Krimi & Thriller

That dumbshit map. I'd been seduced by it. Seduced by its possibilities. That map had brought me here ... That map had been a serious mistake'The map in question is of Australia, stumbled across in a second-hand bookshop by American journalist Nick Hawthorne, en route to another dead-end hack job in Akron, Ohio. Seduced by all that wilderness, all that NOTHING, Nick decides to put his midlife crisis on hold and light out to the ultimate nowheresville - where a chance encounter throws him into a sun-baked orgy of surf, sex and swill, and a nightmare from which there is no escape.'Douglas Kennedy might never be allowed into Australia again. This is a crazy, compulsive ultimately serious thriller and a bravura fictional debut from one of our best travel writers' Philip Kerr

From the bestselling author behind the addictive, EMMY and GOLDEN GLOBE-winning HBO series Big Little Lies, comes a cocktail of friendship and modern love - spiked with a little deception.Six responsible adults, two best friends - and one day that changes everything.'This is a story which begins with a barbecue in the suburbs. . .'By the end of it a lifelong friendship will be in tatters, a marriage on the rocks and an innocent bystander dead.In just one evening six lives will change for ever . . . If you aren't already a Moriarty addict, you will be after this utterly obsessive read.'If you liked The Husband's Secret, or Big Little Lies, you will love Truly Madly Guilty. Filled with so many twists and turns. Keeps you guessing until the very end. Perfect summer read' Reese Witherspoon'If, like us, you've been obsessively enjoying Big Little Lies, then you must clear a reading slot for this novel by the same author . . . Truly Madly Guilty is as brilliantly accomplished as it is dark, twisty and compulsive. No wonder Reese Witherspoon is such a huge Moriarty fan' Heat'Straight-from-life characters, knife-sharp insight and almost unbearable suspense will have you racing through it' Good Housekeeping'A riveting drama packed with suspense and secrets' Woman & Home

By the author of The Handmaid's TaleNow a major NETFLIX seriesSometimes I whisper it over to myself: Murderess. Murderess. It rustles, like a taffeta skirt along the floor.' Grace Marks. Female fiend? Femme fatale? Or weak and unwilling victim? Around the true story of one of the most enigmatic and notorious women of the 1840s, Margaret Atwood has created an extraordinarily potent tale of sexuality, cruelty and mystery.'Brilliant... Atwood's prose is searching. So intimate it seems to be written on the skin' Hilary Mantel'The outstanding novelist of our age' Sunday Times'A sensuous, perplexing book, at once sinister and dignified, grubby and gorgeous, panoramic yet specific...I don't think I have ever been so thrilled' Julie Myerson, Independent on Sunday

'A hugely entertaining Victorian mystery' New York Times'I enjoyed this - properly creepy and Gothic' Ian RankinA spellbinding concoction of crime, history and horror - perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes and Jonathan Creek. New Year's Day, 1889. In Edinburgh's lunatic asylum, a patient escapes as a nurse lays dying. Leading the manhunt are legendary local Detective 'Nine-Nails' McGray and Londoner-in-exile Inspector Ian Frey.Before the murder, the suspect was heard in whispered conversation with a fellow patient - a girl who had been mute for years.What made her suddenly break her silence? And why won't she talk again? Could the rumours about black magic be more than superstition?McGray and Frey track a devious psychopath far beyond their jurisdiction, through the worst blizzard in living memory, into the shadow of Pendle Hill - home of the Lancashire witches - where unimaginable danger awaits...* * *Praise for The Strings of Murder:'This is wonderful. A brilliant, moving, clever, lyrical book - I loved it. Oscar de Muriel is going to be a name to watch.' Manda Scott'One of the best debuts so far this year - a brilliant mix of horror, history, and humour. Genuinely riveting with plenty of twists, this will keep you turning the pages. It's clever, occasionally frightening and superbly written - The Strings Of Murder is everything you need in a mystery thriller.' Crime Review

