CRIME  | Daily Mail Online

WE BEGIN AT THE END

by Chris Whitaker (Zaffre £14.99, 464 pp)

This heart-rending story set in one of the poorest parts of rural America is among the most powerful and moving I have read in years. 

Three decades ago, Vincent King killed a young woman, but now he has served his time and returned to his hometown of Cape Haven, California.

Unsurprisingly not everyone is pleased to see him, especially his deeply troubled ex-girlfriend Star Radley, sister of the girl he killed. She is being looked after by her 13-year-old daughter Duchess — who calls herself an ‘outlaw’, but is also caring for her mentally challenged younger brother.

All these major characters are immaculately drawn. The intrepid Duchess wants nothing more than to protect her mother and brother, but sadly succeeds only in bringing them and the town to the brink of destruction.

Written with the panache of James Lee Burke, it’s so gripping that I read it twice — with tears in my eyes.

MORTMAIN HALL

by Martin Edwards (Head of Zeus £18.99, 416 pp)

The multi-award-winning Edwards launched a distinctly sparky female detective, Rachel Savernake, daughter of an Old Bailey judge, in his last book and here she reappears in even more spectacular form.

Set in 1930, this opens with a trial at the Old Bailey and a man accused of the so-called ‘blazing car’ murder unexpectedly being found innocent.

There’s also a suspicious death on the Necropolis Railway which transports bodies to Brookwood Cemetery, the largest in England.

Enter young journalist Jacob Flint, reporting the trial for his paper — only to find himself framed for murder — as well as an idiosyncratic female criminologist with an estate on the North Yorkshire coast, Mortmain Hall. Inevitably the story culminates there, with the discovery of a body at the foot of the cliffs, and the suspects staying as guests. This is an old-fashioned mystery with a string of very modern twists, making Ms Savernake a Miss Marple for the 21st century.

WHEN ANGELS SLEEP

by Mark Griffin (Piatkus £7.99, 416 pp)

A second outing for Griffin’s troubled yet brilliant criminal psychologist Holly Wakefield does not disappoint. Here she confronts a serial killer working on the edges of London, who likes to hide in plain sight.

A boy’s body is discovered in Epping Forest. He has been posed, with a pillow under his head and an angel pendant clasped in his hand. DI Bishop of the Met calls in Wakefield to help him understand the killer’s motivation and ensure he does not strike again.

She fails to do that and puts herself in harm’s way as she tries to catch a man who likes nothing more than to manipulate the police.

Once an LA-based screenwriter, Griffin nods to Hollywood in his creation of the killer, but adds layers of depravity for Wakefield to confront in her search for him. Not bedtime reading perhaps, but this stark and haunting story lives on in the mind.