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“The theatre has never been any good since the actors became gentlemen.” – W.H. Auden

Welcome to this month’s selection of newly acquired crime and thriller titles. As always, we have a host of likely looking suspects in this month’s particular book line-up.

One particular title that caught our eye was  The Innocents by Bridget Walsh; a novel in which a series  of grisly murders occur in a down-at-heel music hall in London. During the Victorian era, music halls were the pre-eminent form of  mass entertainment and very big business. Every city and town had one or more of these fine establishments. Their heyday predated both cinema and recording technology and they were the place people went to see both the superstars and novelty acts of the day. The bill usually featured a variety of turns to ensure every taste was catered for, ranging from magic acts, singers and dancers to trick cyclists and comedians.  Once cinema technology evolved and took hold, many of the theatres embraced and converted to the new medium, and whilst music halls hung on for a while, its days as the major popular entertainment form were numbered.

To see our full list of selected titles and borrow any that interest you, just browse below.

The innocents / Walsh, Bridget
“The Variety Palace Music Hall is in trouble, due in no small part to a gruesome spate of murders that unfolded around it a few months previously. Between writing, managing the music hall and trying to dissuade her boss from installing a water tank in the building, Minnie Ward has her hands full. Her complicated relationship with detective Albert Easterbrook doesn’t even bear thinking about. But when a new string of murders tears through London, Minnie and Albert are thrown together once more. Strangely, the crimes seem to link back to a tragedy that took place fourteen years ago, leaving 183 children dead. And given that the incident touched so many people’s lives, everyone is a suspect .” (Adapted from Catalogue)

A better class of criminal / Kelly, Cristian
“A seemingly foolproof plan to make some quick money turns into a race for their lives… It’s the mid-nineties and methamphetamine casts its shadow over the Californian city of Santa Lucía. Nathan, happy running a small marijuana grow operation with his two best friends, takes advantage of meth’s rise in popularity and makes a lucrative one-time deal. Betrayed, beaten, and desperate… But a devastating betrayal leaves him entangled with the city’s merciless crime boss. Risking everything, Nathan and his friends embark on a wild plan to steal millions of dollars’ worth of diamonds to settle the debt. Caught in the crosshairs of corrupt cops, a relentless Russian henchman and his temptress partner, they face setbacks at every turn as they pursue the diamonds across the city. As the death toll rises, can Nathan save them all before the real bad guys find them?” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Sibanda and the night adder / Elliott, C. M.
“Two murders occur in Gubu village, hours apart, embroiling Detective Inspector Sibanda, Sergeant Ncube and Miss Daisy in the murky world of blood diamonds. Before long, Sibanda is on the run, accused of the murders. He escapes to the wilderness. Pursued by the armed and threatening CIO and an assortment of government agents, he is forced to survive in the dangerous environment of wild animals and wilder weather. Sibanda heads north to Victoria Falls. His many murder suspects are gathered there. He must use all his cunning and legendary detection skills to find the real killer and clear his name. ” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Dagger of death at Honeychurch Hall / Dennison, Hannah
“Is it a question of turn the other cheek– or an eye for an eye? At last St Mary’s church is going to have its own vicar! Not only that, the gorgeous Reverend Pritchard is sixty, single and in need of a wife. But when he spearheads a campaign to restore a derelict chapel — rumoured to be haunted by a German Luftwaffe pilot — in a far-flung corner of the Honeychurch estate, the Dowager Countess puts her foot down. But nobody quite understands why. Meanwhile, a fierce bidding war at an auction of military memorabilia ends in Kat’s female adversary being murdered and Kat being held as the prime suspect. And then it turns out that several of the auctioned items are connected to Operation Tiger, a doomed rehearsal for the D-Day landings that took place in nearby Slapton Sands all those years ago. And Kat begins to realise that the vicar, the Luftwaffe ghost and all the World War II weaponry may all somehow be related.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The clock struck murder / Webb, Betty
“Expat Zoe Barlow has settled well into her artist’s life among the Lost Generation in 1920s Paris. When a too-tipsy guest at her weekly poker game breaks Zoe’s favorite clock, she’s off to a Montparnasse flea market to bargain with the vendor Laurette for a replacement. What Zoe didn’t bargain for was the lost Chagall painting that’s been used like a rag to wrap her purchases! Eager to learn whether Laurette has more Chagalls lying about like trash, Zoe sets off to track her down at her storage shed. With no Laurette in sight, Zoe snoops around and indeed finds several additional Chagalls–and then she finds Laurette herself, dead beneath a scrap heap, her beautiful face bashed in…” (Adapted from Catalogue)

White as snow / Lilja Sigurðardóttir
“On a snowy winter morning, an abandoned shipping container is discovered near Reykjavík. Inside are the bodies of five young women – one of them barely alive. As Icelandic Police detective Daníel struggles to investigate the most brutal crime of his career, Áróra looks into the background of a suspicious man, who turns out to be engaged to Daníel’s former wife, and the connections don’t stop there… As the temperature drops and the 24-hour darkness and freezing snow hamper their efforts, their investigations become increasingly dangerous… for everyone.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Murder at Bletchley Park / Koning, Christina
“Spring, 1941. The Second World War has entered a dangerous phase, with British ships being torpedoed in the Atlantic and nightly bombing raids on major ports. At Bletchley Park, top secret home of the nation’s code-breakers, the race is on to crack the German Enigma code and thus prevent further naval and military losses. This endeavour is suddenly very close to home for Frederick Rowlands, blind veteran of the Great War, when his daughter, Margaret, who works at ‘the Park’ as a cryptographer, is arrested on suspicion of betraying secrets to the enemy. Then a young woman is found murdered, and Rowlands is drawn into a deadly battle of wits where he must decode a series of clues that will lead him to the killer and enable him to discover the real traitor at Bletchley Park.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

Close to death / Horowitz, Anthony
“Richmond, London. Six attractive houses are tucked away in an exclusive and very upmarket gated community: Riverview Close. Surrounded by flowers and shrubbery, they’re sealed off from the busy main road and the realities of urban life. At weekends, with the gate locked, the residents enjoy the sound of birdsong, the whirr of mowers, the occasional snatch of opera through an open window. Everyone knows each other. Everyone gets on. That is, until the Kenworthys arrive. With their four gas-guzzling cars, their noisy children and their plans to build a swimming pool in their garden, they quickly offend every one of their neighbours. When Giles Kenworthy is found dead in his hallway, the bolt of a crossbow through his throat, Daniel Hawthorne is called in. But how do you solve a murder when everyone has the same motive?” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eAudiobook.