'A hugely entertaining Victorian mystery' New York Times'I enjoyed this - properly creepy and Gothic' Ian RankinA spellbinding concoction of crime, history and horror - perfect for fans of Sherlock Holmes and Jonathan Creek. The First Case for Frey & McGray.Edinburgh, 1888. A violinist is murdered in his home. The dead virtuoso's maid swears she heard three musicians playing in the night. But with only one body in the locked practice room - and no way in or out - the case makes no sense. Fearing a national panic over another Ripper, Scotland Yard sends Inspector Ian Frey to investigate under the cover of a fake department specializing in the occult. However, Frey's new boss, Detective 'Nine-Nails' McGray, actually believes in such supernatural nonsense. McGray's tragic past has driven him to superstition, but even Frey must admit that this case seems beyond reason. And once someone loses all reason, who knows what they will lose next...* * *'This is wonderful. A brilliant, moving, clever, lyrical book - I loved it. Oscar de Muriel is going to be a name to watch.' Manda Scott'A great cop double-act ... It's the pairing of the upright Frey and the unorthodox McGray that notches up the stars for this book. Like de Muriel, they're going places.'Sunday Sport'One of the best debuts so far this year - a brilliant mix of horror, history, and humour. Genuinely riveting ... with plenty of twists, this will keep you turning the pages. It's clever, occasionally frightening and superbly written - The Strings Of Murder is everything you need in a mystery thriller.'Crime Review

A big, panoramic story of the new America, as told by our master chronicler of the way we live now.As a police launch speeds across Miami's Biscayne Bay-with our hero, officer Nestor Camacho, on board-Tom Wolfe is off and running headlong into the only city in the world where people from a different country with a different language and a different culture have taken over at the ballot box. This melting pot is full of hard cases who just won't melt, damn it: a Cuban mayor; a black police chief; a hot young reporter and a timid editor of the Miami Herald, both WASPs who went to Yale; an Anglo sex-addiction psychiatrist who keeps his lovely Latina nurse, Magdalena, in his bed, and his star patient, a porn-addicted billionaire, on a string; a status-addled Haitian professor who thinks he's really French and wants his pale-skinned daughter to "e;pass"e; and his Creole-spouting son to be quiet. Then there are the clueless collectors who "e;See it! Like it! Buy it!,"e; spending tens of millions per minute on de-skilled art at Miami Art Basel; black drug dealers colliding with the Cuban cops; Columbus Day Regatta "e;spectators"e; who only have eyes for the annual apr s-race orgy; and "e;Active Adult"e; condos full of yenta-heavy ex-New Yorkers, not to mention a nest of shady Russians.Based on the same sort of detailed, on-scene, high-energy reporting that powered Tom Wolfe's previous bestselling novels, Back to Blood is another brilliant, spot-on, scrupulous, and often hilarious reckoning with our times.

As the savage Clone Wars rage unchecked, the Republic's deadliest warriors face the grim truth that the Separatists aren't their only enemyor even their worst.In the Grand Army's desperate fight to crush the Separatists, the secret special ops missions of its elite clone warriors have never been more critical . . . or more dangerous. A growing menace threatens Republic victory, and the members of Omega Squad make a shocking discovery that shakes their very loyalty. As the lines continue to blur between friend and enemy, citizensfrom civilians and sergeants to Jedi and generalsfind themselves up against a new foe: the doubt in their own hearts and minds. The truth is a fragile, shifting illusionand only the approaching inferno will reveal both sides in their true colors.Features a bonus section following the novel that includes a primer on the Star Wars expanded universe, and over half a dozen excerpts from some of the most popular Star Wars books of the last thirty years!

