The Chase by Felix Francis, hardback, £20
Art gallery owner Fabian Tulley fears someone is trying to ruin his business when he’s accused of selling a fake Sir Alfred Munnings painting. Then some of his other artworks are vandalised at his stand at Cheltenham racecourse and two men try to run him down in its car park. At the same time his regular clients are threatened and told to stay away from his gallery in London’s Mayfair and his landlords try to terminate his lease.
Despite everything, Fabian is determined to save his life’s work by proving he is innocent of art fraud and unmasking those targeting him. In doing so he will face the fight of his life. The Chase is an engaging and tense thriller providing intriguing insights into the art world, with plenty of twists and turns to keep readers gripped. Will delight the author’s loyal fans. 7/10
A Knock at the Door by Louise Candlish, Hardback, £16.99
The undisputed queen of suburban suspense returns with another fabulous page turner so thrilling it should come with a health warning for readers with heart conditions. Candlish is expert at creating and sustaining tension, then tipping you off your chair with a shock twist, and this might be her best book yet. Eighteen years after three-year-old Tippi Macklin went missing on a weekend break with her parents, they receive a knock at their south London door. She’s back. Or is she.
The woman claiming to be their lost daughter says a DNA test will support her claim and Jed and Gabby desperately want it to be her. But what follows will upend everyone’s expectations. Pacy plotting, a highly believable narrative and a series of twists that will have you second-guessing yourself, Candlish has done it again. 8/10
The Odessa Assassin by Frederick Forsyth and Tony Kent, Hardback, £22
Having collaborated with Freddie Forsyth on a sequel to his acclaimed 1972 political thriller The Odessa File with last year’s Revenge of Odessa – sadly published after the author’s death at the age of 86 – Tony Kent returns with the explosive finale to their planned trilogy. Taking place in the immediate aftermath of the first sequel, The Odessa Assassin contains more than a flick of another of Forsyth’s iconic novels, The Day of the Jackal. But this time it’s the US president in the cross-hairs of an assassin’s rifle scope – with a group of Nazis waiting in the wings to take control of the White House. What happens next will change everything.
Kent, bestselling creator of the Dempsey and Devlin novels, channels Forsyth while bringing his own blend of action-packed drama to create an old-school thriller with 21st century sensibilities. A must read. 8/10
The Hollow by Michael Connelly, Hardback, £22
The neglect, loneliness and violence suffered by hard-nosed LA detective turned private investigator Harry Bosch after he was orphaned aged 11 by his mother’s murder and placed in the grim MacLaren Children’s Hall has cast a long shadow over his life. Now in his seventies, the financial settlement following a class-action lawsuit against the county forces him to confront memories of ‘the hollow’ – the cramped, airless space where difficult children were punished.
As ever, Harry is more interested in justice than money, specifically the death of his friend and fellow inmate ‘Chops’ Lamb which was covered up at the time. But can old files reveal the identity of a predator? Connelly draws on a real-life $4billion settlement for victims of LA children’s home abuse last year to propel the plot of his 26th Bosch novel. Connelly takes crime writing to another level. 9/10
