Dark Crime Fiction

Mary Shields is a moody, acerbic probation officer dealing with some of Glasgow’s worst cases, and her job is on the line. Liam Macdowall was imprisoned for murdering his wife, and he’s published a series of letters to the dead woman, in a book that makes him an unlikely hero - and a poster boy for Men’s Rights activists. Liam is released on licence into Mary’s care, but things are far from simple. Mary develops a poisonous obsession with Liam and his world, and when her son and Liam’s daughter form a relationship, Mary will stop at nothing to impose her own brand of justice.

You might as well know this going in: Lawrence Block's new novel is not for everyone. It's recounted in journal form by its protagonist, and begins when he walks into a roadhouse outside of Bakersfield, California, and walks out with a woman. And rapes and murders her. But, um, not in that order. Right. But it's what he does with the rest of his life that's really interesting....

Jenny Aaron was a government assassin, part of an elite unit tracking Germany's most dangerous criminals. She was one of the best, until a disastrous mission ended with her abandoning a wounded colleague and losing her sight forever. Now, five years later, she has learnt to navigate a darkened world but is haunted by her betrayal. When she is called back to the force to trace a ruthless serial killer, she seizes the opportunity to solve the case and restore her honour.

Avenging Serpents tells how two far-from-innocent men, who met by a freak coincidence, were inspired by an old myth to seek revenge on the perpetrators of ongoing abuses.

Chef est un tueur froid et narcissique, travaillant autant par nécessité pécuniaire que par goût du spectacle. Occire la vermine ne lui fait pas peur, tant que la récompense à la clé est suffisante. Les années passées à exercer son métier de chasseur de primes lui ont valu une solide réputation, ainsi qu'un sens du panache effilé. Chef est devenu plus qu'un simple assassin rémunéré : il est L'Artisan Meurtrier. Accompagné par Basile, son assistant, il rencontrera des manipulateurs retors, des crapules aux ambitions démesurées et des créatures cauchemardesques....

When 89-year-old Emyr Isaac is found dead in his home, Drake and his team initially suspect a burglary gone wrong. Isaac was old, and his death was a tragedy, but it’s not a murder case...is it? But as the investigation develops, Drake uncovers more suspicious deaths, but with one connection: Each victim received care from the same healthcare professional. Drake must do all he can to ensure no more lives are lost...even if it means putting members of his own team in harm’s way.

Jerry has a traumatic past that leaves him subject to psychotic hallucinations and depressive episodes. When he stands accused of stealing a priceless Van Gogh painting, he goes underground, where he develops an unwilling relationship with a woman who believes that the voices she hears are from God.

The dog was standing by the tree, four paws firmly planted, his hackles up. His owner, who had run after him through the woods, stopped and gasped aloud in shock. In front of them, hanging from the ancient yew tree, was a body. Blood dripped down the victim’s pale skin, where strange symbols had been crudely carved. The eyes stared straight ahead. Empty. Unseeing.

Hipopotamia es una colección de desvelos y un manual de contradicciones. Sexo, violencia y sangre fluyendo a través de las alcantarillas de la psique colectiva, esa que carece de puentes con la lógica o el sentido común. En estos diez relatos, el lector podrá encontrar lugares sórdidos, amores raros, atmósferas inquietantes y un buen puñado de alucinaciones. Puede, incluso, que en estos diez relatos el lector corra el riesgo de encontrarse a sí mismo.

Der Richter, dein Henker. Als junger Student träumte Siggi Buckmann davon, die Welt ein Stück gerechter zu machen. Als alter Hase im Richteramt schiebt er nur noch Dienst nach Vorschrift. In den Behörden regiert die Bürokratie, und sämtliche Urteile, die Siggi fällt, werden in Berufungsverfahren wieder aufgehoben. Wozu sich also Mühe machen? Doch als ein Obdachloser ums Leben kommt, ohne dass die Verantwortlichen zur Rechenschaft gezogen werden, beginnt Siggi, die Dinge anders zu betrachten. Vielleicht ist die Arbeit im Justizapparat ja doch zu etwas gut.

Nino and Elena dream of sharing a normal life together. They are desperate to escape the shadow of Nino’s domineering and dangerous family, the Bartells.

Reeling from the death of his great love, Karin, Varg Veum's life has descended into a self-destructive spiral of alcohol, lust, grief and blackouts. When traces of child pornography are found on his computer, he's accused of being part of a paedophile ring and thrown into a prison cell. There, he struggles to sift through his past to work out who is responsible for planting the material...and who is seeking the ultimate revenge.

Detective CJ O’Hara is drowning in guilt over the death of her family and her killing of a suspect in the line of duty. So, when she’s unfairly denied a well-deserved promotion after 10 years of devoted service in Boston, she answers the Charleston Police Department’s desperate call for help. Her first assignment: Stop the serial killer known as The Lowcountry Killer.

Charly Highsmith is a survivor. Abandoned by her parents, she spent her teens looking after her autistic brother on the bitter streets of Denver, Colorado, with nothing but a jacket and a backpack. But things are better now. Charly and Jacob live in a two-bedroom apartment near a mall, and with the passing of their long-lost father, they've inherited a cabin high in the Rocky Mountains. Charly's eager to go there. Relive the good times she had as a child, running through the forest with Jacob and her cousins.

FBI super-profiler Agent Meredeth Connelly begins her hunt for The .40 Caliber Killer. She collects evidence. He collects families. Her headaches become more unbearable with each crime scene, with each dead child. With two decades of experience, she knows serial killers. As the body count rises, it’s clear that this serial killer knows her. She doesn't remember him. He'll never forget her. As the investigation progresses, something awakens within her that hints at an answer.

Death sets the plot in motion: the murder of Nica Baker, beautiful, wild, enigmatic, and only 16. The crime is solved, and quickly--a lonely classmate, unrequited love, a suicide note confession--but memory and instinct won't allow Nica's older sister, Grace, to accept the case as closed.

Paddy Buckley is a grieving widower who has worked for years for Gallagher's, a long-established - some say the best - funeral home in Dublin. One night, while driving home after an unexpected encounter with a client, Paddy hits a pedestrian crossing the street. He pulls over and gets out of his car, intending to do the right thing. As he bends over to help the man, he recognizes him. It's Donal Cullen, brother of one of the most notorious mobsters in Dublin. And he's dead.

Fresh out of law school, London Vaughn discovers there's no room in Denver's prominent law firms for a middle-of-the-class graduate. While barely making ends meet as a waitress, she encounters a beautiful woman who engages her services irrespective that she has no experience, no office and no reputation. Almost immediately, London and her client are thrust into the deadly throes of a high-stakes international thriller of unimaginable scope.

After her messy divorce, Angelina Bonaparte refuses to let any man hold her back. She’s even opened a private eye practice to help other victims of relationships gone sour. So when she crosses paths with a detective who believes a crime scene is no place for a woman, she sets out to change his mind.

Summer 1989: Gunther Fahnstiel, once a tough cop who wasn't averse to taking a little side money from a certain madam, has just escaped the dementia ward of his Wichita nursing home. He's not exactly sure where he wants to go, but wherever it is, it has to do with the bag full of cash belonging to the man he accidentally backed over with his RV in 1979. During his search, Gunther begins to relive the violent fallout of that madam's sex lottery 40 years ago. As Gunther's memories unravel, his past and present will collide in a devastating reckoning.