Everybody Knows by Jordan H The Last Devil to Die by Richard O You’d Look Better As a Ghost by Joanna W The Winter List by SG MacL Tell Me Your Secrets by Mel McGrathEverybody Knows by Jordan Harper (Faber, £8.99)
Hollywood publicist Mae Pruett works for a crisis management company where “the only job is to disconnect power from responsibility”. Her ex-boyfriend, a former cop, has a similarly morally sordid job with a security company that “fixes” things – sometimes using physical force – for its high-value clients. When Mae’s boss Dan is murdered, shortly after inviting her to join his mysterious and possibly illegal side-hustle, the pair end up investigating, working against the system they formerly sustained. Cinematic and insightful, with one-liners worthy of Raymond Chandler on a good day and a sprawling plot that unfolds in a James Ellroyesque underworld of sexual predators, crooked police officers and unscrupulous wheeler-dealers, Everybody Knows is a tour de force.The Last Devil to Die by Richard Osman (Viking, £22)
In the latest of Osman’s turbo-selling Thursday Murder Club series, the four resourceful pensioners from Kentish retirement village Coopers Chase look into the killing of antiques dealer Kuldesh Sharma, with help from friends including police officers, former KGB operatives and criminals. Kuldesh, who helped the Murder Clubbers with their previous investigation, was found shot in the head, and the mysterious package he’d been tasked with taking care of has gone missing. The body count grows as plot strands multiply to include art forgery and romance fraud – new Coopers Chase resident Mervyn Collins is having an online “relationship” with a financially rapacious Lithuanian called Tatiana. There is also a moving and sensitively written subplot involving former spy Elizabeth Best and her husband Stephen, as they face his advancing dementia. The Last Devil to Die is as warm-hearted and entertaining as its three predecessors, but as the characters’ backgrounds are only sketchily rendered, newcomers to the series will be better off starting with an earlier title. Continue reading...
Thursday 21 September 2023
theguardian - 6 days ago
The best recent crime and thrillers – review roundup
Latest News
Rupert Murdoch stepping down as Fox and News Corp chair, with son Lachlan taking over – live
- theguardian Heavy metal and macho writers: how Germany’s #MeToo moment is finally taking off | Fatma Aydemir
- theguardian Tesla is the next biggest union target in the United States. Sorry, Elon Musk | Hamilton Nolan
- theguardian House Republicans tee up defense bill vote as government shutdown looms – US politics live
- theguardian UK carmakers could face big fines if less than 22% of new vehicles sold aren’t electric
- theguardian Celebrity Race Across the World review – Harry from McFly’s mum absolutely makes this adorable show
- theguardian Dining across the divide: ‘We had a real difference of opinion about the limits of democracy’
- theguardian Europe once welcomed me. Today, I fear it would not – and that’s a threat to all of us | Shada Islam
- theguardian Ireland s agriculture students to get 22 livestock simulators to learn how to handle cattle
- thejournal Tom Clonan: There is a real danger now of serious injuries or fatalities at a far-right protest
- thejournal Owners of New Zealand volcano that fatally erupted deny responsibility for visitor safety
- theguardian India suspends visa services in Canada as rift widens over killing of Sikh Canadian citizen
- thejournal Biden’s UN speech barely mentioned Russia and China. That’s no coincidence | Rajan Menon and Daniel R DePetris
- theguardian If Russell Brand’s interview with Jimmy Savile happened today, we’d be thankful for the Twitterstorm
- theguardian How we met: ‘I smuggled cognac into hospital for him - and poured it when the nurses weren’t looking’
- theguardian Nick Grimshaw and Annie Mac: ‘If you think something is terrible you have to be able to say it’
- theguardian From Halloween to Hogmanay: seven menus for autumn and winter festivals – and the drinks to pair them with
- theguardian Inside the Tory climate soap opera this week: ‘The WhatsApp groups are a bloodbath’ | Katy Balls
- theguardian Europe’s politicians have moral responsibility to tackle air pollution, says WHO environment director
- theguardian Debate the law and the age of consent all you want, but there’s no doubt about what’s creepy | Emma Brockes
- theguardian ‘She plays the moderate but winks at those who are not’: the many faces of Giorgia Meloni
- theguardian
The Guardian view on Nagorno-Karabakh: a ceasefire is needed, but it’s not a solution | Editorial
- theguardianRupert Murdoch thought $787.5m Dominion suit would cost Fox $50m, Michael Wolff book says
- theguardianThe Guardian view on diluting net zero targets: bad economics dictated by cynical politics | Editorial
- theguardianRishi Sunak’s government risks looking incapable of honouring a commitment | Nils Pratley
- theguardianI saw Chelsea in 1960 and was struck by a thunderbolt of instant adoration | Andy Hamilton
- theguardianSunak’s net zero U-turn is so toxic that it’s united Green MPs and car manufacturers against him | Caroline Lucas
- theguardian
Report finds Olympic eventing chief breached trust during investigation into training methods
- thejournal Death of Indigenous mental health patient in Darwin hospital due to ‘litany of failures’, inquest told
- theguardian The Lesson review – amusing but contrived literary thriller about family tragedy and vengeful ambition
- theguardian If the UN charter means anything, the security council must intervene in Sudan | Adama Dieng
- theguardian The 2000s lad culture that Russell Brand epitomised wasn’t funny then. It looks even more hideous with hindsight | Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett
- theguardian ‘When you say you are Roma, you have to work twice as hard’: Małgorzata Mirga-Tas, outsider at the heart of Polish art
- theguardian ‘The love for music is still there’: saving the sounds of Afghanistan one cassette at a time
- theguardian Russia-Ukraine war live: 14 injured in Russian strikes on Kyiv, Kharkiv and Ch Zelenskiy to meet Biden
- theguardian Estranged son of Thai King Vajiralongkorn says discussion of the monarchy should be allowed
- theguardian French government defends arrest of teen in classroom over transgender bullying claims
- theguardian Liz Truss’s comeback defies all belief – until you understand the rotten forces making it possible | Zoe Williams
- theguardian Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law? review – the bravest, most anguished TV of the year
- theguardian Celebrity Race Across the World, review: a fascinating peek at celebrities family relationships
- telegraph Chris Packham: Is It Time to Break the Law? review: this desperate plea was uncomfortable viewing
- telegraph Sources