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Issue #259 August 2007

“where a good crimecan be had by all”

One of the busiest sections in Abbey’s is our growingrange of Historical Crime.

PETER PETER TEMPLE TEMPLE WINS DUNCAN LAWINS DUNCAN LAWRIE DWRIE DAAGGERGGERCongratulations to Australian Peter Temple onwinning the Duncan Lawrie Dagger, the world’smost prestigious award for crime fiction for TheBroken Shore (352pp Pb $22.95). Formerly knownas the Golden Dagger, past winners of this awardinclude literary giants John le Carré, Ian Rankinand Patricia Cornwell. Short-listed against well-known writers James Lee Burke, Gillian Flynn andGiles Blunt, Temple thought his chances ofwinning were slim. “You’re up against some of theworld’s best crime writers in English. I was proudenough just to be the first Aussie to make theshortlist, let alone win.” The Broken Shore,Temple’s 8th novel, was described by judges as“a well-written crime novel with excellentcharacterisation mingled with a subtleexploration of contemporary Australianlandscape and mores. This is a first class readwith a sympathetic, engrossing policeprotagonist.” Until recently, it had not beenprinted in the UK as it was “too Australian”.Temple has won five Ned Kelly awards and is thefirst Australian to win a Gold Dagger. The Duncan Lawrie International Dagger for thebest crime novel translated into English has for thesecond year running been won by thewriter/translator team of Fred Vargas and SîanReynolds, this time for Wash This Blood Cleanfrom My Hand (see page 9, Pb $29).

Newcomer Gillian Flynn achieved remarkablesuccess with Sharp Objects (Pb $29), winning boththe Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and the New BloodDagger. It is a tribute to the broad appeal of her bookthat it was singled out by three separate panels ofjudges, acting independently.

The CWA Dagger in the Library is awarded to “theauthor of crime fiction whose work is currently givingthe greatest enjoyment to readers”. Authors arenominated by UK libraries and readers’ groups andjudged by a panel of librarians. The winner this yearwas Stuart MacBride.

“His books tell of life in all its grim reality, but this onlyadds to the appeal of this truly impressive newauthor... the grimmest of subjects, but leavened(thankfully) with dashes of humour. He’s bad newsfor the Aberdeen tourist industry, but great news forcrime readers.”

The Cartier Diamond Dagger, for sustainedexcellence in the genre of crime writing, was won byJohn Harvey.

- Ann

CWCWA DA DAAGGER GGER AAWWARDS 2007ARDS 2007

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BOOKS BOOKS ALIVE 2007ALIVE 2007

Mark ABERNETHYGolden Serpent

488pp Tp $29.95Alan McQueen was once a star ofthe global intelligencecommunity, renowned for beingthe Aussie spook who shot and killed AbuSabaya, the world’s most dangerousterrorist. But that was 2002. Now, during aroutine assignment, McQueen discoversthat Sabaya is not dead. Due Aug(Australian) Simon BECKETT

Written on the Bone304pp Tp $32.95

Dr David Hunter #2. Forensicsanthropologist David Hunter is asked toexamine a fire-death on a remoteHebridean island. Warned that it will beunlike anything else he has encountered,Hunter and the police go straight to thebody. It is indeed unusual: almost totallyincinerated except for one hand and bothfeet, which have been left untouched bythe fire... Due Aug (Scottish)

John BINGHAMA Fragment of Fear

224pp Pb $28.00When elderly Lucy Dawson is foundmurdered during a trip to Italy,criminologist James Compton launches apersonal investigation to find out whowanted the gentle old woman dead, onlyto discover that someone will do anythingto hide the killing. Due Aug (American) Lilian Jackson BRAUN

The Cat Who had Sixty Whiskers240pp Pb $19.95

#29. Moose County,400 miles north ofeverywhere, is in anuproar (good andbad) following vastinheritances fromwealthy old families.Only ‘Cool Koko’knows what’shappening - and he’snot telling. JimQwilleran thinks it’sbecause he has more whiskers thanordinary cats, but who’s counting? DueAug (American) Ken BRUEN

Ammunition 272pp Pb $29.00Inspector Brant #7. Over the many

years that Inspector Brant has beenbringing his own patented brand ofpolicing to the streets of southeastLondon, the brilliant, tough cop has madea few enemies. So when a crazedgunman, hired by persons unknown,pumps a magazine full of bullets intoBrant in a local pub, leaving him ingrasping at life (but ornery as ever), hiscolleagues on the squad are leftwondering how to react. Due Aug (Irish) Alafair BURKE

Dead Connection320pp Tp $32.95

Ellie Hatcher #1.Alafair Burke(daughter of JamesLee Burke) hits theground runningwith her first stand-alone pulse-pounder featuring afemale cop in a NewYork City setting.“Burke handles thevarious threads ofher story with aplomb, her characters arebelievable, her plotting is right on thebutton.” - Irish Times. Due Aug (American) James Lee BURKE

The Tin Roof Blowdown384pp Tp $32.95

Robicheaux #16. Burke’s latest DaveRobicheaux novel is a powerful evocationof Hurricane Katrina and its devastatingeffects on his beloved New Orleans. DueAug (American)

W J BURLEYWycliffe and the House of Fear

(1995) 240pp Pb $19.95After the mysterious disappearance ofwealthy businesswoman Bridget Kemp,wife of Roger, old memories begincoming to the surface. Hadn’t Roger’sfirst wife also mysteriously disappeared?For detective Wycliffe, supposedlyrecuperating from an illness, it’s all toointriguing for him to ignore. Due Aug

Wycliffe and the Redhead (1997) 256pp Pb $19.95

Simon Meagor was a lonely middle-agedman. With a broken marriage behind him,his life was centred on his antiquarianbookshop. In his past was the memory ofa murder trial where his evidence hadresulted in the conviction of a man whosubsequently killed himself. Now, to hishorror, the daughter of that man wasapplying for a job in his shop and, almostmesmerised by her, Simon found he wasagreeing to her employment. But whenher body was discovered in a floodedquarry everything pointed to murderand, inevitably, suspicion fell on SimonMeagor. Wycliffe became increasinglydisturbed by a case which grew more andmore complicated as he explored manydark and murky secrets from the past.Due Aug (English) Tom CAIN

The Accident Man384pp Tp $32.95

Meet ‘the AccidentMan’. Samuel Carveris a good guy whomakes bad thingshappen to bad people.Ex-SAS, now freelancemercenary, he is thefrontline weapon of‘the Consortium’, ablack-ops Britishgovernment outfit. Oris it? Carver is called to do a hit at veryshort notice. Do this job for us and be paidvery well. Refuse and you better run andhide. He believes the target to be a high-ranking Pakistani terrorist. The job is toorganise a car crash in a Paris underpass.But Carver is being set up. When hediscovers the real identity of his target,and more importantly the identity of thetarget’s female companion, he knows onething - his life is over. Due Aug (American) Lindy CAMERON

Scarlett Stiletto: The First CutTp $29.95

This is a superb collection of spine-chilling crime fiction stories culled fromthe annual Scarlet Stiletto Awards. You’llfind the whole gamut, from murder andmayhem to police procedurals, right here.Some will have your blood running cold,some will raise gooseflesh, as well as achuckle, but all will have you on the edgeof your seat, wanting more. (Australian)

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Modern Crime

academic

banking

canine detectives

clerical

cosy/malice domestic

culinary/food

fbi

feline detectives

forensic

horse racing mystery

medical

military

native american

police procedural

political/legal

psychological

private eye

romantic suspense

sport

spy

suspense/thriller

KEY

AUTHOR’S NATIONALITY AT END OF BLURB

John CARBONE

Last of the Good Guys320pp Tp $32.95

All Marco wants is to be a stand-up guy;to make his way in the world without toomuch trouble. Right? But in 1970s NewYork, that’s not so easy. Marco has theMafia in his blood and, at only 16, hehears the streets calling. So he goes intobusiness with a few guys, dealing a littlepot. Then his ruthless Uncle Tony getsinvolved... Due Aug (American) Stephen CARTER

