WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
Crime fiction with Mat Coward: September 19, 2023
A crime wave like no other includes narratives from JL Blackhurst, Stella Blomkvist, Linwood Barclay, Chris Nickson
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
JL BLACKHURST, author of THREE CARD MURDER (HQ, £8.99), must have a degree in Fun Engineering, judging by the way she’s constructed this multi-faceted delight for crime fans.
It’s set in Brighton, where acting DI Fox is in charge of a murder inquiry for the first time — and it turns out to be a locked-room mystery, just the sort of insoluble puzzle that could ruin her career. When she finds out who the victim is, she has bigger things to worry about, and no choice but to re-establish contact with her sister. Sarah isn’t a cop: she’s the best con-woman on the south coast.
Long cons, grifters, no less than three impossible crimes, conspiracy, serial killing and police procedure – this book’s got it all.
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