Live and Deadly – A book review site reviewing mainly crime fiction

Blackwater by Sarah Sultoon @SultoonSarah @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours

Source: Review copy
Publication: 4 December 2025 from Orenda Books
PP: 276
ISBN-13:978-1916788985

My thanks to Orenda Books for an advance copy for review

They feared the machines.

They should have feared the people…

London, Christmas 1999. The world is on edge. With the new millennium just days away, fears of the Millennium Bug are spiralling – warnings of computer failures, market crashes, even global catastrophe. But fifty miles east, on the frozen Blackwater Island, a different kind of mystery unfolds. A child’s body is discovered on the bracken, untouched by footprints, with no sign of how he died. And no one has come forward to claim him.

At the International Tribune, reporter Jonny Murphy senses something is off. Police are appealing for relatives, not suspects. An anonymous call led officers to the scene, but no one knows who made it. While the world fixates on a digital apocalypse, Jonny sees the real disaster unfolding closer to home. With just twenty-hour hours before the century turns, he heads to Blackwater – driven by curiosity, desperation, and the sting of rejection from his colleague Paloma.

But Blackwater has secrets buried deep in the frozen ground. More victims – some dead, others still paying for past sins. And when Paloma catches up to him, they stumble onto something far bigger than either of them imagined. Something that could change everything. The millennium is coming. The clock is ticking. Can Jonny stop it? Should he?

And what if Y2K wasn’t a hoax, but a warning…?

Sarah Sultoon’s Blackwater is an apt December read. The story is a race against the turn of the millennium. The novel is set in late December 1999 in London and the surrounding Essex wetlands of the Blackwater Estuary. Sultoon balances historical tension with sharp pacing to produce a thriller that resonates.

In addition to being the name of an Essex Nature Sanctuary known for its oysters, Blackwater is, of course, the former name of an existing American private military contractor founded by an ex-Navy SEAL officer. A private army that the US government quietly hired to operate in international war zones, which has been involved in several scandals. That fact lingered in the background as I read this book.

The background to the novel – the fear over what Y2K might bring – is not just window dressing; it embodies uncertainty and feeds our deeper anxieties — something the book uses to terrific effect.

From the first page, the pace is propulsive. The discovery of a child’s body on remote Blackwater Island — with no sign of footprints, and no identity for the child – launches Jonny Murphy, a reporter at the International Tribune who’s tired of forever writing dull Y2K dispatches, into the story. What he finds are chilling secrets, and very high stakes.

Sultoon’s plotting is as tight as a drum; lean and spare. Events escalate with mounting tension, and each chilling revelation is a shock that propels you onto the next.

Jonny himself is a compelling and flawed protagonist. Weighed down by memories of his professional disappointments, he has an easily bruised ego, especially when it comes to his relationship with Tribune photographer, Paloma. Their dynamic is more than a tentative partnership; it’s grounded in mutual respect and unspoken feelings. When Paloma catches up to him on Blackwater, the tension between them evolves into a partnership that grows under pressure.

As a journalist, Jonny’s position at the International Tribune plays into every choice he makes. He’s not just chasing headlines; he’s wrestling with his conscience, his urge to follow the story, and the need to prove himself. His internal conflict informs his decisions in ways that go beyond the usual ‘follow the clues’ instinct; he pushes into danger not because it’s dramatic, but because it’s how his personality is forged.

Sarah Sultoon creates a vivid sense of place: the bleak Blackwater Island and its surrounding marshes are cold and unforgiving, sharpening the novel’s already chilling tone and enhancing the dread at the story’s core.

The millennial concerns that I remember so well are cleverly interwoven with political intrigue and local mysteries. There are creepy figures; Jane Doe, a witchlike GI Jane and Judith, the landlady of the local pub, The Saxon, who is quite the character and Jonny doesn’t know what to make of her.

Then there’s DI Gillian Peters, the only police presence in the area, with so few resources, she doesn’t even have an official police car. Her hopes of having the investigation into the child’s death properly resourced are unrealised. It’s clear to her that this death will go unresolved unless she can somehow raise the profile of the body’s discovery, and in Jonny she sees a way of getting the help she needs.

Blackwater is taut, atmospheric, and emotionally engaging, authentically evoking late 1999. It captures a time when the world feared computers crashing (I remember worrying about being on a flight so close to midnight on 31st December), yet remained blind to the many killings going on at the same time. It’s the kind of thriller that stays in the mind — not just for its countdown clock, but for how it makes you feel the burden of its characters’ choices.

What makes it so fascinating is not just the plausibility of the storyline, but in the author’s afterword. Sarah Sultoon lays out the facts that appear in the book, showing us just how close to very real danger we came.

Blackwater is perfect for fans of gritty crime and tightly woven suspense.

Orenda Books

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Sarah Sultoon is a journalist and writer, whose work as an international news executive at CNN has taken her all over the world, from the seats of power in both Westminster and Washington to the frontlines of Iraq and Afghanistan. She has extensive experience in conflict zones, winning three Peabody awards for her work on the war in Syria, an Emmy for her contribution to the coverage of Europe’s migrant crisis in 2015, and a number of Royal Television Society gongs. When not reading or writing she can usually be found somewhere outside, either running, swimming or throwing a ball for her three children and dog while she imagines what might happen if… Her debut thriller The Source is currently in production with Lime Pictures, and was a Capital Crime Book Club pick and a number one bestseller on Kindle. The Shot (2022) and Dirt (2023) followed, with Death Flight due to be published in 2024.

Revenge of Odessa by Frederick Forsyth and Tony Kent

Source: Review copy
Publication: 23 October 2025 from Bantam
PP: 448
ISBN-13: 978-0857506900

My thanks to Penguin Bantam for a review copy

The Nazis were never defeated. They were just biding their time…

Summer, 2025. A US senator is burned to death in his Washington townhouse. Masked gunmen massacre supporters during a football match in Berlin. And an old man is murdered while he sleeps in the dementia ward of a German hospital. Three apparently unconnected events, three steps on the countdown to apocalypse.

When journalist and podcaster Georg Miller starts joining the dots between them, he finds himself the target of professional killers. His investigation soon reveals that his would-be assassins are from an organisation known as the Odessa, a menacing and powerful Nazi group intent on regaining power.

The Odessa has spread its poison from a covert compound in the Bavarian countryside all the way to the halls of the American Capitol. And now, as their campaign to destabilise the Western political system accelerates, Georg must stop the next attack, before it changes the course of history…

The Odessa File (1972) chased a fugitive Nazi in the post-war shadows. Revenge of Odessa brings us a nightmare for a new generation. There are new manoeuvres, fresh brutality, and a lingering sense that history isn’t quite being relived, but the old horrors are evolving. The novel feels less like nostalgia and more like a grim foretelling: the old horrors may lie dormant, but they have never truly vanished.

