‘Falling Leaves’ by Lea O'Harra

Published independently,
31 January 2026.
ISBN: 979-824516983-5 (PB)

November, 1983, in Japan, and 13-year-old Mei is kidnapped on her way home from school, and thrown into a boat. We share her terror and watch as her frantic family search everywhere for her. When the police are finally called, the family falls under suspicion, but there's no hint of anything wrong with them, and no ransom note is ever received. Then we follow Mei's boat journey and learn where she's arrived: North Korea. 

After that introduction, the modern-day story begins, on the fortieth anniversary of Mei's kidnapping. DI Ando and DI Kobo are called to Chief Inspector Inoue's office. They are to investigate the case of Tomoko Gammo, a pretty, kind, clever student found dead in her room at University. They soon find that other students have been bullying her because of her Korean father... 

 I was fascinated by the background of Japanese-Korean interaction that underpins this novel Mei's story illustrating the deliberate kidnap of Japanese people so that North Korea could use them to learn how Japanese people behaved and talked, so that they could spy on them more effectively.  The theses of Gammo's fellow-tutorial students, both South Korean, focus on atrocities committed by Japan when it took over Korea. We gradually learn of the links between other characters in the novel and Mei's family, and see the result that her abduction had on them: her parents and one brother caught up in a media-circus in the forlorn hope that they might get Mei returned to Japan, her uncle stuck in squalor on the family farm, her other brother running a small bicycle repair shop - and he's a friend of Gammo's.  

Chief Inspector Inoue is a great lead investigator, fair but determined, and the reader becomes increasingly concerned about his health as the novel progresses. DI Ando is recently married, and happy in his new life, but his partner DI Kobo had a run of ill-fortune which has given him a drink problem, and he's on his last warning unless he can pull himself together. The plot is a compelling read as secrets are revealed and fragmented family members try to reach out to each other, the descriptions of Japanese life are authentic and vivid, and the ending is satisfying. 

A beautifully-evoked autumnal Japan with interesting characters and a plot which takes us into less well-known parts of Japan's history, and the effects of that on its present.
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Reviewer: Marsali Taylor

Lea O’Harra.  An American by birth, did her postgraduate work in Britain – an MA in Lancaster and a doctorate at Edinburgh – and worked full-time for 36 years at a Japanese university. Since retiring in March 2020, she has spent part of each year in Lancaster and part in Takamatsu on Shikoku Island, her second home, with occasional visits to the States to see family and friends. An avid reader of crime fiction since childhood, as a university professor she wrote academic articles on it as a literary genre and then decided to try her hand at composing such stories herself, publishing the so-called ‘Inspector Inoue mystery series’ comprising four murder mysteries set in rural, contemporary Japan. She has also published two standalone crime fiction novels.

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh and came to Shetland as a newly qualified teacher. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.  She lives with her husband and two Shetland ponies.

www.marsalitaylor.co.uk 

LONDON ST ANDREW’S BOOK FESTIVAL

Returns For Its Third Year,
 Bringing Scottish Literary Excellence
 To London
Including Val Mcdermid, Harriet Tyce,
Chris Brookmyre and More

16^th – 22^nd November 2026

 standrewsbookfestival.org |
@standrewsbookfest | Images

The vibrant celebration of Scottish literature and culture
returns to London for its third year, featuring:

 Carol Kirkwood, Bill Paterson, Val Mcdermid,

Alice Strang, Andrew Lownie, Avril Millar,

Ayesha Hazarika, , Brian Beacom, Brian Groom,

Charles Cumming, Chris Brookmyre, Christina Riley,

Colin Macintyre, David Goodman, Frances Crawford,

Gareth Russell,Gavin Esler, Gordon Kennedy, Gordon Simpson,

Hannah Lavery, Harriet Tyce, Ian Buxton, Jackie Kay,

Jenni Fagan, Jo Sharp, Kenneth Steven, Kirsty Lockwood,

Len Pennie, London Gaelic Choir, Louise Welsh,

Marcas Mac An Tuairneir, Mhairi Collie, Murray Pittock,

The Maclean Brothers, Professor Sue Black, Alan Johnson

Now in its third year, the London St Andrew’s Book Festival returns to London on 16-22 November 2026, with an expanded programme featuring the best of Scottish literature and culture, as well as the first ever Gaelic event with words and music. The festival is brought to life by Scots in London, an organisation founded in 2017 to promote Scottish heritage, culture and the arts in the London area. Scots in London brings together groups including two Church of Scotland churches, the Caledonian Club, London Scottish Rugby, the ScotsCare charity and the Burns Club of London.

