What have library staff been reading this year? Check out some of our favourite books for 2018 here.

Crime:

If you'd like to check out these books, click the cover and it will take you to the Catalogue.

If I Run - Terri Blackstock

A great Christian mystery read. Casey Cox is falsely accused of murder, and is on the run from crooked police while trying to find evidence that she did not commit the crime. The first of the If I Run series. Couldn’t put it down. Debbie

Leave No Trace - Mindy Mejia

Leave no trace focusses on two main characters who have both been affected by tragedy. Their paths cross when they meet in a psychiatric institute- therapist Maya Stark is tasked with helping Lucas Blackthorn, who has spent 10 years living in the wilderness. Mental illness is portrayed in a sympathetic way when Maya discovers the truth of her mother’s disappearance. Apparently this book has been made into a film which was shown at the recent International Film Festival. A novel of suspense which keeps the reader engaged, with a twist in the tail. Irene

Marlborough Man - Alan Carter

Set in the Marlborough sounds, this book deservedly won the Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime novel in 2018. It tells the story of a British police detective who has moved to New Zealand to hide from criminals he has pursued in the past, and his investigation of a series of murders the Sounds. Wonderful description and understanding of New Zealand social and physical landscape, as well as a great plot and couldn’t-put-it down pace. Sarah

Murder Mile - Lynda La Plante

The fourth in the Jane Tennison series, set in 1979, where Jane has been made a Detective Sergeant and has been posted to Peckham CID.  Great description of characters and backgrounds, so in your mind you can imagine what they look and act like. Jeanette

Persons Unknown - Susie Steiner

Having left the Met police for Cambridgeshire in order to give her adopted 12-year-old son a new start, detective Manon Bradshaw finds things aren't going as planned. Her son is being bullied, she's single and pregnant, and most troubling, someone close to her family has been murdered and the police think her son may be involved. Well written and plotted, covering fascinating social justice issues, Manon is the classic dysfunctional but brilliant detective. Try this if you enjoy police procedurals mixed with plenty of insight into the detectives’ personal life. Jenny

Rubbernecker - Belinda Bauer

I loved this highly unusual crime story, it is told from the perspective of two protagonists. One is Sam, a man in a coma, and the second is Patrick who has Asperger’s syndrome. Patrick is accepted into medical school where he begins to suspect that something strange is going on in with the cadaver he has to dissect for anatomy. Meanwhile Sam is trapped in his unresponsive body and all is not as it should be on the coma ward. Eventually the two stories collide in unexpected and satisfying ways. Jenny

Sharp Objects - Gillian Flynn

Camille Preaker is damaged. Growing up in a Southern small town, she did what she could to survive her affluent but sadistic home. Now a journalist at a Chicago newspaper, she is sent back home to report on the murders of two young girls. She finds herself falling back into the rhythm of pain familiar from her youth, struggling to comprehend how it links her to the girls’ deaths. A slow burning but compelling read, read the book and then watch the magnificent tv production. Eimear

Two Girls Down - Louisa Luna

Two girls are kidnapped and bounty hunter Alice Vega and ex-cop Max Caplan begin to find clues the police are missing. Fast paced and full of suspense and twists. Amy

Wild Fire - Ann Cleeves

Latest and last of the Shetland novels, featuring Detective Jimmy Perez.  Crime novel set on Shetland Islands, wonderful description of characters and background. Ann Cleeves also writes the Vera Stanthorpe series. Jeanette