dastardly plans, we also want him to be happy. A masterpiece.
Linda Mather Recommends Black Drop by Leonora Nattrass
If you enjoy an engrossing read with flawed but fascinating characters, I’d thoroughly recommend Black Drop by Leonora Nattrass. Although my own crime series is set in contemporary Cotswolds territory, I absolutely take my hat off to authors like Leonora who can create the complex and risky world of 18th century London, complete with the smells of horse dung and soot. This book has pace and is rich in context and character. It doesn’t duck the political and international complexities of its time, nor pull its punches on the grittier aspects of murder. I particularly loved following Jago through his work world in Whitehall, described with wry humour and a sharp eye. There is a plenty of high quality historical crime fiction around but this book stood out for me.
Sarah Ward Recommends Black Lake Manor by Guy Morpuss
My favourite novel so far in 2023 is Guy Morpuss's Black Lake Manor, I love a good time slip novel and in this book, the narrative encompasses a dramatic event in 1804 and a murder investigation in 2045. But there's a catch. Part time constable Ella Manning is on an island where someone has the ability to rewind time by six hours. Just as she's nearing indentifying the killer, the clock goes back and she has to start all over again. I loved the wonderful closed-in atmosphere of the island but also Morpuss's range of characters. Innovative and compelling, Black Lake Manor has encouraged me to read his earlier novel, Five Minds. What a talent.
Catherine Kirwan Recommends Mystic River by Dennis Lehane
Following the publication in April of Small Mercies, Dennis Lehane’s first book since 2017, I recommend revisiting this 2001 masterpiece. Mystic River tells the story of the far-reaching consequences for boyhood pals Sean Devine, Jimmy Marcus and Dave Boyle after one of them gets into a car and the other two don’t. Years later, when Jimmy’s daughter is murdered, the three former friends are drawn inexorably back together. Lehane’s characters live and breathe and suffer in a blue collar Boston so real it compels you to turn the pages.
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