Best summer books of 2024: Crime

Southern Man by Greg Iles (Hemlock)

Readers undaunted by the Proustian length of Iles’ sprawling epic will find crime writing of a rare order. Arson devastates the fiefdom of Natchez mayor Penn Cage as racial conflict grips the US — tensions exploited by an unscrupulous presidential hopeful. As much a trenchant state-of-the-nation novel as a mesmeric page-turner.

Boys Who Hurt by Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, translated by Victoria Cribb (Orenda)

The latest in the Forbidden Iceland series both chills the blood and raises the pulse rate. Detective Elma, maternity leave behind her, is plunged into a horrific murder case. The unhurried pace of Icelandic crime (Ægisdóttir doesn’t exaggerate her country’s modest crime rate) does not preclude mounting tension, confidently handled.

The Wrong Hands by Mark Billingham (Sphere)

Putting his long-term copper Tom Thorne on temporary gardening leave after two decades has re-energised Billingham’s batteries; this second outing for the less adroit Detective Declan Miller is as diverting as its predecessor, humour dialled up to 11 (although not neglecting the gruesome — even the title is a macabre joke).

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This Is Why We Lied by Karin Slaughter (HarperCollins)

The basic elements of escapist crime fiction: adroit scene-setting, vivid characterisation and (crucially) impeccable plotting are studded throughout Karin Slaughter’s 25-year career, and her latest is the author en pleine forme. Murder and a family’s malign past rudely interrupt the honeymoon of her sleuthing duo Will Trent and Sara Linton.

Between Two Worlds by Olivier Norek, translated by Nick Caistor (MacLehose)

Diamond-hard, unrelenting Gallic crime fiction with a telling strand of social history: the 18 years that Norek served in the Police Judiciare prefigured a writing career and multiple literary prizes. A young lieutenant in the Calais police force risks his life to protect a migrant and pays a heavy price.

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