Over the next three days, I am previewing just three of the very many amazing sounding panels and sessions that are being held at Capital Crime 2024. And I have 3 days of giveaways too!
This is a crime festival taking place in London, 30th May - 1st June, and the more I hear about it, the more excited I am getting to be able to attend this year.
So the first session that I'm looking forward to is Who's Crime Is It Anyway?.
Thursday 30th May - 14:00 - 14:50
Two teams (made up of five debut authors on each team) test their knowledge of each other’s books. The game show style event will be presented by actor Paul Clayton who will guide the teams through the rounds in the following format. The aim of our quiz is to stage an engaging, entertaining event for both audience and authors, and help welcome debut authors to the crime community with their peers.
Team 'Moguls of Mystery' Katrin Juliusdottir, T. M. Payne, Suzy Aspley, Roxie Key and Claire Coughlan vs.
Team 'Thoroughbreds of Thrillers' Claire Wilson, Liza North, Tom Baragwanath, Fiona McPhillips and Ellie Keel.
I remember enjoying the hilarity and chaos of Who's Crime Is It Anyway at the debut of Capital Crime in 2019, so am going to be very curious to see if this is now a nice slick game show, or more total and utter chaos! I'm honestly hoping for the latter as this sort of thing will always be fun. And it will offer a great insight into these authors personalities as well as their debut books.
So introducing the books of our two teams!
Team 'Moguls of Mystery'
Dead Sweet by Katrin Juliusdottir
A murder is just the beginning…
When Óttar Karlsson, a wealthy and respected government official and businessman, is found murdered, after failing to turn up at his own surprise birthday party, the police are at a loss. It isn't until young police officer Sigurdís finds a well-hidden safe in his impersonal luxury apartment that clues start emerging.
As Óttar's shady business dealings become clear, a second, unexpected line of enquiry emerges, when Sigurdís finds a US phone number in the safe, along with papers showing regular money transfers to an American account. Following the trail to Minnesota, trauma rooted in Sigurdís's own childhood threatens to resurface and the investigation strikes chillingly close to home…
Atmospheric, deeply unsettling and full of breakneck twists and turns, Dead Sweet is a startling debut thriller that uncovers a terrifying world of financial crime, sinister cults and disturbing secret lives, and kicks off an addictive, mind-blowing new series.
Long Time Dead by T. M. Payne
DI Sheridan Holler is used to solving crimes on Liverpool’s streets, but after a decayed corpse turns up in a cemetery, she finds herself reopening not one but two cold cases. Seven years earlier, two women were gunned down and the only suspect, small-time drug dealer John Lively, was never seen again. Case closed. Until the body in the cemetery is identified as his.
Holler needs to work out if Lively was killed out of revenge, or was just a victim of the criminal world he inhabited. When shocking evidence is revealed about the murder weapon, Holler’s cold case starts to look hopeless once more.
But defeat is not an option. Driven by the unsolved and traumatic murder of her brother when they were children, DI Holler’s pursuit of justice is relentless. As old wounds are reopened, the police close in on the killer, but the threat of them striking again is all too real. Can DI Holler put the pieces of the puzzle together before anyone else winds up dead?
When the crow moon rises, the darkness is unleashed…
Martha Strangeways is struggling to find purpose in her life, after giving up her career as an investigative reporter when her young twins died in a house fire.
Overwhelmed by guilt and grief, her life changes when she stumbles across the body of a missing teenager – a tragedy that turns even more sinister when a poem about crows is discovered inked onto his back...
When another teenager goes missing in the remote landscape, Martha is drawn into the investigation, teaming up with DI Derek Summers, as malevolent rumours begin to spread and paranoia grows.
As darkness descends on the village of Strathbran, it soon becomes clear that no one is safe, including Martha…
Both a nerve-shattering, enthralling and atmospheric thriller and a moving tale of grief and psychological damage, Crow Moon is a staggeringly accomplished debut and the start of an addictive, unforgettable series.
Once secrets catch, they spread.
Deadly fires are lighting up Brighton, and the latest case is alarmingly close to home for DC Eve Starling. The blaze was deliberately set, and a mother and daughter didn’t make it out of the smoke.
Eve’s investigation takes her deep into her own uncomfortable past. When her key witness disappears, and with the killer always one step ahead, Eve is desperate to solve the case – whatever the cost.
But Eve has no idea how close she is to the flames, and playing with fire can get you burned…
Some stories demand to be told. They keep coming back,
echoing down through the decades, until they find a teller . . .
Dublin, 1943
Actress Julia Bridges disappears.
