John Cleal
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Crime Review
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Articles by John Cleal
Atomic Love Review
This character-driven tale of America’s McCarthy era and its constant hunts for ‘Reds under every bed’ is as much social history and a vibrant and passionate love story as it is an espionage thriller. At times it’s very sexually colourful, at others mysteriously cloak and dagger, but it grips from start to finish.
The Diplomat's Wife
The story opens in 1936. Mussolini rules in Italy. Franco is winning the Spanish civil war. In Germany Hitler, having completed the Anschluss with Austria, is now eyeing Czechoslovakia. The only alternative to the seemingly unstoppable rise of fascism appears to be communism, an idea which attracts much attention from many among the high-minded British left wingers.
The Stranger Review
by Simon Conway MI6 agent Jude Lyon must deal with past events which threaten the credibility of his agency – and a terrifying new threat to the whole of the British establishment. Review Simon Conway – ex-Army officer, landmine and bomb clearance expert in Africa, Asia and the Middle East, director of strategy for the HALO Trust and co-chair of the Cluster Munition Coalition – has parlayed his knowledge into a series of espionage stories set against the background of the war against terrorism.
Wild Dog Review
French novelist and screenwriter Serge Joncour is a former philosophy student. His best-known film work is the 2011 Sarah’s Key which starred Kristin Scott Thomas. Wild Dog is the first of his novels published in English, and this original, beautifully written, sinister and savage tale owes much to the brilliance of its translators, Jane Aitken and Polly MacIntosh, who have not missed a single nuance while rendering it into clear and gripping language.
The Dead Line Review
by Holly Watt Journalist Casey Benedict, alerted to the possibility of a horrific trade in babies, embarks on a dangerous investigation. Review Holly Watt’s superb, brutal but compassionate globetrotting story To The Lions was one of the best crime debuts of last year, rewarded with the CWA Ian Fleming Steel Dagger and a shortlisting for the Wilbur Smith Adventure Writing award.
Kitty Peck and the Parliament of Shadows
In this final story in the brilliant Kitty Peck series, Kate Griffin succeeds triumphantly in that hardest of an author’s tasks – maintaining reader interest in a historical series building towards a pre-determined conclusion.
The Dirty Dozen Review
The fifth book in the series following the early years DCI Jane Tennison, the tough and capable protagonist of the brilliant ‘Prime Suspect’ TV series is yet another assured bestseller for the Queen of modern crime writing. Lynda La Plante has redefined the ‘procedural’ with these realistic and clever slices of contemporary police history, which highlight the successes – and failures – of Britain’s largest force, the Metropolitan Police.
Savages 2: The Spectre
After almost 15 years living in France, I can only say that Sabri Louatah’s four-volume clever, brutal and even at times funny, Saint-Étienne quartet is a stunningly true reflection of a country ill at ease with itself and lacking balance or direction. This epic centres on a working-class family of Algerian descent in Saint-Étienne, capital of the Loire department in the Massif Central of eastern France.
Diary of a Dead Man on Leave
David Downing’s previous novels have been set mainly during the World War I and the run-up to the second. This brilliant, largely introspective, standalone espionage story, so quiet and totally different in mood from his usual adventure-fuelled output, packs a far greater emotional punch. His knowledge of events, locations and circumstances is clearly the product of painstaking research.
The Fatherland Files
by Volker Kutscher When a drowned man is found in a freight elevator in a Berlin pleasure palace, Inspector Gereon Rath faces a case which leads him into confrontation with the rising Nazi party. Review Volker Kutcher’s series features the inner conflicts and moral ambiguities of Berlin Inspector Gereon Rath, which so accurately reflect the frailties and uncertainties of the failing Weimar Republic.
Whiskey When We're Dry
John Larison’s mould-breaking Western is a gritty and lyrical American epic which offers a fresh and very modern take on the myths surrounding the struggle to open up the largely untamed American west. The book’s unrelenting momentum and thoughtful exploration of questions of gender identity, race, power, and violence both celebrates and subverts the accepted version of the romance of the West.
The Crown Agent Review
by Stephen O'Rourke Disgraced young Edinburgh doctor Mungo Lyon is recruited by the Crown to investigate a murder and shipwreck. Review Forget the undoubted resemblance in both setting and plot to John Buchan’s brilliant The 39 Steps … This tale of mystery, murder and the ego-maniacal ambitions of a Highland lord, set half a century after the unsuccessful Jacobite Rebellion, stands triumphantly on its own as a piece of Boys’ Own Paper adventure/romance fiction.
