New thrillers on the shelf

Looking for an unputdownable read? Here are three new releases that’ll have you hooked from page one

A NOISE DOWNSTAIRS

By LINWOOD BARCLAY Orion Paul Davis, a professor at a small college in Connecticut in the US, is driving along late at night when he witnesses a man trying to dispose of the bodies of two women. He gets too close for the murderer’s comfort – and next thing he’s whacked with a shovel.

His recuperation takes months and during this time he battles depression, headaches and memory loss. After his wife, Charlotte, buys him an antique typewriter in a bid to cheer him up Paul starts hearing strange sounds. He swears it’s the typewriter typing all by itself in the middle of the night. Charlotte can’t hear a thing and thinks her husband is losing his marbles.

Later there are even typed messages. Paul starts to believe the typewriter is possessed and the messages are from the two murdered women.

This is a well-authored, well-planned psychological thriller. Can the typewriter really be possessed? Or is Paul losing his mind? The suspense builds to a somewhat unexpected climax. Warning: if you hear a typewriter typing by itself in the dead of the night, it’s best to get out of your house! – ANDRÉ J BRINK

TIME IS A KILLER

By MICHEL BUSSI Hachette Clotilde Idrissi is the sole survivor of an accident that killed her entire family when she was just a teen. Now a married woman with a teenage daughter of her own, she returns to Corsica, the island where her life changed forever.

The ghosts of the past swirl around Clotilde and she soon finds herself wondering what really happened that night. As she asks more questions she starts to believe there was something dodgy about the way her parents and brother died in a car crash – and she may just be right.

As with his previous books, Bussi weaves a story that’s full of twists and turns. Just when you think you know what’s happened, he throws in another character with another version of the events of that night and you’re taken down a different path.

This book isn’t as good as Bussi’s previous offerings but it’s entertaining and you’ll want to find out exactly what happened to Clotilde’s family. The author introduces several characters, including her grandparents who practically rule Corsica, and it’s interesting to see how they fit together. – CHARLENE ROLLS

TALION

By BEYERS DE VOS Penguin After Freya Rust’s “perfect” twin brother, Ben, is shot at close range outside a nightclub in Hatfield, Pretoria, she’s determined to avenge his death. But was Ben really all that perfect? What dark secrets did he keep from her?

Inspector Nolwazi Mngadi is tasked with finding the murderer. It should be an easy job, her boss says, but more than a year passes and she’s no closer to cracking the case.

Freya thinks she’s found the murderer and resolves to kill him. But does she have the right man?

Meanwhile Slick, a ruthless drug dealer, plies his trade. What was his role in Ben’s death?

This is a crime novel with a difference – it’s a dark and disturbing tale of the menacing underworld lurking beneath the peaceful surface of Pretoria.

I went to university and lived and worked there for a number of years but De Vos’ Pretoria wouldn’t be the kind of city I’d like to live in.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this debut novel gets nominated for literary prizes. It’s well written and plotted, but readers beware: this isn’t a feel-good read. – ANDRÉ J BRINK