The Fourth Victim

In The Fourth Victim, a new crime novel by John Mead, we are introduced to Detective Sergeant Julie Lukula.

Sergeant Lukula is facing a problem. Inspector Matthew Merry has decided to ascribe the murder of a young female jogger to being that of a mugging gone.

But Julie is not convinced. She believes that the victim was targeted by a killer. There have been three deaths, two families have suffered grievous losses and one murder team who are dealing with what could be an unknown number of murderers.

Set in a modern Whitechapel that, although it is subject to improvements and gentrification, there's still a seedy underside, drug dealers, prostitution and murders.

Julie does not think that there's any danger of her inspector setting the murder team alight. But was she correct in her judgment of him? After all, he had made it as far as an Inspector.

And the case, or cases, were far more complex than the police could have realised.

Who were the killers? Why did there seem to be so many of them? What were their motives? And what was the role of the therapist, Dr Hassan? What did she know? Anything? Or was she in the dark, too?

And what, exactly, did Julie have to hide? And were other members of the team compromised, too?

This is a highly complex, yet very credible crime thriller from established crime writer John Mead, author of The Hanging Women.

The Fourth Victim is published by The Book Guild at £8.99 and will  probably find its way into luggage for the Summer holidays.

Legend of the Lost

Legend of the Lost is a new magical adventure tale from debut children's author Ian P. Buckingham.

The story begins in a very ordinary way. As all good stories do. Holly and Lucy Savage are on holiday at Mermaid Cottage in a pretty Cornish fishing village.

As they explore their surroundings the two girls discover a Moonstone with magical powers. And it reveals wonderful things to them but also about them.

The family find themselves on a journey through Ashridge Forest, as they proceed on their journey quest they discover amazing powers and artefacts that are imbued with magical powers.

With the help of these powerful artefacts they learn of the past of their own family and find themselves in a world of fairies, changelings and magical beings.

But they find that not everyone or everything they meet on their journey is very friendly. In fact, there are some who are downright hostile to the family and who wish them harm.

And they find themselves pitched into a war with evil forces. But they must reach ruinous Castle of the Black Prince, where they will join a battle against dark forces.

But what is it about their family that makes them so unique. Will they learn the truth of their family history?

This book is published by The Book Guild and costs £7.99.

The Holy Longing

The Holy Longing is a debut collection of poems form actress and poet Vera Graziadei.

Wow. Just absolutely... wow! I just went for an invigorating, yet also relaxing, swim in a warm sea made up entirely of words, thoughts, ideas and emotions.

Vera's poems are unique. They compel, they learn, yet they also teach at the same time. By accident instead of "teach" I typed "reach." And yet I quickly realised that this was no mistake, for the poems of this remarkable person also "reach", too. They reach forward and upward, but also backward, as well.

There's love, pain loss, humility, grace, passion, spirit and spirituality in these poems.

In these poems you will learn, live and love.

There's not one style of poetry in this remarkable collection, not one form or format. Which helps to make the collection of poems come alive with crackling vibrancy.

It's published by Matador at £8.99. If you only ever buy one book of poetry in your life, please let this be that one book of poems. You'll not regret your decision. Honestly.

Sir Humphrey's Last Stand

In Sir Humphrey's Last Stand we meet Sir Humphrey was is, as it happens, making his last stand.

The book is set in Medieval times, but experts in the history of those far off, distant times might be in for a bit of a torrid time as the author, Jonathan Forth, cheerfully acknowledges that his book has only a somewhat limited grip on history and reality and perhaps might upset the more literalist of its readers.

However, having said that, there is much to recommend this book to the reader.

The French Kings has decided to remove the English. And he has, pretty much, succeeded in his aim. Pretty much? Yes, pretty much, because there's the somewhat inconvenient fact that Sir Humphrey and his merry, or morose, men on Mon St Bernard are still on French soil.

The King has sent his spies to infiltrate the English camp at Mont St Bernard but their Continental good looks and charming ways have caused the hearts of the lustful (but unfulfilled)  women of the castle to flutter more than a little bit.

