If you enjoyed the TV series Bones, inspired by the Tempe Brennan books by Kathy Reichs, then this week’s report should be of interest. The show’s creator, Hart Hanson, has turned his talents to crime fiction with a new novel, but it’s a far cry from forensics with a priest and a stuntwoman as an unlikely crime-solving duo. These aren’t the only unusual lead characters we’ve got; in Daniel Weizmann’s Cinnamon Girl a taxi driving sleuth is on the case. We’ve also got courtroom drama, historical crime set before World War II and more historical crime set in 1888 London, which can only mean…
Read on to find out more.
The Seminarian by Hart Hanson
He created the TV show Bones, now Hart Hanson has come up with a pretty unusual private detective in the form of Xavier ‘Priest’ Priestly. Priest is a former seminarian and his friend Dusty Queen is a tough professional stuntwoman and freelance bodyguard – so they make an unusual duo. The pair join forces when Dusty’s girlfriend disappears, a woman in a blonde wig tries to kill Priest, and a young boy turns up, claiming to be his son. Helped (or perhaps hindered) by a lawyer who doesn’t approve of their methods, a cop who doesn’t trust them, and Priest’s ex-bank robber father, this fast and furious thriller is destined to keep you guessing. The Seminarian is out on 21 May.
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Cinnamon Girl by Daniel Weizmann
Lyft driver-turned-sleuth Adam Zantz is back, and this time taking a deep dive into the dark side of the Los Angeles rock scene in Daniel Weizmann’s Cinnamon Girl, out in paperback on 23 May and later for Kindle. Zantz is back on his driving gig until his former piano teacher makes a deathbed request that leads to a cold murder case. Can Zantz prove a man’s innocence, decades after the crime was committed? The discovery of a long-forgotten test-pressing of an album by a high-school garage band who never quite hit the big time leads Zantz into a twisted tale of crooked DJs, elder-scammers, wellness hucksters, a teen cult and the woman who held the key to the band’s triumph and ruin…
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Blindspot by Maggie Smith
Love a good courtroom drama with a psychological twist? Then remember 21 May, because that’s when Maggie Smith’s Blindspot is published. Rachel Matthews is a high-flying district attorney being stalked by someone who holds a grudge, but when his actions escalate and he threatens her teenage daughter, Rachel agrees to meet her stalker on a deserted beach. What she finds there sends her fleeing from the law and in danger of losing her career, her family and her freedom. Can Rachel prove her innocence, or is she destined to crash and burn?
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The Wealth of Shadows by Graham Moore
Academy Award–winning screenwriter of The Imitation Game, Graham Moore, sticks to World War II for The Wealth of Shadows, out on 21 May. It’s based on a true story, and begins in 1938 where Ansel Luxford is reading the writing on the wall and seeing global conflict on the horizon. When he is asked to move to Washington, DC, to join a clandestine project within the Treasury Department that is working to undermine Nazi Germany, Ansel uproots his family and takes on the challenge of a lifetime. Money is power, and it’s the start of economic warfare – so follow Ansel as he crosses the globe in pursuit of a plan that could bring the Nazis to their knees.
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The Ripper Lives by Kevin Morris
One of history’s most infamous killers has been revived for a 10-part series, entitled The Ripper Lives and written by Kevin Morris. Set in the days following the killings of the women victims known as the Canonical Five in 1888, each book comprises a complete episode. An unsuspecting public believes the threat has subsided, but behind the scenes a secret task force led by Frederick Aberline is working to bring Jack the Ripper to justice. However, while he hides in the shadows the killer’s urge to mutilate grows stronger by the day. For Whitechapel, the terror has only just begun. The first five parts are out now, with the remainder arriving later this year.
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Click here to read about last week’s new books.