Breadcrumbs and Blindsides

At a summer camp in 1975, a young girl, Barbara Van Laar, vanishes from her bunk at a secluded Adirondack summer camp. This follows the disappearances her older brother, Bear, some fourteen years earlier. As the community and police search for Barbara, the novel delves into the secrets of the Van Laar family. A well-developed non-linear mystery, which will keep the reader in suspense. 4/5

Midnight Jones, an analyst trained to understand the human mind. She profiles a man who shows no empathy and is deemed capable of horrific violence or a Profile "K". Midnight believes Profile K is a danger to society, but her employer buries the profile and warns her of the risk of taking matters further. When a series of brutal murders occur, Midnight realizes that Profile K is the killer and that she might his next target. She must find him before he finds her. An extremely engaging psychological thriller with a number of twists, which makes the novel impossible to put down. 4/5

Julia Miller's teenage (and previously kidnapped) daughter, Anna, vanishes after getting off a plane to visit her father and stepmother. When Anna's half-brother disappears almost simultaneously, the family realises that the children are most likely the victims of a kidnapping and the past comes calling in the most unlikely manner. A fast-paced thriller, with a somewhat obvious twist, but enough momentum to remain entertaining and engaging. 3/5

Melanie Hale has the perfect life, but her boredom leads to an affair with Luke, a prominent writer. When Melanie discovers Luke's dead body, she realises that she might become the prime suspect. Melanie will however do anything to ensure that her marriage is not destroyed. A dark psychological thriller with a number of somewhat obvious twists and turns. The final act is however so visceral, disturbing, and unexpected, that it elevates the novel to a "must read". 4/5

Six year-old Anna vanishes after a play date at a new friend's house. It turns out that the friend's house was actually an Air BnB and the "friend" was never officially enrolled in Anna's school. Initially it is believed that Anna was grabbed by an Eastern European child smuggling ring, but things become more complex and bizarre, and the likelihood of Anna being found quickly decreases.  A fast-paced, dark psychological thriller, with well concealed and -developed twists and turns.  Alex Lake at his best.  4/5

When a 10- Year-old girl and her mother move in next door to professional killer Daniel, the hitman begins to have tormenting memories of his stolen childhood. When Daniel's faceless employers order yet another murder, he is faced with a choice for the first time - whether to carry out the assignment or face his painful past. The novel presupposes the existence of one or more extremely large and well-managed criminal organisations. These organisations from a very young age take control of the children of those they already control. This cradle to the grave "Handmaid's Tale" type of living, becomes more sustainable to self- and inter se analysis due to the happenstance of the mentioned living arrangement. A bleak but intriguing novel, which does not pull punches in conveying its message around the futility of resistance by the few. 4/5

A blind teenager, Joshua, receives a corneal donation from his detective father who was recently killed in the line of duty. This gives Joshua the gift of sight, but also the burden of seeing his father's final moments and the dark secrets he was investigating. Joshua soon realises that one of the donar eyes is that of his father and the other eye, the eye of his father's killer. Cleave's comedic faux pas of swapped eyes, builds brilliantly into a psychological thriller where donees start to demonstrate latent characteristics of the serial killer donar. Cleave develops this theme in such detail and integrates it so well into the whodunnit, that one could be forgiven for believing the "science". 5/5

"Murder Your Employer" is a fictional guidebook to committing the perfect murder where murder is "absolutely necessary". The book follows the education of three students at the McMasters Conservatory for the Applied Arts, an institution dedicated to the art of murder. The book is told through the perspective of the dean of McMasters, as well as a diary kept by one of the students. Holmes creates an intriguing and tangible student world, which to an extent reminds of the Harry Potter series. However, Holmes goes further and pens three extremely detailed and left-field murders, each with its own twists and turns. A delightful cozy crime novel, which will no doubt lead to further installments. 4/5

Newly reinstated, detective Theodore Tate and his ex- and now early retired partner, Carl Schroder, are barely recovering from a near-fatal encounter with a serial killer when a new string of murders emerges. Convicted rapists are being found dead,. Tate finds himself drawn into a moral dilemma when he concludes that Schroder is most likely the vigilante. A poignantly pessimistic novel, which delves into the psychological toll which law enforcement has to (almost constantly) deal with when violent crime goes unpunished. That said, the novel remains pure Cleave, with a few nice twists and turns and the odd whodunit, whilst retaining his uniquely ascorbic dark humour. 4/5

