CRIME

PAST LIFE by Dominic Nolan (Headline £14.99, 432 pp)

THIS beautifully written debut starts with a chilling abduction. DS Abigail Boone is a high- flyer in the Met, investigating the disappearance of a young woman named Sarah. Then she’s taken by a ruthless band of people-traffickers intent on killing her.

Waking up beside a woman’s dead body, she escapes after four days by attacking her captors. But Boone has been so traumatised by her experience that she is diagnosed with retrograde amnesia.

She does not even recognise her clinical psychologist husband or their teenage son.

Her police career is wrecked, but the former detective tries to piece together what happened to her by returning to the search for Sarah as a private citizen.

it is a brave decision, but one that will cost her dearly, for the corruption she confronts runs deep. never afraid of portraying the bleakness of the human soul, this is a moving story, poignantly told.

FADE TO GREY by John Lincoln (No Exit Press £11.99, 320 pp)

CORMORAN STRIKE — the private detective with a prosthetic leg created by J. K. rowling — has a lot to answer for.

For he has spawned another private detective with a disability, Gethin Grey — except this time, it is a gambling addiction, rather than a physical infirmity.

Grey is just about capable of running his small Cardiff- based firm, Last resort Legals, which specialises in victims of miscarriages of justice.

Suddenly, he is offered a high-profile case . . . Muslim ismail Mohammed was imprisoned for the murder of a young woman. He has recently written a book on his experiences, which has prompted a faded diva of the silver screen to ask Gethin to investigate the case and prove his innocence.

Gethin may finally earn enough to pay his team’s wages, but he’ll also be tempted to gamble again. He is resourceful, wry and engaging. This is not to be missed.

A GIFT FOR DYING by M.J. Arlidge (Michael Joseph £12.99, 480 pp)

FIVE years ago, i welcomed British television screenwriter and producer Matt Arlidge’s arrival with his excellent debut, eeny Meeny. Seven further Di Helen Grace stories followed.

But now, Arlidge has branched out with a standalone tale of Chicago teenager Kassie, who is blessed (or should it be cursed) with a terrifying gift: she can foresee when and how some people will die.

A serial killer appears in the Windy City, and the police wonder whether the teen might be an accomplice.

Forensic psychologist Adam Brandt investigates and finds himself caught up in Kassie’s life as the bodies begin to mount and she tries to save them.

Can she really predict death? Gradually, Brandt starts to believe she’s telling the truth — and that she may even be able to foresee her own demise.

Strikingly well-told, and with a compelling central character, it has the feel of a television drama.