New England White576pp Tp $32.95

Carter returns to the New Englanduniversity town of Elm Harbor, where themurder of a renowned African-Americaneconomist opens a door on the racialcomplications of the town’s past, on onefamily’s secrets, and on the most hiddenand powerful bastions of African-American political influence. Due Aug(American) Jackie CHANCE

Death on the Flop 256pp Pb $9.95The First Poker Mystery. When Belinda

Cooley agrees to go with her twinbrother, Ben, to Las Vegas for an amateurTexas Hold ‘Em tournament, she neverexpects to actually gamble - anddefinitely not with her brother’s life. Butafter Ben mysteriously disappears fromhis hotel room, Belinda must take hisplace at the table and play her way to thefinal round. Due Aug (American) Shane CHRISTOPHER

Nowhere 312pp Pb $14.95With their last near-death

investigation behind them, DetectiveDavid Rodriguez and reporter MariKinsella must take on another bizarrecase - his time a NYC killer who seems tobe from another time and place. Due Aug

In Dreams 281pp Pb $14.95When five strangers are found

tortured to death in the cellar of a seedyNew York apartment, reporter MariKinsella makes a startling connection: thestrange dreams that bound the victims inlife - and in death. Dreams that Mariherself is beginning to have. Due Aug(American) Michael CONNELLY

Echo Park 400pp Pb $19.95Bosch #12. In 1993, Harry Bosch

was assigned the case of a missingperson, Marie Gesto. The young womanwas never found - dead or alive - and thecase has haunted Bosch ever since.Bosch’s whole being as a cop begins tocrack when he comes to realise that heand his partner missed a clue back in 1993which could have led them to the killerand would have stopped the ninemurders that followed the killing ofMarie Gesto... Due Aug (American)

Thomas COOK

The Murmur of Stones336pp Pb $22.95

Brilliant and intense, Diana grew upcaring for her schizophrenic father, andwhen her own son, Jason, is diagnosed assuffering from the same affliction, shedevotes herself to the quietly heroicresponsibility of caring for a child whowill never be ordinary - a fact that Mark,her husband, finds hard to accept. WhenDiana leaves Jason alone with his fatherfor just a few hours and on her returnfinds her son has drowned, she just can’tbelieve the coroner’s conclusion that herson’s death was accidental. Due Aug(American) Vena CORK

Green Eye 512pp Pb $19.95The hedonistic lifestyle of University

students can seem an enviable one. Butright now Danny Thorn - enrolled atBillings College Cambridge - can see littleto be jealous of. Danny’s got womantroubles - his ex, Julie, won’t leave himalone and the beguiling Stella doesn’tseem to be interested in him. But as theterm progresses, getting a date for theMay Ball will be the least of his worries. Arapist, who has been preying on femalestudents for months, is still at large. Anda potentially deadly case of the green-eyed monster is about to rear its uglyhead. Due Aug (English) Avery CORMAN

The Boyfriend from Hell256pp Pb $29.00

Her life turned insideout by a newrelationship with adazzling, charismaticman, freelance writerVeronica McBridebecomes increasinglyperplexed and thenfearful of his dualnature, which is byturns loving and supportive or non-committal and manipulative. Due Aug(American) Adrian D’HAGE

The Beijing Conspiracy Tp $32.95From China’s western-most province,

near its border with Pakistan, comes thisdeadly ultimatum. In the White HouseSituation Room, the President and histeam dismiss it as one of thousands ofthreats made against the US every week.But CIA agent Curtis O’Connor isn’t sosure. The man making the warning is DrKhalid Kadeer, a brilliant Muslimmicrobiologist. As an expert onbioterrorism, O’Connor knows Kadeerisn’t bluffing. So too does KateBraithwaite. She works in a hot-zonelaboratory, on the USA’s own top secretbiological weapons. If the results of Kate’sresearch fall into the wrong hands, billionsof people will die… Due Aug (Australian)

Michael DIBDIN

Blood Rain (1999)284pp Pb $12.95

Aurelio Zen #7. The discovery of anunidentified, decomposed corpse in arailway wagon marks the beginning ofZen’s most difficult and dangerous case.Set against the backdrop of the 3,000-year-old city of Catalina, in the shadow ofMount Etna, this is Zen at his mostdesperate and driven. Due Aug (English) Ake EDWARDSON

Frozen Tracks 464pp Tp $35.00Eric Winter #3. It’s autumn in

Gothenburg. An anxious mother calls thepolice; it seems her little boy was luredinto a car by a man offering sweets, thenreturned unharmed. The same happenswith a little girl, then another... Due Aug

Never End 320pp Pb $21.95Eric Winter #2. It is late when 19-

year-old Jeanette bids goodbye to herfriends and sets off for home. She takes ashortcut through a city park, a decisionthat will add hours to her journey. Nextmorning, the police come to questionJeanette about her rape but, indesperation, she has already scoured alltraces of the crime away. Chief InspectorErik Winter and his colleagues arereminded of a rape and murder case thatremains unsolved after five years. Couldthis be the work of the same person? DueAug (Swedish) Nancy FAIRBANKS

Bon Bon Voyage304pp Pb $15.95

Culinary Mystery #8. Even if she mustshare a cabin with her mother-in-law,food columnist Carolyn Blue admits it’s aterrific Mother’s Day present: passage onthe Bountiful Feast, a gourmet cruise shipsailing to the Canary Islands. But when afemale passenger disappears at a portstop and a corpse turns up on board, it’sclear to Carolyn that the Bountiful Feast issailing headlong into very dangerouswaters. And if that’s not enough, there’s aterrifying shortage of double chocolateraspberry mousse. (American) Dan FESPERMAN

The Amateur Spy432pp Tp $32.95

Freeman Lockhart is working for his oldfriend Omar in Amman, Jordan, and isspying on him too. Hoping to prevent hisown secrets from ever coming to light,Freeman has agreed to report back on hisfriend to a clandestine agency interestedin Omar’s finances. Meanwhile, inWashington DC, Aliyah Rahim is spyingon her husband Abbas. A brilliant doctor,Abbas is crushed by the death of theirdaughter, which he blames on the post-9/11 mood of hostility towards Arab-Americans. Aliyah fears he may beplanning a terrifying act of revenge. DueAug (American)

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Dan FESPERMANThe Prisoner of Guantanamo

512pp Pb $19.95Revere Falk is an FBI interrogator whobelieves it is possible to get more from aterrorist suspect by treating him decentlythan by using more ‘robust’ methods. Helives his life by a certain code of honour.This puts him in a minority atGuantanamo Bay, Cuba. So when thebody of a US soldier is found undermysterious circumstances on the beach,and a high-ranking investigative team isflown in, Falk should be above suspicion.But Falk has a secret, a secret he hadhoped was dead and buried. Due Aug(American) Joseph FINDER

Killer Instinct 480pp Pb $19.95Jason Steadman is a 30-year-old sales

executive living in Boston. He’s a witty,charismatic guy who’s well liked at theoffice, but he lacks the ‘killer instinct’necessary to reach the top. But all thatchanges one evening when Jason meetsKurt Semko, a former Special Forcesofficer just back from Iraq. Looking for adecent pitcher for the company softballteam, Jason gets Kurt, who was oncedrafted by the majors, a job in security.Soon, good things start to happen forJason - and bad things start to happen toJason’s rivals… Due Aug (American) Allan FOLSOM

The Machiavelli Covenant560pp Tp $32.95

Nicholas Marten, ex-LAPD detectivepursues an international conspiracy inthis frenetic page-turner. When an oldlove of Marten’s, Caroline Parsons, diesof a mysterious infection shortly after hercongressman husband and son perish in aplane accident, her dying words setMarten on the trail of a South African bio-terrorist. Due Aug (American) Frederick FORSYTH

Afghan 464pp Pb $21.95When British and American

intelligence catch wind of a major AlQaeda operation in the works, they areprimed for action - but what can they do?They know nothing about the attack: thewhat, where or when. They have nosources in Al Qaeda, and it’s impossibleto plant someone. Impossible, unless...Due Aug (American) Joe GORES