A crime thriller that explores the aftermath of two unsolved crimes that occurred in Oklahoma City in 1986, i.e. a movie theater robbery that left six employees dead and the disappearance of a teenage girl from the State Fair. Twenty-five years later, the two survivors of these tragedies find their lives intertwined as they seek answers to the lingering questions from their respective childhoods. Berney pulls two highly unlikely mysteries together, while developing complex characters who has to deal with the very real likelihood that the events which shaped there lives could potentially go unanswered forever and we're very possibly just random acts. 4/5

When Theodore Tate, a former police officer turned private investigator attends a random exhumation, he falls into mystery filled with bodies buried without coffins in the cemetery where his daughter is buried. With his interest peeked, Tate soon discovers links between the bodies, which links leads to Tate having to confront his past and the likelihood of a killer lurking there. Cleaver's visceral crime writing as always finds a juxtaposition though his very unique gallows humour. A dark and emotional rollercoaster ride, with a number of unexpected twists and turns. 5/5

Osman introduces us to a new pair of unlikely detectives: Steve, a retired DS, and his sharp-witted daughter-in-law, Amy, a personal protection expert. When a murder occurs pointing towards Amy as the likely suspect. Rosie, the extremely rich Something author whom Amy is currently protecting, helps Amy escape from an assassination attempt and appoints herself as part of the "team". A witty, clever and fast-paced cozy mystery, which will make a lazy Sunday afternoon fly by. 4/5

Catherine's life is shattered when her husband, Simon, vanishes without a trace, leaving her to raise their three surviving children on her own. Years later, Simon suddenly reappears, bringing with him a web of lies and ever increasingly shocking revelations that challenge everything Catherine thought she knew about her past. A disjointed retelling of an utterly unbelievable life; mostly lacking casual nexus between life events. Despite these bizarre staccato highlights, the novel moves extremely slowly and for the most merely depicts how two people moved on with their separate and utterly complex lives. Not Marrs' best work, but the brutality of the finale, somewhat makes up for the long road to get there. 3/5

Former New Orleans mob wheelman for the Albanian mob, Shake Bouchon, is enjoying a quiet life in Indiana with his wife, Gina. But his past catches up with him when a large muscle guy from his past, Dikran Ghazarian, needs Shake's help finding his Pakha (Armenian Mob Boss), Lexy Ilandryan, who has gone missing in Cambodia. Once in Cambodia, they discover that Lexy has been kidnapped by a pair of criminals-for-hire who have no idea who she is. The novel is at times somewhat of a slapstick rollercoaster ride, which oddly enough worked pretty well. As always Berney's writing perfectly balances the murderous transactional nature of the underworld with the human internal conflict and emotion which resides in these (often) evil men. 4/5

DCS Kat Frank, a recently widowed single mother of a final year scholar, is tasked with leading a pilot program pairing human detectives with an Artificial Intelligence Detective Entity (AIDE) named Lock. As they delve into two cold MISPER  cases, Kat's instincts clash with Lock's logical approach. As the cold cases suddenly become active, Kat finds herself relying on both her intuition and Lock's analytical abilities to unravel a dangerous mystery that soon hits close to home.  The concept of the novel as well as the underlying causa for the disappearances, both provide fertile ground for an engaging gumshoe novel.   Though Callaghan explodes these themes, it is done somewhat "tropey",ie two detectives with clashing personalities eventually becoming buddies, who solves the crime whilst essentially being suspended.  Yes, there is definitely more to the novel and it is well-written, with good character development, but the story could have done with a...

