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Happy Christmas from Helen Smith



Twitter: @emperorsclothes
Instagram: @emperorsclothes
http://helensmithbooks.com
Helen Smith's books on Amazon

Happy Christmas from @TheAngelaClarke


Twitter: @TheAngelaClarke
Follow MeAngela Clarke is the author of Follow Me.

LIKE. SHARE. FOLLOW . . . DIE

The ‘Hashtag Murderer’ posts chilling cryptic clues online, pointing to their next target. Taunting the police. Enthralling the press. Capturing the public’s imagination.

But this is no virtual threat.

As the number of his followers rises, so does the body count.

Eight years ago two young girls did something unforgivable. Now ambitious police officer Nasreen and investigative journalist Freddie are thrown together again in a desperate struggle to catch this cunning, fame-crazed killer. But can they stay one step ahead of him? And can they escape their own past?

Time's running out. Everyone is following the #Murderer. But what if he is following you?

ONLINE, NO ONE CAN HEAR YOU SCREAM …

**Amazon RISING STAR Debut of the Month in January 2016**


Get Follow Me from Amazon

To see how Angela spends her days, please visit this page

Happy Christmas from @ThatJuliaCrouch and #Keith


Find Julia on Twitter: @ThatJuliaCrouch

Her Husband's Lover
Her Husband's Lover by Julia Crouch

She stole her husband. Now she wants to take her life.

A woman has to stop her rival from ruining her life in HER HUSBAND'S LOVER, the stunning new novel from the acclaimed Julia Crouch.

After the horrors of the past, Louisa Williams is desperate to make a clean start.

Her husband Sam is dead. Her children, too, are gone, victims of the car accident in which he died.
Sam said that she would never get away from him. That he would hound her to death if she tried to leave. Louisa never thought that he would want to harm their children though.

But then she never thought that he would betray her with a woman like Sophie.

And now Sophie is determined to take all that Louisa has left. She wants to destroy her reputation and to take what she thinks is owed her - the life she would have had if Sam had lived.

Her husband's lover wants to take her life. The only question is will Louisa let her?

'Psychological thrillers don't come much better than this' Claire Mackintosh
Pre-Order Her Husband's Lover from Amazon



Happy Christmas from @ThomasMogford



♠ Find Thomas Mogford on Twitter or at his website www.thomasmogford.com

You can get SLEEPING DOGS at your local bookstore or online at Amazon

An old friend persuades Gibraltarian lawyer Spike Sanguinetti to take a well-earned rest on Corfu's beautiful north-east coast. But when the bloodied body of a young Albanian is found and a local man accused of his murder, Spike reluctantly agrees to take the case. Beneath the island's veneer of wealth and privilege Spike uncovers truths so damaging that those involved will go to any lengths to protect them. And when a vulnerable young woman disappears, Spike knows that there are some sleeping dogs he cannot let lie.

'Evocative, engrossing and entertaining' The Times

Happy Christmas from @DPemb



♠ Find Daniel on Twitter, , Facebook, or his website

♠ You can buy THE HARBOUR MASTER from your local bookstore or online from Amazon

Henk van der Pol is a 30-year-term policeman, a few months off retirement. When he finds a woman's body in Amsterdam Harbour, his detective instincts take over, even though it's not his jurisdiction. Warned off investigating the case, Henk soon realises he can trust nobody, as his search for the killer leads him to discover the involvement of senior police officers, government corruption in the highest places, Hungarian people traffickers, and a deadly threat to his own family...

'A debut novelist of rare skill' - Financial Times

BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @JaneIsaacAuthor recommends...

Jane Isaac's favourite read of 2016 was I See You by Claire Mackintosh:


I See You by Clare Mackintosh

When Zoe Walker sees her photo in the classifieds section of a London newspaper, she is determined to find out why it's there. There's no explanation, no website: just a grainy image and a phone number. She takes it home to her family, who are convinced it's just someone who looks like Zoe. But the next day the advert shows a photo of a different woman, and another the day after that.

Is it a mistake? A coincidence? Or is someone keeping track of every move they make . . .