Revenge of Odessa isn’t just a thriller — it’s a treatise on memory, legacy, and the danger of forgetting. The revived threat of the shadowy organisation ODESSA —a post-war Nazi network — embodies the idea that evil doesn’t end; it simply changes to suit the circumstances of the times. By bringing ODESSA out of the past and reviving it as a living menace with global reach, Forsyth and Kent force us to confront the possibility that evil can be dormant but not dead.

Georg Miller, a sharp-witted journalist-podcaster, slowly picks apart a string of deaths — a US senator burnt to death in Washington, gunmen mowing down football fans in Berlin, a quiet killing in a German dementia ward. The Revenge of Odessa deftly sets up a chain of horror that refuses to let you look away.

This is excellent plotting, spare and powerful. Each atrocity feels isolated, but as Georg begins to connect the dots, you can sense the slow tightening of a trap. The growing sense of paranoia — that there is no safe place, no moment of respite — is handled deftly. By the time the narrative has spanned from Germany to the heart of Washington, the tension has turned into something explosive: the stakes are now global.

Our protagonist, Georg Miller is resourceful and determined. He is a worthy heir to his grandfather, the journalist from the original The Odessa File, Peter Miller, and he continues a legacy of investigation and seeking the truth.

This is a thriller with tension that grips hard. The resurgence of the old SS network (ODESSA) is a revived and ruthless force infiltrating politics and terror cells worldwide. It feels chillingly plausible. At a time when far-right movements, disinformation and political polarisation are only too real, this novel taps into my genuine anxieties.

Revenge of Odessa challenges the accepted conclusion that the defeat of Nazi Germany was final, that justice was served, and the horrors ended forever. Instead, the novel chillingly suggests that the defeat was only temporary; ideologies may go underground, but their roots remain.

Verdict: In Revenge of Odessa, Forsyth and Kent deliver more than a gripping page-turner; they issue a warning. Evil may sleep, but it can be woken. As a thriller, it is terrific: there’s tension, fast pacing, and an evil conspiracy with sky-high stakes. This book doesn’t just offer thrills, though — it also issues a warning. It asks how many resolved conflicts are only dormant. How many defeated ideologies quietly survive in dark corners? That’s what will keep me up at night now that I have read it.

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Former RAF pilot and investigative journalist Frederick Forsyth defined the modern thriller when he wrote The Day of the Jackal, described by Lee Child as ‘the book that broke the mould’, with its lightning-paced storytelling, effortlessly cool reality and unique insider information. After that, he wrote thirteen novels which became bestsellers around the world: The Odessa File, The Dogs of War, The Devil’s Alternative, The Fourth Protocol, The Negotiator, The Deceiver, The Fist of God, Icon, Avenger, The Afghan, The Cobra, The Kill List and The Fox. He also published his memoirs in The Outsider. Frederick Forsyth died in June 2025.

Tony Kent is a criminal barrister, founder director of Chiltern Kills festival and bestselling author of the Dempsey / Devlin series. Tony has published five books in the series, including a Zoe Ball Book Club pick for ITV and a Richard and Judy Book Club pick. Tony’s novels call upon his experiences as one of the UK’s most in-demand criminal defence lawyers & his particular expertise in terrorism and international organised crime, which has brought him into frequent professional contact with Scotland Yard, MI5, Interpol, US Homeland Security and the FBI.

Scars of Silence by Johana Gustawsson translated by David Warriner @JoGustawsson @thewarrinerd @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours

Source: Review copy
Publication: 20 November 2025 from Orenda Books
PP: 300
ISBN-13: 978-1916788923

My thanks to Orenda Books for an advance copy for review

Twenty-three years ago, a young woman was murdered on the Swedish island of Lidingö.

The island has kept its silence.

Until now…

As autumn deepens into darkness in Lidingö, on the Stockholm archipelago, the island is plunged into chaos: in the space of a week, two teenaged boys are murdered. Their bodies are left deep in the forest, dressed in white tunics with crowns of candles on their heads, like offerings to Saint Lucia.

Maïa Rehn has fled Paris for Lidingö after a family tragedy. But when the murders shake the island community, the former police commissioner is drawn into the heart of the investigation, joining Commissioner Aleksander Storm to unravel a mystery as chilling as the Nordic winter.

As they dig deeper, it becomes clear that a wind of vengeance is blowing through the archipelago, unearthing secrets that are as scandalous as they are inhuman.

But what if the victims weren’t who they seemed? What if those long silenced have finally found a way to strike back?

How far would they go to make their tormentors pay?

And you – how far would you go?

I’ll be honest, Scars of Silence blew me away with its power and ultimately with the emotional impact of the subject matter

Johana Gustawsson’s follow-up to Yule Island plunges us into Lidingö’s frozen, claustrophobic world after two teenagers turn up murdered in Lucia-like white tunics and candle crowns, each missing the costume’s customary red sash. From the first page, Gustawsson’s prose is spare and fiercely exacting when it wants to make you feel the hurt underneath the snow. Her writing style balances a forensic examination of motive with lyrical, almost mournful sentences. The narrative voices, through the viewpoints of Maïa Rehn, a former French police officer who has run away to Lidingö, and Police Commissioner Aleksander Storm, shift seamlessly between procedural and internal narratives, showing hurt and haunted reflection. Those tonal shifts mean the book reads both as a mystery and a character study in which facts and forensic detail sit alongside flashes of memory and grief, giving the tension an intelligent tone with a strong emotional undercurrent.

Sense of place is exceptional. Lidingö has its own codes, rituals and silences. Gustawsson expertly evokes the snowbound quiet of winter evenings, the claustrophobia of small-town gossip and the way Lidingö’s peninsular geography amplifies its secrets. The atmosphere is relentlessly cold, distant, gorgeous and dangerous — and Gustawsson uses it to intensify the mystery.

Scars of Silence is a rich, detailed, and beautifully constructed investigation set in a chilling atmosphere. There are echoes of a past crime that intrude upon the present investigation, a classic device, which Gustawsson reframes through family trauma and the collective memory of the community, so that the final reveal is an unwelcome reward. She reminds us that even in the most civilised and peaceful of societies, behind the façade, human beings are capable of the vilest behaviour. The novel’s progress towards a devastating climax is both inevitable and yet truly shocking.

Characterisation is a real strength. Maïa Rehn is complex: professional, scarred and sometimes brittle. She is a protagonist who earns your sympathy. Aleksander Storm, the local Police Commissioner, provides a grounded counterpoint; their partnership brings out the book’s themes of outsiders versus insiders, and the compromise between justice and mercy. Secondary characters are sharply drawn. Gustawsson’s crafting of her characters is one of this book’s real strengths. As a reader, you feel not just that you know these characters, but that you understand them.

