MAJOR NEW CRIME RELEASES FOR OCTOBER 2024: NEW BOOKS BY RICHARD OSMAN, MICHAEL CONNELLY AND CHRISTIAN WHITE

September is typically the beginning of the big pre-Christmas crime releases, and this year is no exception. We have already seen new books by Ann Cleeves, Peter May and Lee Child this month, and over the next few weeks we have new books coming by Richard Osman, Michael Connelly, Chris Hammer, Ian Rankin, Dave Warner, Peter James and Pip Drysdale, to name a few.

I have been fortunate enough to read a few of the forthcoming releases already, and they have not disappointed!

Leading the flood of new releases is the latest offering by America’s leading crime writer, Michael Connelly. The Waiting, (Allen & Unwin, 15 October 2024), is billed as a Renée Ballard and Harry Bosch novel, but it is very much Ballard’s story

The Waiting opens with Ballard, head of the LAPD’s Open-Unsolved Unit, waiting for an early morning wave before returning to the beach to find her car broken into and her badge, gun, and ID gone. She should report the thefts, but she is worried that in doing so she will give her many enemies in the department the ammunition they need to end her career as a detective. Instead she works the burglary alone, but her solo mission leads her into greater danger than she anticipates. In desperation she turns to Harry Bosch for help.

Meanwhile, Ballard and her team get a hot shot DNA connection between a recently arrested man and a serial rapist and murderer who went quiet twenty years ago. The arrested man is only twenty-three, so the genetic link must be familial. It is his father who was the Pillowcase Rapist, responsible for a five-year reign of terror. But when Ballard and her team move in on their suspect, they encounter a baffling web of secrets and legal hurdles. Adding complications is Ballard’s decision to take on a new volunteer to the cold case unit. Bosch’s daughter Maddie wants to supplement her work as a patrol officer on the night beat by investigating cases with Ballard. But Renée soon learns that Maddie has an ulterior motive for getting access to the Unit’s repository of cold cases.

This is one of Connelly’s better recent novels. The pacing is brisk from the get-go, with Ballard’s solo attempts to retrieve her stolen property giving the book early impetus, as well as allowing Connelly a clever way to involve the retired Bosch in the story. The principal cold case storyline is interesting, and the various twists and turns it takes showcases Connelly’s strong grasp of modern policing methods, legal issues and forensics. It also allows an interesting look back to the late 1990s and how people change over the years. In addition, there is an intriguing interlude involving a very old, real life cold case, that Ballard and Maddie get to solve.

The various storylines all end well, with more than a touch of sadness in one case. There is also an interesting window into Ballard’s personal life and her childhood.

In addition to good plotting, clever twists, nuanced characters and flashes of excitement, there are the other elements we have come to expect from Connelly. The descriptions of LA are vivid and evocative, with a tinge of anger over the city’s deterioration; the political observations, mainly on the rise of far right extremism, are sharp; and the imagined soundtrack, headed up by Tom Petty’s The Waiting, is redolent. It is also good to see Ballard’s further growth as a character, especially now that she is getting her own television show in the expanding Connelly universe!

My only issue is that the inclusion of a famous real life cold case sits a bit awkwardly for me, but it does not detract from what is a very good crime novel.

The Waiting is released on 15 October 2024 in Australia by Allen & Unwin. It is released by Little, Brown & Co. on the same day in the United States, and in the United Kingdom (Orion) on 22 October 2024.

Another major release is the latest book by Richard Osman, We Solve Murders (Penguin, 17 September 2024), who has temporarily deserted his Thursday Murder Club crew for a sparkling new set of characters and a new series.

Amy Wheeler works in personal security. She is currently on a private island off the coast of South Carolina guarding bestselling author Rosie D’Antonio, who has been threatened by a Russian oligarch for an unfavourable reference in her recent book. In the nearby waters, a dead body and a bag of money are found on a yacht. The killing is the latest in a string of murders that are linked to the company that Amy works for.

