It's been a long, hot summer for many of us, but cooler days are ahead. Even better, super cool books are here right now! We've collected a number of them for your reading pleasure.

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‘I write historical murder mysteries,’ I told the old neighbour I hadn’t met since we were children.

‘Brilliant,’ he said. ‘Do you write anything Viking? I love Vikings!’

‘Of course not,’ I wanted to say, but managed to restrain myself. How could you write a murder mystery about Vikings? Surely they just walloped each other with axes and that was the end of it, no mystery involved?

So why am I here writing the sixth in my murder mystery series set in Viking Orkney?

Well, a visit to the Jorvik Centre in York showed me that Norse society, once they had done a bit of raiding, was a lot more regulated than I had thought. Further reading, about metalwork and weaving, the details of clothing and cooking, the sophistication of sails and sagas, and I was prepared to admit that where there are people, there is love and hate, jealousy and greed, and murder. 

And where there is a code of laws, that murder will be investigated.

For someone like me who had pretty much devoured everything Georgian since I was ten, and was writing two series set in Georgian Scotland, it was a bit of a shock to find out just how much I had to learn in short order about Vikings. But it was such good fun! I’ve already had a go at all the wool crafts that one of my main characters practices to support herself, tried out Viking recipes, worked silver to make a penannular brooch, Viking style, and had a session of axe throwing. Maybe I enjoyed that last one a bit too much!

And Orkney, as other authors know, is a character in itself. If nothing else, the books are really just an excuse to revisit again and again (though I’m not as good a sailor as my characters, unfortunately). In Viking times, under Earl Thorfinn Sigurdarson, Orkney was key to his extensive realm, reaching down, on a good day, as far as Ipswich on one side and Dublin on the other, under only the nominal headship of King Harald of Norway. We’re on the cusp of the change from the old religion to Christianity, with all the tension that can bring. And childhood friends Sigrid, the grumpy wool-working widow, and Ketil, Thorfinn’s warrior at large, can solve all the murders that come their way, as long as they’re still talking to each other.

And yes, the first book in the series, Tomb for an Eagle, is dedicated to that old neighbour.

Read more about Lexie and her books here.

Tomb for an Eagle is available now from The Kellas Cat Press, and you can purchase it here.

My first international publication is unique to me for several reasons.

First of all, there is the personal inspiration behind the novel. According to the acknowledgements, it is dedicated to my mother and grandmother—and that is no accident. The first part of my story, the divorce between the heroine, Ria, and her husband, János, actually happened to my grandmother and mother in the 1970s, when my mother was four years old. In fact, the whole process of losing almost everything became her very first memory, and I bet my mother will never forget how she cried on my grandmother’s shoulder while all the furniture was being taken from their apartment.

Second of all, Black Heart is my first story ever without any kind of supernatural element. In Hungary, I am mainly known as a horror writer, but with this novel I felt it wasn't necessary to use anything like that. What's more, I simply wanted to make Ria's story more realistic and believable. That is why the traumas of the Second World War and the dark period that followed in my home country were also a great inspiration. It was such a terrible time—there are many horrific events we should never forget, and I am glad they became an important part of the novel.

I guess I have to mention Stephen King, because everything started with him—he inspired me to start writing. I remember I was fifteen when I read Misery, and I was terrified! And I am telling you this because, for me, Black Heart's antagonist, Margit, the mother-in-law, is like Annie Wilkes from Misery. I am sure no one is more evil and terrifying than Annie, but believe me when I say that Margit comes very close!

I just hope English readers will find Black Heart interesting and entertaining. Anyway, if you read it someday, don't forget to let me know!

Read more about Peter and his books here.

Black Heart asks how far a mother will go to protect her child when the greatest danger comes from within the family. Black Heart  is available now from Vulpine Books, and you can purchase it here.

Author 1: When they were researching one of their novels, they found an advertisement from 1885 for ‘Cocaine Toothache Drops’ featuring happy little children on the label.  

Author 2: When Author 2 was 11 years old, they won first prize in a national poetry competition in the UK. It fueled their desire to become a professional writer, but when the local newspaper announced they were publishing their piece, they were horrified to see they’d printed the runner-up’s work instead. This must have stayed with them all these years, as they've finally included a plot about the theft and misuse of intellectual property in their latest novel. 

Author 3: Author 3 can scuba dive, shoot a gun, and parachute out of a plane.

Author 4: Author 4 was a bartender 15 years ago. They heard many interesting stories and experienced many funny situations—one day, they are going to turn them into a novel.

Author 5: Author 5 has shot for Scotland (targets, not people!)

Female Rage is having a moment.

You might think that women have always had things to be angry about, but it’s specifically having a moment when it comes to crime fiction.

There’s a very particular sub-genre of revenge thriller in which a woman has been served so much injustice by the world, by society and by some very bad men, that she decides conventional justice has failed and she must go on a killing spree.

Examples that you might have seen: Sweetpea by CJ Skuse – a successful book series which has also been adapted for TV. How to Kill Your Family by Bella Mackie. My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite.

What I especially enjoy about these books is that they are a joyful romp. They take the reader on a fantasy journey where no holds are barred. It’s as if we’ve all been on the edge of our seats just waiting for the chance to go and right some wrongs with maximum violence. A collective shout of ‘enough of this!’ because our patience has worn thin.

It’s not that the readers of these books are ready to be trained in the art of becoming serial killers. It’s that the balance needs to be redressed. Women are long overdue their chance for revenge. John Wick, Taken and Death Wish have satisfied the male yearning for revenge. Well, now it’s our turn. 

Permission to get murdery.

And they are funny. Many of these books are comedies. They are dark and quite murderous, but they will make you laugh. We don’t recoil from what our protagonist is doing - we cheer for her, we laugh with her and we want to see what she’ll do next. 