"Tense, pacy and evocative. An addictive thriller that played with human emotions and left me breathless."
Recommended by Jane Isaac, author of Beneath the Ashes
www.janeisaac.co.uk
http://twitter.com/janeisaacauthor

BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @Sarah_Hilary recommends...

Sarah Hilary's favourite reads of 2016 were:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Me-Bad-Ali-Land-ebook/dp/B01HOCLK14?tag=brcrws-21
Good Me, Bad Me by Ali Land (debut, out in Jan 2017)

Annie's mother is a serial killer.The only way she can make it stop is to hand her in to the police. But out of sight is not out of mind. As her mother's trial looms, the secrets of her past won't let Annie sleep, even with a new foster family and name - Milly. A fresh start. Now, surely, she can be whoever she wants to be. But Milly's mother is a serial killer. And blood is thicker than water. Good me, bad me. She is, after all, her mother's daughter...

Creepy, edgy and addictively twisted. I loved it -- Sarah Hilary


Spook Street by Mick Herron
Spook Street by Mick Herron (coming in early 2017)

Twenty years retired, David Cartwright can still spot when the stoats are on his trail. Radioactive secrets and unfinished business go with the territory on Spook Street: he's always known there would be an accounting. And he's not as defenceless as they might think.

Jackson Lamb worked with Cartwright back in the day. He knows better than most that this is no vulnerable old man. 'Nasty old spook with blood on his hands' would be a more accurate description.'The old bastard' has raised his grandson with a head full of guts and glory. But far from joining the myths and legends of Spook Street, River Cartwright is consigned to Lamb's team of pen-pushing no-hopers at Slough House.

So it's Lamb they call to identify the body when Cartwright's panic button raises the alarm at Service HQ.And Lamb who will do whatever he thinks necessary, to protect an agent in peril...

Immensely satisfying and utterly brilliant --Sarah Hilary

Fireside Gothic by Andrew Taylor
Fireside Gothic by Andrew Taylor (short stories, out now)
BROKEN VOICES
It’s Christmas before the Great War and two lonely schoolboys have been forced into companionship. Left in the care of an elderly teacher, there is little to do but listen to his eerie tales about the nearby Cathedral. The boys concoct a plan to discover if the stories are true. But the Cathedral is filled with hidden dangers, and curiosity can prove fatal.

THE LEPER HOUSE
One stormy night in Suffolk, a man’s car breaks down following his sister’s funeral. The only source of light comes from a remote cottage by the sea. The mysterious woman who lives there begs him to leave, yet he can’t shake the sense that she somehow needs him. He attempts to return the next day but she is nowhere to be seen. And neither is the cottage.

THE SCRATCH
Clare and Gerald live a perfect life in the Forest of Dean with their cat, Cannop. Then Gerald’s young nephew comes to stay. Jack is from another world – active service in Afghanistan. The experience has left him outwardly untouched, but for a scratch that won’t heal. Jack and Cannop don't like each other. Clare and Jack like each other too much. The scratch begins to fester.

Appointment with Yesterday by Celia Fremlin
Appointment with Yesterday by Celia Fremlin

Celia Fremlin's eighth novel concerns a woman who calls herself Milly Barnes. But this is not her real name - for 'Milly' is on the run, driven by her terrible panic that at any moment the remorseless arm of the law will catch up with her.

'Not less horrible than illicit deaths are the horrors that lurk in female domesticity, and Celia Fremlin has long been the mistress of their fictional presentation. Here, in the best so far of her always good books, she has fused both, in an excellent terror novel.' TLS


Recommended by Sarah Hilary, author of Tastes Like Fear
Twitter.com/Sarah_Hilary


BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @LucyAtkins recommends

Lucy Atkins discovered the brilliant noir novels of Shirley Jackson in 2016

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Always-Castle-Penguin-Modern-Classics/dp/0141191457?tag=brcrws-21

Shirley Jackson was born in California in 1916. When her short story The Lottery was first published in The New Yorker in 1948, readers were so horrified they sent her hate mail; it has since become one of the most iconic American stories of all time. Her first novel, The Road Through the Wall, was published in the same year and was followed by five more: Hangsaman, The Bird's Nest, The Sundial,The Haunting of Hill House and We Have Always Lived in the Castle, widely seen as her masterpiece. In addition to her dark, brilliant novels, she wrote lightly fictionalized magazine pieces about family life with her four children and her husband, the critic Stanley Edgar Hyman. Shirley Jackson died in her sleep in 1965 at the age of 48.