Featuring some of the most respected names in the Scottish literary scene, as well as exciting new debut authors, this year’s London St Andrew’s Book Festival will spread across Scotland House London, the Caledonian Club and St Columba’s Church of Scotland. The week-long programme brings the best of Scotland’s literary and cultural legacy to the English capital, with a feast of genres and illuminating discussions to choose from.

Events Director Susan Pym said: “On behalf of the London St Andrew’s Book Festival team, we are thrilled to be returning to London for the festival’s third year. We firmly believe that the rich literary talent and cultural offerings of Scotland deserve recognition beyond the Border. With this festival, we aim to share the best-of-the best of Scottish talent, including exciting debut authors, with new and far away audiences who may not have otherwise discovered them. We are so excited to be able to share this year’s stellar line-up and look forward to another year of celebrating with Scots in London.”

Over the course of a week, the festival will delve into discussions around a plethora of topics and genres, spanning history, crime, sports, celebrity, art, memoirs, music, and more. Highlights include former BBC Breakfast weather presenter Carol Kirkwood’s ‘Literary Lunch’, where she will provide fascinating tales from her life, unpacking her broadcasting career and writing life; actor and national treasure Bill Paterson’s account of his childhood in a discussion of Tales from the Back Green, his memoir detailing a changing Glasgow from the 1950s to the present; and the Maclean brothers Ewan, Jamie and Lachlan Maclean’s discussion of their extraordinary memoir Three Brothers in a Boat, recounting their recently completed record-breaking 9,750-mile row across the Pacific Ocean to raise over £1 million for clean water projects.

Fiction fans will have their pick of genres, with talks and panel events from well-loved novelists, including: acclaimed crime writer Val McDermid who will join Geographer Royal for Scotland Jo Sharp to discuss This Door of Seas, their contribution to the acclaimed ‘Darkland Tales’ series; former sports writer Gordon Simpson, who will chat to Clark McGinn about his gripping new golf thriller Four Deadly Swings; award-winning Scottish novelist Jenni Fagan on her darkly imaginative new novel The Delusions; Traitors star and bestselling author Harriet Tyce, whose new thriller Witch Trial explores a sensational Edinburgh murder case; and award-winning crime writer Louise Welsh, discussing The Cut Up, to name a few.

History buffs will enjoy leading historians Murray Pittock (The Shortest History of Scotland) and Brian Groom’s (These Isles) presentation of ‘A Very Short History of Scotland’, in which the Scotland experts delve into battles, kingdoms, identity and nationhood to explore the forces that have shaped Scotland over centuries. Royal family historian Andrew Lownie will also be a speaker at this year’s festival, discussing the ever-evolving story behind Entitled, his explosive investigation into Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Historian and broadcaster Gareth Russell will discuss Queen James, his acclaimed new biography of James VI and I, exploring the king’s turbulent reign, political intrigue, and six great loves. Art historian Alice Strang brings the bold, brilliant history The Scottish Colourists: Art & Life to life in her event on the groundbreaking group that transformed Scottish art in the early 20^th century.

In addition to the extensive prose programming, the festival will be bringing together three of Scotland’s most distinctive poetic voices for a vibrant celebration of spoken word, storytelling and performance. Former Makar Jackie Kay (May Day), award-winning poet and social media sensation Len Pennie (Poyums Annaw), and acclaimed poet, playwright and performer Hannah Lavery (Everything Everyday) will be sharing powerful, moving and often joyful works that explore identity, language, place and the stories that connect us all.

