Matt Haig: The Midnight Train, Canongate, ebook available 

Midnight Library is a book I still buy as a gift or recommend, a wise fable with much food for thought. 

"Midnight train" continues with this train of thought: what happens if you were given a second chance and are on a train  stopping at important pathways of your life, this after you died and became a ghost, as happens to Wilbur, a bookseller who started a successful book chain but lost the love of his life, Maggie, during the process. 

For me I guess the surprise element was lacking with Midnight Train and although still filled with some insightful thoughts, didn't  quite do it for me this time.

 Jane Harper: Last one out, Pan Macmillian, C format paperback,  ebook available 

Jane Harper is the Queen of Australian noir crime and "Last one out" is a very slow burner of a novel that is less a mystery but a masterful psychological dissection of what happens to a town and its inhabitants when mining moves in and destroys the past, present and future. Sam Crowley visits his family in the dying town Carralon,  disappearing without much of a trace on the day of his 21th birthday. His family and particularly his mother Ro are still digging for answers to what happend to him 5 years later. 

You need to hold out until the last 100 pages before the actual crime sees some fresh insights and development. For me the  individual characters in the book and the narration of the catastrophic helplessness of a whole town up against powerful mining companies and the impact on everyone's life made the book. The ending fit perectly, a plausible answer to the actions of desperate humans,  very compelling read with a noir, melancholical undertone.

 Jo Murray: Dissection of a murder,  Pan Macmillian, ebook and other formats

Wow, this one hell of a legal murder mystery!!! Very unusual excellent plot that had me reading  way into the night as I could not stop. Definitely outside of the box of what I expected, I sure as hell did not see the ending coming. 

Set in the UK juidical system, with a husband and wife team battling each other on opposite sides, Leila Reynolds defence and her first murder case, her high calibar husband Julian  prosection. Their conflict alone is worth the read but it becomes totally  explosive when the man accused of killing, Jack Millman pleads not guilty despite overwhelming evidence giving his defence team no further insight. Excellent characters, one can tell the author used to be a barrister, best crime novel I read all year! 

Rory Clements: Invitation from a Dictator, pubdate: August 2026, Viking, ebook available, i read a proof

New historical thriller, featuring Detective Sebastian Wolff, book no 3 in the series, which I have really come to enjoy, all set during the rise of the Third Reich. Clements does a good job of portraying the conflict of those in government or juidical positions who did not want to play by the new rules the Nazis have installed.

 The upcoming visit of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor and their protection plus a brutal murder put Seb Wolff in a tight spot, as demands by superiors and Nazi thugs collide heavily with his own beliefs.  The strength of the novel lies in portraying how the political developments played havoc with everyone's life, when trying to hide other political leanings or if family members did not fit the standards of the new German. 

 Rob Rinder: The Defence, Cornerstone, pub date: June 2026, hardback, 9781529934779, ebook available,

I love this new series around young barrister Adam Greene with his battles in and outside of court, mostly with his colleagues in chambers. Always look forward to the next installment. The Defence was brilliantly entertaining. 

Adrian  Wells is an oily wellness-guru whose charisma provides the sales success for  herbal products all invented by his assistant Julie who remains in the background. During the very public launch of miracle bath salts,  Adrian dies an agonizing death as he lowers himself into the bathtube. The bath salts were poisoned.   His assistant Julie is immediately charged with murder as she was sueing her boss for co-ownership of their products.  I absolutely  loved  the plot and the backstabbing outside of court, great read.

 Viola Davis/ James Patterson: Judge Stone, Century, ebook available 

I am usually sceptical when co-authorships occur but "Judge Stone" clearly has Viola Davis voice and input. Reaĺly dug into this fine legal thriller, set in the black belt of the US south, Union Springs, Alabama . Here Judge Stone, a charismatic black woman and owner of a small farm, tries to deal out justice in her court without politics in mind. White racism is still in full bloom. 

When the local family doctor Bria Gaines  performs an abortion on pregnant Nova, a 13 year old girl brought in by the school nurse, she knows she is risking her career as abortions are illegal in Alabama. Dr. Gaines case is the setting for this explosive novel, I could not put it down and luckily read it in one go on a long flight home from the US literally feeling the steaming and dangerous atmosphere  Judge Stone faced daily.  An outstanding legal thriller that gripped me from start to finish. 

 Abir Mukherjee: The Pinnacle, Vintage, pub date: June 2026, ebook available

I am a big fan of Mukherjee's historical Wyndham & Banerjee mysteries but his upcoming stand alone mystery " The Pinnacle" won me over quickly with his tongue in cheek humour, excellent characters and tight plot. I read the proof, if you are in the mood for an action packed mystery set in current India, I can highly recommend The Pinnacle: 

Set in Mumbai, the secure luxury high rise The Pinnacle is home to a famous and rich clientel who want their peace and secrets hidden. George Abercombie, aging famous actor who has seen more successful days, and his Bollywood star wife Sweety Salota, with their assistants, maids and chauffeur also call The Pinnacle their home. When George wakes up on the couch after a drunken night to find his wife murdered in their bedroom, all hell breaks loose and this very entertaining mystery is set in motion. 

 Philippe Colin: The Barman of the Ritz, Doubleday, pub date: August 2026, 

9781529956399, available in German (Insel Verlag) already

" The Barman of the Ritz" by Philippe Colin drew me in from page one and held that fascination until the last page. The novel is based on real life characters taking fictional liberties, the author adds the biographies at the end.  Set at the famous bar at the Ritz in Paris with Franz Meier holding court as the legendary barman, the novel is set during the  years of Paris's Nazi occupation from 1940-1945. Its a chilling account, Fritz Meier was partially Jewish as was his son like assistant Luciano and Blanche, the general manager's wife and Meier's secret love. Meier managed to keep this hidden with the help of excellent fake papers throughout the occupation, with Nazi top brass holding court in his bar. With the help of the Swedish consulate he organized escapes for many Jews. The novel is a harrowing count of that part of Parisian history, human endurance and bravery till the bitter end. Excellent atmospheric historical read, highly recommend. Publishing August, I read the proof.