'Not Le Carr , not Deighton, not Ludlum have surpassed the intelligence, authenticity or engrossing storytelling that established The Mask of Dimitrios as the best of its kind' The TimesEnglish crime novelist Charles Latimer is travelling in Istanbul when he makes the acquaintance of Turkish police inspector Colonel Haki. It is from him that he first hears of the mysterious Dimitrios - an infamous master criminal, long wanted by the law, whose body has just been fished out of the Bosphorus. Fascinated by the story, Latimer decides to retrace Dimitrios' steps across Europe to gather material for a new book. But, as he gradually discovers more about his subject's shadowy history, fascination tips over into obsession. And, in entering Dimitrios' criminal underworld, Latimer realizes that his own life may be on the line.'A gripping thriller ... still fresh as new' Guardian

It's been over twenty years since government assassin Will Robie left his hometown in Mississippi. Now a trained killer used to taking down enemies of the state, he was once remembered by the local residents as a wild sports star and girl-magnet. He left a lot of hearts broken, and a lot of people angry.Now he's back. His estranged father, Dan, who is the local judge, has been arrested for murder and Robie wonders if it's time to try to heal old wounds. A lot of bad blood has flowed between father and son, but Robie's fellow agent, Jessica Reel, persuades him to stick around and confront his demons.Then another murder changes everything, and stone-cold killer Robie will finally have to come to grips with his toughest assignment of all. His family.The Guilty is the fourth thriller in the Will Robie series by David Baldacci, following on from The Innocent, The Hit and The Target.

It was midday on December 21st in the Norwegian city of Tromso when the boy was last seen - a tall, blond boy swathed in an anorak and scarf against the Arctic noon. He was not seen again, not until three months later, when Professor Mackenzie's dog started sniffing around in the snow and uncovered a human ear . . . attached to a naked corpse.Nobody knew who he was, or where he had come from. And after three months it was almost impossible to track down the identity of the corpse. But Inspector Fagermo refused to give up - and as he probed deeper into the Arctic city he began to discover a dangerous conspiracy of blackmail, espionage, and cold-blooded murder.Regarded as Robert Barnard's best, Death in a Cold Climate is a scandi detective novel with a captivating mystery at its heart.

The second novel in Jay Kristoff's epic The Lotus War Trilogy, Kinslayer sees an empire fall to its knees and a fledgling rebellion struggle to survive.A shattered empire . . . The threat of civil war looms over the Shima Imperium. The Lotus Guild conspires to renew the nation's broken dynasty and crush the growing rebellion by endorsing a new Shogun who desires nothing more than to see Yukiko dead.A dark legacy . . . Yukiko and the mighty thunder tiger Buruu have been cast in the role of heroes. But Yukiko herself is blinded by rage over her father's death, and her ability to hear the thoughts of beasts. A gathering storm . . . Kage assassins lurk within the Shogun's palace, plotting to end the new dynasty before it begins. A new enemy gathers its strength. And across raging oceans, Yukiko and Buruu will face foes no katana or talon can defeat. The ghosts of a blood-stained past.

The first book in the No. 1 Times bestselling series'This is terrific stuff' Daily Telegraph'A breathtakingly ambitious picture of an era' Financial Times'A masterclass in how to weave a well-researched history into a complex plot' The TimesA CITY IN FLAMESLondon, 1666. As the Great Fire consumes everything in its path, the body of a man is found in the ruins of St Paul's Cathedral - stabbed in the neck, thumbs tied behind his back.A WOMAN ON THE RUNThe son of a traitor, James Marwood is forced to hunt the killer through the city's devastated streets. There he encounters a determined young woman, who will stop at nothing to secure her freedom.A KILLER SEEKING REVENGEWhen a second murder victim is discovered in the Fleet Ditch, Marwood is drawn into the political and religious intrigue of Westminster - and across the path of a killer with nothing to lose...

Once the haunt of Jack the Ripper, London's East End is a vibrant mix of history and new ideas, but the trendy galleries of Brick Lane disguise a seedy underside where unthinkable crimes bring terror to the innocent.Artist and young mother Sandra Gilles disappears without trace after leaving her three-year-old daughter, Charlotte, with a friend at the Columbia Road Flower Market. Her lawyer husband, Naz Malik, is devastated - but he's also the prime suspect in a murder investigation. When Naz vanishes shortly afterwards, Gemma James and her partner Superintendent Duncan Kincaid agree to work together again to solve the case before the murderer can get his hands on the real prize, Charlotte.But just as the case grows more dangerous, a personal issue threatens to throw Gemma and Duncan off the trail. In the end, it is up to them to stop a vicious killer and protect the child whose fate hangs in the balance.