We Have Always Lived in the Castle
by Shirley Jackson
Living in the Blackwood family home with only her sister Constance and her Uncle Julian for company, Merricat just wants to preserve their delicate way of life. But ever since Constance was acquitted of murdering the rest of the family, the world isn't leaving the Blackwoods alone. And when Cousin Charles arrives, armed with overtures of friendship and a desperate need to get into the safe, Merricat must do everything in her power to protect the remaining family.


♠ Recommended by Lucy Atkins, author of The Night Visitor, to be published in 2017
Twitter.com/lucyatkins

BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @SJIHolliday recommends...

SJI Holliday recommends:

Jonathan Dark or the evidence of ghosts
Jonathan Dark or The Evidence of Ghosts by A.K. Benedict

Maria King knows a secret London. Born blind, she knows the city by sound and touch and smell. But surgery has restored her sight - only for her to find she doesn't want it.

Jonathan Dark sees the shadowy side of the city. A DI with the Metropolitan Police, he is haunted by his failure to save a woman from the hands of a stalker. Now it seems the killer has set his sights on Maria, and is leaving her messages in the most gruesome of ways.

Tracing the source of these messages leads Maria and Jonathan to a London they never knew. Finding the truth will mean seeing a side to the city where life and death is a game played by the powerful, where everyone is lost but nothing is missing, and where all the answers are hiding, if only they listen to the whispers on the streets.

Shot through with love and loss, ghosts and grief, A K Benedict weaves a compelling mystery that will leave you looking over your shoulder and asking what lurks in the dark.

The Birdwatcher by William Shaw

The Birdwatcher by William Shaw

Sergeant William South has always avoided investigating murder. A passionate birdwatcher and quiet man, he has few relationships and prefers it that way.

But when his only friend is found brutally beaten, South's detachment is tested. Not only is he bereft - it seems that there's a connection between the suspect and himself.

For South has a secret. He knows the kind of rage that killed his friend. He knows the kind of man who could do it. He knows, because Sergeant William South himself is a murderer.

Moving from the storm-lashed, bird-wheeling skies of the Kent Coast to the wordless war of the Troubles, The Birdwatcher is a crime novel of suspense, intelligence and powerful humanity about fathers and sons, grief and guilt and facing the darkness within.

'Grips the reader by the throat and never lets go'

Recommended by SJI Holliday, author of The Damselfly
https://www.facebook.com/SJIHolliday/
https://twitter.com/SJIHolliday

BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @PaulFinchAuthor recommends...

Paul Finch's favourite book of 2016 is The Cartel by Don Winslow

The Cartel by Don Winslow
It’s 2004. DEA agent Art Keller has been fighting the war on drugs for thirty years in a blood feud against Adan Barrera, the head of El Federación, the world’s most powerful cartel, and the man who brutally murdered Keller’s partner. Putting Barrera away costs Keller dearly – the woman he loves, the beliefs he cherishes, the life he wants to lead.

Then Barrera gets out, determined to rebuild the empire that Keller shattered. Unwilling to live in a world with Barrera in it, Keller goes on a ten-year odyssey to take him down.

The Cartel is a true-to-life story of power, corruption, revenge, honour and sacrifice, as one man tries to face down the devil without losing his soul.

"Don Winslow delivers his longest and finest novel yet in The Cartel. This is the War and Peace of dope-war books. Tense, brutal, wildly atmospheric, stunningly plotted, deeply etched. It’s got the jazz-dog feel of a shot of pure meth." --James Ellroy

Recommended by Paul Finch, author of Strangers
http://paulfinch-writer.blogspot.co.uk/
twitter.com/paulfinchauthor

BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @ThomasMogford recommends...

Thomas Mogford’s favourite crime novel of 2016 was A DEADLY THAW by Sarah Ward

A Deadly Thaw by Sarah Ward


Every secret has consequences.

