November 15, 2024

New Fiction

One of Us is Dead by Peter James – When James Taylor arrives late for a funeral, he has to stand at the back of the small church.  As the service progresses, he notices a man seated six rows in front of him.  At first, Taylor thinks he must be mistaken; but the more he looks at the man, the more convinced he becomes that this is his old school friend Rufus Rorke.  Except it couldn’t be him, could it?  Because two years ago Taylor attended Rufus Rorke’s funeral.  He even delivered the eulogy.  On the other side of Brighton, at Police HQ, Detective Superintendent Roy Grace has been alerted to a number of suspicious deaths that he can’t get out of his mind.  But how are they linked? And how could they possibly be connected to Rufus Rorke?  Roy Grace is about to find out just how dangerous a dead man can be.

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham – Unconventional Detective Declan Miller has a problem.  While he is desperately trying to solve the murder of his wife Alex, a young man appears on his doorstep with a briefcase…containing a pair of severed hands.  Miller knows this case is proof of a contract killing commissioned by local ne’er do well Wayne Cutler – a man he suspects might also be responsible for Alex’s death.  Now Miller has leverage but unfortunately, he also has something that both Cutler and a villainous fast-food kingpin are desperate to get hold of.  Chuck in a Midsomer Murders-obsessed hitman, a psychotic welder and a woman driven over the edge by a wayward Crème egg, and Miller is in a mess that even he might not be able to dance his way out of.

The Lies We Leave Behind by Noelle Salazar – Somewhere in the Pacific, 1943.  Kate Campbell is a nurse who bravely flies back and forth from the front to rescue wounded soldiers, amid long days, harsh conditions and often dangerous weather.  Driven by a deep personal need to help in the war effort, she is conflicted when an injury results in her reassignment to the relative comfort of the English countryside.  Love has never been part of her plan, but despite herself, she falls for an officer with three bullet wounds, startling blue eyes and a wicked sense of humor.  For the first time, Kate sees a future far from the horrors of war and hate.  But before she can pursue it, a secret from her past calls her to duty, and she’ll have to travel back into danger one more time to rescue a part of herself she’d left behind.  But will she make it back?  And will that future still be waiting for her if she does?

An Insignificant Case by Phillip Margolin – When you’re in serious trouble and need the finest legal talent, Charlie Webb is NOT the lawyer to call.  Charlie Webb graduated from a third-rate law school and, when he couldn’t get hired by any of the major law firms, opened his own law office, where he barely survives by handling cases for dubious associates from his youth and any court appointed cases that come his way.  Described as “a leaky boat floating down the stream of life,” Charlie has led an unremarkable life, personally and professionally.  Then he’s assigned by a judge to represent a decidedly crackpot artist who calls himself Guido Sabatini (born Lawrence Weiss).  Sabatini had once been arrested for breaking into a restaurant and stealing back a painting he had sold them.  This isn’t the first time he’s done this sort of thing – and all because he was personally insulted by how and where the buyer choose to display the particular painting.  But there’s more to him that Sabatini chooses to present to the world.  As Lawrence Weiss, he’s also an accomplished card shark and burglar; with those skills he not only stole his own painting, but he broke into the restaurant owner’s safe and removed a flash drive.  Not knowing what else Sabatini stole, Charlie Webb negotiates the return of the painting and “other items” in exchange for the owner dropping charges against Sabatini.  But it’s not that simple.  The restaurant owner and her driver are arrested and charged with sex trafficking and the contents of the flash drive threaten very powerful figures.  When what was a minor theft case becomes a double homicide, and with the stakes so high, Sabatini is far from safe.  Now Charlie Webb, an insignificant lawyer is assigned to an insignificant case, is faced with the most important-and deadliest-case of his life.