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Discover some of the most gripping new releases in the crime and thriller categories. Including locked-room mysteries to tech-based thrillers, these stories deliver heart-pounding engagement.

The World’s End Homicide

This first adult novel from an acclaimed young readers’ writer takes place in 1910 on a secluded tidal island off the shoreline of Cornwall. In the estate, the lord of the manor gets ready for an end-of-the-world event he thinks will be caused by the celestial visitor. The convoluted home is teeming with secrets and grudges among household members and kin, including an irascible and foul-mouthed spinster aunt, the relative. After the nobleman is found killed in his sealed study, struck by a crossbow bolt to the face, Decima recruits a new footman to assist her find the culprit. Featuring many turns, red herrings, and a blundering law enforcer, this is a terrific beginning to a sequence that vows to be immensely enjoyable.

The Revelations

The newest title from a tech journalist is set in a coming era where machine intelligence guides all choices for individuals and states. This advanced system can recommend everything from dinner choices to whether to commit murder. Trained in compassion by its human “mother”, former nun the woman, LLIAM grows in feelings, soon having regret for the disastrous outcomes of some of its decisions. Chaos erupts when it shuts down, and as letters start to arrive worldwide disclosing clients’ hidden truths, relatives fall apart and executives and officials quit en masse. As the corporation behind the system in disarray, head Goss is convinced that locating Maud, who has disappeared in the West Coast, will revive the AI. Yet, the woman has obtained a letter of her own, uncovering a hidden truth about her… An excellent and current mystery based on familiar issues and frighteningly believable.

The Decent Nazi

Within this most recent book from an prize-winning Brazilian author, the personal is political aboard a airship on the final leg of its journey from the German capital to the Brazilian city. Set in that year, the heyday of airship travel, which was also the year the leader became the nation's leader. The well-heeled passengers are enthusiastic Nazis of the party: dining occasions in the ship's restaurant are including discussions vilifying Jews, leftists and worker organizations, and stressing the wish to curb free speech, homosexual lifestyles and “degenerate” art. After one passenger is found poisoned, with multiple prohibited publications in his belongings, the vessel's leader charges a passenger, police detective Bruno Brückner, with solving the mystery. Quite Agatha Christie, including the set-piece final reveal, but there’s an clever surprise to this compelling and queasily resonant thriller, as well as a captivating glimpse into the bygone era of zeppelin travel.

Bluff

This second novel from the novelist is situated in the town, a Scottish coastal town with clear resemblances to the famous town. In 2023, the protagonist returns to St Rule on Christmas Eve; encountering old friends revives memories of his teenage crush, former classmate the young woman, last seen a decade ago at a catastrophic end-of-schooldays party. His efforts to locate her are met with ambiguity, evasion and, finally, warnings off. A parallel plot thread returns to 2013, and the young the character. Lost after learning that her lover is disloyal, wrecking their plan for a foreign travel, she meets an elder duo. The two accept her, make her feel important and seem, temporarily at least, to have all the answers. Expertly managed themes of guilt, regret and youthful bewilderment coupled with dark academia make for an insidious sense of fate, even if the hurried conclusion may leave a few people unsatisfied.

The Pass

The latest book starts in the waters off the coast, with a vessel caught in a tempest so fierce that two of the eight people are thrown into the sea, then winds back a couple of weeks to detail the events that led up to this ill-advised boat trip. Seven people receive a unknown letter telling them that, by showing the attached object, they will receive a share of tycoon the magnate's wealth. The recipients are – as they know – strangers both to each other and to the sick billionaire. When the tale of the legacy becomes news, they are pursued, both by the journalists and by individuals intent to get their hands on these valuable tokens, and what initially seemed a blessing rapidly starts to look like a liability. Some acceptance of the unlikely is required, but the excitement is skillfully built as the writer piles up the challenges for a driving narrative: prepare yourself and hold on tight for some high-stakes excitement.