The festival is passionate about promoting not only established authors, but also providing a space to platform skilled newcomers to the writing scene. This year, they will be welcoming four talented debut authors for an exciting event showcasing first-time authors Mhairi Collie, a consultant surgeon who has authored the medical drama The Bright Fabric of Life; Avril Millar, engineer, teacher, CEO and author of Feral; Christina Riley, underwater artist in residence at the Argyll Coast Hope Spot, whose work inspired her collection of essays Looking Down at the Stars; and Kirsty Lockwood, former political journalist, a ‘Young Women Scotland 30 Inspirational Women Under 30’ award-winner, and author of the tense psychological thriller, We Know What You Did.

For its first ever Gaelic event, poet and songwriter Marcas Mac an Tuairneir will join the festival for a unique evening of poetry, conversation, and live music from The London Gaelic Choir. Exploring Gaelic language, Scottish and LGBTQ+ identity, resilience and belonging, Marcas discusses his journey as an English-born Gaelic learner using musical settings of his poetry.

All of this and more – including whisky tastings and Scotland-themed quizzes complete with prizes –  will see London transformed into a hub of Scottish excellence this Autumn. The public box office opens on 25^th September, following a launch event at Scotland House London on the 23^rd. Special guest speaker and featured author Gavin Esler will give a speech to kick off this celebration of all things Scottish. Advance booking for Festival Friends and Members begins from 23^rd September. To view the full programme and book your tickets head over to......

  www.standrewsbookfestival.org. 

‘The Body Under the Stage' by Kate Hardy

Published by Storm Publishing, 
28 May 2024.
ISBN: 978-1-80508386-3 (PB)

This is the third book in the series featuring Georgian Drake. Since moving to Wenworth in rural Norfolk following the death of her husband Stephen, Georgina has settled into the village and made friends. 

Her first friend was Doris, who was a bit of a surprise to her, and took some getting to know, but they have now become good friends.  And surprisingly DI Colin Bradshaw. There relationship is in at relatively early stage, but they have become very close friends. 

We pick up the story with Georgina taking promo photos of a dress rehearsal of Macbeth, in which her daughter Bea’s has a first starring role She is naturally very excited. But excitement turns to horror when one of the actors, Neil Faulkner, is found stabbed to death. And Georgie is dismayed to see a faint spatter of blood on her daughter’s arm. 

Georgie knows Bea isn’t a killer, but the local police seem disinclined to trust her opinion.  Matters take a further bad turn when a distraught Bea admits to her mother that Neil was blackmailing her.  Further investigation shows that Bea was not the only member of the cast being blackmailed. Determined to prove her daughter’s innocence Georgie decides to investigate the case herself.

But if Bea isn’t the murderer, then who is? Someone is more than happy to let Bea take their place behind bars, and they aren’t happy about Georgie’s snooping. If she doesn’t tread carefully, she might end up as the next body beneath the stage…

Luckily Georgina is not alone, she has her friend Doris and her dog Bert, the latter being very good at uncovering bodies. 

With some great characters this is a gripping cosy crime. Recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett 

Kate Hardy as written for as long as she can remember; it started with stories about ponies and dogs, moved into ghosts and history, and then into local history and romance. She's won three Romantic Novelists' Association awards for her romantic fiction - and is thoroughly enjoying her new life of crime! She lives in Norwich with her husband, two grown-up children, two spaniels and too many books to count. When she's not writing or researching, she'll be out at a gig or the theatre, at ballet class, doing cross-stitch, taking photographs of the sunrise while persuading the spaniels to stay still for one second, fossicking around on a beach or in archives, or exploring ancient buildings. She loves learning new things, which is why you'll always discover something different in a Kate Hardy book. Oh - and, like her heroine Georgina Drake, Kate's deaf but doesn't let it hold her back in any way.

‘A Reunion to Die For’ by K. J. Whittle

Published by HarperNorth,
8 October 2026.
ISBN: ‏978-0-00-873874-7 (PB)

In A Reunion to Die For, Whittle follows current trends in crime fiction by featuring multiple narrators and by using flashbacks. The story is structured around time frames divided by twenty years—June 2000 and June 2026. The first frame chronicles the high school prom five main characters - Anne Marie, Yvette, Dean, Barry and Nish -attended as teenagers. That of 2026 recounts the events of a high school reunion, when they are in their late thirties and have scarcely met since that fatal (literally) evening in June 2000. The prom and the reunion are also attended by Eric, who is the common denominator - the glue holding this group of disparate individuals together. But it is Anne Marie, Yvette, Dean, Barry and Nish who take it in turn to narrate their impressions of what happened on these two momentous occasions. 