Glass Tiger 304pp Pb $19.95It’s election night in the US. Gustave

Walberg becomes leader of the free worldand legendary Vietnam sniper HaldenCorwin murders his daughter and son-in-law before disappearing into the night.Driven by events that took place over 40years ago, he now has the President’shead in his sights… Due Aug (American)

Batya GURMurder in Jerusalem

416pp Pb $29.95A Michael Ohayon Mystery. When filmdesigner Tirzah Rubin is crushed to deathon the set of her director-husband’s latestfilm, Chief Superintendent MichaelOhayon launches an investigation thatlinks the woman’s murder to a largernetwork of social and political unrest andviolence. Due Aug (Israeli) Thomas HARRIS

Hannibal Rising 336pp Pb $21.95He is one of the most haunting

characters in all of literature. At last, theevolution of his evil is revealed. HannibalLecter emerges from the nightmare of theEastern Front, a boy in the snow, mute,with a chain around his neck. He seemsutterly alone, but has brought his demonswith him. Hannibal’s uncle, a notedpainter, finds him in a Soviet orphanageand brings him to France. Hannibal liveswith his uncle and his uncle’s beautifuland exotic wife, Lady Murasaki, whohelps Hannibal to heal. With her help, heflourishes, becoming the youngest personever admitted to medical school inFrance. But his demons visit him andtorment him. When he is old enough, hevisits them in turn. He discovers he hasgifts beyond the academic and, in thatepiphany, Hannibal Lecter becomesdeath’s prodigy. Due Aug (American) John Twelve HAWKS

The Dark River 384pp Tp $32.95The Fourth Realm

#2. Hawksintroduced readers toa dangerous worldinspired by themodern technologythat monitors ourlives. Under constantsurveillance of ‘theVast Machine’, as o p h i s t i c a t e dcomputer network run by a ruthlessgroup, society is mostly unaware of itsown imprisonment. Gabriel and MichaelCorrigan, brothers who were raised ‘offthe grid’, have recently learned they areTravelers, just like their long-lost father.They are part of a centuries-old line ofprophets able to journey to differentrealms of consciousness and enlightenthe world to resist being controlled. DueAug (American) David HEWSON

The Promised Land400pp Pb $32.95

Ex-cop Bierce has been in prison for over20 years for the murder of his wife andson. He has no memory of the tragedyand has never been able to say withcertainty that he didn’t do it, except hecannot imagine why on earth he wouldhave. Due Aug

David HEWSONThe Seventh Sacrament

474pp Pb $19.95“There’s an entireunderground citydown there - housesand temples, entirestreets. I talked to acouple of the caversLeo called in. Theyh e r o - w o r s h i p p e dGiorgio. The man hadbeen to places the restof them could onlydream about.” Giorgio Bramante, aRoman archaeology professor, wasmaster of the hidden world beneath theearth until the day he lost his young son,Alessio, to a group of students intent onre-creating a centuries-old ritual to along-banished god. Due Aug (English) Susan HILL

The Rise of Darkness Pb $21.95Simon Serrailler #3. Hill follows up the

child abduction and explores the crazygrief of a widowed husband, aderangement that turns to obsession andthreats, violence and terror. Meanwhile,handsome, introverted Simon Serrailler,whose cool reserve has broken the heartsof several women, finds his own hearttroubled by a feisty female priest with redhair. Due Aug (English) Joe HILLEY

The Deposition256pp Pb $19.95

Mike Connolly Mystery. In an attempt toforce privileged information from MikeConnolly, attorneys serve Father ScottNolan with a subpoena for adecomposition regarding the events hewas part of in the days of the PanamaTanning Salon. Due Aug (American) Jilliane HOFFMAN

Plea of Insanity608pp Tp $32.95

Julia Valenciano is a young, ambitiousprosecutor facing a case that could launchher career. The defendant DavidMarquette is a successful Miami surgeonand devoted family man. The victims areMarquette’s own wife and three smallchildren. The plea is not guilty by reasonof insanity. But the state suspectsMarquette’s insanity defence is beingfabricated to disguise murders that werecold-blooded and calculated. Due Aug(American) David HOSP

The Betrayed 432pp Pb $19.95Washington DC. A woman is

found murdered in her own home; herthroat slit, her corpse brutalised,subjected to the most appalling torturebefore she died. A piece of incriminatingevidence leads to the swift arrest of alocal drug dealer. Case closed. But localcop Jack Cassian has questions. Due Aug(American)

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Linda HOWARDUp Close and Dangerous

320pp Tp $32.95No sooner has Bailey Wingate buried herwealthy older husband than she learnsthat he has left the bulk of his estate to her- and not to his scheming grown children.A short time later, while flying fromSeattle to Denver in a small plane, Baileynearly dies herself when the enginesputters, then fails. Due Aug (American) Peter JAMES

Not Dead Enough400pp Tp $32.95

Roy Grace #3. On the night Brian Bishopmurdered his wife, he was 60 miles away,asleep in bed at the time. At least, that’sthe way it looks to DetectiveSuperintendent Roy Grace who is calledin to investigate the kinky slaying ofbeautiful young Brighton socialite, KatieBishop. Soon Grace starts coming to theconclusion that Bishop has performed theapparently impossible feat of being intwo places at once. Has someone stolenhis identity, or is he simply a very cleverliar? Due Aug

Truth 544pp Pb $17.95Susan and John Carter are crazy about

each other and life is perfect, but for onething – they’re on the brink of financialdisaster. Surely being a surrogate motherto another man’s child won’t harm such astrong relationship? Due Aug (English) Quintin JARDINE

Death’s Door 416pp Pb $24.95#17. The nation’s sharpest cop,

DCC Bob Skinner, desperately wants tostop a serial killer... When two youngfemale artists are murdered in what lookslike ritualistic killings, the pressure is onto find a highly professional murderer.Due Aug (Scottish) Paul JOHNSTON

The Death List 416pp Pb $29.95Writer’s block is nothing compared

to the sinister assignment London-basednovelist Matt Wells has just received. Achain of seemingly innocent emails froma devoted fan turns deadly when Mattdiscovers the correspondent is a cold-blooded killer with an agenda formurder, and his family and friends areamong the scheduled victims. Due Aug(Scottish)

Cady KALIANA Few Good Murders

256pp Pb $28.00Maggie Mars is as t r u g g l i n gscreenwriter whosebig break ishappening now. Herlatest script is beingfilmed and Maggie ison the set. But Maggiethinks the lead actressis playing hercharacter all wrongand tells her. A screaming match ensues.So when said actress is found dead withher head bashed in (with her own Oscar!),Maggie is viewed as a ‘person of interest’.And somewhere out there is a killer whothinks Maggie is just too clever for herown good. Due Aug (American) Stuart KAMINSKY

CSI NY #3: Deluge320pp Tp $16.95

High-tech science comes to the Big Appleas Detective Mack Taylor (Sinise) and hispartner, Detective Stella Bonasera(Kanakaredes), lead a team of dedicated,case-cracking experts in the gritty, kineticcity. Mack and his colleagues have no lessthan three pressing cases to solve: a seriesof grisly murders in which the victims allseem to have an unusual connection; thepuzzling death of a teacher on the upperwest side and the suspicious collapse ofan entire building, which puts one of theteam in deadly danger. Due Aug(American) Gordon KENT

The Falconer’s Tale400pp Tp $33.00

Jerry Piat has been on the run from theFBI for two years, but he’s about to bemade an offer he cannot refuse. ClydePartlow an upper CIA executive needshim for a mission that involves a memberof the Saudi ruling clique, a fearsomeman who’s been cheating his ownassociates out of their funding forterrorism against the West - and using themoney for his own personal profit. Piat’sjob is to entice former agent DiggerHackbutt into working for the CIA again.Hackbutt will use his exemplary skills asa falconer as bait for the Saudi aristocrat,which in turn will hatch a daring plan forblackmail. Due Aug (American) Jack KERLEY

The Broken Souls544pp Pb $20.00

Blood was everywhere, like the interiorhad been hosed down with an artery! Thegore-sodden horror that greets homicidedetective Carson Ryder on a late-nightcallout is enough to make him want toquit the case. Too late. Now he and hispartner Harry are up to their necks in aSouthern swamp of the bizarre anddisturbing. Due Aug (American)

