CRIME | Daily Mail Online
CRIME
In the wake of his breath-taking debut Edge Of The Grave two years ago, Morrison, a former writer for the UK comics industry, returns with a sequel that is even better
CAST A COLD EYE
by Robbie Morrison (Macmillan £16.99, 480pp)
In the wake of his breath-taking debut Edge Of The Grave two years ago, Morrison, a former writer for the UK comics industry, returns with a sequel that is even better.
The setting is Glasgow in 1933, and two detectives — Inspector Jimmy Dreghorn and Sgt Archie McDaid — are struggling to solve the murder of a narrowboat captain, who is found executed by a single shot to the back of the head on his boat on the Forth & Clyde canal.
Could it be related to the growing influence of the IRA in the west of Scotland? Officers from Special Branch arrive, but Dreghorn and McDaid are determined not to be moved. So begins an epic story that offers a dark glimpse into a violent city as rigidly separated into Catholic and Protestant enclaves as Belfast.
This is Peaky Blinders territory, though with the police at its heart rather than gangsters. Packed with dramatic action and unforgettable characters, it casts a hypnotic spell and stirs the blood.
This vivid, atmospheric debut from a former editor of the Times Literary Supplement focuses on a Met police detective
DEATH UNDER A LITTLE SKY
by Stig Abell (HarperCollins £14.99, 352pp)
This vivid, atmospheric debut from a former editor of the Times Literary Supplement focuses on a Met police detective, Jake Jackson, whose life is falling apart with the collapse of his marriage.
Out of the blue he receives a letter from a reclusive uncle, leaving him an isolated property deep in the countryside. He seizes the chance for a new start, resigns from the Met and sets off for life in rural nowhere.
At first, getting back to nature is everything he could wish for, but then an annual village treasure hunt uncovers a young woman’s bones and a murder investigation begins, with the local police asking for Jackson’s expertise to help.
Add a burgeoning love story between the retired detective and the local vet, whose life may be in jeopardy, and you have a gentle and compelling story that charms but lacks enough tangible threat for my taste.
In 1975, Clark’s first suspense novel, Where Are The Children?, was published to immediate acclaim — launching her as one of the world’s top novelists
WHERE ARE THE CHILDREN NOW?
by Mary Higgins Clark and Alafair Burke (S&S £22, 288pp)
In 1975, Clark’s first suspense novel, Where Are The Children?, was published to immediate acclaim — launching her as one of the world’s top novelists. Now, almost half a century later, a sequel has been completed with the help of fellow crime writer Alafair Burke.
Clark, who died three years ago at the age of 92, would be delighted with the result, for it reminds the world of her exceptional talent for creating tension.
The original protagonist Nancy Harmon, who was accused of abducting her own children only to prove that she didn’t, is mother to Missy, one of the two children who went missing.
Missy has recently married and now has a stepdaughter, Riley. Then, in an echo of the original, Riley is abducted and a frantic search for her begins, with everyone a suspect. Filled with riveting twists and emotional betrayals, it is a worthy successor to its famous predecessor.