Amy is an adrenaline junkie. She is good at fighting and shooting and protecting others, but lacks experience with murder investigations. In desperation she turns to her father-in-law Steve Wheeler. Steve is a retired police officer who enjoys the routine of retired life. He does the odd bit of investigation work, but he prefers his familiar habits and routines in the small English village where he lives: the pub quiz, his favourite bench, and spending time with his cat, Trouble. But with Amy under threat, he reluctantly joins in the international hunt for a killer, helped along by the brash and funny Rosie and her access to private jets.

We Solve Murders is a wild romp of a story. The plot moves along at a hectic pace with lots of witty lines, surprising twists, exaggerated characters and plenty of charm. Osman is very skilled at misleading readers and there are several surprises and a good amount of action. In many ways the plot does not matter, as it is just fun following Steve, Amy and Rosie around the world and encountering an amusing array of secondary characters, including the terrible actor Max Highfield, the “World’s Seventh Sexiest Male”, and the inept manager of an ‘influencer agency’.

The witty banter is nicely accompanied by sharp observations and descriptions, that manage to quickly capture the essence of a person, or a place, with humour:

“Dubai, that gleaming temple of sunshine, money and glorious possibility. Whether you’re after a $200 steak or a rocket launcher, you will find it here, in a world of speed and heat and handshakes.”

There is also this marvellous encounter between the amusingly honest Rosie and a possible killer:

“‘I’m not here to kill you. I just want you to read my book.’
‘Oh, God, *****,’ says Rosie, putting her hand on his arm, ‘that’s so much worse.'”

Overall, We Solve Murders is just very good fun. Osman delights in showing the recognisable foibles and eccentricities of his characters, and his writing always capture the odd mood of a scene. Osman made a brave move in temporarily deserting the Thursday Murder Club, although I think I spotted Elizabeth in one brief scene, but it seems to have paid off for him. Highly entertaining!

We Solve Murders is released in Australia on 17 September 2024 and in the United Kingdom on 12 September 2024.

Award winning Australian author Christian White has been described as Australia’s ‘Master Of Misdirection’ and his latest book, The Ledge (Affirm Press, 24 September 2024), is another twisty tale of surprises and suspense.

The book opens with the discovery of old human remains in the forests of regional Victoria. The police are baffled, the locals are shocked, and one group of old friends start to panic, fearing that their long-held secret is about to be uncovered. One of the friends left the small town of West Haven years ago, but the other two stayed and forged their own lives. Now that they are re-united, old secrets and concerns are re-ignited, and the loose bonds that bound them begin to fall apart.

The story operates on two timelines. The first is in the present, the second is in 1999, told through the diary entries of one of the boys. These entries tell the story of what happened all those years ago, and why the events have reverberated through the years.

The diary entries are probably the highlight of the book, and White smoothly recreates the 1999 milieu and the coming to age of the four boys involved. The sense of sixteen-year-old camaraderie is well evoked, although a little idealistic, and the four boys and their families are well sketched. The story they tell is a good one, and the various twists and developments keep the reader interested and engaged.

In a similar way to Connelly’s The Waiting, the present day timeline charts what happened to the boys and how the past shaped them. Some of this is a little cliched in its inclusiveness, but it is interesting to see how those outside the immediate group of the four boys changed, for instance the girlfriend, parents and family members.

As it is typical of White’s books and screenplays, it is the final dramatic twist that dominates the story and makes the reader look back at what came before and re-evaluate it. It is very clever and certainly reinforces his reputation for trickery.

I largely read The Ledge in a single go, over the course of a long plane trip, and was totally engrossed in the story from beginning to the poignant ending. The debt to Stephen King weighs a little heavily at times, but overall it is a very good book and is sure to be in contention come award times.

The Ledge will be released in Australia on 24 September 2024. No details are available on when it will be released overseas.