James Taylor attends a funeral and spots a familiar face in the church - his old schoolfriend Rufus Rorke. However, this is impossible because Taylor provided the eulogy at Rorke's funeral 18 months earlier. Meanwhile, DS Roy Grace is investigating a series of suspicious accidental deaths. Grace soon discovers that the deaths are connected to Rorke, and that he may not be as dead as everyone thinks. A fast-paced gumshoe thriller with a number of decent plot twists and an explosive final act. 4/5

John Rebus finds himself incarcerated for the murder of Cafferty. While awaiting his appeal, he learns of a murder in his cell block, a sort off locked-room mystery that ignites his detective instincts. Rebus must navigate the treacherous world of prison life, where alliances are fragile and danger lurks around every corner. As always Rankin provides a multilayered whodunnit with a good number of breadcrumbs. 4/5

A suspenseful and dramatic novel, set on the isolated Scottish island of Eris. The story revolves around Vanessa Chapman, a renowned artist whose husband mysteriously vanished twenty years ago. After Vanessa's death, her art collection is inherited by her former lover, Douglas Fairburn, leading to a series of revelations and secrets that threaten to unravel the peaceful existence of the island's remaining inhabitants, including her longtime friend Grace. A powerful novel which explores a number of themes, including ambition, gender, friendship and sexuality. The descriptive prose overshadows the whodunnit, which appears pretty obvious from the outset, but the writing and backstory definitely makes it a worthwhile read. 3/5

A collection of short stories by Elly Griffiths, featuring her beloved characters from the Ruth Galloway and Max Mephisto series'. A bit of a showcase of Griffiths' literally prowess with a few really well-developed short stories, as well as others which could have done with a bit more meat around the bones.  3/5

A coming-of-age novel, set in the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee during the interwar period. It follows a young boy named John Wesley Rattner, who is grappling with the death of his father and the mysterious circumstances surrounding it. Rattner encounters a reclusive hermit named Uncle Ather Ownby, who lives in a decaying orchard, and Marion Sylder, a charismatic bootlegger with a troubled past. As Rattner navigates his way through these complex relationships, he uncovers the secrets of his father's death and the dark side of the mountain community.  This first novel by McCartney, provides a glimpse into the complex relationships between men and especially that of surrogate "fathers".  The signature lack of punctuation and perfectly flowing prose, coupled with McCarthy's deep understanding of the era and the environment, puts the novel up there as one of the greatest era pieces ever written.  Beautiful, visceral and understated.  5/5

Anni Korpinen, a middle-aged sales manager at a sauna oven company, finds herself as the implicated main suspect when her new boss is found dead in his sauna. As the body count rises, with her being implicated in each murder, Anni must race against time to clear her name. The dark humour from Tuomainen's "theme park" trilogy finds a new home in this medium paced bizarre psychological thriller, that has a tongue in cheek go at middle age and corporate Finland. 4/5

A Southern noir crime novel set against the backdrop of the JFK assassination. Frank Guidry, a loyal enforcer for New Orleans mobster Carlos Marcello, finds himself in a perilous situation after becoming entangled in the events surrounding the president's death. Targeted by a ruthless hitman, Frank must flee for his life and seeks refuge on the open road.Along his journey, he crosses paths with Charlotte Roy, a woman escaping her troubled past. A beautifully written, gritty ganglands trek over the USA, with just the right amount of emotional struggle.  5/5

A Secret Santa gift exchange sends Molly's festive spirit array when she starts to question the sincerity of her boyfriend, Juan Manuel. As she delves deeper into the mystery, she discovers a web of secrets and lies that threatens to shatter her trust and belief in the magic of the season. A romantic mystery which is just that tad too obvious and vacuous to have the same impact as the previous novel.  This novella feels tired and lacks a ratio d'etre.  2/5

A crime thriller which criss-cross South Africa through a number of daring heists. Detectives Benny Griessel and Vaughn Cupido find themselves investigating seemingly unrelated murders in the picturesque town of Stellenbosch. As they delve deeper into the cases, they uncover a web of corruption and deceit that reaches the highest levels of government. Meyer weaves a number of political and news events into a rather complex but action-packed heist thriller where a the paths of a number of his better known characters intersect.  A true page turner. 4/5

A satirical novella that follows a widow who is convinced that her deceased husband is still alive and watching her. She starts to see his face everywhere she goes, leading her to question her own sanity. The story takes a humorous turn as the widow delves deeper into the mystery. An almost slapstick psychological thriller and totally unlike anything else McFadden has done. The story is fast -paced, sometimes a bit ridiculous and the twists pretty obvious, but still funny and very enjoyable. 4/5