Her body is never found.
Dublin, 1968
The bones of Julia Bridges are discovered in a back garden.
Nicoletta Sarto, an ambitious junior reporter for the Irish Sentinel, investigates the mystery of Julia’s disappearance, drawing her into the tangled underworld of the illegal abortion industry.
But some stories remain a mystery for a reason, and it’s not long before this one stirs up buried secrets from Nicoletta’s own past. Secrets that perhaps should stay buried . . .
Team 'Thoroughbreds of Thrillers'
Just because the most dangerous criminals in society are caught and locked up, doesn’t mean they stop committing crime.
That’s where Kennedy Allardyce comes in – monitoring not just the prisoners, but also the staff.
And she’s just stumbled across her most dangerous foe yet – rumours of a corrupt guard with lethal influence. And what’s worst, it seems they’ve already realised Kennedy is on their tail.
At least one thing is giving her joy – a blossoming relationship with Molly, a beautiful, enigmatic new guard.
Wouldn’t it be awful if the killer she’s hunting turned out to be the woman she’s falling for?
Laura has a husband, children, a home in a city she loves. She thinks she can be happy, despite her past.
If they only knew my secret.
Until someone walks back into her life who she knows will shatter everything. Alexis was her first love. A love so exhilarating, it is impossible to resist.
I know I should end it. But I can't.
Then Alexis is found dead, and the police are knocking at Laura's door. They're asking her questions and she's telling them lies.
I didn't kill him. I promise.
Someone wants Laura to pay for what she's been running from. Someone with an obsession that they can't let go.
Masterton, New Zealand may be a small town, but its residents are certainly not united. Old resentments and the simmering tensions of race and culture divide the Maori and white inhabitants, with everyone keeping to their own patch of turf. But when local children start to go missing, vanishing between the cracks, accusations are hurled, and community relations reach boiling point.
Caught in the middle is Lorraine Henry. She works as a lowly records clerk at the police station amongst towering piles of paperwork, quietly making connections and remembering things that the cops would rather not. Solving cases is not part of her job, but when her great-nephew is the next to disappear, she must put her skills to the test as she is called in to help, all before time runs out for the children.
Both a nail-biting thriller and a beautifully written, acutely observed portrait of a community in crisis, Paper Cage is the award-winning debut from young New Zealand novelist Tom Baragwanath.
“I’m not here for prestige. I’m here for revenge.”
Lou Manson is an outsider when she joins the final-year class at Highfield Manor, Dublin’s most exclusive private school. Beyond the granite pillars and the wrought-iron gates is a world of wealth, privilege and potential. But Highfield is also hiding a dark secret – and Lou is here to expose it.
When Lou befriends the beautiful and talented Shauna Power, her plans are thrown into turmoil. Speaking out against the school would mean betraying Shauna, and Lou soon discovers that the Highfield elite will go to any lengths to protect their own reputation…even when the consequences are fatal.
Thirty years later, Lou is called to testify in a new lawsuit against Highfield. But telling the truth means confronting her past – and there is one story she swore she’d never tell…
For fans of GIRL A, MY DARK VANESSA and ANATOMY OF A SCANDAL, When We Were Silent is a propulsive, bold exploration of power, corruption and retribution.
We were always The Four. From our very first day at High Realms.
The four scholarship pupils. Outsiders in a world of power and privilege.
It would have made our lives a lot easier if Marta had simply pushed Genevieve out of our bedroom window that day. Certainly, it would have been tragic. She would have died instantly.
But Marta didn’t push her then, or – if you choose to believe me – at any other time. If she had, all of what we went through would not have happened.
I’ve told this story as clearly as I could – as rationally as I’ve been able, in the circumstances, to achieve. I don’t regret what we did. And I would do it all again.
Giveaway To Win a Who's Crime Is It Anyway? Debut author's book of your choice (Open to UK Only)
All of the above books from these featured authors sound so amazing, that I thought I would give one lucky reader, a chance to win one book of their choice from the selection featured on this page, which I will order from Amazon for you.
Giveaway open to UK, all options are voluntary, but please do what they ask, as I will be verifying the winner. Giveaway closes 23:59 13/5/24. Winner will be announced on twitter and emailed, and they will need to reply within 7 days, or forfeit the prize, and I will re-draw for a new winner. Good luck everyone.
Giveaway To Win a Who's Crime Is It Anyway? Debut author's book of your choice (Open to UK Only)
Come back tomorrow to see which Capital Crime session I will be previewing, and there will be another giveaway too!