When Detective Inspector Gemma James is persuaded by her friend, Hazel, to take a trip to the misty Scottish Highlands, she jumps at the chance. But upon their arrival it becomes clear that Hazel has been concealing a dangerous secret. At their remote B&B the pair encounter Donald Brodie, the owner of a local distillery . . . and Hazel's former lover. Their relationship had ended abruptly years before. Now Donald is convinced he can win Hazel back. But the lovers' reunion yields shocking - and mortal - consequences. Gemma soon discovers that, in this tight-knit community, there is no shortage of murder suspects. And beneath the hospitable surface, there lurks a hundred years of bitter family rivalry waiting to emerge . . . 'As rich and history laden as a tartan plaid . . . this is a pure gem' Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Jack Montfort grew up in the shadow of Glastonbury Tor in a town revered as the mythical burial place of King Arthur, and, according to New Age followers, a source of strong druid power. Montfort has little more than a passing interest in the history of the area - until he comes across an extraordinary chronicle almost a thousand years old . . . The unsettling way this record comes into his hands brings Montfort into contact with a disparate group of townspeople, including Nick Carlisle, a student of Glastonbury's myths; Faith Wills, a pregnant teenage runaway; and Winnie Catesby, the Anglican priest who is now Jack's lover. When a member of Jack's circle is attacked and left for dead, he appeals to his cousin, Superintendent Duncan Kincaid, for help. For something terrible and bloody shattered Glastonbury Abbey's peace long ago - and now it is about to spark a violence that will reach forward into the present . . .

In the past: It is September 1939 and thousands of children are being evacuated from London. Among them 12-year-olds Lewis Finch and William Hammond, both billeted on the Surrey estate of the formidable Regina Burne-Jones. Both become allies, then friends, and thus begins a story of choice and betrayal the repercussions of which will echo down the years . . . In the present: Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James are called out to investigate a death in London's East End. A young woman known as Annabelle Hammond has been strangled. Prime suspect is a busker she was seen talking to just before she disappeared. And when he turns out to be Gordon Finch, Duncan decides to investigate events which occurred more than fifty years before.

A corpse, burned beyond recognition, has been uncovered in a vacant warehouse in Southwark . . . A young, beautiful hospital administrator has vanished without a trace, her past a mystery to even her closest friend . . . And across the City, within an old, dark, rambling house, a rigidly controlling, anonymous woman is holding ten-year-old Harriet hostage. While innocent lives hang in the balance, sinister truths unfurl and DS Duncan Kincaid and DI Gemma James must call upon all resources to work together on their most menacing case yet . . . 'Deborah Crombie just keeps getting better and better. In a Dark House is utterly compelling' PETER ROBINSON

The Hammer of Eden is a pulsating state-of-the-art suspense thriller from number one bestseller Ken Follett.A Deadly ThreatThe FBI receive an anonymous threat from a terrorist group that claims it can trigger earthquakes.A Lone AgentJudy Maddox, an FBI Agent with a point to prove, is tasked with investigating the threat by her obstructive superiors. She must discover if it is credible and, if so, where it comes from.A State on the Verge of DestructionWhen a suspected, machine-generated tremor is detected her investigation reaches a critical point - can she find those responsible, and their next target, before they trigger a catastrophe that will devastate the entire West Coast of America and the millions of people who live there . . .

Epic in its scale, A Dangerous Fortune tells of the dramatic highs and lows of the wealthy Pilaster family from the bestselling author of The Pillars of the Earth, Ken Follett.A Tragic Accident1866: at an exclusive school in Victorian England, a schoolboy drowns in a mysterious accident. His death and its aftermath will have repercussions for decades to come . . .A Fierce RivalryThere on that fateful day were Hugh Pilaster and his older cousin Edward, heirs of a powerful banking dynasty with connections that reach from London to far-afield colonies.A Lethal SecretThe cousins find themselves locked in a vicious competition for the top job at the bank. But the respectable veneer of the family, and even Victorian England itself, looks to shatter as the deadly event from their schooldays threatens everything the Pilasters have built.