Autumn 2004
In Bampton, Derbyshire, Lena Fisher is arrested for suffocating her husband, Andrew.

Spring 2016
A year after Lena's release from prison, Andrew is found dead in a disused mortuary.

Who was the man Lena killed twelve years ago, and who committed the second murder? When Lena disappears, her sister, Kat, sets out to follow a trail of clues delivered by a mysterious teenage boy. Kat must uncover the truth - before there's another death . . .


Brilliant! Great writing, excellent characters, what a plot! --Marian Keyes

♠ Recommended by Thomas Mogford

http://twitter.com/thomasmogford
www.thomasmogford.com




Giveaway! For @William1Shaw's readers: You could win a weekend in Kent

http://williamshaw.com/win-two-nights-dungeness/

William Shaw is offering one of his readers the chance to win two nights in Dungeness on the Kent coast, which is the setting for his acclaimed book, The Birdwatcher.

You could win two bed-and-breakfast nights for one at a wonderful traditional hand-built wooden chalet, situated on the shingle beach. Hosted by Bridget and the house’s owner, local artist Paddy, you’ll have a cosy bedroom in this home, which was built around a First-Class Pullman railway carriage, right on the seaward point of this amazing promontory.

You’ll also win a signed hardback of The Birdwatcher.

For details of how to enter, visit this link: http://williamshaw.com/win-two-nights-dungeness/

Exclusive BritCrime newsletter giveaway

We have two new releases from Caroline Mitchell for this month's BritCrime newletter giveaway. One subscriber will be chosen at random to win a print copy of each book. You can sign up here: http://britcrime.com/newsletter
Love You to Death by Caroline Mitchell
Twenty years ago you were forced to give your daughter up. Now she’s back. Or is she?
Women who’ve had to give up children for adoption are being killed. A knock at their front door begins a nightmare from which they will never wake up.
East London Detective Ruby Preston and her team must hunt down a disturbed individual before someone else is taken. But when bodies start turning up, staged in perfect, domestic scenes, it carries the echo of a memory in Ruby's mind. The tinkling of a music box. A mother and child reunion...
Then just as Ruby thinks they've made a breakthrough, she receives a sinister email, and the case takes a terrifying personal twist.
Can Ruby catch the killer before they strike again? Or will her troubled past catch up with her first?
Witness by Caroline Mitchell
It’s been ten years since Rebecca’s testimony saw Solomon locked away for domestic abuse. One day she receives a message from him: for each of the ten years he has spent in jail, Rebecca must witness a crime. And, to make matters worse, she has to choose the victims.
Fail to respond and you get hurt. Talk to police and you die. Ready to play? You have sixty seconds to decide…
As the crimes grow more severe, the victims closer to home, Rebecca is forced to confront a past she had hoped was gone forever.
We will pick a name at random from among our newsletter subscribers. Like all our giveaways, this one is open internationally. We will email you if your name is drawn. Please just make sure that you're on our list! http://britcrime.com/newsletter
Congratulations to Stacia who won a copy of Rachel Amphlett's new release, Scared to Death, last month.

BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @WriterMels recommends...

Mel Sherratt's favourite book of 2016 is While My Eyes Were Closed by Linda Green.

While My Eyes Were Closed
One, two, three . . . Lisa Dale shuts her eyes and counts to one hundred during a game of hide-and-seek. 

When she opens them, her four-year-old daughter Ella is gone. Disappeared without a trace. 

The police, the media and Lisa's family all think they know who snatched Ella. 

But what if the person who took her isn't a stranger? 

What if they are convinced they are doing the right thing? 

And what if Lisa's little girl is in danger of disappearing forever?

'A beautifully crafted novel of knife-edge suspense'

♠ Recommended by Mel Sherratt, author of The Girls Next Door
http://twitter.com/writermels
www.melsherratt.co.uk

BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author Helen Smith recommends...

Helen Smith's book of the year is Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant.

Lie With Me by Sabine Durrant
It starts with a lie. The kind we've all told - to a former acquaintance we can't quite place but still, for some reason, feel the need to impress. The story of our life, embellished for the benefit of the happily married lawyer with the kids and the lovely home.

