Rising Stars

Macmillan are the publishers of such wonderful series as Colin Dexter's Inspector Morse and C J Sansom's Shardlake. It is wonderful to see that they have two brilliant rising stars in Brian McGilloway and M. R. Hall.




The Disappeared is the second novel from M. R. Hall to feature Jenny Cooper, his first being The Coroner. In this second installment Jenny is settling in to her role as Coroner for the Severn Valley when she is approached by a grief-stricken mother who doesn't believe that her son, who has disappeared, has in fact gone abroad to pursue dangerous new ideals. Jenny soon realises in her inquest into Nazim's disappearance, that it is shrouded in corruption and conspiracy and as the pressure on her increases, Jenny is pushed to breaking point. How could she know that in unravelling the mystery of the disappeared she would begin to unearth some of her own buried secrets? Having been a huge fan of The Coroner, Goldsboro Books' second biggest selling novel of 2009, I wondered if M. R. Hall could in fact better it. The Disappeared is better, the writing more assured and I literally couldn't put it down. It rightly deserves to be our December Book of the Month. (Published January 2010)


Borderlands by Brian McGilloway is my favourite crime novel published in the last 10 years and is the first book in a wonderful series featuring Benedict Devlin, Garda Inspector, in the borderlands of Northern and Southern Ireland. This fourth novel is set around an investigation into a vigilante group who have named themselves, The Rising which is the title of the book. Soon Devlin realises after the death of two drug dealers, this group is more complex than just vigilantism. Meanwhile is ex-colleague's son has gone missing during a camping trip but after searching for him he is relieved to hear that the boy's mother has had a text from him to say he's safe in Dublin. So when a body is washed up on a beach the Inspector is confused.

When Devlin thinks he is beginning to understand the vigilante case, a personal crisis strikes at the heart of his family forcing him to confront the compromises his career has forced upon him. This is McGilloway's most touching novel yet and confirms him as one of the most exciting crime writers around. If you haven't read him you are in for a treat. (Published April 2010)