During the course of the reunion, it becomes clear Eric’s five friends have reasons of their own both to dread and to anticipate the chance to meet each other again. Through veiled hints and reminiscences, we learn that something happened at the high school prom twenty years earlier which they recall with confusion, fear and horror. In this twisteist of plots, Whittle gradually reveals the secrets and lies that torment these individuals as adults and why Eric—who is murdered the day after the reunion—attracted the enmity of friends who once adored him. 

It was all so different two decades earlier when Eric Stewart—handsome, charismatic and a gifted footballer—formed the central pivot of their lives. He was the sun around which they revolved as lesser spheres. Anne Marie was his girlfriend, and they were widely expected to be crowned king and queen at the prom. But the evening ends in confusion, with Eric publicly announcing he has split from Anne Marie (who has found she’s pregnant) while the other characters face disasters of their own. Barry, for example, is on the run from a drug dealer he owes money to. Ollie Bell—on the fringes of this group—complicates matters. Eric is furious to learn the football coach has chosen Bell as a striker instead of him, an anger compounded when Nish who, for reasons of her own, lies to him, telling Eric that Anne Marie’s baby has been fathered by Ollie. 

By June 2026 Eric is wealthy and famous due to his success as a footballer. His friends have been less fortunate. Anne Marie, for example, has struggled to raise her daughter on her own, Dean is an alcoholic, and Yvette is trapped in a loveless marriage with children who are selfish and unruly. As for Ollie Bell, he disappeared on the night of the prom, his fate a complete mystery to his family. The friends assemble in a pub and discuss ways in which they might exact revenge on Eric who, they feel, has ruined their own lives with his selfish ways. But when Eric ends up dead and they receive a mysterious recording of that pub conversation, they realize they must clear their own names or be considered suspects in his murder. 

Whittle manages to organize a double time frame, diverse characters, and complicated plot lines with admirable skill. A Reunion to Die For is highly recommended for readers who like fast-moving action, fascinating characters, and surprising denouements.
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Reviewer: Wendy Jones Nakanishi/aka Lea O’Harra.

Kerry Whittle grew up in Cumbria and studied English Language and Literature in London. She is an experienced journalist, having written for national newspapers and magazines for the last 20 years, specialising in real life stories. Ever since reading The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark as a child, Kerry dreamed of being a novelist. In 2020 she attended Curtis Brown Creative’s novel writing course. Seven Reasons to Murder Your Dinner Guests is her debut novel, published in the US on 9^th September 2025, and in the UK on 11 September 2025.     

Lea O’Harra.  An American by birth, did her postgraduate work in Britain – an MA in Lancaster and a doctorate at Edinburgh – and worked full-time for 36 years at a Japanese university. Since retiring in March 2020, she has spent part of each year in Lancaster and part in Takamatsu on Shikoku Island, her second home, with occasional visits to the States to see family and friends. An avid reader of crime fiction since childhood, as a university professor she wrote academic articles on it as a literary genre and then decided to try her hand at composing such stories herself, publishing the so-called ‘Inspector Inoue mystery series’ comprising three murder mysteries set in rural, contemporary Japan. She has also published two standalone crime fiction novels.

‘Murder at the Hotel Orient’ by Alessandra Ranelli

Published by Baskerville,
7 May 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-399-82318-0 (HB)

It's a busy night at Vienna's most prestigious love-hotel. The sumptuous Hotel Orient, and World's Best Concierge Sterling Lockwood is less than pleased when her call girl ex-lover sashays in with an unknown client under the names Mr and Mrs Lime. Her boss, the powerful Mr K, is extremely unhappy when "Mr and Mrs Lime" are found dead in their suite in the morning. If Sterling wants him to keep protecting her from Vienna's most expensive and ruthless madam, Madame Weiss, she needs to find the culprit - fast. 