The area's Mayor is in a quandary, to be frank. He doesn't know if he should support the English or the French.

However, on to the scene come a knight and a lady. Can they save the day? What can the pirates and the parrot do? And what was that man doing with a human foot in his pocket? And why did the butcher want with it?

The best way to describe this book is that it's a bit of a madcap romp. And that it's probably not too far removed from the reality of Medieval life.

It costs £9.99 and is published by Matador.

The Slow Death of Maxwell Carrick

The Slow Death of Maxwell Carrick is a new novel from well-known author Jan Harvey.

Martha Nelson is a journalist. Or rather, she was a journalist until she decided to retire.

But now Martha is feeling at a bit of a loss over what to do with the rest of her life, adapting to the quieter life of not being a harassed and on deadline journalist.

So when the local history group ask her if she would like to compile a book about the history of the village she lives in, she is delighted.

She then accidentally finds the ruinous Lapston Manor and finds a frisson of interest. Why was the manor allowed to fall into decay?

Talk of unexpected deaths and the change of ownership of the property and a mysterious woman called Madam Roussell add fire to the journalistic ideal of getting to the heart of any story!

And, as with many good stories, the seeds of it were sown in the past. Not the distant past in this case, but the more recent past, during the closing days of the Second World War.

The villagers and inhabitants of Lapston were captivated and intrigued by the arrival of a mysterious and extremely beautiful woman called Cecile Roussell who has arrived from Paris to visit the home of her dearly loved 'Henri'.

The family of the man they know as Henry and their companion, Maxwell Carrick, seem to be in her thrall, or certain they are somewhat in awe of her.

But strange things are coming ot the surface and all is not quite what it appears with their beautiful visitor. And soon the family and those closest to them are torn asunder by the person who they, perhaps unwisely, welcomed inot their family bosom.

The book is very well researched and also very well written. Jan Harvey brings her characters to vibrant life.

It's published by Troubador at £9.99.

The Spell of Whirldungen

The Spell of Whirldungen is a novel for children aged nine years and over from A. J. Madelin.

Young Chris Spratt gets a life-changing letter delivered to him during the summer holidays.

He, with his friends Rosie, Ollie and Will, are all given special places at a rather unusual school called Cluifers, which is under the control of Dr. Black.

Whilst at the school they discover that Dr Black is a wicked person who, using his magical powers, created the school with the sole purpose of destroying them.

They realise that, in order to defeat Dr Black, they must find a rather nasty spell, the spell of Whirldungen, before Dr Black finds it

But where, exactly, is the spell? Aided by their magical friends, the shape-shifting moggy-clogs, Chris' very own personal genie and a talking book (a talking book who knew Chris' missing father) you'll travel on a mystical and scary journey with Chris and his friends as they have to make their way to the wonderful Library of Leaves which is in the Academy of Mandria, a magical, yet also somewhat risky place to be in.

There are gargoyles with the distressing habit of coming to life, clothing with the ability to kill you, not to mention the spell they are trying to find, Chris and his band of friends and helpers are on a very dangerous path. But it's a path that they must follow if they are to defeat the vile and evil Dr Black.

But can they succeed? Read this book with your children (It's a great book for sharing) and find out!

It's published by Matador at £8.99.

Inferno Inside You

Inferno Inside You Is a unique book that is a synthesis of the talents of author Peter Jobling and artist Monika Konieczna.

It is an amazing reinterpretation of Dante's Comedy. In his original work Dante referred to the chapters of his book songs.

In it, art and literature marry and produce some excellent offspring.

This new book contains the first 17 songs of The Comedy Project, making up the first part of the Inferno Inside You.

Is it designed as an art book which contains a saga? Or a Saga which contains an art book? In truth, both descriptions would be valid.

It takes you through the remarkable stories that were fundamental to the messages that Dante wished to convey to readers.

It's about folks and their ways, about love, envy, greed, the human condition, in short.

It's a great book, large in format and beautifully bound with a hard cover.

It's published by Matador at £21.00 and deserves to have a wide readership.