The Bureau by Eoin McNamee (Riverrun, £18.99)
Known for his psychologically acute literary reimaginings of real crimes, Irish writer McNamee prefers to explore implications than journey towards a neat ending, and his work is all the better for it. The crime at the heart of The Bureau is fictional, but the narrative has a family connection and the younger McNamee appears as a character. It’s set in 1980s Newry, a Northern Irish city whose proximity to both the border and the Irish sea makes it ideal for criminal enterprises ranging from doctored fuel to bootleg alcohol, the proceeds laundered through the eponymous bureau de change. As the mistress of gangster Paddy Farrell, Lorraine occupies her own morally dubious border space. The murder-suicide, described at the start, looks like a drastic attempt on her part to place the pair of them on an equal footing, but there are enough anomalies to leave room for doubt. This is an astonishingly powerful portrait of a time and place saturated in sentimentality and cruelty, where, despite the ever-present sectarianism, “nobody was on anyone’s side”.
The Mouthless Dead by Anthony Quinn (Abacus, £20)
When Julia Wallace was battered to death in Liverpool in 1931, the guilty party was initially thought to be her husband, William. His alibi involved a telephone message from one RM Qualtrough, summoning him to a fictitious address to discuss business. Qualtrough was never found, but the lack of evidence against Wallace meant his conviction was overturned on appeal. The case, described by Raymond Chandler as “the nonpareil of murder mysteries”, became a cause célèbre. As in John Hutton’s excellent 1979 fictionalisation, 29 Herriott Street, Quinn employs the device of having an interested party looking back at the case. On a voyage to New York, former CID officer Key regales fellow passengers with his part in the story and it gradually becomes clear that he is privy to rather more inside information than came out in court. Well imagined, well researched and well written, The Mouthless Dead provides a highly entertaining – if highly unlikely – solution to a famous unsolved murder.
Killer Potential by Hannah Deitch (Weidenfeld & Nicolson, £16.99)
Evie Gordon excelled as a student, but at 29, having failed to launch in the world of work, she is drowning in debt and working as a private tutor to the bored offspring of California’s super-rich. Arriving at the Beverly Hills mansion of student Serena Victor, she finds the place empty but for the corpses of Mr and Mrs Victor and a woman trapped in a cupboard under the stairs. After Evie frees the captive the two women are forced to flee; they traverse the US in a series of stolen cars, the subject of a national manhunt, but the woman remains mute. However, adversity forges strong bonds, and the truth gradually begins to emerge. Part road movie, part psychodrama, this tense and pacy debut is a total page-turner.
The Grapevine by Kate Kemp (Phoenix, £18.99)
Set in Canberra in the summer of 1979, this is the story of how a small community reacts to a murder. We have an idea of who may be most involved from the off, when we are shown housewife Naomi frantically scrubbing gouts of blood off her bathroom tiles at 3.15am, but it’s a slow burn, with details of how- and whydunnit gradually unfolding. Antonio Marrietti’s various body parts are gradually discovered and secrets are revealed as the story focuses on multiple characters, including lonely 12-year-old Tammy, who turns her attentions from the ant colony in her back yard to solving the murder. Her well-meaning efforts end up exposing rather more than she expects, bringing ugly undercurrents of misogyny, homophobia and racism to the surface. All of this is extremely well rendered, and, while the ending isn’t entirely plausible, this dry, sharp and atmospheric debut is well worth the read.
Death at the White Hart by Chris Chibnall (Michael Joseph, £16.99)
In the first novel from the creator of Broadchurch, a Dorset man’s body is found in the middle of a country road tied to a chair and crowned with stag antlers. The scenery may be picturesque, but this is no rural idyll, with many of the characters, from Eddie the overworked delivery driver to publican and murder victim Jim Tiernan, struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile DS Nicola Bridge, newly returned to her childhood home from Liverpool, is trying to solve the case with nothing like the resources she was promised – and practically everybody she meets seems to have something to hide. A strong pace, good characterisation and an excellent sense of place get this projected series off to a flying start.