The Blameless Dead
by Gary Haynes FBI Special Agent Carla Romero and lawyer Gabriel Hall are thrown together as they investigate a series of gruesome crimes that have their roots 70 years in the past. Review Although it contains a number of incredibly beautiful descriptive passages, Gary Haynes’ story of war, revenge and retribution could hardly be called a pretty book.
The Last Hunt Review
by Deon Meyer Captain Benny Griessel of South Africa’s elite Hawks police unit and his partner Vaughn Cupido are assigned to investigate the death of an ex-policeman and uncover a plot to kill the country’s corrupt president Review Afrikaans writer Deon Meyer has for long been the undisputed champion of South African crime fiction.
The Boy Who Fell
by Jo Spain The body of a teenage boy is found outside a deserted house where he had been partying with friends. Examination suggests he was raped before being pushed through a window to his death. His alleged attacker is in custody, but DCI Tom Reynolds has doubts. Review As much a whydunit as whodunit, this fifth story in Jo Spain’ s clever, compulsive and occasionally blackly comic DCI Tom Reynolds series is definitely crime fiction for grown-ups.
To Catch A Killer
by Emma Kavanagh Detective Sergeant Alice Parr is first attender at the attempted murder of an unidentified woman in a London park. As the case expands, she discovers she is chasing a killer, always one step ahead, with her own life in danger. Review Welsh author Emma Kavanagh spent the early part of her working life as a police and military psychologist, training firearms officers, command staff and military personnel.
Rogue Killer Review
by Leigh Russell Only Detective Sergeant Geraldine Steel thinks a murder is the work of a more deliberate killer. When two more victims die in similarly indiscriminate attacks, the spectre of a serial killer stalks York. Review Rogue killer? Rogue Cop might be a better description of this 12th of Leigh Russell’s Geraldine Steel series that has now been optioned by a TV production company.
A Death in Chelsea
Lynn Brittney’s second of her imaginative period Mayfair 100 series, set in London during the First World War, develops the story of the small team of professional policemen and educated women who are solving crimes. A society gossip writer is found hanged. She was probably the most hated woman in London and her aristocratic family are convinced she was murdered. Using their society contacts, they ask that the investigation is kept under the radar.
Dark City Review
by Simon Read Muggers, rapists, gangsters, looters and killers roamed the wartime streets full of vice girls and servicemen with money to burn. Some of the most violent and spectacular crimes and criminals of the period are revisited. Review Crime writer and reporter Simon Read paints a vivid picture of the other side of wartime London where, as the bombs fell, crime exploded.
The New Iberia Blues
Why does this 22nd story in the all-embracingly brilliant saga of Cajun detective Dave Robicheaux read like a swansong? Has the rugged-looking Texas-born James Lee Burke, surely the inspiration for the Marlboro cigarette cowboy, had enough now he is into his 80s?
To Kill the Truth
On Holocaust Memorial Day this year a survey showed five per cent of UK adults do not believe the horrific slaughter took place – and one in 12 believes its scale exaggerated. Almost two-thirds of those questioned could not say how many Jews were victims of the Nazi genocide or grossly under-estimated the number. That one fact makes Sam Bourne’s topical, morally serious and chillingly plausible conspiracy story an absolute must-read.
Date with Poison
by Julia Chapman PI Samson O’Brien is in deep trouble, framed by a gang out to destroy him. When his godson goes missing, accused of dealing drugs, can he persuade his estranged partner Delilah Metcalfe to help him find the boy? Review This clever, witty and realistic series is quite out of the ordinary and strongly recommended to anyone who wants a genuine, but not too cosy, cosy.
The Listeners Review
by Anthony J. Quinn Newly appointed Detective Sergeant Carla Herron is called to a psychiatric hospital after a patient confesses to murdering of one of the psychotherapists. His confession is detailed, but impossible, as he was in a secure ward under 24-hour surveillance. Review No-one does atmosphere and menace better than Anthony J Quinn.
In the Galway Silence
Bruen is one of Ireland’s most original voice in crime fiction, with his stunning, poetic look at the shadowy side of life. His precise, skeletal, yet strangely lyrical prose, unorthodox wordplay, dark-as-sin humour and wonderful evocation of the country and its people have carried this long-running series to triumph after triumph.