Scars of Silence examines vengeance, the legacy of shame, and how communities police their own histories. Discussion of consent, power, and how society silences victims provides a grounding for this mystery. We’re not fed easy answers; instead, we are forced to consider the cost of silence and the destructive effect of secrets across generations. This is powerful social commentary and the subject matter of consent and trauma add moral texture to an immersive, emotionally compelling novel.

David Warriner’s translation is the epitome of why AI can never supplant the abilities of an excellent translator. The coldness of Sweden, the psychological tension, the weight of silence and trauma are all beautifully captured alongside Johana’s lyrical, severe prose and its emotional undercurrents.

Verdict: Scars of Silence delivers on mystery, atmosphere and emotional heft. The plot has real integrity, and the characters have emotional weight. Johana Gustawsson has delivered a ruthless, beautifully written examination of what a small community will protect — and what it will bury. Scars of Silence combines procedural detail with psychological intelligence, and Johana Gustawsson handles trauma and social themes without sensationalism while delivering a shattering climax to this devastating novel.

For me, Scars of Silence is a haunting, accomplished thriller with strong social commentary and a huge emotional tug. It is a book that will stay with me.

Orenda Books

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Born in Marseille, France, and with a degree in Political Science, Johana Gustawsson has worked as a journalist for the French and Spanish press and Her critically acclaimed Roy & Castells series, including Block 46, Keeper and Blood Song, has won the Plume d’Argent, Balai de la découverte, Balai d’Or and Prix Marseillais du Polar awards, and is now published in nineteen countries. A TV adaptation is currently under way in a French, Swedish and UK co-production. The Bleeding was a number-one bestseller in France and is the first in a new series. Johana lives in Sweden with her Swedish husband and their three sons.

David Warriner translates from French and nurtures a healthy passion for Franco, Nordic and British crime fiction. Growing up in deepest Yorkshire, he developed incurable Francophilia at an early age. Emerging from Oxford with a Modern Languages degree he narrowly escaped the graduate rat race by hopping on a plane to Canada – and never looked back. More than a decade into a high-powered commercial translation career, he listened to his heart and turned his hand to the delicate art of literary translation. David has lived in France and Quebec, and now calls beautiful British Columbia home.

The Nancys and The Case of the Missing Necklace by R. W. R. McDonald @OrendaBooks @RandomTTours

Source: Review copy
Publication: 20^th November 2025 from Orenda Books
PP: 320
ISBN-13: 978-1916788909

My thanks to Orenda Books for an advance copy for review

Meet the Nancys…

Tippy Chan is eleven years old, and she lives in a small town in a very quiet part of New Zealand – the town her Uncle Pike escaped as a teenager, the moment he got a chance. Now Pike is back with his new boyfriend Devon to look after Tippy while her mum is on a Christmas cruise.

Tippy can’t get enough of her uncle’s old Nancy Drew books. She wants to be Nancy and is desperate to solve a real mystery. So, when her teacher’s body is found beside Riverstone’s only traffic light, it looks like Tippy’s moment has arrived. She and her minders form The Nancys, a secret detective club.

But what starts as a bonding and sightseeing adventure quickly morphs into something far more dangerous. A wrongful arrest, a close call with the murderer, and an intervention from Tippy’s mum all conspire against The Nancys. But regardless of their own safety, and despite the constant distraction of questionable fashion choices in the town that style forgot, The Nancys know only they can stop the killer from striking again. Whatever the cost…

Stop what you’re doing and go and buy this book. With one outrageous leap, this book has become one of my favourite reads this year. It is glorious!

The Nancys and The Case of the Missing Necklace, is a crime story with a pulse. A pulse that beats not only with suspense, but with heart, humour and more than a touch of chaos. Told through the eyes of eleven-year-old Tippy Chan, the book delivers a murder mystery and the case of a missing necklace that’s dark, but warm and deceptively sharp, often at the same time. It’s a bit like being welcomed into a family that is messy, loud, deeply loving, and absolutely terrible at keeping out of trouble.

Tippy is a fabulous narrator—witty, observant, and disarmingly honest. She brings her own grief into this mystery; the loss of her father hangs over her young life, shaping her need for connection and utilising her love of the Nancy Drew books to bring excitement into the void that exists in her heart. Her voice is laced with the wonder of an eleven-year-old, but the tragedy in her life has given her an emotional maturity that belies her age. Watching her negotiate danger, loyalty, and the occasional extremely questionable adult decision is one of the great pleasures of this fantastic novel.

Then there’s Uncle Pike and his boyfriend Devon, who descend upon Riverstone like a neon-coloured whirlwind in a town that seems surprised by their sequins. Devon is a wonderfully camp designer, good-natured, and rather fetching in his neon yellow budgie smugglers. Uncle Pike is a hairdresser to the stars in Sydney, with the body of Santa Claus and the tattooed pecs of a sailor. He is outrageous, loving, and utterly incapable of subtlety—yet beneath his flamboyance lies a fierce protectiveness. Pike is often Tippy’s emotional ballast when Devon’s theatrics are at their worst. Their relationship, and the way they fold Tippy into their world, give the book its best moments. Then there’s Melanie, a spiky teenager who lives next door, who offers a cynical, far too hardened, view of the world and who, but for the intervention of the Nancys, might have been destined for a difficult adulthood. Her speech at the town’s pageant is a real highlight.

Themes of loss, grief and friendship run through the novel, anchoring even the funniest scenes. The humour—sometimes camp, sometimes slapstick, sometimes just wonderfully awkward—never undercuts the strength of these emotions. Instead, it amplifies them, reminding us that life’s sharpest pains often sit alongside its most ridiculous joys.

The Nancys is a fast-paced mystery, with a terrific narrative arc, and the tension is high for a story delivered through such a bright narrative voice. A wrongful arrest, escalating danger, and the town’s secrets all come together in a plot that is great fun, yet genuinely suspenseful.

R.W.R. McDonald’s treatment of sexuality, gender expression, and cultural identity, is refreshing. It enriches the plot rather than sitting on top of it, offering a portrait of rural New Zealand that acknowledges and enjoys its complexities without preaching.

Verdict: What ultimately makes The Nancys and The Case of the Missing Necklace a must-read is its ability to balance innocence with insight. This is a story about chosen family, about grief and healing, and about refusing to let tragedy dim curiosity or joy. It is warm, clever, laugh-out-loud funny, and edge-of-your-seat tense. The Nancys is a crime novel with heart, soul, and a sparkle all its own. What? You haven’t bought it yet?

Orenda Books

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R.W.R. McDonald (Rob) is an award-winning author, a Kiwi and Queer dad living in Melbourne with his two daughters and one HarryCat. His debut novel, The Nancys, won Best First Novel in the 2020 Ngaio Marsh Awards, as well as being a finalist in the Best Novel category. It was shortlisted for Best First Novel in the 2020 Ned Kelly Awards, and Highly Commended for an Unpublished Manuscript in the 2017 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. His second novel, Nancy Business, was a finalist for Best Novel in 2022 Ngaio Marsh Awards.

The Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee (Wyndham & Banerjee #6) @radiomukhers @VintageBooks @HarvillSecker

Source: Review copy:
Publication: 13 November 2025 from Harvill & Secker
PP: 384
ISBN-13:978-1787302785

My thanks to Harvill Secker for a review copy

In the Burning Ghats of Calcutta, where the dead are laid to rest, a man is found murdered, his throat cut from ear to ear.

The body is that of a popular patron of the arts, a man who was, by all accounts, beloved by all: so what was the motive for his murder? Despite being out of favour with the Imperial Police Force, Detective Sam Wyndham is assigned to the case and finds himself thrust into the glamorous world of Indian cinema.

Meanwhile, Surendranath Banerjee, recently returned from Europe after three years spent running from the fallout of his last case, is searching for a missing photographer, a trailblazing woman at the forefront of the profession. When Suren discovers that the vanished woman is linked to Sam’s murder investigation, the two men find themselves working together once again – but will Wyndham and Banerjee be able to put their differences aside to solve the case?

I have loved this series since the first book, A Rising Man. While you can certainly read and enjoy this one as a stand-alone, part of the joy of this series is seeing how skillfully Abir Mukherjee has grown and developed his characters as British rule in India changes and Indian independence nears. Embedded in his fascinating storytelling, his pitch-perfect descriptions of the times and various factions in Indian politics, there is also a delightful, wicked humour.

The Burning Grounds feels like both a homecoming and a reckoning. Mukherjee has always balanced thrilling mystery with sharp, unsentimental, and critical history, but here he goes a step further, pushing both men into territory they’ve been avoiding for years.

It’s the late 1920s, and you can feel the shift. Calcutta is vibrant, dangerous and changing. The independence movement is stronger, the glamorous Indian film industry is taking shape, and the old certainties of the Empire are starting to buckle. Mukherjee uses this backdrop brilliantly, and if you’ve read the earlier novels, you’ll feel the difference: the city that once seemed full of sparks is now ready to catch fire.

Wyndham, once the confident outsider armed with a badge and a sense of duty, is now a man out of favour with the Imperial Police and painfully aware that the authority he once relied on is waning. Compare him to the Wyndham of A Necessary Evil or Smoke and Ashes: his sharpness remains, and his stubbornness too, but now he has a vulnerability—a feeling of being surplus to the machine he once served. His role in the police has shifted from power to uncertainty, giving this investigation a harsher edge.

Suren, meanwhile, has come a long way from the earnest, rule-bound young sergeant of A Rising Man. The three years he spent abroad have deepened and somewhat darkened him. His search for a missing trailblazing photographer isn’t just the subplot; it’s the emotional heart of the book. Mukherjee’s early novels hinted at his clashes with family and social expectations, but here those tensions take centre stage. Suren is discovering how radical it truly is to forge a life outside those constraints and what compromises he may have to make to satisfy his family loyalties.

What makes this novel so brilliant is how Mukherjee reunites Sam and Suren. Their partnership, once mentor and protégé, has become more complex. After their rupture in The Shadows of Men, there is wariness, but also the inescapable bond of men who know each other too well to stay apart for long. Watching them renegotiate that dynamic—no longer equals, not quite friends, but something stronger and more necessary, brings a natural evolution that highlights his prowess as a writer.

In terms of the plot, the murder of a renowned philanthropist on the burning ghats and the disappearance of a female photographer unfold with Mukherjee’s typical blend of atmosphere, danger, and political complexity. The pace is measured initially, then speeds up as the threads tighten, and when the two cases merge, the result is both satisfying and unexpectedly moving.

Verdict: If you’re as much a fan of this series as I am, The Burning Grounds offers everything you love about these characters. There are rich historical depths, morally complex protagonists, and mysteries that reflect the soul of a nation as much as they revolve around crime. However, this book also marks a turning point. Wyndham and Banerjee cannot return to who they were in 1919. And that, I think, is Mukherjee’s greatest achievement: he allows his characters to evolve, making it clear that they are now standing on a completely different footing than at the beginning. It’s a revelatory experience for both of them and a true joy for this fan.

The Burning Man and the entire series are five star must reads.

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Abir Mukherjee is the bestselling author of the award-winning Wyndham & Banerjee series of crime novels set in 1920s India and the British Book Awards Crime Thriller of the Year 2025 Hunted. His books have been translated into sixteen languages and won various awards including the CWA Dagger for best Historical Novel, the Prix du Polar Européen, and the Wilbur Smith Award for Adventure Writing. With Vaseem Khan, he also co-hosts the popular Murder Junction podcast which brings to life history’s most intriguing murders, true crime and fictional, in the company of the world’s best known crime writers. They make murder . . . fun. Abir grew up in Scotland and now lives in Surrey with his wife and two sons.

The Winter Job by Antti Tuomainen trs by David Hackston @anttituomainen @orendabooks @countertenorist

Source: Review copy
Publication: 23 October 2025 from Orenda Books
PP: 276
ISBN-13: 978-1916788824

My thanks to Orenda Books for a review copy

Sofas, secrets and a snowbound road to trouble…

Helsinki, 1982. Recently divorced postal worker Ilmari Nieminen has promised his daughter a piano for Christmas, but with six days to go – and no money – he’s desperate.

A last-minute job offers a solution: transport a valuable antique sofa to Kilpisjärvi, the northernmost town in Finland.

With the sofa secured in the back of his van, Ilmari stops at a gas station, and an old friend turns up, offering to fix his faulty wipers, on the condition that he tags along. Soon after, a persistent Saab 96 appears in the rearview mirror. And then a bright-yellow Lada.

That’s when Ilmari realises that he is transporting something truly special.

And that’s when Ilmari realises he might be in serious trouble…

A new book from the marvellous Antti Tuomainen is always something to look forward to, and The Winter Job is a joyous read. Not that it is joyful, because it’s really quite dark in places, but Tuomainen has a special skill in that he can take a story and tell it with humour, compassion and a deep respect for the working man and woman.

Set in Helsinki in 1982, then on the long journey up to Kilpisjärvi (the northernmost part of Finland), through winter’s grip. The road is icy, the van unreliable, and the environment bleak, wintry, and unforgiving. That coldness and sense of isolation intensify the tension.

It’s not often I laugh out loud in the middle of a crime thriller, but here I was, halfway up a bleak Finnish motorway, thinking of an important promise to a daughter and thinking: “Yes, this is absurd, and I love it.”