Simon KERNICKSevered 352pp Tp $35.00Ex-soldier Sean Tyler wakes up in an

unfamiliar room next to the headlesscorpse of a girl he’s met only once. Withhis memory of the previous 24 hourswiped clean, he’s hardly out of bed beforehe notices a note next to the TV tellinghim to press ‘play’ on the DVD player.The footage shows him stabbing someoneto death! Tyler is confident it’s fake, butwill a jury see things the same way? DueAug (English) Gene KERRIGAN

The Midnight Choir352pp Pb $24.95

Tense and expertlyplotted, this is astunning portrayalof life on the edge ofsociety. We enter agritty Dublinlandscape ofcharacters withquestionable andcontrary ideals, allstruggling to survivein a time and placethat is constantly knocking them back.Everyone has an axe to grind; criminalsand police alike live by their own code,with both sides resorting to desperatemeasures as a means to an end. Due Aug(Irish) Dean KOONTZ

Husband 464pp Pb $20.00Landscape gardener Mitchell Rafferty

was busy planting beds of impatiens forone of his clients when his phone rang. Itwas a voice he didn’t know. “We haveyour wife. You can get her back for twomillion cash.” Now he’s standing in anormal suburban neighbourhood on abright summer day having a phoneconversation out of his darkestnightmare. Mitch thinks it must be somekind of a joke. But whoever is on the otherend of the line is deadly serious. “See thatguy across the street?” A gunshot shattersthe stillness as the man goes down, shotin the head. “An object lesson,” says thevoice. Due Aug

The Good Guy 400pp Tp $33.00After a day’s work hefting brick and

stone, Tim Carrier slakes his thirst at TheLamplighter Tavern. Nothing heavyhappens there. It’s a friendly workingman’s bar, run by his good friendRooney, who enjoys gathering eccentriccustomers. Working his deadpan humouron strangers is, for Tim, all part of theentertainment. But how could Tim haveimagined that the stranger who sits downnext to him one evening is about tounmake his world and enmesh him in aweb of murder and deceit? Due Aug(American)

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John LE CARREThe Mission Song 384pp Pb $24.95Interpreter Bruno Salvador, known to

friends and enemies alike as Salvo, is theever-innocent, 29-year-old orphanedlove-child of a Catholic Irish missionaryand a Congolese headman’s daughter.Despatched to a no-name island in theNorth Sea to attend a top-secret meetingbetween Western financiers and EastCongolese warlords, Salvo is obliged tointerpret matters never intended for hisre-awoken African conscience. Due Aug(English) Laura LIPPMAN

What the Dead Know384pp Tp $32.95

A middle-aged woman causes anaccident on the Baltimore Beltway, fleesthe scene, then is picked up wandering onthe shoulder of the interstate. Theaccident occurs just a mile from theformer home of the Bethany family - Daveand Miriam and their daughters Sunnyand Heather. 30 years before, 12-year-oldHeather had persuaded her older sisterSunny to let her tag along on a visit to themall. Neither girl has been seen since.Now the woman on the Beltway claims tobe Heather Bethany! Due Aug (American) Robert LITTELL

The Amateur: A Novel of Revenge256pp Pb $29.00

In this “first-rate thriller” (Chicago Tribune),Charlie Heller is an ace cryptographer forthe Company. He’s a quiet man with aquiet job in a back office. But whenterrorists shoot his fiancée in cold blood,and he learns the Agency has decided notto pursue those responsible, his life takesan abrupt turn. He was not a blackmailer,but he will force the CIA’s hand. He wasnot an assassin, but he will penetrate theIron Curtain with intent to kill. Driven byan obsessive need for revenge, andtargeted for elimination by the CIA, Helleris an amateur with a one-in-a-millionchance of success. Due Aug (American) Sergei LUKYANENKO

The Night Watch544pp Pb $24.95

Anton, a Night Watch agent, must patrolthe streets of the city, protecting ordinarypeople from the vampires and magiciansof the Dark. He comes across Svetlana, ayoung woman under a powerful curse,then saves an unfledged ‘Other’, Egor,and becomes involved in events thatthreaten the whole city... Due Aug

The Twilight Watch448pp Tp $32.95

Walking the streets of Moscow,indistinguishable from the rest of itspopulation, are the ‘Others’, possessors ofsupernatural powers who are capable ofentering the Twilight, a shadowy worldthat exists in parallel to our own. Eachowes allegiance to either the Dark or theLight. Due Aug (Russian)

Barry MAITLANDSpider Trap 368pp Pb $19.95Brock & Kolla #9. Skeletons are

discovered in Cockpit Lane, a poor blackarea of inner south London, and DCIDavid Brock and DS Kathy Kolla ofScotland Yard’s Serious Crimes Branchare called in to investigate. The discoverythat the victims died on the day of theBrixton riots, over 20 years before, leadBrock and Kolla on a dark and dangerousjourney into the heart of the West Indiancommunity in London - a journey inwhich past and present come together inan intricate web of deception andintrigue, as Brock re-discovers the handof a formidable old antagonist, SpiderRoach. Due Aug (Australian) P D MARTIN

The Murderer’s Club Pb $19.95Sophie Anderson #2. FBI profiler Sophie

Anderson is still trying to come to termswith the horrors she experienced sixmonths ago. A vacation to Arizona is awelcome break. But then the bodies startappearing on the campus, crudely posedand inscribed with a vivid love heart ontheir chests. But she learns there is morethan one killer. Due Aug (Australian) Nigel McCRERY

Still Waters 352pp Tp $29.95Driving home from a late

meeting, a businessman losesconcentration, crashes off the road and isflung through the windscreen of his car.His dying view is of what he thinks is theangel of death. The next morning,Detective Chief Inspector Mark Lapslieand Sergeant Emma Bradbury are calledto the scene of the accident. Lapslie’sinvestigations put him on the trail of aserial killer who, it soon becomes clear,has struck again and again, moving fromvictim to victim, stealing their lives,possessions and identities. But thedetective is not the only one seeking thekiller’s true identity, for as she circles herlatest victim, long-buried memories arebeginning to surface... Due Aug (English) Eoin McNAMEE

12:23: Paris. 31st August 1997304pp Tp $29.95

As the century grinds toa close, Diana Spencerand her Egyptian loverare visiting Paris. Aninternational fixer putsa team in place to watchthe Princess. FormerSpecial Branch manJohn Harper isrecruited as part of theteam. Ritz Hotel Deputy Director ofSecurity Henri Paul and paparazzosupreme James Andanson are theirsurveillance targets. But they are not theonly ones watching Spencer, and soonmuch more sinister forces are on themove... Due Aug (English)

Deon MEYERDevil’s Peak 416pp Tp $32.95Bennie Griessel

may be losing hisbattle with alcohol buthe still knows enoughto head up the policeteam tracking‘Artemis’, a vigilantekiller who targets childmurderers. The killeris in fact ThobelaMpayipheli, a formerfreedom fighter robbed of everything bythe murder of his son. And whenGriessel’s daughter is kidnapped, hisworld and Thobela’s converge towards adevastating climax. Due Aug (SouthAfrican) Walter MOSLEY

Fear of the Dark 288pp Tp $29.95Fearless Jones and Paris Minton return

in a high-velocity thriller about family,betrayal, and revenge. “I’m in trouble,Paris.” Paris Minton has heard thesewords before. They mean only one thing:that his neck is on the line too. So whenthey are uttered by his lowlife cousinUlysses S Grant, Paris keeps the door tohis bookshop firmly closed… Due Aug(American) Maya Yxta MURRAY

The King’s Gold 320pp Pb $29.00A follow-up to the series that began

with The Queen Jade (Tp $29) findsbookstore owner Lola hired to investigatethe exploits of a 15th century alchemistwhose life was marked by the legend ofthe conquistador Hernan Cortes andrumours about his dual identity as awerewolf. Due Aug (American) Barbara NADEL

A Passion for Killing352pp Pb $19.95

A serial killer is stalking the streets ofIstanbul. A man is found dead in a hotelroom, a single stab wound in his heart.Could he be a victim of ‘the Peeper’, amurderer whose targets until now havebeen gay men? Inspector MehmetSuleyman finds himself under increasingpressure from his contact at the TurkishSecret Service to keep his findings tohimself... Due Aug (English) Sam NORTH