She’s driven not just by truly horrible outrages, but also everyday irritations. You know the ones. Mansplaining, being interrupted, being ignored, being talked over – but then there will be something genuinely unforgivable. The combination is what makes them relatable. Typically written as a first person narrative, so we’re riding along with that marvelous sense of immediacy.

So I just couldn’t help myself. I had to write one. And writing it was like scratching an itch. When words pour out of you so fast that you can barely type to keep up with them – it was like that. And so much cheaper than therapy…

If I Don't Kill them...Who Will?  By Beck Lewis is available now, and you can purchase it here.

The Margery Allingham Short Mystery Competition awards the best short mystery -- 3,500 words or less -- that fulfills Margery Allingham's definition of mystery. That is: The Mystery remains box-shaped, at once a prison and a refuge. Its four walls are, roughly, a Crime, a Mystery, an Enquiry and a Conclusion with an Element of Satisfaction in it.

The contest is open to both published and unpublished authors, however the story itself must be unpublished (and written in English). Prizes include £500 cash and one year's membership in the Crime Writers' Association. Deadline: 29 January 2027.

You can find more information here.

The Emerging Author Dagger is a contest for unpublished, unagented writers currently working on a crime novel. Sponsored by Fiction Feedback Literary Consultancy, the contest judges the first 3,000 words of a crime novel and a 1,500 word synopsis. The deadline is 29 January 2027.

Prizes include £500 cash and one year's membership in the Crime Writers' Association. In addition, shortlisted entries are sent to agents and publishers who have asked to see them. 

For more information, see this page.

By the time we were halfway through the Covid pandemic, I’d already published three psychological suspense novels, with two more waiting to be released. To raise moods, including my own, I decided to write something less dark that would bring a smile to readers, while still remaining firmly entrenched in the genre of crime fiction. 

In Confessions of a Crime Writer, my protagonist Nigel Inchcock thinks he is a debonair, talented crime writer working on the world’s next number one bestselling thriller. But he is far from it. In his early thirties and still living with his ageing mother, his writing career is taking a little time to kick-start, as he is mostly occupied with his over-inflated ego and a number of female distractions in his life. From attempting to woo library assistants and literary agents, to becoming a victim of his own research, we follow Nigel on the start of his turbulent journey through the bewildering world of publication. 

While attending several crime writing festivals, Nigel befriends octogenarian author Edith Sparrow, after which his writing career takes an unusual turn. An accidental murder, the unintentional theft of a manuscript and the devious misuse of the work of another author, leads to a series of unexpected publishing scandals that will rock Nigel’s world.

I’ve attended many crime writing events where readers have told me they’d love to read a novel in the festival setting they can relate to, involving well-known authors they both read and revere. Perhaps the most famous annual writing festival in the UK is Theakston’s Crime Festival in Harrogate. I decided this was where the unfortunate demise of a publishing professional should happen. There are a few cameo appearances by bestselling authors we know and love. 

After the publication of Yellowface by R.F.Kuang, it also became apparent that readers are fascinated with the publishing processes behind bestselling novels, and how those processes might be compromised and misused. Adding to a couple of real-life plagiarism scandals, it led to the crime satire plotting of Confessions of a Crime Writer. I also wanted to bring the tongue-in-cheek humour of a Richard Osman or Robert Thorogood cosy mystery to readers.

An early section was long-listed in the short story category in Helen Lederer’s Comedy Women in Print. If you pick up Nigel’s story, I hope it will make you laugh out loud, as several reviewers have already reported.

Read more about Louise and her books here.

Confessions of a Crime Writer is available now from Mana Publishing, and you can purchase it here.

The Wrong Girl is a a domestic suspense thriller. A 15-year-old girl is hiding from her biological father in an exclusive boarding school for difficult girls in New Zealand. She changed her name and hair, but she lives with her getaway bag packed. When another girl at the school is found in a coma, the question has to be asked: did the father poison the wrong girl by mistake? 

Set at an exclusive New Zealand boarding school, THE WRONG GIRL by Yvonne Eve Walus takes readers deep into a world where nothing is as it seems, and everyone has something to hide. Walus’s fascinating setting, twisty plot, and complicated characters make this book a must-read. -- Karen Dionne, ajuthor of The March King's Daughter

Yvonne Walus’s latest thriller is a clever, fast-paced story about identity, temptation, and deceit. The Wrong Girl has everything: a great plot, a colourful cast of characters, an intriguing setting.  A real page-turner. -- Rose Carlyle, author of the international bestseller The Girl in the Mirror

Intricately plotted and well-written, The Wrong Girl is a fascinating take on a world where appearances can be deceiving, everyone is up to something, and only Constable Zero Zimmerman, in the middle of a messy mix of her own personal problems, can sort out what's true. -- Ellen Baker, author of The Hidden Life of Cecily Larson

Read more about Yvonne and her books here, and purchase The Wrong Girl  here.

Murder and a Bathing Box

Melbourne 1928. A raging storm sweeps the beach at Brighton, toppling one of the bathing boxes and revealing the graves of J. Arnold Witherspoon, a successful businessman, and his wife, Hope. Crime reporter Reggie da Costa, devotee of fashionable suits and stylish automobiles, uncovers an intriguing mystery: How can the Witherspoons be controlling their financial affairs and property holdings from abroad if they are lying dead under the sand? 

Complicating matters, a respected shipping company owner, while attempting to rob a bank, turns the gun on himself. Is there a connection between these bizarre deaths? Can Reggie uncover the truth? 

The Bathing Box Murders, the sixth in the Reggie da Costa Mysteries, is coming from Historia: Level Best Books on 18 August.  Read more about Laraine and her books here.