C.J. Box: The Crossroads, Head of Zeus/ Bloomsbury , ebook available

Big fan of the Joe Pickett series, always a great armchair trip to Wyoming but this novel almost sees the end of Joe Pickett when he is shot in an ambush receiving serious head injuries leaving him barely alive. 

His daughters April, Sheridan and Lucy start an investigation of their own into the last days and hours of their fathers activities, not trusting the new sheriff, hoping to find out who wants their father dead. This novel is one of the better Joe Pickett books, really enjoyed the narration which gives a refreshing emphasis to the women in Joe's life.

 Garry Disher: Under the Cold Bright Lights, c format paperback, Profile Books, 16. July pub date

Garry Disher is considered the king of the Australian noir crime novel. I am a big fan of his Paul Hirsch mysteries but his stand alone novels are all excellent. Under the Cold Bright Lights being his latest, has a very unusual twist I did not expect, first feeling ambivalent about it but decided it is actually a brilliant change in the plot, will not reveal more as it would ruin the reading. 

 The protagonist of the novel, Sergeant Alan Auhl, a retired homicide cop, decides retirement is too boring for him and has now joined the cold case unit. There are a lot of details with the cold cases and characters to keep tabs on as a reader but the major shift comes from Auhl himself and that's all I will say. Coming in July, a great holiday mystery with very likeable characters.

 Addie Citchens: Dominion, Europa Editions, 9781787706156, paperback

Shortlisted for the Womens Prize for fiction, recommended by publishing friends: this is one of the most powerful novels I have read in a while. Wow.

Brilliantly narrated by two very different women, Diamond and Priscilla, who both love the same man, Wonderboy/ Manny/Emmanuel, one the girlfriend, the other the mother, both rooted in the deep Southern US  church communities and its patriachial structure, I found myself immediately drawn in by this often funny, yet heartbreaking drama, and the masterful writing,  read the novel in two days. Go buy it, its an incredible read.