The Velvet Rooms304pp Pb $21.95

Fat-armed Wife and Call Girl meet in TheVelvet Rooms in cyberspace. One is anoverweight wife from Massachusetts, theother a tattooed, hard-living hedonistfrom Hull. They have fallen in love andnow, at last, they will meet in ‘the VelvetDungeon’ in the real world. Suddenly it’sno longer safe behind the screen. The realworld has broken in and what was a cruelflirtation, a joke, turns into murderousreality. Due Aug (English)

7Jane O’CONNOR

Dangerous Admissions: Secrets ofa Closet Sleuth 384pp Pb $29.00

Miranda ‘Rannie’ Bookman is acopyeditor and a 43-year-old, divorcedmother of two. Her recent love lifecomprises a long string of embarrassinglybrief encounters and she is beginning tofeel like a dangling participle, connectedto nothing. Her career is down the toiletand she has been forced to take any gigshe can get. That means giving tours atthe Chapel School, the ultra-exclusive,ultra-expensive, private academy that herchildren attend. Certainly not the mostinteresting employment, at least untilsomeone stumbles across the dead bodyof the Director of College Admissions...Due Aug (American) Martin O’BRIEN

Jacquot and the Fifteen416pp Tp $32.95

#4. When dark jealousies surface on theFrench Riviera during Rugby teamreunion, Chief Inspector Daniel Jacquotsuspects that someone is out for revenge.Due Aug (English) Jefferson PARKER

The Fallen 480pp Pb $20.00What if you

could tell someonewas a killer just bylooking at them?Detective RobbieBrownlaw can. A six-storey plunge from aburning hotel leaveshim with the usualbroken bones. Aswell as somethingdifferent -synesthesia - the ability to see words andemotions as colours. This makes Robbie ahuman lie detector. It’s a condition thatmight have helped Garrett Asplundth.Hired to look into rumours surrounding acertain madam’s Little Black Book,Garrett found a lot more than the usualround of losers and sad husbands. But thedirt came at a high price. Now he’s deadand it’s only when Robbie gets hold of thebook that he finds out just why Garrettwas so curious, and why others will kill toget it back! Due Aug (American) Robert B PARKER

Blue Screen 320pp Pb $19.95Sunny Randall #5. Buddy Bollen is

a C-list movie mogul who made hisfortune producing films of questionableartistic merit. When Buddy hires SunnyRandall to protect his rising star andgirlfriend, Erin Flint, Sunny knows fromthe start that the prickly, spoiled beautywon’t make her job easy. And whenErin’s sister Misty is found dead in thelavish home they share with sugar daddyBollen, there doesn’t seem to be a singlelead worth pursuing. Due Aug

Robert B PARKERHigh Profile 304pp Tp $29.95The murder

of a notoriouspublic figure placesP a r a d i s e ,M a s s a c h u s e t t s ,police chief JesseStone in the harshglare of the mediaspotlight. When thebody ofcontroversial talk-show host WaltonWeeks is discovered hanging from a treeon the outskirts of Paradise, police chiefJesse Stone finds himself at the centre of ahighly public case, forcing him to dealwith small-minded local officials andnational media scrutiny. Due Aug(American) James PATTERSON

Judge and Jury448pp Pb $19.95

It’s the trial of the decade - DominickCavallo, the modern-day Godfather, hasfinally been put in the dock and there’senough evidence to convict him. Heavysecurity surrounds the courtroom andNick Pellisante, the FBI agent who helpednail him, keeps a close eye onproceedings. But things quickly startgoing wrong… Due Aug (American) Kayla PERRIN & Brenda MOTT

How to Kill a Guy in Ten Days288pp Pb $29.00

Hailey McGraw, LexieMuller’s best friend, isback in town - andLexie is ready to party!These girlfriends havegot a lot to celebrate -shy Hailey is newlysingle, and wild Lexieis about to hit the big30 - and they’ve gotnothing on their mindsbut fun, frosty drinks and the hot menhanging out at one of Miami’s hottestclubs. But their night to remember turnsmemorable in a way they never expectedwhen a hunk from the bar winds up stone-cold dead in the parking lot, and not fromnatural causes. Due Aug (American) James POYER

The Threat 352pp Pb $17.95 Dan Lenson #9. Medal of Honor

recipient Dan Lenson has just beenassigned to the White House military staff- a dubious honor, serving a president theJoint Chiefs hate more than any other inmodern history. His new concern iscounternarcotics and soon Lensonuncovers a troubling plot that involves aruthless drug cartel, an assault on anuclear power plant in Mexico, Islamicterrorists and a devastating weapon aimedat the heart of America. Due Aug(American)

Jonathan RABBThe Book of Q 408pp Tp $32.95After the

mysterious death ofone Vatican priestand thedisappearance ofanother, Father IanPearse, an Americanworking on earlyChristian texts inthe Vatican, comesinto possession of amysterious scroll.He discovers ingeniously coded lettersand the text of an ancient prayer neverbefore found in written form. Thesereveal a conspiracy, by a sect long-thought dead, reaching deep into thepresent Vatican hierarchy. It becomes arace against a ruthless unknownopponent, which takes Father Pearsefrom the Vatican, via an ancient Greekmonastery, to war- torn Bosnia. Due Aug(American) Ian RANKIN

Naming the Dead528pp Pb $19.95

A murder has been committed, but as thevictim was a rapist, recently releasedfrom prison, no one is too concernedabout the crime. Until Detective InspectorJohn Rebus and DS Siobhan Clarkeuncover evidence that a serial killer is onthe loose... Due Aug (Scottish) Matthew REILLY

Seven Ancient Wonders480pp Pb $19.95

A magnificent goldencapstone sat atop theGreat Pyramid ofGiza. But then, in 323BC, the capstone wasbroken into sevenpieces and spread tothe corners of theearth. Now, with thecoming of a rare solarevent, the time hascome to locate the pieces and rebuild thecapstone. Due Aug (Australian) Michael RIDPATH

See No Evil 400pp Pb $19.95Alex Calder #2.

When an old collegefriend pays AlexCalder an unexpectedvisit he is drawn oncemore into the City’sshady underbelly. ForKim is married toTodd, son of SouthAfrican newspapertycoon Cornelius vanZyl. Todd wants Alex’s help to investigatethe murder of his mother 18 years ago.When an attempt on his life puts Todd in acoma, Alex vows to uncover the truth. DueAug (English)

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Steven RIGOLOSICircle of Assassins

240pp Pb $29.00Tales from the Back Page#2. Five desperatestrangers answer anad that promises tohelp them rid anunwanted personfrom their life. Acriminal mastermindnamed ‘A’ makes eachof them a provocativeoffer via an advertisement in The Clarion, acommunity newspaper published onManhattan’s Upper West Side: Murder acomplete stranger chosen by a fellowassassin, and in return have a strangermurder your chosen target. Due Aug(American) Nora ROBERTS

High Noon 412pp Tp $32.95Police Lieutenant Phoebe

MacNamara found her calling at an earlyage, when a violently unstable man brokeinto her family’s home, trapping andterrorizing them for hours. Now she’sSavannahs top hostage negotiator, whoputs her life on the line every day todefuse powder-keg situations. Phoebeknows when to reach out and when topull back - and when to jump in and takeaction, even if it means riskingeverything. Due Aug (American) Peter ROBINSON

Friend of the Devil416pp Tp $32.95

Inspector Banks #17.When Karen Drew isfound sitting in herwheelchair staringout to sea with herthroat cut one chillyMarch morning, DIAnnie Cabbot, onloan to Eastern Area,gets lumbered withthe case. Back inEastvale, that same Sunday morning, 19-year-old Hayley Daniels is found rapedand strangled in the Maze, a tangle ofnarrow alleys behind Eastvale’s marketsquare, after a drunken night on the townwith a group of friends, and DCI AlanBanks is called in. Due Aug (English)