The first novel in the hugely compelling Edie Kiglatuk series set in the high Arctic..Nothing on the tundra rotted . . . The whole history of human settlement lay exposed there, under that big northern sky. There was nowhere here for bones to hide.On Craig Island, a vast landscape of ice north of the Arctic Circle, three travellers are hunting duck. Among them is expert Inuit hunter and guide, Edie Kiglatuk; a woman born of this harsh, beautiful terrain. The two men are tourists, experiencing Arctic life in the raw, but when one of the men is shot dead in mysterious circumstances, the local Council of Elders in the tiny settlement of Autisaq is keen to dismiss it as an accident.Then two adventurers arrive in Autisaq hoping to search for the remains of the legendary Victorian explorer Sir James Fairfax. The men hire Edie - whose ancestor Welatok guided Fairfax - along with Edie's stepson Joe, and two parties set off in different directions. Four days later, Joe returns to Autisaq frostbitten, hypothermic and disoriented, to report his man missing. And when things take an even darker turn, Edie finds herself heartbroken, and facing the greatest challenge of her life . . .'A blazing star of a thriller: vivid, tightly-sprung, and satisfying on all levels. Encountering Edie Kiglatuk, the toughest, smartest Arctic heroine since Miss Smilla, left me with that rare feeling of privilege you get on meeting extraordinary people in real life. A huge achievement' Liz Jensen, author of The Rapture 'Edie is an ingenious and original creation but the most addictive character is the Arctic itself' Sunday Telegraph

Gemma, Duncan, and the boys are back in their Notting Hill house and enjoying a quiet spring in London when Gemma receives a plea for help from her friend and neighbor, Erika Rosenthal.Erika has never shared much of her past, other than telling Gemma that she and her husband came to London before the war as refugees from the emerging Nazi regime in Germany. Her husband was a historian and was found murdered in a local park. His death was never solved. Now Erika tells Gemma that a necklace from her past has come up for auction - a necklace which was taken from her. Now Erika asks Gemma to find out where the necklace came from.As Gemma works backwards, interviewing the staff at the auction house and looking into the records of David Rosenthal's death, her viewpoint is interwoven with Erika's vivid memories of her life as a young woman in London during and after the war. Then a young woman at the auction house is murdered and suddenly the case becomes very much centred in the present.

Now an AT&T Audience Original Series The fabulously suspenseful and "e;smashing"e; (The New York Times Book Review) final novel in the Bill Hodges trilogy from the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Mr. Mercedes and Finders Keepers!For nearly six years, in Room 217 of the Lakes Region Traumatic Brain Injury Clinic, Brady Hartsfield has been in a persistent vegetative state. A complete recovery seems unlikely for the insane perpetrator of the “Mercedes Massacre,” in which eight people were killed and many more maimed for life. But behind the vacant stare, Brady is very much awake and aware, having been pumped full of experimental drugs...scheming, biding his time as he trains himself to take full advantage of the deadly new powers that allow him to wreak unimaginable havoc without ever leaving his hospital room. Brady Hartsfield is about to embark on a new reign of terror against thousands of innocents, hell-bent on taking revenge against anyone who crossed his path—with retired police detective Bill Hodges at the very top of that long list....

A collection of macabre mysteries, including the superlative short story Witness for the Prosecution...Twelve unexplained phenomena with no apparent earthly explanation...A dog-shaped gunpowder mark; an omen from 'the other side'; a haunted house; a chilling seance; a case of split personalities; a recurring nightmare; an eerie wireless message; an elderly lady's hold over a young man; a disembodied cry of 'murder'; a young man's sudden amnesia; a levitation experience; a mysterious SOS.To discover the answers, delve into the supernatural storytelling of Agatha Christie.

