Ever since Blackwood’s Magazine published Thomas De Quincey’s satirical essay, ‘On Murder Considered as One of the Fine Arts’, in 1827, the British (and of course the rest of the world) have been fascinated by the slaughter of our fellow man in all its many permutations and variations. De Quincey’s musings were prompted by the…
Category: detective
‘The Suspicions of Mr. Whicher’ by Kate Summerscale
***** During a summer night in 1860, a terrible crime is committed. When the Kent family of Road Hill House wake up the next morning, they learn that three-year-old Saville is missing and soon discover he has been brutally murdered. As local police fail to track down the killer, Jack Whicher of Scotland Yard is…
‘The Mile End Murder’ by Sinclair McKay
***** (Audiobook) When wealthy and eccentric widow Mary Emsley is found dead at her home on 17th August 1860, the resulting murder inquiry grips the nation. Faced with several suspects, the police home in on two individuals, finally narrowing it down to one man – James Mullins. Convicted and hanged for the killing, the Mullins…
‘The Trouble with Trouble’ by Joy Mutter
***** Set in a Sheffield police station, this is a powerful erotic thriller following on from ‘The Trouble with Liam’. With the invention of a new sexual arousal cream called Trouble, DCI Cosgrove and his sex-addict liaison officer, Kate, find themselves in a bizarre situation. In the hands of a lustful security guard and his…
‘Bad Debts’ by Peter Temple
(Five Stars) Occasional lawyer and part-time sleuth, Jack Irish is used to trouble. Taking work as a debt-collector he idles away his spare time at the racetrack or helping out in a cabinetmaker’s shop. But when a former client leaves a message on Jack’s…
Writing the Fifties
NB This piece first appeared on B for Bookreview, as part of the ‘Blood on the Tyne: Body Parts’ Blog Tour. Beginning a new murder/mystery series is always fun, but sometimes it can throw up a few additional challenges, so how did the first book in the Rosie Robson…
‘They All Love Jack’ by Bruce Robinson
They All Love Jack (Audiobook) Ever since a mysterious figure ripped his way through the East End of London in the late 1880s, writers and filmmakers have focused on the identity of the perpetrator. The mystery of Jack the Ripper still exudes a fascination to…
‘Angel’ by LJ Ross
Angel Easter bank holiday weekend looks like it might be a relaxing time for DCI Ryan, but when he’s called to a crime scene in a Newcastle cemetery, a bizarre murder sets him off on the trail of a killer. Meanwhile, Lowerson and MacKenzie take…
‘The Murders at White House Farm’ by Carol Ann Lee
The Murders at White House Farm (Audiobook) The deaths of Nevill and June Bamber, their daughter Sheila and her two young sons on 7th August 1985, sparked a massive police investigation. As the murder weapon was found on her body and all windows and doors appeared to be secure, it seemed reasonable that…
‘The Pale Horse’ by Agatha Christie
The Pale Horse Following the murder of a priest, a mysterious list of names is found in his shoe. When the list is linked to a spate of recent deaths and a trio of strange women at The Pale Horse Inn, Mark Easterbrook sets about discovering what’s going on. Along with his sidekick,…