This novel was a delight: as smart, sassy and saucy as Sterling herself, assisted by her best friend, bellhop Fernando. The Viennese detective assigned to the case is Andreas Wolke, a grumpy Mahler fan, permanent left-swiper on dating-apps and a keen bureaucrat who knows every infringement by number ... and as you can imagine, he's determined not to be deflected by a curvy American redhead who shows her lacy stocking-tops and who appears to be wearing her underwear over her blouse - except that she's the only one who knows who their suspects really are. 

With Sterling's help, he meets Mr and Mrs Boring, the Professor and his professional girlfriend (another from Madame Weiss's stable), the Stag Party, Viennese bourgeoise Frau Thursday and her escorts Messrs Right and Left, and the parents of Mr Lime, in reality David Goldfinch, who wants to stamp out crime in Vienna by putting surveillance cameras everywhere - a deeply unpopular move for all concerned. 

The characters are great and the action fast and furious, taking us from the grandeur of Vienna's tourist centre, with its gilded churches and horse-drawn carriages, through red light district bars to the seedy area where Sterling has her secret safe-deposit room. The dialogue crackles with innuendo, particularly between Andreas and Sterling, and I learnt a useful all-purpose bit of Viennese slang, Ouida (there's a glossary at the back). The sex is behind closed doors - you could safely give this to your granny, though she might ask you embarrassing questions afterwards. The plotting's spot-on, with a totally unexpected double end-twist. 

A raunchy, riotous romp with wonderful characters, clever plotting and authentically evoked Viennese setting. I loved it!
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Reviewer: Marsali Taylor

Alessandra Ranelli is an American author living abroad in Vienna, Austria. Her work focuses on life's great passions: love, lust, and loss. Alessandra's crime writing is influenced by her love of old Hollywood glamour and golden age crime. 

Marsali Taylor grew up near Edinburgh and came to Shetland as a newly-qualified teacher. She is currently a part-time teacher on Shetland's scenic west side, living with her husband and two Shetland ponies. Marsali is a qualified STGA tourist-guide who is fascinated by history, and has published plays in Shetland's distinctive dialect, as well as a history of women's suffrage in Shetland. She's also a keen sailor who enjoys exploring in her own 8m yacht, and an active member of her local drama group.  Marsali also does a regular monthly column for the Mystery People e-zine. 

Click on the title to read a review of her recent book
‘Death in a Shetland Family’ by Marsali Taylor

www.marsalitaylor.co.uk 

‘A Body at the Book Fair’ by Ellie Alexander

Published by Storm Publishing,
2 June 2025.
ISBN: 978-1-80508992-7 (PB)

Annie Murray runs the Mystery Bookshop in the town of Redwood Grove. Still haunted by the murder of her best friend Scarlet ten years ago, she is now on the brink of launching her own Detective Agency.

She heads for their annual book fair at Santa Clara, looking forward to meeting fellow booklovers.  She also has a secret mission as also there will be the powerful investment firm whom she is certain had a hand in the death of her friend. But before Annie can get close to those she suspects, an industry colleague is murdered. In such a large place, the suspect list is long. High on the list is a celebrity author with a suspicious agenda, a rival with a grudge. 

Partnered by her co-worker, business partner and long-time friend Fletcher Hughes acting as Watson to her Holmes, they set out to find the killer. 

Meanwhile. Hal Christie, the previous owner of the bookshop still clings to his obsession that he is the long-lost son of Agatha Christie. 

Following his retirement from the bookshop Hal has settled with a lovely lady, who unbeknown to him has retained Annie and Fletcher’s services to investigate the possibility that Hal could be Agatha’s son.

So, whilst running the bookshop Annie and Fletcher now have three cases to pursue. Can they solve the death of their colleague?  Will they finally bring Scarlet’s killer to justice? And will Hal finally discover if he is the son of Agatha Christie. 

I have read and enjoyed all the earlier books in this series.  Highly recommended.
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett 

Ellie Alexander is the bestselling author of more than forty cozy mystery novels. Her books have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Russian, and Japanese, reaching readers worldwide. She is the founder of the annual Ashland Mystery Festival and a frequent guest at library programs and author events throughout the Pacific Northwest and beyond, including the popular Northwest Authors series and independent bookshops across the region. A proud Pacific Northwest native, Alexander now lives in Sunnyvale, California.