Ilmari Nieminen, a recently divorced postal worker in Helsinki in 1982, has promised his 12-year-old daughter a piano for Christmas. Now, with only six days to go, he is flat broke, and so takes a last-minute job hauling an antique sofa north to Kilpisjärvi. Unfortunately, his chosen van is less than robust.

Ilmari is a quietly desperate hero: ordinary, under-resourced, under-appreciated—and now thrust into a strange predicament. Tuomainen gives his character humanity so that we root for him, but then places him in farcical scenarios. It’s that combination of the absurd and the struggles of a working-class divorced father that works so well.

Then there’s Ilmari’s school-friend turned sidekick, Antero Kuikka, whose appearance is comforting and odd in equal measure. The dynamic between Ilmari and Antero offers both warmth and suspicion, striking a nice balance in a thriller that could easily have turned to full slapstick. Quite what Antero Kuikka is up to is not entirely clear, and the two men sit uneasily beside each other through the long, stressful hours of driving in the snow until they slowly begin to renew their friendship. Antti Tuomainen nails the slow and sometimes painful process of getting to know each other properly again by injecting both humour and real warmth into their conversation.

Tuomainen uses the setting not just as a backdrop but as an additional pressure: you feel the van’s steering failing, the snow closing in, the radio silence of the north, the vastness of the terrain. It emphasises how small Ilmari is in a big, cold world where weird criminals and ideological agitators can reach him. The contrast of a crucial domestic promise with a stark, remote Finnish landscape works beautifully. The 1982 period detail adds extra flavour—pre-internet, pre-digital navigation, heavy on human mistakes and mechanical failure, which fits the scenario so well.

Soon, our protagonists realise they are being followed. Tuomainen makes these followers memorable: a persistent Saab 96, a bright-yellow Lada trailing the van, ideological agitators, and a clearly psychotic figure determined to disrupt their journey. The yellow Lada and Saab chases add a comic touch to the novel — but this isn’t just amusing; these are genuine threats, and some scenes are very tense.

These characters strike a good balance: Ilmari is relatable, Antero is layered, the pursuers are larger-than-life but clearly defined, and even the less likeable characters have motivation, even if that is a Marxist revolution. Tuomainen’s carefully structured humour doesn’t undercut the stakes, which remain high.

As always, David Hackston’s translation captures the dry humour perfectly.

Verdict: If you enjoy thrillers that combine real stakes with dark, dry humour, awkward but charming characters, and a Finnish winter road trip that turns perilous, then The Winter Job is for you. I wasn’t just laughing, though — I cared about Ilmari’s promise to his daughter, worried about the van’s fate, and jumped at the yellow Lada — but I was always smiling at the absurdity and Tuomainen’s talent for transforming the ordinary into the extraordinary. Tuomainen is strong, not just in plotting, but in putting real people into absurd or heightened circumstances while still making them sympathetic. He is adept at combining dark comedy, thriller conventions and genuine emotional depth. I enjoyed the brisk pacing, the wonderfully quirky plotting, the wintry setting, and the compassion in his themes of loneliness and friendship. A must read.

Orenda Books

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Finnish Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when we made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula,and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach, Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, the prequel to The Moose Paradox, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios.

AYE WRITE: MY PICK OF TWO UNMISSABLE EVENTS FROM AYE WRITE 6-16 NOVEMBER 2025 @AyeWrite @Brownlee_Donald

I’m not a big fan of November: too early to look forward to Christmas, too late to enjoy the autumn air. Thank goodness, then, for Aye Write, which fills ten days of the month with plenty of bookish goodness across Glasgow. What a delight it is! There’s something for everyone, from science and nature to biography and fiction. There’s crime fiction (hurrah), literary fiction, romantasy, and everything in between. Children are well catered for too. 130 events will feature 180 Glaswegian, Scottish, and international authors discussing various topics and themes through on-stage interviews, Q&A sessions, and lively debates. It’s a family feast of books and conversation.

From the extensive range of fantastic authors, it’s a difficult choice to pick just two, but I’ve chosen a couple that could not be more different. Both are on the same day, because I don’t like to restrict myself to just one event – there’s too much goodness not to stay out and sample more!

Sunday 9^th November : Antti Tuomainen & Lilja Sigurðardóttir
12.45 – 1.45pm The Green Room, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Antti Tuomainen & Lilja Sigurðardóttir chat about their recent novels, published just a couple of weeks ago, The Winter Job and Black as Death with writer and journalist Neil Mackay.

Writer and journalist Neil Mackay chairs a discussion between two prolific Nordic crime novelists; Antti Tuomainen is Finnish and Lilja Sigurðardóttir is Icelandic.

Lilja Sigurðardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written ten crime novels, including Snare, Trap and Cage, making up the Reykjavík Noir trilogy, and her standalone thriller Betrayal, all of which have hit bestseller lists worldwide. Snare was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger, Cage won Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year and was a Guardian Book of the Year, and Betrayal was shortlisted for the prestigious Glass Key Award and won Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year. The film rights for the Reykjavík Noir trilogy have been bought by Palomar Pictures in California. Cold as Hell, the first book in the An Áróra Investigation series, was published in the UK in 2021. She lives in Reykjavík with her partner.

Antti Tuomainen was an award-winning copywriter when we made his literary debut in 2007 as a suspense author. In 2011, Tuomainen’s third novel, The Healer, was awarded the Clue Award for Best Finnish Crime Novel and was shortlisted for the Glass Key Award. In 2013, the Finnish press crowned Tuomainen the ‘King of Helsinki Noir’ when Dark as My Heart was published. With a piercing and evocative style, Tuomainen was one of the first to challenge the Scandinavian crime-genre formula, and his poignant, dark and hilarious The Man Who Died became an international bestseller, shortlisting for the Petrona and Last Laugh Awards. Palm Beach, Finland (2018) was an immense success, with The Times calling Tuomainen ‘the funniest writer in Europe’, and Little Siberia (2019) was shortlisted for the Capital Crime/Amazon Publishing Readers Awards, the Last Laugh Award and the CWA International Dagger, and won the Petrona Award for Best Scandinavian Crime Novel. The Rabbit Factor, will soon be a major motion picture starring Steve Carell for Amazon Studios.

As you’ll see, both of these fabulous authors have a distinctive style and approach to their writing. Both speak excellent English, and although each has written dark and chilling books, Antti is now writing dryly comic crime novels, while Lilja’s most recent novels, culminating in Black As Death, have introduced us to a new kind of investigator. The An Áróra Investigation series features a financial crimes investigator whose investigations often lead to a more deadly kind of crime.

Antti’s latest book, The Winter Job, which I have just finished, is another terrifically funny crime novel. A desperate father’s Christmas promise sparks a wild Finnish road trip involving an antique sofa, unexpected passengers and danger … A darkly humorous and warmly touching suspense novel about friendship, love and death, The Winter Job flies at 120 kilometres an hour straight into the darkest heart of a Finnish winter night.