And the next thing you know, you're having dinner at their house, and accepting an invitation to join them on holiday - swept up in their perfect life, the kind you always dreamed of...

Which turns out to be less than perfect. But by the time you're trapped and sweating in the relentless Greek sun, burning to escape the tension all around you - by the time you start to realise that, however painful the truth might be, it's the lies that cause the real damage...

... well, by then, it could just be too late.


An unsettling, disturbing but utterly brilliant, gripping read with a terrific twist

♠ Recommended by Helen Smith, author of The Emily Castles mysteries
Helen Smith's books on Amazon
twitter.com/emperorsclothes
instagram.com/emperorsclothes
helensmithbooks.com

New Writer in Residence: Author @Marnie_Riches

Marnie Riches
You can find Marnie on BritCrime's Twitter and Facebook accounts this week.

Marnie Riches grew up on a rough estate in Manchester, aptly within sight of the dreaming spires of Strangeways prison. She swapped those for the spires of Cambridge University, gaining a Masters degree in Modern & Medieval Dutch and German.

She has been a punk, a trainee rock star, a pretend artist, a property developer and professional fundraiser. In her spare time, she likes to run, renovate houses and paint. Oh, and drinking. She likes a drink. And eating. She likes that too. Especially in exotic destinations.

The Girl Who Had No FearHer George McKenzie crime thrillers for adults were inspired, in part, by her own youth and time spent in The Netherlands as a student. The Girl Who Wouldn’t Die launched to great acclaim in early 2015, won The Patricia Highsmith Award for most exotic location in a novel at the Dead Good Reader Awards 2015 and went on to be an Amazon top 100 bestseller. The follow-up, The Girl Who Broke the Rules was in the Suspense top 50 for months and months, being heralded as "one of the best sequels ever" by readers and being voted by many book-bloggers as one of their top 10 reads of the year.

The Girl Who Had No Fear has just been released. Buy it today for only £2.99

Website: www.marnieriches.com
Twitter: @Marnie_Riches
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Marnie-Riches-author-196117983745658/

♠ Marnie's Top Five Baddies She Loves to Hate
♠ Marnie talks about winning a Dead Good Reader Award

BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @NickQuantrill recommends...

Nick Quantrill's book of the year is Fever City by Tim Baker.

Fever City by Tim Baker

Nick Alston, a Los Angeles private investigator, is hired to find the kidnapped son of America's richest and most hated man.

Hastings, a mob hitman in search of redemption, is also on the trail. But both men soon become ensnared by a sinister cabal that spreads from the White House all the way to Dealey Plaza.

Decades later in Dallas, Alston's son stumbles across evidence from JFK conspiracy buffs that just might link his father to the shot heard round the world.

Violent, vivid, visceral: FEVER CITY is a high-octane, nightmare journey through a Mad Men-era America of dark powers, corruption and conspiracy.

Shortlisted for the John Creasey New Blood Dagger.

♠ Recommended by Nick Quantrill, author of The Dead Can't Talk.
Nick Quantrill's books on Amazon
twitter.com/nickquantrill
www.nickquantrill.co.uk

BritCrime's Best Books of 2016: Author @CallyTaylor recommends...

Cally Taylor's book of the year is The Beautiful Dead by Belinda Bauer.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Beautiful-Dead-Belinda-Bauer/dp/059307551X?tag=brcrws-21
There’s no safety in numbers . . .

Eve Singer needs death. With her career as a TV crime reporter flagging, she’ll do anything to satisfy her ghoulish audience.

The killer needs death too. He even advertises his macabre public performances, where he hopes to show the whole world the beauty of dying.

When he contacts Eve, she welcomes the chance to be first with the news from every gory scene. Until she realizes that the killer has two obsessions.

One is public murder.

And the other one is her . . .

'A masterclass in storytelling. Crime novels don't get much better than this. I loved it.'


♠ Recommended by C.L. Taylor, author of The Missing.
C. L. Taylor's books on Amazon
Facebook.com/CallyTaylorAuthor
Twitter.com/callytaylor
Instagram.com/CLTaylorAuthor