STEVE ANDREW enjoys an account of the many communities that flourished independently of and in resistance to the empires of old
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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
TOM STONE urges you to catch the last dates of a New York singer/songwriter, never afraid to challenge her audiences musically or politically
JAN WOOLF examines work that aims to give viewers a material experience of the environments in the polar north and Britain equally affected by the climate crisis
The bard recalls advice received 50 years ago from his TRB muse, and sorts out appropriate legislation for football club ownership
MICHAL BONCZA and MARIA DUARTE review Facing War, Kontinental ’25, Bugonia, and Relay
MAYER WAKEFIELD is frustrated by a production of Ibsen’s classic study of an anti-heroine that fails to elucidate her motivations
PETER MASON tunes his ear into the domestic affairs of a Carribbean couple with a troublesome son
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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