Don’t know about you, but I, for one, am intrigued to see Oscar Wilde’s the ageless Dorian Gray appear in a crime novel alongside Sherlock Holmes. Wow! The Classified Dossier has finally been revealed by crime author Christian Klaver and it looks like the perfect distraction from the cost of living crisis, climate change and war, war, war.
Plus we’ve got five other new reads for you from some writers you may have heard of and some you haven’t, including Elsa Drucaroff, Katy Massey, Eric Beetner, Brendan Flaherty and Jeff Hoffmann. Whether you like historical speculation, dogs or buried secrets, we’ve got a book for you…
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The Classified Dossier – Sherlock Holmes and Dorian Gray by Christian Klaver
Master of the crime fiction mash-up Christian Klaver returns on 12 March with The Classified Dossier – Sherlock Holmes and Dorian Gray. A monstrous mystery draws the inscrutable detective to beautiful and secretive socialite Dorian Gray – and it all begins when Sherlock’s brother Mycroft inexplicably sends tickets to the newly arrived Egyptian Circus. Holmes and Dr John Watson are amazed and bemused by mysterious performers dressed as wondrous half-animal, half-human gods from Egyptian mythology. Then a murder occurs, and Holmes’ inquiries lead him to Montebank Manor, home of the enigmatic Gray, and the game’s afoot!
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
Rodolfo Walsh’s Last Case by Elsa Drucaroff
For many years, Argentinian writer and journalist Rodolfo Walsh was at the forefront of investigative journalism in his country, and he was a forerunner of the true crime genre with his 1957 book Operation Massacre. Walsh was killed in a shootout in 1977 – just a few months after his daughter, Victoria, was murdered by the military dictatorship. He is the central character in Elsa Drucaroff’s imagining of the final months of Walsh’s life as he seeks the truth of his daughter’s death. Blending political history with thrilling, suspenseful drama and the pull of family ties, Rodolfo Walsh’s Last Case is out on 5 March.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
All Us Sinners by Katy Massey
Debut author Katy Massey picks Leeds in 1977 as the setting for her novel All Us Sinners, out on 7 March. It’s the era of the Yorkshire Ripper, and at Rio’s, a clean, discreet brothel in the city, Maureen runs a tight ship. She looks after all of the girls in her care, especially Bev and Anette. The killer is targeting street girls after all, and they feel safe – until Bev’s sweet-natured son is found beaten to death and a face from Maureen’s past, in the shape of DS Mick Hunniford, turns up at Rio’s front door. Is it good news for her and her girls, or could Hunniford’s reappearance spell danger? In a city already under stress, who can Maureen turn to?
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The Last Few Miles of Road by Eric Beetner
Ready for a book about one man and his dog? You’ve found it – and The Last Few Miles of Road by pulp specialist Eric Beetner arrives on 25 February. Carter McCoy is living on borrowed time and he plans to spend it unwisely. Accompanied by his dog, Chester, he’s on the lookout for the man who murdered his daughter, but Carter has never killed anyone before and isn’t sure he’s up to the task. Breanna needs to get away from her toxic home life – and McCoy could be her ticket out of Dodge, if he lives long enough to help her. With the police on his trail, can McCoy help Breanna and achieve his goal before it is all too late?
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The Dredge by Brendan Flaherty
Cale and Ambrose Casey endured a traumatic childhood in Connecticut and separated from each other as soon as they were old enough to leave. But the siblings are drawn back to their rural home – and to Gibbs Pond – when a real estate developer announces plans to drain and expand the place. Nearly 30 years ago, in an act of self preservation, the brothers buried a secret in that pond and there will be hell to pay if it comes to light. The contractor in charge of the dredging work is Lily Rowe, a local who has secrets of her own and stayed put to protect them. Haunted lives and difficult memories are destined to being the trio together in Brendan Flaherty’s debut novel The Dredge, out on 5 March.
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Like it Never Happened by Jeff Hoffmann
Decades have passed since a group of friends did something really terrible… and got away with it. Three of them meet again at the funeral of the fourth member of the gang. Kevin, a heroin addict, ran his motorcycle into the side of a truck – but he before his death he told his wife Naomi everything. And Naomi is a reporter with a conscience so is she about to make them pay for what they did as teenagers? Hell yes, and what Naomi has in mind takes Tommy, Malcolm and Henry by surprise. If they are going to keep their secret safe, something drastic will have to happen – it could be that history is about to repeat itself. Find out more when Like it Never Happened by Jeff Hoffman arrives on 5 March.
Order now on Amazon or Bookshop.org
Click here to read about last week’s new releases.