London, 1903. Two women are hanged in Holloway Prison for killing babies. More than thirty years later, their crimes resurface with shocking consequences...When Josephine Tey sets out to write a novel about Amelia Sach and Annie Walters, the notorious Finchley baby farmers, she can have little idea that the research for her book will be needed to help solve a modern-day killing - the sadistic murder of a young seamstress, found dead in the Motley sisters' studio, amid preparations for a star-studded charity gala. The girl's death seems to be the result of a long-standing domestic feud, but Josephine's friend, Inspector Archie Penrose, is unconvinced; and when a second young woman is involved in an horrific accident soon afterwards, the search begins for a vicious killer who will stop at nothing to keep the past where it belongs.Moving between the decadence and glamour of a private women's club, the bleak surroundings of Holloway prison, and the deprivation of London's slums, Two for Sorrow is a dark and unsettling exploration of the way in which the crimes of the past destroy those left behind - long after justice is done.

From the acclaimed master of action and suspense. The all time classicMillions of pounds in gold bullion are being pirated in the Irish Sea. Investigations by the British Secret Service, and a sixth sense, have bought Philip Calvert to a bleak, lonely bay in the Western Highlands. But the sleepy atmosphere of Torbay is deceptive. The place is the focal point of many mysterious disappearances. Even the unimaginative Highland Police Sergeant seems to be acting a part. But why?This story is Alistair MacLean at his enthralling best. It has all the edge-of-the-seat suspense, and dry humour that millions of readers have devoured for years.

Read by Hugh FraserA new Christie mystery combining love, death and melodrama blended together as only Agatha Christie can.Gipsy's Acre was a truly beautiful upland site with views out to sea - and in Michael Rogers it stirred a child-like fantasy.There, amongst the dark fir trees, he planned to build a house, find a girl and live happily ever after.Yet, as he left the village, a shadow of menace hung over the land. For this was the place where accidents happened. Perhaps Michael should have heeded the locals' warnings: 'There's no luck for them as meddles with Gipsy's Acre.'Michael Rogers is a man who is about to learn the true meaning of the old saying 'In my end is my beginning...'

Five early stories unpublished since their first magazine appearances in the '20s and '30s, finally unearthed 21 years after Agatha Christie's death, already showing the deft touch of the Queen of Crime in the making.While the Light LastsThe ActressThe House of DreamsThe EdgeWithin a WallLike many of her contemporaries, Agatha Christie wrote stories for a variety of magazines in the 1920s and '30s, and most of these eventually found their way into her books of short stories. Now, 21 years after her death, detective work worthy of Agatha Christie herself has unearthed 'new' stories, most of which have never been published anywhere in the world since their orginal appearances.In this new collection the author observes the tragic flaws in human nature, providing a glimpse of the Queen of Crime in the making. Anyone who has ever read Agatha Christie will enjoy every story for her skill at characterisation and her ability to deliver an unexpected twist in the tail...

Designed to match the new look Miss Marple series. Read by the superb Stephanie Cole. Soon after Gwenda moved into her new home, odd things started to happen. Despite her best efforts to modernise the house, she only succeeded in dredging up its past. Worse, she felt an irrational sense of terror every time she climbed the stairs... In fear, Gwenda turned to Miss Marple to exorcise her ghosts. Between them, they were to solve a 'perfect' crime committed many years before.

A flawless collection of short stories that Christie herself referred to as 'light-hearted thrillers'.Twelve ingenious, witty mysteries showing the author at her best, including: the curious disappearance of Lord Listerdale, the strange meeting on a train of a feckless man and a beautiful girl, Philomel Cottage and the extraordinary country house visit of Edward Robinson. Each four-story volume is expertly narrated by Hugh Fraser.

4 short stories featuring the great detective himself... How did a woman holding a pistol in her right hand manage to shoot herself in the left temple? What was the link between a ghost sighting and the disappearance of top secert military plans? How did the bullet that killed Sir Gervase shatter a mirror in another part of the room? And who destroyed the 'eternal triangle' of love involving renowned beauty, Valentine Chantry? Hercule Poirot is faced with four mystifying cases - Murder in the Mews, The Incredible Theft, Dead Man's Mirror and Triangle at Rhodes - each a miniature classic of characterisation, incident and suspense.