James ROLLINSThe Judas Strain

400pp Tp $32.95 (Hb $55)Buried deep within a jungle, ancient ruinsconceal a deadly secret. Buried in a tombin Venice, a great explorer hides a truththat could shatter history. Buried in ourown genetic code, a mystery like no other.But nothing stays buried forever, and it’sup to Sigma Force to face what will beunearthed: a plague beyond any cure, ascourge that turns all of Nature againstmankind. Due Aug (American) John SANDFORD

Invisible Prey 400pp Tp $29.95In the richest

neighbourhood ofMinneapolis, twoelderly women liemurdered in theirhome, beaten todeath with a metalpipe, the roomsransacked, onlysmall items stolen.It’s clearly a randombreak-in bysomeone looking for money to buy drugs.But as he looks more closely, Davenportbegins to wonder if the items are actuallyso small or the victims so random, if theremight not be some invisible agenda atwork. Due Aug (American) Bernhard SCHLINK

Self’s Deception256pp Tp $32.95

Gerhard Self, the dour private detective,returns in this riveting crime novel aboutterrorism, governmental cover-up, andthe treacherous waters where they mix.Leo Salger, the daughter of a powerfulBonn bureaucrat, is missing, and Self hasbeen hired to find her. Due Aug (German) Adolf SCHRODER

Card Game 160pp Pb $27.95The young Markus Hauser takes a

job with Selma Brunhs, a decidedlystrange elderly lady who pays him to filehundreds of her letters in chronologicalorder. For six days, Markus worksconscientiously, all the while penetratinglittle by little the past of this woman whosurrounds herself with cats andmemories. On the last day, Selmaproposes a bargain - a card game that willchange his life forever. Due Aug (German) Theresa SCHWEGEL

Probable Cause320pp Tp $29.95

Officer Ray Weiss is a cop’s son, a cop’sgrandson. All he’s ever wanted is tofollow in their footsteps. But when hefinds out what the senior officers inChicago’s District 20 have in store for himand the other rookies as ‘initiation’ intotheir brotherhood, he has to make achoice. Due Aug (American)

Leonardo SCIASCIAA Simple Story

124pp Pb $28.95In a small Sicilianvillage, a young andi n e x p e r i e n c e dpoliceman receives astrange phone callfrom a retireddiplomat. Oninvestigating thematter, he finds thediplomat dead.What at firstappears to be asimple case of suicide turns into anintricate tale of corruption that involvesthe mafia, the head of police and theentire Sicilian establishment. Due Aug(Sicilian) Daniel SILVA

The Secret Servant352pp Tp $32.95

In London, a young woman vanishes…She is the daughter of the AmericanAmbassador - and goddaughter of thePresident of the United States - and thekidnappers’ demands are at oncehorrifically clear and clearly impossible tomeet. The President turns to GabrielAllon, spy turned art-restorer, a manwhose abilities he has depended onbefore…Due Aug (American) Karin SLAUGHTER

Skin Privilege 416pp Tp $32.95It’s no simple case of murder.

Lena Adams has spent her life strugglingto escape her past. She has only unhappymemories of Reece, the small town whichnearly destroyed her. She’s made a newlife for herself as a police detective inHeartsdale, 100 miles away, but nothingcould prepare her for the violence whichexplodes when she is forced to return.Due Aug

Triptych 512pp Pb $21.95In the city

of Atlanta, womenare dying at thehands of a killerwho signs hiswork with a single,chilling act ofm u t i l a t i o n .Leaving behindenough evidenceto fuel a frenziedpolice hunt, thiscunning madmanis bringing together dozens of lives,crossing boundaries of wealth and race.The people who are chasing him mustcross those boundaries too. Among themis Michael Ormewood, a veterandetective whose marriage is hanging by athread and whose arrogance andexplosive temper threaten his career. DueAug (English)

9Boris STARLING

Visibility 496pp Pb $23.00London, 1952. As the fog rolls in,

the chase begins! A stranger’s approachoffering highly sensitive informationseemed routine to an ex-spy turnedpoliceman. But when a body turns upinstead of state secrets, DetectiveInspector Herbert Smith finds himself in arace against time to solve the murder. DueAug (English) Frank TALLIS

Fatal Lies 320pp Tp $32.95Dr Max Lieberman #3. Vienna,

1903. In St Florian’s military school, arambling edifice set high in the hills of theCity’s famous woods, a young cadet isfound dead, his body lacerated with razorwounds. Once again, Inspector OskarRheinhardt calls on his friend - anddisciple of Freud - Doctor MaxLiebermann, to help him with theinvestigation. In the closed society of theschool, power is everything, andsuspicion falls on an elite group of cadets,with a penchant for sadism anddangerous games. Due Aug (English) Fred VARGAS

Wash This Blood Clean fromMy Hand 400pp Pb $29.00

Chief InspectorAdamsberg #3. Between1943 and 2003, ninepeople have beenstabbed to death with amost unusual weapon -a trident. In each case,arrests were made,suspects confessedtheir crime and weresentenced to life. One slightly worryingdetail - all the presumed murderers lostconsciousness during the night of thecrime and cannot remember whether theyactually did it or not. CommissaireAdamsberg is convinced all the murdersare the work of one person. Due Aug(French) Bruce VENABLES

Two Tigers, One MountainTp $29.95

In Korea, two brothers fight on opposingsides in a war where black marketprofiteering is rife and patriotism andhonour have lost their meanings. Whenthey depart the battlefield, one is a hero,the other a traitor. Through China’sturbulent years of the 1950s and 60s, LeeKwan fights to protect his family fromoppression, while in Hong Kong, JamesMerchant’s family empire is in danger ofdisintegrating. Strong women, the loversof powerful men, join in the fight for itspreservation, and their own, as the NobleHouse of Merchant becomes a housedivided - plagued with treachery andhaunted by tales of a long lost fortune ingold, supposedly the bequest of an illegal,secret, triad society. Due Aug (Australian)

Tina WAINSCOTTUntil the Day You Die

416pp Pb $15.95Maggie Fletcher’ssister is murdered,presumably bystalker ColinMasters. Maggie isleft devastated andfurious. There isn’tenough evidence toprove that Mastersdid it, unless Maggiefalsely claims, underoath, that she sawhim leaving the scene of the crime...(American) Michelle WAN

The Orchid Shroud416pp Pb $29.00

Death in the Dordogne #2. Stumbling uponthe body of a murdered infant, dead formore than a century, while restoring thehome of wealthy Christophe deBonnefon, designer Mara Dunn teams uponce again with orchidologist JulianWood to investigate the case, which maybe linked to the modern-day killing ofgenealogist Jean-Paul Fourner. Due Aug(Chinese) Kate WESTBROOK

Secret Servant Pb $22.95Moneypenny Diaries #2. Jane

Moneypenny may project a cool, calm andcollected image but her secret diariesreveal a rather different story. In the gripof an uncertain love affair and haunted bya dark family secret, the last thing sheneeds is a crisis at work. But the SecretIntelligence Service is in chaos. One seniorofficer is on trial for treason, another hasdefected to Moscow and her belovedJames Bond has been brainwashed by theKGB. Only a woman’s touch can savethem. Due Aug (English) Kit WHITFIELD

Bareback 560pp Pb $21.95It is a world

much like our own,with one deadlydifference - 99% ofthe population islycanthropic, andwhen the full moonrises, theytransform intolunes, bloodthirstybeasts who cannotbe reasoned with ortamed. Those few who are born unable tochange are disparagingly known as‘barebacks’ and live as victims ofprejudice and oppression. All too often,they are targets of savage mauling anddeath by lunes who break the law to roamfree on full-moon nights. Debut. Due Aug(English)

Mark WINEGARDNERThe Godfather’s Revenge

592pp Pb $21.95The third instalment in Mario Puzo’s epicchronicle of the Corleone crime family -one of the most enduring lineages inAmerican literature and cinema - achievesa stunning crescendo with a story thatimagines the role of the Mafia in theassassination of a young, charismaticpresident. Due Aug (American) Qui XIAOLONG