The Darkest Place
She’s looked at the darkest and most traumatic parts of Ireland’s history, highlighting the scandals and denials of church and state over mother and baby homes, the Magdalene Laundries and Industrial Schools, and in this fourth novel of the series she turns her attention to the even greater scandal of mental health.
Death Has Deep Roots
In 1947, Michael Gilbert, who had escaped a prisoner of war camp and trekked 500 miles through Italy to re-join his regiment, was accepted by a prestigious London law firm in Lincoln’s Inn, eventually becoming a partner and practising until retirement in 1983. Somehow, he always found time for his prolific writing – 30 novels, more than 150 short stories, stage, radio and television plays – during the commute by train from his Kent home to the office.
A Suspicion of Silver
After eight hugely enjoyable and successful adventures, swashbuckling Elizabethan courtier and cousin to the Queen of England Sir Robert Carey has managed to keep his head – and other parts of his body he considers rather more important! Now, as 1593 begins, the Deputy Warden of the West March is riding from Edinburgh on the trail of a killer who has twice tried to assassinate King James VI of Scotland – the man who will succeed the Virgin Queen and unite two nations who have been at war for...
The Unmourned Review
When Booker Prize-winning author Tom Keneally – his magnificent Schindler’s Ark translated onto the screen as the Academy Award-winning film Schindler’s List – gets together with his daughter Meg, a former journalist and radio producer, you expect sparks to fly. And so far their series featuring ticket-of-leave gentleman convict Hugh Monsarrat has not disappointed.
White Hot Silence
by Henry Porter Aid worker Anastasia Cristakos is kidnapped. Her billionaire husband hires ex-MI6 man Paul Sampson, her former lover, to find and free her. Review As a journalist Henry Porter covered stories such as the fall of the Berlin Wall, the Bosnian civil war, and the ongoing migrant crisis in Europe. All led to novels – the Wall prompted Brandenburg; Bosnia A Spy’s Life and the flight of hundreds of thousands from the war in Syria, Firefly.
What Lies Buried
by Margaret Kirk A ten-year-old girl disappears from a birthday party. Detective Inspector Lukas Mahler races against time to find her. But will her abductor stop at one child – and what is the connection with a murder from 70 years back? Review Highland writer Margaret Kirk is back with another hard-hitting and dark case for her conflicted ex-Met detective Lukas Mahler. Mahler has transferred to Police Scotland and is senior DI in Inverness, the capital of the Highlands.
The Conviction of Cora Burns
by Carolyn Kirby Cora Burns, born in a prison and raised in a workhouse, has always struggled to control a streak of violence. A new life as a servant in the home of a scientist gives her a chance of a future, but she soon suspects that she, like a young girl she has befriended, are subjects of a living experiment.
Dead at First Sight
Former head of Sussex CID, Kevin Moore, says the force’s current detection rate – less than one in ten crimes solved and at its lowest-ever level – is woeful.
Lost Creed Review
by Alex Kava A child trafficking bust sets K9 handler Ryder Creed on a search for his missing sister. Review Alex Kava’s 12-book series featured the brilliant, but brittle, FBI criminal profiler Maggie O’Dell. When Maggie could realistically go no further, she was absorbed into a new series whose main protagonist was Ryder Creed, the loner Marine search dog handler, injured in Afghanistan, who cares more for his rescue animals than for humans.
Deadland Review
William Shaw is at his best as he confronts feisty Kent Detective Sergeant Alexandra Cupidi with what must be the strangest case she has ever faced – a decomposing arm inside an exhibit in an art gallery! In what, as usual, is a moralistic but sympathetic look at the realities and challenges of modern policing, Shaw shines a harsh light on the darker side of British society, from its attitudes to disenfranchised youth, paroled sex offenders, migrant families, privilege and celebrity and...
The Teahouse Detective
Emma Magdolna Rozália Mária Jozefa Borbála Orczy de Orci, the Hungarian-born British novelist and playwright, is best known internationally for her series featuring the Scarlet Pimpernel, the alter ego of the handsome and wealthy English fop Sir Percy Blakeney, who rescues French aristocrats from the Revolution and who single-handedly launched the ‘hero with a secret identity’ sub-genre in popular culture.