Described by The Times as ‘The funniest writer in Europe’, Antti’s The Winter Job has been cited by Vaseem Khan as: ‘Another wonderfully lean slice of European noir by one of its finest exponents. As darkly fun as any Coen brothers’ offering’.

Lilja’s novel, Black as Death, is stunning. It is dark, chilling and emotional. When the chief suspect in the disappearance of Áróra’s sister is found dead, and Áróra’s new financial investigation leads to the street where her sister was last seen, she is drawn into a shocking case that threatens everything … ‘

Lilja Sigurðardóttir has garnered praise from across the world. ‘Icelandic crime-writing at its finest’ Shari Lapena
‘Icelandic crime queen Lilja Sigurðardóttir goes from strength to strength’ Financial Times

No wonder then that this is my first choice. As Lilja recently quipped ‘ I’m bringing Icelandic crime to Glasgow. Antti Tuomainen’s bringing Finnish humour. What could possibly go wrong? 🔪😂

You can get your tickets here: AYE WRITE ANTTI AND LILJA

My second choice is a political one.

Sarah Vine: How Not to Be a Political Wife GRCH | 7.45pm – 8.45pm

Born in Wales in 1967, Sarah moved as a child to Italy, returning to the UK as a teenager. Sarah read Modern Languages at UCL before moving into journalism, starting at the Daily Mirror before joining The Times, where she worked for 15 years. It was there that she met Michael Gove, then Comment Editor, before he became an MP and senior Cabinet minister. They married in 2001 before parting ways in 2021. They remain on friendly terms, and co-parent their two children, Beatrice and William. Sarah now lives in London with the kids and (too many) animals.

Now, I’m not a Daily Mail reader, nor do I naturally lean towards Sarah Vine, but, by all accounts, this is a fascinating biography. I cannot, even for a moment, imagine what it must have been like to be married to Michael Gove. Fortunately, Sarah Vine is in Glasgow to tell me.

‘You think you’ve married a journalist, then, horrors, he becomes a politician.’

How Not to Be a Political Wife is an unflinching account of life at the heart of politics, and what it’s like to have politics rip the heart out of your life. It’s a story of high hopes and dirty tricks, broken friendships and divided loyalties, laughter and glamour.

Sarah says: ‘Recollections, as a great woman once said, may of course vary, but this is my story, the way I remember it, written with no fear, no favour – and no fucks left to give.’

‘Buckle up.’

‘I thought long and hard about writing this memoir. I’ve done so not to settle old scores or plead my case, but more because I hope it’s a tale worth telling, not just for those who are interested in the political events of the past few years, but also because it’s about the people and characters behind those events, and why things ended up the way they did.

For nearly 20 years I was inside the rooms of government, a sanctioned eavesdropper on the rise – and fall – of the Cameroon style of Conservatism. At the same time, I was building a career in journalism, raising two children and doing my best to support my own husband, Michael Gove, on his political journey. I was both an insider and an outsider; an observer – via my journalism – as well as a participant in the cut and thrust (mainly cut, if I’m honest) of frontline politics.

After my divorce from Michael and the demise of the Conservatives’ Old Guard, that all came to an end. I’m no longer officially a Westminster WAG, but you won’t find me mourning. Politics trampled my health, my happiness, my marriage, my sanity; it placed intolerable pressure on my loved ones, especially my children; it twisted my sense of self, and others’ sense of me; it tainted everything I did or said. I can’t say I miss it. I do, however, miss the life and the relationships I had before it all. These are the recollections of a survivor, but they are also a love letter to all that was lost in the wreck. ‘

Now tell me this isn’t going to be an unmissable evening!
Sarah will be in conversation with presenter and podcaster Sean MacDonald to lift the velvet curtain on life inside UK politics.

Tickets for Sarah’s event can be purchased here: AYE WRITE – SARAH VINE

To see all the events in Aye Write download the full programme here: AYE WRITE PROGRAMME

Find out what other influencers are recommending – follow this blog tour

Black As Death (An Arora Investigation #5) by Lilja Sigurðardóttir translated by Lorenza Garcia @LiljaWriter @OrendaBooks @liljawriter.bsky.social @orendabooks.bsky.social

Source: Review copy
Publication: 23 October 2025 from Orenda Books
PP: 300
ISBN-13: ‎ 978-1916788848

My thanks to Orenda Books for an advance copy for review

A final reckoning…

With the fate of her missing sister, Ísafold, finally uncovered, Áróra feels a fragile relief as the search that consumed her life draws to a close. But when Ísafold’s boyfriend – the prime suspect in her disappearance – is found dead at the same site where Ísafold’s body was discovered, Áróra’s grip on reality starts to unravel … and the mystery remains far from solved.

To distract herself, she dives headfirst into a money-laundering case that her friend Daníel is investigating. But she soon finds that there is more than meets the eye and, once again, all leads point towards Engihjalli, the street where Ísafold lived and died, and a series of shocking secrets that could both explain and endanger everything…

Atmospheric, dark and chilling, Black as Death is the breathtaking finale to the twisty, immersive An Áróra Investigation series, as Áróra and her friends search for answers that may take them to places even darker than death…

I picked up Black As Death by Lilja Sigurðardóttir knowing I would get a satisfying finale to the Áróra series, but what I got is far more layered, darker, and emotionally bruising than most thrillers.

From the outset, the tone is heavy: Áróra, the series’ muscular financial investigator, has finally uncovered the body of her sister, Ísafold. On one level, that promises closure, yet Lilja Sigurðardóttir refuses to let us rest. And when Ísafold’s boyfriend Björn—the prime suspect—is found dead at the same site, Áróra’s grip on reality frays at the edges.

The novel is deeply atmospheric. The cold Icelandic setting with rare light, long shadows, and the feeling of something just beneath the surface, seeps into every page. Black As Death is dark in every sense and chilling in all meanings of the word.

The pacing is taut: there’s another plot involving Kaffikó, a chain of coffee shops making suspiciously large profits, that Daníel asks Áróra to look into, and the discovery of secrets on the street Engihjalli, where Ísafold lived. Yet the book never feels less than concentrated. What you get is a pulse-pounding dread, a dark sense of inevitability that gnaws at your heart and creates a profound chill in your belly.

Flashbacks to Ísafold’s last months interweave with Áróra’s present investigation, lending dual insight. The present is sharp and focused – the past is slow, tragic, and inevitable. The contrast adds to the emotional weight.

Áróra has always been the anchor of the series: With her sharp intellect, and her professional cool, she is the sister who never stopped searching. Here we see her on more uneven ground—her sister’s death and the discovery of the body don’t bring her the expected relief; instead, they loosen her grip. The plot forces her to confront not just what happened to Ísafold, but what she herself did or didn’t do, and how that has shaped her life.

