This semester I’ve been given the task of writing either an original Fantasy piece or a Crime. Admittedly, my passion lies with the first, however, having written so many Fantasy pieces this year, I’ve given myself the extra challenge of writing in a genre I hardly read.
This meant I had to go shopping for a few research materials, and I’m really excited about my choices! I’m hoping to read as much Crime as possible within the next month or so, considering I’m supposed to be writing my piece as soon as possible, so hopefully I’ll have more of an understanding of the genre soon. Anyway, here’s the books I picked up in my local Waterstones.
Friend Request | Laura Marshall
Published: 2017, by Sphere.
Pages: 371
Format: Paperback
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Fiction, Mystery Thriller, Contemporary
Summary: Maria Weston wants to be friends with me.
Maybe that had been the problem all along: Maria Weston had wanted to be friends with me, but I let her down.
She’s been hovering at the edge of my consciousness for all of my adult life, although I’ve been good at keeping her out, just a blurred shadow in the corner of my eye, almost but not quite out of sight.
Maria Weston wants to be friends.
But Maria Weston has been dead for more than twenty-five years.
I managed to get this book in a ‘buy one, get one half price’ offer’ and it sounds super creepy. I’m so excited to read it. I’m not entirely sure whether the recent film of the same name has any connection to this book, I can’t find any information connecting the two, but either way I’m really curious about the direction this story will go.
Jack the Ripper: Case Closed | Gyles Brandreth
Published: 2017, by Corsair.
Pages: 351
Format: Paperback
Genre: Mystery, Crime, Historical, Historical Fiction
Summary: London. 1894.
‘I am not a detective, chief constable.’
‘No, but you are a poet, a freemason and a man of the world. All useful qualifications for the business in hand.’
So says Police Chief Macnaghten to Oscar Wilde, in a Chelsea drawing room in the company of Arthur Conan Doyle. The business they are gathered to discuss is none other than the case of Jack the Ripper, the most notorious murderer in England.
And thus the three men set out to solve one of the world’s most famous mysteries – the ultimate truth about the identity of Jack the Ripper.
This was my second choice in the book deal, and I couldn’t be happier with my decision. Anyone who knows me knows about my fascination with Jack the Ripper, watching and reading anything involving the notorious killer, and this book sounds perfect for me. Being advertised as based on the friendship between Wilde and Conan Doyle, two incredible creators, and merging them with the Ripper investigation sounds like an incredible read.
Stalker | Lars Kepler
Published: 2017, by Harper Collins.
Pages: 585
Format: Paperback
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Fiction
Summary: A film arrives at Stockholm’s National Crime Investigation Department showing a woman in her own home, plainly unaware she is being watched. The police don’t take it seriously… until she is found murdered.
When the next video arrives, Detective Margot Silverman frantically attempts to identify the victim. But they’re already dead. Because at the time the video was sent, the killer was already inside their house…
Soon Stockholm is in the grip of terror. Who will the Stalker target next?
This book sounds terrifying, so I had to own it. It’s the largest of all the books I bought, yet is one I’m most excited for. The reviews online are mostly positive, so I’m desperately hoping it lives up to expectation.
The Black Country | Alex Grecian
Published: 2013, by Penguin Books.
Pages: 416
Format: Paperback
Genre: Mystery, Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Crime, Historical Mystery
Summary: Blackhampton. The Midlands, 1890. Three people are missing. London’s Murder Squad sends two detectives… They find a town of superstition, secrets and conspiracy. The icy and crumbling coal-mining village to which Inspector Walter Day and Sargeant Hammersmith have been despatched does not welcome outsiders. Tread carefully and they may catch the killer. But a wrong step will mean never seeing home again…
The idea of a historical crime during a super interesting time in Black Country history sounds like a really cripping story. I’m really excited about this one, yet the popular low reviews are a little disheartening. Hopefully, it’ll prove them wrong to me. Plus, I’m getting serious Peaky Blinders vibes from the cover.
Ragdoll | Daniel Cole
Published: 2017, by Trapeze.
Pages: 376
Format: Paperback
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Crime, Fiction, Mystery Thriller
Summary: A body is discovered with the dismembered parts of six victims stitched together, nicknamed the ‘Ragdoll’ by the media.
assigned to the shocking case are Detective William Fawkes, recently reinstated to the London Met, and his former partner Detective Emily Baxter.
The ‘Ragdoll Killer’ taunts the police by releasing a list of names to the media, and the dates on which he intends to murder them.
With six people to save, can Fawkes and Baxter catch a killer when the world is watching their every move?
This book was recommended to me by a friend from University and it sounds so creepy. It seems very Frankenstein/Coraline-like and I can’t wait to read it. It might even be my next read.
A Little Fool Reads 
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