A Case of Two Cities336pp Pb $19.95

Inspector Chen #4.Inspector Chen Cao ofthe Shanghai PoliceBureau is summonedby an official of theParty to lead a highlycharged corruptioninvestigation. Tentacleshave spread throughthe police force, the civilservice, the vice trade and deep into thecriminal underworld. The principal figureand his family have long since fled to theUnited States, beyond the reach of theChinese government. Due Aug (Chinese)

Arnaud DELALANDEThe Dante Trap 312pp Tp $32.95Venice, 1756. One ofthe city’s brightestyoung actors has beenmurdered: nailed to across in the theatrewhere he was due toperform, with his eyesput out, and lines ofLatin verse carvedonto his chest. TheDoge, aware the city isfull of enemies of the Republic, launches asecret investigation into the murder, led byPietro Viravolta, a dashing youngadventurer, and seducer (the best friend ofCasanova) and who currently awaitsexecution in the prison beneath the Bridgeof Sighs. Due Aug (French)Jason GOODWINThe Janissary Tree 352pp Pb $22.95A concubine is strangled in the Sultan’spalace harem and a young cadet is foundbutchered in the streets of Istanbul.Delving deep into the city’s crookedalleyways, and deeper still into itstumultuous past, the eunuch Yashimdiscovers that some people will go to anylengths to preserve the traditions of theOttoman Empire. Brilliantly evokingIstanbul in the 1830s, this is a bloody,witty and fast-paced literary thriller witha spectacular cast. Due Aug (English)

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Susanna GREGORYThe Tarnished Chalice

512pp Pb $19.95Bartholomew #12. On abitter winter eveningin 1356, MatthewBartholomew andBrother Michael arrivein Lincoln - Michael toaccept an honour fromthe cathedral, andBartholomew to lookfor the woman hewants to marry. It’snot long before theylearn that the friary in which they arestaying is not the safe haven they imagine- one guest has already been murdered. Itsoon emerges that the dead man washolding the Hugh Chalice, a Lincoln relicwith a curiously bloody history.Bartholomew and Michael are soondrawn into a web of murder, lies andsuspicion in a city where neither knowswho can be trusted. Due Aug (English)Claude IZNERMurder on the Eiffel Tower

304pp Pb $19.95Victor Legris #1. The brand new EiffelTower is the glory of the 1889 UniversalExposition. But one sunny afternoon, awoman collapses and dies on this greatParis landmark. Can a bee sting really bethe cause of death? Or is there a moresinister explanation? Enter youngbookseller Victor Legris. Present on theTower at the time of the incident, he isdetermined to find out what actuallyhappened. (French)KNIGHT et alSword of Shame 416pp Pb $19.95Medieval Murderers#2. From its firstarrival in Britain withthe Norman forces ofWilliam theConqueror, violenceand revenge are thecursed sword’sconstant companions.From an election-rigging scandal in13th century Veniceto the battlefield of Poitiers in 1356, as theSword of Shame passes from owner toowner in this compelling collection ofinterlinked mysteries, it brings nothingbut bad luck and disgrace to all whopossess it. Due AugHouse of Shadows 400pp Tp $32.95Medieval Murderers #3. BermondseyPriory, 1114. A young chaplain succumbsto the temptations of the flesh - andsuffers a gruesome punishment. Fromthat moment, the monastery is cursed andover the next 500 years murder andtreachery abound within its hallowedwalls. Due Aug (Various)

Edward MARSTONThe Parliament House

318pp Pb $21.95It is London, 1670. Commissioned todesign and build a new house for FrancisPolegate, a merchant, ChristopherRedmayne is pleased when the project iscompleted without a hitch. To celebratethe success of the venture, Polegatethrows a party and invites Christopher asthe guest of honour. But the party comesto an abrupt end when one of the guestsis murdered upon leaving the house...(English)Andrew MARTINMurder at Deviation Junction

256pp Pb $32.95A train hits a snowdrift in the frozenCleveland Hills. Inthe process ofclearing the line, abody is discovered,and so begins adangerous case fors t r u g g l i n gEdwardian railwaydetective, JimStringer. Jim’s newinvestigation takes him to the mightyblast furnaces of Ironopolis, to Fleet Streetin the company of a cynical reporter fromThe Railway Rover, and to a nightmarishspot in the Highlands. Jim’s falteringcareer in the railway police hangs onwhether he can solve the murder, butbefore long the pursuer becomes thepursued, and Jim finds himself fightingnot just for his job, but for his life. DueAug (English)Pat McINTOSHThe Harper’s Quine 320pp Pb $21.95At the May Day dancing at GlasgowCross, Gil Cunningham sees not only thewoman who is going to be murdered, buther murderer as well. Gil is a recentlyqualified lawyer whose family still expecthim to enter the priesthood. When hefinds the body of a young woman in thenew building at Glasgow Cathedral he isasked to investigate, and identifies thecorpse as the runaway wife of cruel,unpleasant nobleman John Semphill.With the help of Maistre Pierre, theFrench master-mason, Gil must askquestions and seek a murderer in theheart of the city. (Scottish)Elizabeth PETERSFalcon at the Portal (1999)

320pp Pb $21.95Her niece’s new, Egyptian, husbandstands accused of forging pricelessantiquities. Is he guilty, or merely the fallguy for some unscrupulous villain?Meanwhile, matters are complicated bythe arrival of Amelia’s detestable nephewwho begins an ardently amorous pursuitof her son’s wife, Nefret. (American)

Javier SIERRAThe Secret Supper 336pp Pb $19.95“I cannot recall a moredangerous andtangled puzzle thanthe one I was calledupon to solve in theNew Year of 1497.“An anonymousSoothsayer haswritten to Romesuggesting thatLeonardo da Vinci hasencrypted a secret, blasphemous code inhis painting The Last Supper. FatherAgostino Leyre, an Inquisitor and expertin cryptography, is dispatched by the Popeto the monastery of Santa Maria delleGrazie to decode the painting. Should hesucceed, da Vinci will face trial for heresy -and certain execution. Due Aug (Chilean)

Arthur Conan DOYLEThe Casebook of Sherlock Holmes: Vol #1 4 CDs $40.00These six cases are among the lastundertaken by Sherlock Holmes before heretired to the Sussex downs. Read byDavid Timson. (English)Robert LUDLUMThe Bourne Ultimatum 6 CDs $49.95A death at a funfair - and Bourne mustface his nemesis...The 3rd Jason Bournenovel read by Jeff Harding. Due Aug(American)Alexander McCALL SMITHThe No 1 Ladies’ Detective Agency: Vol #2: The Maid and Tears of the Giraffe 2 CDs $29.95McCall Smithhimself adaptedthis immenselypopular bestsellingseries of stories forradio. Vibrantmusic vividlyevokes the sightsand sounds of the exotic Botswaniansetting, superbly complimented by a castof great characters. Due Aug (Scottish)Jenni MILLSCrow Stone 4 CDs $36.00A compulsive thriller that skilfullyweaves together past and present touncover the sinister secrets buried in theancient stone quarries under Bath. Editedby Kati Nicholl, read by Eleanor David.Due Aug (English)Liz PORTERWritten on the Skin 11 CDs $39.95This well-researched and entertainingaudio book looks at the role of forensicinvestigators in solving dozens offascinating crimes and mysteries. Read byElizabeth Kaye. Due Aug (Australian)

CCRRIIMMEEAAUUDDIIOO

11Ian RANKINThe Falls 5 CDs $45.00A student hasgone missing inEdinburgh -completely out ofcharacter. She’snot just anystudent, though,but the daughterof extremely well-to-do and influential bankers. There’salmost nothing to go on until DI JohnRebus gets an unmistakable gut feelingthat there’s more to this than just anotherrunaway spaced out on unaccustomedfreedom or worse. Introduced by IanRankin and read by James Macpherson.Due Aug (Scottish)