‘A Body by the Henhouse’ by Kate Wells

Published by Boldwood Books Ltd
12 June 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-78513438-8 (PB)

Jude Gray is enjoying a day at the farmers’ auction. After the death of her husband Adam she had taken over Malvern Farm and made a success of it despite the odds staked against her. When her first batch of lambs sold Jude felt a glow of pride. Driving home she stopped and checked the honesty box at the entrance to her Farm. There were no eggs left but the money box was full. Climbing back into her lorry she was she was accosted by her neighbour, grumpy Mike Trout, a retired head-teacher who’d chosen to move to a cottage that backed onto her farmland and spent his life complaining about the smell of the farm, and the noise of the farm. 

To bring in a bit of much-needed income Jude had decided to turn one of the lower fields into a campsite. She was expecting that day a group of women on a hen party. Mike’s face is puce as he rants about being disturbed by crowd of loud women. 

The hen party duly arrives for their weekend away. Jude does her best to cater for the party celebrations. But with a sheep needing urgent care after an accidental mishap, she ends up consulting the hen party, which coincidentally contains four vets. 

Whilst Jude becomes aware that someone is targeting her farm, she also becomes aware that all is far from well amongst the hen party. Then one of the hen party goes missing, and it becomes clear there are more sinister forces at play. 

Jude calls in the help of her close friend, Detective Inspector Binnie Khatri. Can they between them uncover a web of deceit, affairs and rivalries, but will they find the perpetrator before someone is murdered. 

This is the third book in this series. I have already purchased the next two and cannot wait to see what happens next. Recommended.  
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Reviewer: Lizzie Sirett

Kate Wells grew up in Malvern on the Herefordshire/Worcestershire border and still spends much of her time there. She began her adult life training as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital and then moved to Reading where she took a teaching degree. Having spent time living and working on farms she developed a love of the rural life and often dreamt of running a sheep farm, especially when she married the son of a farmer. It wasn't to be though, so instead, she lives out her farming dreams through researching and writing her books. 

‘A Game of Cat and Killer’ by Jiro Akagawa

Published by MacLehose Press,
24 September 2026.
ISBN: ‏978-152945187-0 
Translated from the Japanese
by Haydn Trowell

A Game of Cat and Killer is the first of Jiro Akagawa’s three quirky crime fiction novels known as the Casebooks of Mikeneko Holmes. Characterized by author A.J. Finn as “think Agatha Christie with claws!”, the series features a Tokyo detective in present-day Japan assisted in his work by a cat. The feline sleuth is called Holmes, acknowledging indebtedness to the legendary Sherlock, while mikeneko literally means ‘three-fur cat’ in Japanese. Holmes is a calico, his coat including white, orange, and black or brown patches. 

As for the detective, Akagawa presents us with a flawed but lovable character in twenty-eight-year-old Yoshitaro Kitayama, a tall and lanky man notable for drowsiness rather than youthful vigor and a childishly sweet face that has earned him the nickname of “Princess” at the police station where he works. He is youthful beyond his years. Having lost their parents, he and his younger sister Harumi share an apartment. Despite his close bond with Harumi, Kitayama is abnormally shy around women. 

Kitayama first encounters Holmes when he is dispatched to investigate the case of Yumiko Kurihara, a third-year student at Hagoromo Women’s University found brutally murdered in her apartment near the campus. The prologue to the novel makes it clear Yumiko engaged in the occasional spot of sex work to fund such additional expenses as holidays. Her longing to visit Guam proves fatal. Yumiko is attacked so savagely by a male client she initially dismisses as boringly ordinary that, when her body is subsequently discovered in her bedroom by Hiroko, her flat mate cannot stop vomiting when she sees how Yumiko’s stomach has been sliced open, its guts spilling out, in a room awash with blood. 

