BRITISH CRIME WRAP-UP: MAY 2026 – NEW BOOKS FROM CHRIS BROOKMYRE, C. B. EVERETT & STUART MACBRIDE

A quick wrap up of three recent British releases that offer very different takes on the crime novel.

C. B. Everett, aka Martyn Waites, has followed up last year’s dream-like The Other People, with another highly original tale about identity and crime, which will keep you curiously turning the pages to find out what is going on.

The Final Chapter, (Simon & Schuster, 7 May 2026), is a clever book-within-a-book thriller, with the author also being a main player in the story.

Ten years ago, a bestselling, critically acclaimed literary author, Jon Durward, disappeared without a trace, and without a final novel. When the missing last novel, Russian Dolls, finally surfaces, the publishers are surprised that it is not another genius work of literary fiction, but an espionage novel full of all-too-stereotypical spycraft and James Bond-like twists. The publisher asks the author’s best friend, and fellow author, C.B. Everett to read and annotate the novel with details from real life to give the strange novel context within Durward’s larger oeuvre. But as Everett reads, he finds that the espionage thriller is filled with references to events and people who feel a little too familiar, and soon he’s wondering if the novel might in fact be a key to his missing friend’s disappearance.

So basically, you have a reasonably familiar spy story about a British assassin who wants out from his work, being broken up by notes by Everett, which very quickly become the main focus of the book. While the spy story proceeds in a satisfactorily manner, although presumably trimmed down for space reasons, the other plot line about Everett’s and Durward’s increasingly complex relationship becomes more compelling.

The book starts a little slowly, but Everett has a very engaging style that keeps you interested in what is going on. Both of the plot lines have twists and turns in them, and the endings to both are entertaining, and, in the case of the spy tale, reasonably tense. The increasingly complex relationship between Durward and Everett is also of interest, and is enhanced by fascinating insights into the writing and publishing worlds. The views of both authors on genre vs literary fiction is frank and refreshing, and the mechanics of publishing and selling books are a revealing. There are also humorous reflections on editors, which are worth reading.

In all, I found The Final Chapter to be very entertaining. The book’s meta approach makes it hard to get too engaged with the characters in the spy story, you are constantly being reminded that it is just a novel, but it is enjoyable and the double ending is interesting. As a portrait of two obsessed authors, it is compelling, and parts of the final conclusion were very surprising. Recommended for those who enjoy something different in their crime reading.

The Final Chapter was released in the United Kingdom in early May 2026. It will be released in the United States on 2 June 2026.

Chris Brookmyre’s last book, The Cracked Mirror (2024), also drastically played around with the conventions of the crime genre, however, with his new novel, Quite Ugly One Evening (Abacus, 7 May 2026), he is back on familiar territory with a new Jack Parlabane mystery.

Thirty years after journalist Parlabane’s first appearance in Quite Ugly One Morning, he returns in a new case that echoes in some ways his first, with a locked room mystery and Jack as the main suspect. The details of the plot are relatively complex, but in essence they involve a murder on a cruise ship at sea, another old murder that was never solved, possible Russian agents and a ‘Succession-like’ dispute over a multi-million dollar media enterprise centred on a 1960s puppet television show, similar to The Thunderbirds, that is being dragged into a ‘woke’ new world.

The plot takes a little while to put into place, but once underway it flows at a decent pace, with the usual surprises and a couple of shocks. The large cast of characters, and their various relationships, require some close attention to keep them clear and the central premise stretches credibility at times. As usual with Brookmyre’s books, there is a lot of political reflection and Trump comes in for some well-deserved commentary: “a racist sociopath sex predator wreaking worldwide havoc”. There are also some sharp social observations. In all, an enjoyable read.

Fans of Mr Brookmyre’s books will appreciate this latest outing, as will anyone interested in good, intelligent mystery writing.

Quite Ugly One Evening was released on 7 May 2026.

Stuart MacBride has already given us one Roberta Steel story this year, with the novella And The Corpse Wore Tartan, and has now followed it up with the substantially longer Blood, Rust, And Steel (Macmillan, 26 May 2026).

Acting Detective Inspector Roberta Steel is finally retiring. After thirty years of policing Aberdeen’s underbelly, she is all set for her twilight years to feature gardening gloves, afternoon tea, crosswords puzzles, and shouting at the telly. So when a body turns up in a wheelie bin, it looks like an excellent way to round off her career and go out with a bang. However, there is also the matter of a stabbing at a political rally and an explosion. Meanwhile the members of her unofficial crime support group, the Queen Street Irregulars, also increasingly become caught up in events.

Those who have encountered Roberta before will know what to expect. There is a lot of swearing, inappropriate comments, good humour and a decent mystery kicking around. There is also an abundance of Scottish atmosphere, and some pointed observations. The plot is always interesting and the story builds to a good conclusion.

Regular readers of MacBride’s books will love this one and bemoan the possible end of Roberta’s career. Recommended.

Blood, Rust, And Steel is released in Australia on 26 May 2026 and in the United Kingdom on 21 May 2026.

Here is a link to my review of And The Corpse Wore Tartan from earlier this year: https://murdermayhemandlongdogs.com/deadly-weddings-castles-and-retirement-homes-2026-british-crime-by-fergus-craig-stuart-macbride-c-l-miller/