Stanley ALPERTSurprise Party 320pp Tp $35.00On 21 January 1998,the night before his38th birthday, federalprosecutor StanleyAlpert waskidnapped as hewalked home inManhattan by a carfull of gun-totingthugs looking to usehis ATM card. Whenthey saw his bank balance, the planchanged. They took him, blindfolded byhis own scarf, to a Brooklyn apartment,with the idea of going to a bank the nextday and withdrawing most of it. But thelater it got, the more the plan changed -again and again… Due Aug (American)Andy BELLAdrenaline Rush 256pp Pb $24.95Andy Bell is an undercover cop with aproblem. It’s not that his chief hates hisguts. It’s not that he’s living in a brotheland sleeping with the enemy in the hopeof cracking a dope ring. It’s not even thatmost of his friends are violent criminalswho would kill him slowly if they foundout who he was. No, Andy’s problem isthat he’s enjoying it too much! Due Aug(Australian)Carol Anne DAVISSadistic Killers: Profiles ofPathological Predators

160pp Pb $27.95Acclaimed crime writer Carol Anne Davisexplores the minds of sadistic killers inBritain, the US and Australia. SadisticKillers is a compelling look at theformative influences of a sadist and at hisor her crimes. Unflinching in detail butnever gratuitous, this is an informativeread with a hopeful ending. Due Aug(Australian)

James FINCKENAUERMafia and Organized Crime: A Beginners Guide Pb $29.95 192pp

Ruthless, cruel and irresistibly cool, theMafia has always captured the darkerside of the imagination. But just what isthe Mafia, how does it operate, and whatcan be done to combat it? In this dramaticand informative book, the authordebunks the Mafia mystique and exploresthe sinister reality lurking beneath theromanticised surface. Demonstrating thatorganized crime is a multi-faceted andcomplex phenomenon, he argues that itdestabilises society on a global scale,perpetuating untold economic, physical,psychological and societal damagethrough its control of criminal markets,violence and corruption. (American)Steve FIELDINGHanged at Durham 144pp Tp $39.95For decades, the high walls of DurhamGaol have contained some of the country’smost infamous criminals. Until hangingwas abolished in the 1960s, it was also themain centre of execution for convictedkillers from all over north east England.Fielding’s highly readable new bookfeatures each of the 76 cases in one volumefor the first time. Due Aug (English)Michael GUERINConvicted: Forensic Science Catching Killers in Australia and New Zealand 192pp Pb $34.95

Author and retired journalist MichaelGuerin turns his deft attention for detailto a handful of notorious murder cases,examining the forensic science involvedand how it relates to the policeinvestigations. Cases studied includeMark Lundy, Jules Mikus, JarrodMangels, Bradley John Murdoch and O JSimpson. Due Aug (New Zealander)Kris HOLLINGTONHow to Kill 400pp Tp $35.00Assassin: a person who commits murder;especially one who murders a politicallyimportant person, either for hire or fromfanatical motives. Fact: from 1950 to 2000,over 4,000 assassinations were carried out,including 40 heads of state. Methods:exploding telephones, pipe-guns, bulletsmade of teeth, aspirin explosives, cobra-venom darts, a rifle that shoots aroundcorners, a ‘piss bomb’ (10 cups of boiledurine mixed with nitric acid), explodingclams, an ‘infernal machine’ (a gun thatfires 25 bullets at once), samurai swords,karate chops, poisoned umbrellas and afuel-laden light aircraft. Sometimes even aregular gun. The targets: popes,politicians, presidents, prime ministers,pop stars, spin doctors, judges,businessmen, writers, revolutionaries,actors, royals, generals and dictators. Thisbook shows that, sometimes, one murdercan change the world. Due Aug (American)

Walt LIPSONThe Face Without a Name Pb $27.95They called it ‘TheJane Doe Mystery’ -the body of abeautiful youngwoman whoseidentity remainedunknown for months.Who was she? Whyhad she died? Andwho killed her? Abrilliant Australianpolice investigation hinged on scientificevidence of an unidentified fingerprint inblood, resulting in a quest that ledinvestigators to a murder suspect half aworld away. Due Aug (Australian)Evan McHUGHRed Centre, Dark Heart

320pp Pb $29.95McHugh examines the grislycircumstances surrounding some of themost horrifying crimes committed in theAustralian outback. Due Aug (Australian)Robert MLADINLCH & MichaelBENSONHooked Up for Murder

400pp Pb $15.9519-year-old college student Mark Fishercouldn’t wait to hit the Big Town. JohnGuica was a self-styled Tony Sopranowannabe whose gang of no-good punkswas little more than a neighbourhoodlaughingstock. But when the perfectvictim fell into their hands, Guica and hiscohort blasted their way to infamy - and25 years to life in the harsh, unforgivinghell of prison. (American)Chester PORTERConviction of the Innocent Hb $32.95Chester Porter QCclocked up countlesscourtroom triumphsduring his long careerand has beeninvolved in changesto our legal system.Porter has long beenpassionate aboutnotable cases ofwrongful conviction -from the DreyfusAffair to Lindy Chamberlain and theinnocents on death row. As a seniormember of the National Institute ofForensic Science, he is regularly invited tospeak on the subject of wrongfulconvictions. As counsel assisting theChamberlain Royal Commission, he wassuccessful in exposing an extraordinarylist of forensic blunders. He continues toadvocate expenditure of governmentmoney on well-equipped, fully integratedlaboratories to deal with forensicevidence “open to the defence, as well asthe Crown, so the aim should be to get theright result, not to get convictions”. DueAug (Australian)

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Crime Chronicle is compiled and edited by Peter Milne and Ann Leahy

Liz PORTERWritten on the Skin 432pp Pb $24.95Porter’s riveting case book shows how forensic investigators, includingpathologists, chemists and entomologists, have used their expertise in dozens offascinating crimes and mysteries. Due Aug (Australian)Mark Brandon READChopper #11: The Last Man Standing 216pp Pb $19.95Laced with black humour and wisdom borne from gritty experience, ChopperRead again raises the standard of the true crime genre. Due Aug (Australian)Tony REEVESMr Big: Lennie McPherson and His Life of Crime 288pp Pb $24.95Meet Lennie McPherson, the man who came to be known as the Mr Big ofAustralian crime. Brutality punctuated his whole life. Corruption was his mark.He was a standover man, a murderer, a rapist and a thief. He ran crooked policeand corrupt politicians. He was involved in drugs and prostitution. He didbusiness with the Mafia and the CIA. Reeves uncovers a heart of evil and takes usdeep into a dark and violent criminal world. It is a story that could only be toldafter Lennie’s death. Due AugMr Sin: The Abe Saffron Dossier 300pp Pb $24.95Reeves has been gathering information on Abe Saffron for over 40 years, anactivity that didn’t go unnoticed by Saffron, who tried to entrap Reeves in abribery/blackmail sting. Upon Saffron’s death in September 2006, Reeves couldfinally, and safely, reveal all. And what a story it is! Far from being the innocentbusinessman he claimed to be, Saffron led a life that reads like that of a real-lifeGodfather. He trafficked in drugs, ran prostitution and gambling rings, was amaster of bribery, a corrupter of police, politicians and the judiciary, and notaverse to extreme violence. This book makes for shocking and disturbing reading,and will leave readers in no doubt that Saffron well and truly deserved themoniker ‘Mr Sin’. Due Aug (Australian)David STANNARDHonor Killing: Race, Rape and Clarence Darrow’s Spectacular LastCase 446pp Pb $26.95In 1931 in Hawaii, Thalia Massie, the aristocratic wife of a naval officer, accusedfive non-white men of gang rape. When the trial ended in a hung jury, her motherarranged for one of the suspects to be murdered - an act sanctioned bysympathetic whites as an ‘honour killing’. The ensuing murder trial, ClarenceDarrow’s last, enthralled the nation and exposed the shocking realities of aHawaiian paradise. Due Aug (American)Peter VRONSKYFemale Serial Killers: How and Why Women Become Monsters

Pb $30.00 496ppSociety is conditioned to think of murderers and predators as men, but in thistitle, the author exposes and investigates the phenomenon of women who kill andthe political, economic, social and sexual implications. From history's earliestrecorded cases of homicidal females to Irma Grese, the Nazi Beast of Belsen, fromBritain's notorious child-slayer Myra Hindley to 'Honeymoon Killer' MarthaBeck, from the sensational murder-spree of Aileen Wournos, to cult killers,homicidal missionaries and the sexy femme fatale, the author challenges theordinary standards of good and evil and defies the accepted perceptions ofgender role and identity. Due Aug (American)