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The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves
The Branded by Martina Murphy
The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields
Murder in a Mill Town by Helen Cox
The Skeleton Key by Erin Kelly
Published September 1, this is such a clever, intriguing read. Nell – Eleanor – comes to her family’s home (at her family’s insistence) to celebrate the 50th anniversary of her father’s book, The Golden Bones, wherein he painted a picture of Elinore, murdered and whose skeleton was scattered across England. Puzzles and clues suggested where some of the bones were buried, leading to a treasure hunt that has last all 50 years. Only the pelvis has remained hidden – and the Bonehunters, as they’re called, will do anything to find it. While father Frank Churcher, his wife and their son have enjoyed the spoils of the book, Nell has become a recluse. Now, to celebrate the anniversary, Frank has something special planned… he’s announcing where the final bone is hidden. Great, you think, until everything falls asunder. There’s layer upon layer of mystery in this frankly brilliant read: you get inside the head of all the main players, and it’s clear there’s a lot going on because of the book’s impact, and as well as the book’s impact.
Murder in a Mill Town by Helen Cox
Published on September 1, this is another case for librarian turned private detective Kitt Hartley, and her partner in solving crime, Grace Edwards. Do I like this series because I’d quite like to be a librarian turned PI? It’s one of the reasons, yes. When murders coms to Andaby, a quiet village, DS Charlotte Banks – who should be focused on marrying Kitt’s best friend – is troubled. Her recently released ex con brother Ewan claims he’s innocent, but he’s got form and as much as she wants to believe him, Charlie’s struggling to do so. She asks Kitt for help and soon the investigation is afoot. But there’s more bubbling under the surface in Andaby than what you’d expect in a quiet mill town, and secrets don’t take long to resurface. Yes, it’s a sort of cosy crime novel but one where the writing, plot and characterisation will warm your heart.
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The Last Girl to Die by Helen Fields
Out September 1, this new novel from Helen (whose writing I adore) is mesmerising. It should be a move leading to a new life for the Clark family who relocate to the Isle of Mull, off the coast of Scotland. But when daughter Adriana goes missing, her parents, finding it difficult to fit into island life, turn to private investigator Sadie Levesque. At 16, Adriana should have had life at her feet… instead, her parents and twin brother are preparing for the worst. Sadie has news for her clients, not the best news, and is swiftly plunged into a mystery far beyond anything she’s before encountered. The islanders are not keen to chat with her and someone makes it clear that she’d be better off leaving Mull ASAP. Here begins a tightly paced plot that makes it clear that a lot can happen even in a small place, and there’s nowhere better for secrets to be hidden. Is it possible more victims will come? And where does Sadie fit in this deeply unsettling location?
The Rising Tide by Ann Cleeves
Friendships can be something that last a lifetime and for a group heading to Holy Island, their union has lasted five decades. Fifty years previously, a group of teens spent an unforgettable weekend, forging a bond that lasted through relationships, marriages, scandals and even a change of career to religious life. They return to the historic place every five years to catch up with their lives, and to remember the friend they lost that fateful first reunion. However, when one of the group is found in less than salubrious circumstances – and Vera Stanhope discovers the victim had been fired for misconduct allegations – the team is working at full speed to figure out what is going on. Vera knows someone is hiding something, and a group of friends seemingly as tight as they are, it’s going to be difficult to sort out fact from fiction. But it’s not just the friends who are in danger, Vera soon realises there’s a lot more to sort through. Gripping (really) and it’ll fill you when the full gamut of emotions. Out September 1.
The Branded by Martina Murphy
The second in DS Lucy Golden cases finds the detective piecing together the final days of a young woman’s body that ends up in a submerged suitcase on Achill Island. There is a heatwave and the heat is oppressive, not helping Lucy and her team do their job. However, they discover she was a runaway who had spent time in a homeless shelter. As the investigation is launched, Lucy’s juggling her own family issues – an ex that is all too friendly and can’t go away as they’re somehow related, an ex husband who is trying to worm his way back into his son’s life, and a baby granddaughter who has got a new home – with the fact that her team aren’t finding the culprit as swiftly as they’d like. When another body, with similar links to the shelter is found, Lucy is drawn deeper into the case that is going to get more sinister than you think. Such a good, interesting read about an area that is often ignored in crime literature.
It’s a decade on since we met journalist Allie Burns and she is every bit as invested in covering the stories that matter. No longer an investigative journalist, she still wants to reveal corruption, underhanded business and exploitation. Given the times in which she’s living, and the health scares surrounding one of the biggest killers of the 1980s, when she discovers those who are most vulnerable are being ignored and mistreated, she feels it’s time for everyone to know the truth. However, in doing so, she has to make waves in places outside of her home turf, travelling behind the Iron Curtain at a very politically unstable time. But it’s not just herself she has to think of: happily relationshipped up, her partner’s feelings and career have to also count. Additionally, not everyone is happy with Allie and what she’s getting up to, but not that it’ll stop them from investigating their own needs… If it sounds a bit cloak and dagger, it is, there is so much to unpick and enjoy from this latest of Val’s books.
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