Despite the graphic horror of the first murder in the novel, Akagawa maintains a lighthearted, even comical tone in this book. He amusingly describes, for example, the terror Kitayama experiences on realizing that his boss, Inspector Shigeru Mitamura, intends to dispatch him to a women’s university to investigate Yumiko’s death. He first interviews Tomoo Morisaki, dean of the faculty of letters at Hagoromo, who happens to have an attractive cat in his office named Holmes. Having interviewed Hiroko—who has told him about Yumiko’s method of supplementing her income through selling her body—Morisaki has already come up with the supposition that she might have been murdered by a client, and he urges Kitayama to look into the possibility that there is an individual masterminding a prostitution ring at the university. More murders follow in rapid succession, including one that takes place in a locked room. When Morisaki is killed, Kitayama adopts Holmes. It turns out Harumi has been leading a life her brother knows nothing about. Holmes exhibits a canny ability to detect and foil crime. 

This book is highly recommended for fans of cozy crime, cat lovers, and readers interested in that strange and wonderful country called Japan.
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Reviewer: Wendy Jones Nakanishi/aka Lea O’Harra. 

Jiro Akagawa is one of Japan's most prolific and celebrated mystery writers. In a career that spans several decades, he has sold more than 330 million copies of his books, and won many prestigious awards including the Japan Mystery Literature Award and the Yoshikawa Eiji Prize for Literature. Many of his books have been adapted for film and TV, including his beloved Mikeneko Holmes series, which recounts the adventures of a detective and his adopted cat. 

Lea O’Harra.  An American by birth, did her postgraduate work in Britain – an MA in Lancaster and a doctorate at Edinburgh – and worked full-time for 36 years at a Japanese university. Since retiring in March 2020, she has spent part of each year in Lancaster and part in Takamatsu on Shikoku Island, her second home, with occasional visits to the States to see family and friends. An avid reader of crime fiction since childhood, as a university professor she wrote academic articles on it as a literary genre and then decided to try her hand at composing such stories herself, publishing the so-called ‘Inspector Inoue mystery series’ comprising three murder mysteries set in rural, contemporary Japan. She has also published two standalone crime fiction. novels.

‘The Case of the Christmas Card’ by Elly Griffiths

Published by Quercus,
8 October 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-52955-957-0 (PB)

When you're part of a top secret detective squad whose speciality is time travel, it shouldn't really be a surprise when Charles Dickens turns up on your doorstep a few days before Christmas. All the same, it's not as if DI Ali Dawson doesn't already have enough on her plate. Her beloved son is going away with his girlfriend for the festive season; her boss has just handed her a new case; and her best friend's daughter has gone missing. 

The Case of the Christmas Card is book three – or possibly two and half; it's a novella – in Elly Griffiths's unlikely but nonetheless engaging Frozen People series. This time the time-travelling happens in the other direction; instead of Ali going back to the mid-19^th century, the mid-19^th century comes to her, in the shape of Mr Dickens, who is as bemused as she is. All he did was sit on a chair... 

Ali has encountered the time-travelling chairs during one of her previous cases and knows where to find one in 21^st century London. Will it get him home, though? 

But first there are mysteries to be solved. And Mr Dickens, once he's finished marvelling at the marvels of the 21^st century, like television, pyjamas and electric Christmas lights, proves surprisingly useful on the detecting front.  

They set out to discover what has happened to Nell, the drama student daughter of Ali's friend Meg, with whom she was planning to spend Christmas Day. Charles makes a number of helpful suggestions, which result in a visit backstage in a West End theatre, a trip to Norfolk and a hostel for homeless people, each one graphically portrayed with Griffiths's usual deftness and unique brand of slightly wry humour. 

En route they encounter a couple of villains, who are involved in the conundrum of how new paintings by a long-dead artist are appearing in auction rooms. And Mr Dickens is introduced to pizza and Deliveroo (other food delivery firms are available), and Christmas shopping 21^st century style.  

All that remains is to get Charles Dickens back where he belongs. That doesn't prove as easy as Ali hopes and requires the input of the entire Frozen People squad: sensible John, quirky Dina and eccentric but technologically brilliant Bud. 