Her relationship with her sister was bittersweet: for years, the disappearance of Ísafold motivated Áróra and kept her in Iceland, searching. When her body is discovered, that search ends—but her rampant emotional state continues. Ísafold is no longer missing, but her absence still speaks to Áróra. The guilt, the regret, the “what ifs” that haunt Áróra are palpable. She carries the weight and the burden of responsibility for a sister lost and for not preventing that loss.

Her relationship with her boyfriend, the policeman Daníel becomes more fraught. He may have been her lover and her anchor, the law-enforcement side to her investigative side. But when Daníel gets pulled into the Kaffikó case and Áróra offers to help, their shared work begins to bleed into her personal unravelling. We see how their professional lives overlap, how her grief and trauma colour everything—including how she relates to him.

The structural brilliance of Black As Death lies in how the new coffee chain case and Ísafold’s disappearance and death are not two parallel lines but converge in a way that reveals both the underbelly of Reykjavík’s criminal economy and the domestic tragedy of Ísafold’s last years.

When flashbacks expose Ísafold’s entanglement with an abusive partner and dark dealers, they force Áróra to face that her sister’s story was more damaged and more complex than she allowed herself to believe. Ísafold’s fate doesn’t just hover over the novel—it drives everything. Áróra’s investigation isn’t just about money; it becomes about meaning, memory, loss and the cost of not intervening when someone you love is in a downward spiral.

This is a standout thriller: dark, intelligent, and emotionally devastating. If you loved the earlier books in the Áróra series, you’ll appreciate how well Black As Death brings the threads together. Even if you haven’t read them, this novel is powerful on its own. The ending isn’t neat, and that’s the point. You don’t emerge with everything perfectly resolved, because life isn’t like that. But you come away with clarity, and a lingering empathy for both Áróra and Ísafold.

Some of the flashback sections are harrowing, and while they serve the story well, they do require stamina; however, this only underlines what a masterful blend of Icelandic noir and character-driven thriller Black As Death is. I loved the reappearance of Lady Gúgúlú, bringing some needed joy and light to the proceedings.

Verdict: This is a novel you read and then let sit with you for a while. The drag you feel in those Icelandic streets, the chill of something unseen, the guilt of not saving someone close, all add up. For me, Black As Death delivered a conclusion that was satisfying because it was honest—not because it tied everything in a bow, but because it acknowledged pain, loss and the chance of redemption. Áróra ends the book changed. If you like a thriller that does more than just chase the killer—one that digs into the trauma, the aftershocks, the ties between sisters and the investigative mind—then this is it. I thoroughly recommend the chillingly excellent Black As Death to anyone who enjoys dark crime fiction with heart.

Orenda Books

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Icelandic crime writer Lilja Sigurðardóttir was born in the town of Akranes in 1972 and
raised in Mexico, Sweden, Spain and Iceland. An award-winning playwright, Lilja has written eleven crime novels, including Snare, Trap and Cage, making up the Reykjavík Noir trilogy, and her standalone thriller Betrayal, all of which have hit bestseller lists worldwide. Snare was longlisted for the CWA International Dagger, Cage won Best Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year and was a Guardian Book of the Year, and Betrayal was shortlisted for the prestigious Glass Key Award and won Icelandic Crime Novel of the Year. The film rights for the Reykjavík Noir trilogy have been bought by Glassriver. Cold as Hell, the first book in the An Áróra Investigation series, was published in the UK in 2021 and was followed by Red as Blood, White as Snow and Dark as Night. TV rights to the series have been bought by Studio Zentral in Germany. Lilja lives in Reykjavík with her partner and a brood of chickens.

Lorenza Garcia spent her early adulthood living and working in Iceland, Spain and
France. She has been a full-time literary translator since 2008 and has translated and co-translated over forty novels and works of non-fiction from French, Spanish and Icelandic. She currently lives in South London with her Tibetan Terrier.

The Widow by John Grisham @hodderbooks

Source: Review copy
Publication: 21 October from Hodder & Stoughton
PP: 416
ISBN-13: 978-1399703413

SHE NEEDS A LAWYER. HE NEEDS A PAYDAY.

Lawyer Simon Latch is struggling with debt, gambling issues and an impending divorce. But when Eleanor Barnett, an 85-year-old widow, visits his office to secure a new will, it seems his luck has finally changed: she claims she’s sitting on a $20 million fortune and no one else knows about it.

Once he’s hooked the richest client of his career, Simon works quietly to keep her wealth under the radar. But it’s a terrible mistake. Hidden secrets have a way of being found out, and when Eleanor is hospitalised after a car accident, Simon realises that nothing is as it seems.

As events spiral out of control, he finds himself on trial for a crime he swears he didn’t commit: murder.

Simon Latch is a small-town lawyer in Braxton, Virginia, dealing mostly in standard wills and bankruptcies, penny-ante stuff that barely keeps his head above water. His situation is pretty desperate. He and his wife would be divorcing if he could afford it. On top of that, he has gambling debts and takes a drink.

John Grisham knows just how to portray Simon’s sense of desperation. We know just what’s going on in Simon’s head, and it is pretty desperate stuff. When Eleanor Barnett, an 85-year-old widow, walks into Simon’s office wanting a new will, he doesn’t see any serious gain from her likely $250 worth of work.

But once he’s heard her through, he realises that there may be something more to this woman than he’d at first thought. It’s an intriguing beginning and only gets more so from then on, as Simon acts as both her lawyer and her friend, frequently taking her out to lunch.

The plot unfolds in two parts: the gradual development of Simon’s involvement with Eleanor’s claim to wealth, followed by a sharp shift into genuine crisis when she is involved in a car accident, and is hospitalised.

The setup takes up almost the first third of the novel. The pace is slow as Grisham introduces several different characters and focuses on Simon’s problems. We learn about Simon and his situation, his one-time girlfriend, a married FBI agent, and how he lives in a morally grey haze most of the time.

Once things shift into the courtroom, the pace quickens and with it comes tension. Simon is now accused of a crime he swears he didn’t commit.

This is where Grisham fans will realise that The Widow is taking a different path from his other books. This is not a thriller fought in a tense courtroom, though there are plenty of courtroom scenes. Rather, it is a whodunnit, as Grisham himself has described it. It’s a mystery that Simon has to solve, because the police don’t think they have to look beyond Simon. He is their obvious suspect, one who has both motive and opportunity. Simon must find a way to clear his name, or he risks being sent to prison for the rest of his life.

Simon is depicted with nuance: he’s not just a victim or a greedy lawyer. His gambling, financial desperation, and willingness to consider Eleanor’s money make him morally complex. This means you don’t find him an entirely sympathetic protagonist, and that heightens the suspense. Eleanor Barnett herself is an intriguing character. As an older woman on her own, she seems vulnerable and in need of legal advice. When Simon meets her, she is already in the grip of a shark masquerading as a lawyer. As we get to know her a bit more, we understand that she is more than just cautious. There is a lack of detail in her story, which leads you to suspect that there may be more to her story than she is telling.

