This is a clever confection of 15 tales of the unexpected, in which someone deserving dies an appropriate death – and the killer gets away scot-free thanks to meticulous planning and fancy footwork. For such a dark subject, these stories offer an implausible helping of fun as you attempt to second-guess the plot twists: who…
This would make a great movie. In fact, The Conviction strongly reminds me of a sci-fi flick from the late 1990s, Cube, in which a group of strangers navigate their way through a sequence of lethal puzzles trying to discover why they’ve been abducted. The Conviction features a similar theme, with locked rooms containing potentially…
MMM’s tireless team of criminal masterminds have been sifting the wow! from the wtf? in this month’s selection of international thrillers and gritty BritCrime. Read on for hardboiled Aussie noir, death in Bethlehem and a southern-gothic serial killer story which crosses one too many lines… BAD DEBTS by Peter Temple The first of the Jack…
There’s so much going on in this high-tech, hard-wired thriller that it’s tough to pin it all down. Corporate espionage, social engineering and black-hat tradecraft set the scene, but the core of the story boils down to desperate moments of ephemeral intimacy between old friends – people using cutting edge tech and serious combat skills…
A series of near-impossible murders in in Chengdu, China, are connected by the beautifully-penned ‘death notices’ which precede them, daring the police to stop this calculating killer. Each of the victims has to atone for his or her crimes; adultery, betrayal, murder and corruption. But this serial killer’s secrets start far in the past, with…
We have THREE ebook editions to give away this week, to help celebrate the recent publication of Matt Hilton’s new thriller, Marked For Death. This sees the return of Joe Hunter, an ex-military hard man who metes out justice on the backstreets of America. Hunter should be on a routine assignment providing security for an…
The crime files are over-flowing right now with big-name blockbusters and outstanding indie authors. In fact there’s too many to fit into this round-up of ten intriguing titles, so come back in a fortnight for more gripping criminal activity. In the meanwhile we’ve a superb selection of police procedurals, serial killers, Nordic noir, vengeful vigilantes,…
Stand by for what might be THE outstanding opening chapter of the year. ‘Ice Cold Alice’ grabs you by the blimey-o-rileys and rattles your sensibilities until your eyes water and your stomach churns. We meet Alice in the worst way possible as she inflicts a pitiless penalty on a worthless excuse for a human.…
Crime fiction takes us to the darkest domains of the human condition. It’s a psychologically safe space where inspired writers can explore criminal, social and moral injustice – hooking the audience with a compelling narrative and captivating characters. ‘Ice Cold Alice’ does all this and more. On one level, it’s a rollicking romp of revenge…
Gage is a vigilante with nothing to lose and a tight schedule to keep. Cancer is killing him – but it turns out that his efforts to balance life’s books have an unexpectedly positive effect on his prognosis. ‘Sick To Death’ deals unflinchingly with the daily grind that is the tedious business of dying with…