Does Ali track down the missing Nell? Will the mystery of the paintings be solved? And will Charles Dickens get back to the 1850s in time to write another half-dozen novels? That's for Elly Griffiths to decide in her own inimitable way – and you to find out by reading about it. If you're not already a fan of her books, I guarantee you will be by the end of this one. You may even believe Charles Dickens could arrive for Christmas.
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Reviewer: Lynne Patrick 

Elly Griffiths is the author of a series of crime novels set in England’s Norfolk County and featuring forensic archaeologist Ruth Galloway. The first in the series, Crossing Places, earned a good deal of praise both in Griffiths’ native country, England, and in the U.S. The Literary Review termed it “a cleverly plotted and extremely interesting first novel, highly recommended.  Since then, Elly has written fifteen further novels in the series.  She has written a second series set in Brighton in the 1950’s featuring magician Max Mephisto and DI Stephens. There are seven books in the series. Her most recent series features Ali Dawson, a time traveller.

www.ellygriffiths.co.uk  

Lynne Patrick has been a writer ever since she could pick up a pen, and has enjoyed success with short stories, reviews and feature journalism, but never, alas, with a novel. She crossed to the dark side to become a publisher for a few years and is proud to have launched several careers which are now burgeoning. She lives in Oxfordshire in a house groaning with books, about half of them crime fiction.

‘Then She Lied’ by Alice Leigh

Published by Canelo,
30 July 2026.
ISBN: 978-1-83598257-0 (PB)

The discovery of a body discovered in a pond on Long Island starts a chain of events that have their origin 20 years previously. At that time a young woman had walked into a police station. She was covered in blood and could not remember her name or anything of her past. Investigations failed at the time to find out more about her. She has since become established as a psychologist under the name of Dr Jane Dowson. She is in what seems to be an abusive and rapidly failing marriage to Caleb Jones, a celebrity chef. She still doesn’t know her true identity or recall her past, except for one event, but the recovery of the body starts to stir inchoate memories.

The chief police detective, Gail Miller, is also in a failing marriage and has the tragedy of losing a sister in her past. Her assistant, Detective Mark Winters, is a local and has very vivid memories of two young women disappearing at the time of Dowson’s blood-stained appearance. It has never been established what happened to them, although there have been reports of one living elsewhere. 

Dowson has been receiving threats that if she tells the police what little she recalls about one incident in her past, almost the only thing of which she believes she has a clear memory, she will regret it. Despite this, she decides she must go to the police. What she tells them causes ructions. Dowson claims that 20 years previously she saw Andrew Linebeck murder a young woman, and he knows that she saw it take place. The problem for the police is that Linebeck is the son of a former president who died in office: he is himself a successful man, a district attorney given to good works, particularly with the young, and who has an unblemished past. His only daughter (he also has two sons) is one of the missing girls from 20 years previously. Dowson believes Linebeck is sending the threats. She is attacked on more than one occasion, and her abusive husband comes under suspicion at one stage. A mental institution and its director become important. 

Meanwhile, the identity of the body pulled from the pond takes time to be established. It is assumed that it is either that of Holly Rose Dunn (Linebeck’s daughter) or Hanna McKinney, another local. As the investigation progresses, so many assumptions about Dowson, Linebeck and the police, amongst others, are questioned. Revelations about the past constantly alter perceptions. Resolution comes from an unexpected direction. 

This is an intricately-plotted and continually shifting novel. It holds attention and the reader soon learns not to trust more or less every character. The twists towards the end are convincing. There may be one or two things that I found perplexing (the police protection unit seems curiously incompetent, for instance, and something mentioned about Dowson’s early years is never further explained), but ‘Then She Lied’ is a story that will keep you entertained and on your toes. Is the title a clue? And who is ‘she’? You will have to read the novel to find out.
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Reviewer: David Whittle 

Alice Leigh is a novelist. She writes dark and twisty thrillers from her home in Cyprus. What I Told My Friends is her debut dark academia novel. Her latest book is Then She Lied. 

David Whittle is firstly a musician (he is an organist and was Director of Music at Leicester Grammar School for over 30 years) but has always enjoyed crime fiction. This led him to write a biography of the composer Bruce Montgomery who is better known to lovers of crime fiction as Edmund Crispin, about whom he gives talks now and then.