The closing chapters deliver surprises, and the structure, with its slow burn into the courtroom, then the revelation of the truth, is effective. It’s not a jaw-dropping reveal, but the conclusion ties up all the threads neatly.

Verdict: The Widow is a tale of greed, poor morals and bad choices. It is a strong addition to the crime and legal genre. It may not have the thrills of The Firm or The Client, but it does have moral complexity. The premise of an older client who may be hiding things from her lawyer, and the shift into a murder trial, is gripping. This is a novel in which you become involved in Simon and Eleanor’s stories and see just how easy it is for the criminal justice system to fail those in its care. Once the investigation took hold, I found myself both engaged and more than satisfied with the outcome.

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Since The Firm in 1991, John Grisham has published a number one bestseller every year. His books have been translated into 45 languages and have sold over 350 million copies worldwide. Nine have been adapted to film, including The Firm, The Pelican Brief and A Time To Kill. His first work of non-fiction, The Innocent Man, was adapted into a six-part Netflix docuseries; his second, Framed, highlights work with organisations dedicated to exonerating those who have been wrongfully convicted. He is the two-time winner of the Harper Lee Prize for Legal Fiction and was distinguished with the Library of Congress Creative Achievement Award for Fiction. John lives on a farm in central Virginia.

Silent Bones (Karen Pirie #8) by Val McDermid @valmcdermid @laurasherlock21 @BooksSphere

Source: Review copy
Publication: 23 October 2025 from Sphere
PP: 448
ISBN-13: 978-1408734025

My thanks to Laura Sherlock and Sphere for a review copy

The truth is buried just beneath the surface . . .

When torrential rain causes a landslide on a motorway in Scotland, it reveals a crime scene: someone hid a body in the tarmac eleven years before. Journalist Sam Nimmo had been the prime suspect in the murder of his fiancée when he disappeared, and now DCI Karen Pirie and her Historic Cases Unit must find out who buried him, and why.

Meanwhile, in Edinburgh, new evidence reopens a closed case and the accidental death of a hotel manager starts to look like murder. But what did Tom Jamieson’s book club have to do with his demise – and what will they do to keep their secrets?

Karen and her team begin to untangle a web of lies, one that connects their murder cases with Scotland’s rich and powerful. They will be tested to their limits – and possibly beyond . . .

I adore Val McDermid’s Karen Pirie series, and this one is certainly no exception. These books combine the best elements of police procedurals and great characterisation. DCI Karen Pirie, Head of the Historic Cases Unit, is in a state of upheaval for most of this novel. That upheaval is a fantastic mix of personal and professional as she tries to find ways to counter the latest move of her boss, and balance her personal life, under strain since her boyfriend, Syrian surgeon and refugee, Rafiq, moved to Canada in an endeavour to qualify for citizenship, and thus a passport.

The book starts with a dual investigation: a mudslide on the M73 motorway revealing a body buried under tarmac for eleven years and a seemingly accidental death at the bottom of the Scotsman Steps in Edinburgh. The M73 body turns out to be journalist Sam Nimmo who vanished after his fiancée’s murder, eleven years ago, and who was on the police wanted list for all that time. When the brother of a man who supposedly died in an accidental fall turns up with evidence that it might not have been an accident after all, the team has its second case to investigate. That case concerns hotel manager Tom Jamieson’s death and his connection with a men’s book club called the Justified Sinners.

The plot is intricate and layered — McDermid weaves together numerous threads, from cold-case investigations to the realm of political intrigue. The deaths in these cases both took place during the maelstrom of the Scottish referendum campaign.

The pace is brisk and steady. We get alternating viewpoints and constant momentum. The settings amplify the excellent plotting: Remote highland roads, the M73 motorway construction, the Scotsman Steps in Edinburgh, and the rich houses that belong to the elite Justified Sinners book group.

Karen Pirie is at the centre of the novel. She is able, persistent, and, despite her personal stresses, emotionally grounded. McDermid balances this Historic Cases procedural with the turmoil of Karen’s personal life, bringing Karen’s thoughts back to the near-perfect relationship she once had with Phil Paraka. Her personal life is not tacked on – rather, the stakes of her investigations bleed into her own vulnerabilities.

Her team: DS Daisy Mortimer and DS Jason (The Mint) Murray get a fair share of the spotlight. Despite the rivalry between Jason and Daisy and the squabbles they have because of it, the team dynamic is good. Karen is a fair but demanding boss, and there is humour, camaraderie and strong detective skills on show from all three.

McDermid deftly interweaves the two cases of the motorway skeleton and the Scotsman Steps death so that they eventually converge in a web of secrets involving Scotland’s powerful men, the independence referendum, and past cover-ups. The structure feels complex but not overburdened: chapters are short, and shifts of viewpoint keep momentum high. The pace is immersive.

McDermid pulls a final rabbit out of her hat that smartly reconfigures earlier assumptions. Real world justice rarely wraps up neatly — and McDermid keeps enough of the messiness to reflect that: institutional failures, hidden elite networks, and delayed investigations are all reflected in this novel. Silent Bones doesn’t pretend everything is neatly resolved. Yet, considering the shadows of power and complicity, McDermid deals out appropriate justice — neither cynical nor naïvely joyful.

Verdict: Silent Bones is excellent. The characters are fully fleshed out, the stakes are high, the setting is richly atmospheric, and the procedural details are satisfying and detailed. McDermid trusts her reader to stay with the complexity involved in these cases, and she pays dividends when you do. If you’re a fan of intelligent, morally resonant crime fiction, this book delivers in spades. Karen Pirie’s team shines, the relationship strands deepen her humanity, and the ending leaves you feeling that wrongs have been confronted, even if justice is somewhat more unorthodox than anticipated.

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Foyles

Val McDermid is an international number one bestselling author whose books have been translated into more than forty languages. Her multi-award-winning series and standalone novels have been adapted for TV and radio, most notably the Wire in the Blood series featuring clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan. The Karen Pirie novels have now been adapted for a major ITV series. Val has been chair of the judges for the Wellcome Book Prize and the Gordon Burn Prize, and has served as a judge for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Man Booker Prize and the Royal Society Book Prize. She is the recipient of eight honorary doctorates and is an Honorary Fellow of St Hilda’s College, Oxford. She is a visiting professor in the Centre of Irish and Scottish Studies at the University of Otago in New Zealand. Among her many awards are the CWA Diamond Dagger recognising lifetime achievement and the Theakston’s Old Peculier award for Outstanding Contribution to Crime Writing. Val is also an experienced broadcaster and much-sought-after columnist and commentator across print media