The Middle Temple Murder
In this classic piece of detective fiction written more than a century ago, young sub-editor Frank Spargo is about to beget the most popular and enduring protagonist of the genre – the investigative journalist! While almost no real journalist, with one or two outstanding exceptions, has ever fought and outwitted dim police, evil spies, vicious murderers and other criminal ne’er-do-wells or saved the planet, their literary counterparts do so on exponentially increasing occasions.
Give Up the Dead
Aussie-born CB Hanley, who holds a PhD in Medieval Studies specialising in warfare in the 12th and 13th centuries, has published non-fiction history for academic and general audiences, as well as a brilliant medieval mystery series. She conjures up the 13th century with flair, combining detailed knowledge with imaginative and gripping stories covering all parts of a divided society which keep the reader guessing to the end. In 1217 England is wracked by civil war.
The Blue Review
As a cynical former soldier and an even more cynical crime and investigative reporter, I’m not too easily impressed by love stories, no matter how exciting and well researched the background.
The Librarian of Auschwitz
If politicians and educationalists are as keen on countering the rise of neo-Nazism as they claim, this horrifying – yet at the same time life-affirming story of survival and courage – should become a fixture on the GCSE syllabus.
Rather to be Pitied
by Jan Newton DS Julie Kite, settling into her new job in rural Wales, is faced with a murder mystery which will test her abilities to the full. Review The second DS Julie Kite mystery does not disappoint. The genesis of its oblique title is explained on the final page of what is a smart and often edgy follow-up to Remember No More from a writer showing confidence and ambition. And it’s also good news for her publishers – a community co-operative set up to encourage and promote Welsh women writers.
Murder in Belgravia
Lynn Brittney’s imaginative Mayfair 100 series, set in London during the first world war, tells the story of the small team of professional policemen and educated women in solving crimes. The team is the secret project of Commissioner Sir Edward Henry, considered one of the Met’s greatest leaders and innovators, who during his 15-year tenure from 1903, dragged the police into the 20th century.
Murder Mile Review
Lynda La Plante, queen of the procedural, continues her stately progress through the career of her most memorable character, DCI Jane Tennison. This fourth prequel of Tennison’s rise to become the tough, effective squad boss of the TV hit Prime Suspect in which she was so brilliantly portrayed by Helen Mirren is as good as anything she has done.
A Single Source Review
This is not so much a novel as contemporary history thinly disguised in literary form – and apart from being totally gripping, is an absolute must read for anyone with the slightest interest in events which still resonate in a key part of the world.
A Necessary Murder
by M.J. Tjia Courtesan/detective Heloise Chancey must solve a baffling series of brutal murders which appear to have their origin in events many years ago in the Far East.
Newcomer Review
Review Mineko Mitsui is found dead in her Tokyo apartment. She had got divorced about six months earlier, she lived alone and worked as a translator. She seemed to be popular with the few friends she had. Her ex-husband and son had alibis and had not been in touch for months. An investigation task force is set up, but the detective who makes the most progress is Kyoichiro Kaga, a junior sergeant recently assigned to Nihonbashi precinct.
The Confessions of Frannie Langton
Slave narratives usually try to inform white readers about the suffering of the enslaved slaves and stress the abolitionist cause. That will tell you what happened to someone, but not much about who they were. Early black chroniclers spent much of their energy addressing their problems. Even modern writers fall into the same trap, reducing characters to mere stereotypes from whom no one expects anything other than suffering.
The Chemical Detective
Whatever I say, I’m bound to be accused of being patronising or sexist, so I’ll get my excuses in early! A feminist action thriller with a principal to rival Bond, Bourne or Reacher is long overdue. But Fiona Erskine’s kick-off to a series featuring Dr Jaq Silver, scientist, skier, international jet-setter, explosives expert and very much a 21st century woman with what could be described as a healthy social life, doesn’t quite cut it.
What Might Have Been
What can you say about Ernest Bramah’s remarkable 1907 political thriller set in an alternative England fewer than ten years in the future – but still applicable today?
The Moscow Offensive
by Dale Brown The Russians have reverse engineered the futuristic Cybernetic Infantry Devices which halted their advances in Europe – and now president Gennadiy Gryzlov launches hidden attacks on an unprepared America.
Kill For Me Review
If your idea of ‘fun’ – one early reader’s comment – is a description of a beautiful women using her manicured nails to rip out the tongue of an employee purely to set an example to encourage the others, then this latest episode in Tom Wood’s Victor series will be a must-read.
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