Storm Child by Michael Robotham (Hachette, $37.99)
Despite setting most of his books in the UK rather than the Outback, Sydney author Michael Robotham’s fourth thriller starring forensic psychologist Cyrus Haven and enigmatic “human lie detector” Evie Cormac is a landmark in an outstanding series. When Cyrus and Evie visit the Lincolnshire seaside, only to witness a horrifying tragedy as bodies wash up on the beach, Evie becomes catatonic, overwhelmed by nightmarish flashbacks. Cyrus, who has his own traumatic past and was a protégé of Robotham’s long-time protagonist Joe O’Loughlin, knows Evie was held prisoner as a child, likely trafficked, but not from where. As the pair try to piece together Evie’s splintered memories while Cyrus helps the police deal with the latest attack on desperate refugees, it becomes clear that evil deeds past and present are linked. Robotham weaves together ripped-from-the-headlines issues of real importance with an entertaining, thought-provoking storyline and characters who make you care deeply.
Woman, Missing by Sherryl Clark (HQ Fiction, $36.99)
Now living in Northland after spending decades in Australia, Kiwi author Sherryl Clark delivers plenty of action and thrills in her latest novel and introduces a gutsy new heroine with plenty of series potential. On her first day working for a Melbourne private investigations firm, Lou Alcott is tasked with two tricky cases. The suspicious parents of Diane Paterson, a woman who’s vanished – leaving a freezer full of prepared meals behind for her distraught husband and children – are looking for answers. Melinda, a nervous woman new in town, needs a house security check, worried her abusive ex in Sydney may be stalking her again. But are Lou’s past dealings with domestic abusers clouding her judgment? They led to the termination of her police career, despite her father’s high rank. Then Melinda also goes missing. Is Lou too late to save her? Meanwhile, Lou’s beloved grandfather, a notorious Melbourne crime boss, is in grave danger. Clark draws readers in with a good set-up and fascinating heroine, and keeps the pages turning with plenty of action and intrigue.
The Spy by Ajay Chowdhury (Harvill Secker, $38)
Readers first met disgraced Kolkata detective Kamil Rahman in tech-entrepreneur-turned-crime writer Ajay Chowdhury’s award-winning debut The Waiter. Kamil was eking out a new life in a friend’s Indian restaurant in London’s Brick Lane before murder intervened. As the moreish series has grown, Kamil has returned to policing with the Met, and in The Spy, he’s recruited by MI5 to infiltrate a terrorist cell. Meanwhile, some things haven’t changed, including his complicated relationship with his friend and restaurateur Anjoli, who once again is drawn into amateur sleuthing as she starts to investigate the kidnapping of a teenage boy. As Kamil’s discoveries lead abroad, into the brutality and suffering of the long-running Kashmir conflict, he and Anjoli face grave danger. Chowdhury crafts another engrossing, highly readable tale that delves into some of the darkest issues while providing light through the humour and heart of the characters and sensory food scenes.
