We’re celebrating Crime Month here at Booktopia for all of July with a collection of the best in recent crime fiction! Here to help us celebrate is Dervla McTiernan, author of the sensational and bestselling Detective Cormac Reilly novels.
Dervla’s on the blog today to show us her ultimate crime bookshelf – the books that have become her absolute favourites from the genre. Read on …
The Force
by Don Winslow
I read this book in 2018 and it knocked my socks off. It was my first Don Winslow, which is probably why I’m recommending it before his hugely successful Border trilogy. A fast, powerful utter car crash of a story, this is a ride you get on and can’t even THINK about getting off until it’s over. Mind-blowingly good.
Buy it here
How the Dead Speak
by Val McDermid
I’ve been a fan of Val McDermid for as long as I can remember. She’s one of those writers I run to the bookshop for. Her writing is such a joy; sharp, fresh, always intelligent, and her characters are unforgettable. In How the Dead Speak she’s put her main characters in a seemingly impossible position for the very start and with the twistiest of mysteries to solve. Genius.
Buy it here
My Sister, the Serial Killer
by Oyinkan Braithwaite
This one is short, sharp and so so fresh. The voice is awfully clever and darkly comic in the best way. Our protagonist has a sister with a murderous instinct, one she helps clean up after, quite literally. When her sister’s activities come a bit too close to home things get even more interesting. Loved it!
Buy it here
The Hidden Hours
by Sara Foster
All of Sara Foster’s books are gorgeously written, and this one is no exception. The flash back story in this book will absolutely break your heart, while the main story line will keep you turning pages at pace! Arabella Lane, executive publisher, is found dead in the Thames the morning after a Christmas party, and Eleanor may have been the last person to see her alive. A little bird tells me The Hidden Hours may be coming to our TV screens in the near future. Yay! Read it now and get ahead!
Buy it here
The Defence
by Steve Cavanaugh
Steve is just so damn good – he’s the king of high stakes, clever crime fiction. I strongly recommend starting with The Defence (the first Eddie Flynn novel) because once you start you’re going to want to read them all. Eddie Flynn is a former con man turned lawyer who isn’t afraid to use old skills in his new game. This is a super fast paced and incredibly fun read.
Buy it here
The Death of Mrs Westaway
by Ruth Ware
I have fallen in love with Ruth Ware’s books. They are just an absolute pleasure – the kind of book you curl up with on the couch and before you know it the day has passed. This one starts with Harriet Westaway, broke and in trouble, getting a letter telling her she will receive a bequest from her wealthy grandmother (spoiler – not her grandmother). Hooked!
Buy it here
Bluebird, Bluebird
by Attica Locke
Attica Locke won virtually every major American crime award going with this book, published in 2017, and for good reason. It’s literary crime at its best. Compelling reading with beautiful writing and extraordinary scene setting. Darren Mathews, Texas ranger, has to solve the murder of a black lawyer from Chicago and a local white woman while navigating racial tensions. Completely immersive.
Buy it here
Dervla McTiernan
About the Author
Born in County Cork, Ireland, to a family of seven, Dervla McTiernan practised as a corporate lawyer for twelve years. Following the global financial crisis, she moved with her family to Western Australia, where she now lives with her husband and two children. An avid fan of crime and detective novels from childhood, Dervla now writes full time.
Dervla McTiernan’s debut novel, The Ruin, was a critically acclaimed international bestseller published around the world. The Ruin won the Ned Kelly Award for Best First Fiction, the Davitt Award for Best Adult Fiction and the Barry Award for Best Original Paperback, and was shortlisted for numerous other awards. It was on the Amazon US Best Book of the Year list in 2018 and screen rights were snapped up by Hopscotch Features.
Dervla’s second book, The Scholar, debuted into the Nielsen Bookscan Top 5 on release in 2019, and her third, The Good Turn, went straight to no.1, confirming her place as one of Australia’s best crime writers.
The Good Turn
Police corruption, an investigation that ends in tragedy and the mystery of a little girl's silence - three unconnected events that will prove to be linked by one small town.
While Detective Cormac Reilly faces enemies at work and trouble in his personal life, Garda Peter Fisher is relocated out of Galway with the threat of prosecution hanging over his head. But even that is not as terrible as having to work for his overbearing father, the local copper for the pretty seaside town of Roundstone...
Winners Announced for 2018 CWA Dagger Awards
Comments
No comments