CRIME
CRIME
The Last Devil to Die
by Richard Osman
(Viking £22, 432pp)
(Viking £22, 432pp)
The latest mystery to confront the four determined pensioners of the Coopers Chase retirement community has all the charm, wit and mischievousness of its predecessors, but with an added emotional depth that sets it apart.
An old antique dealer friend of the four members of the Thursday Murder Club is shot and killed while a terracotta box containing £100,000 worth of heroin, which was in his possession, has gone missing. Their leader, Elizabeth, decides to investigate.
The local drug dealer becomes the prime suspect, until he too is killed. But then another dimension to the story emerges. Elizabeth’s husband Stephen suffers from dementia but now his condition is clearly worsening.
The author handles the decline with great empathy. Osman has also announced that he is setting the Thursday Murder Club aside for a time. But fear not: they will be back.
The running grave
by Robert Galbraith
(Sphere £25, 960pp)
(Sphere £25, 960pp)
This seventh novel featuring private detective Cormoran Strike and his female partner Robin Ellacott is arguably the most frightening.
Strike is approached by Sir Colin Edensor, who is deeply concerned that his son, Will, has joined a shadowy religious cult in Norfolk.
Led by the menacing Papa J, the United Humanitarian Church has the feeling of a group whose members can never leave, even though it appears to be a peaceable organisation fighting for a better world.
There are unexplained disappearances and deaths at every turn, but no one is ever prepared to talk about them.
Robin agrees that she should infiltrate the church, even though Strike’s newly discovered half-sister warns them of the great danger involved.
Robin goes ahead regardless. This brings into sharp focus the true nature of Strike’s feelings towards her — the leitmotif of all the stories. It is moving, gripping and terrifying — if a touch long.
The Confession Room
by Lia Middleton
(Penguin £8.99, 368pp)
(Penguin £8.99, 368pp)
A high concept story from talented criminal barrister Middleton tells the story of Emilia Hayes, a former Met detective who has left the force in the wake of the death of her sister Sophie. She blames herself, insisting that she could have saved her.
Emilia takes solace in the internet, only to discover a creepy site that seems to ask killers to confess to murders.
It emerges that rather than confessions, they are warnings and the individuals named become the victims of the murderer or murderers.
Emilia cannot suppress her desire to find the room in which the victims are kept before their deaths. The murders continue until Emilia is named as a victim. The story bristles with dread and threat — it is not for a dark autumn night.
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