The June Competition [closed]
A cosmopolitan blend of deadly crime fiction this month, set in Glasgow, Northern Greece, Baghdad, France and Derby, there are five titles for each of the three winners!
This month’s titles include:
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Whispers of Nemesis, by Anne Zouroudi
It is winter in the mountains of northern Greece and as the snow falls in the tiny village of Vrisi a coffin is unearthed and broken open. But to the astonishment of the mourners at the graveside, the remains inside the coffin have been transformed, and as news of the bizarre discovery spreads through the village like forest fire it sets tongues wagging and heads shaking.
Then, in the shadow of the shrine of St Fanourios (patron saint of lost things), a body is found, buried under the fallen snow – a body whose identity only deepens the mystery around the exhumed remains. There’s talk of witchcraft, and the devil’s work – but it seems the truth, behind both the body and the coffin, may be far stranger than the villagers’ wildest imaginings. Hermes Diaktoros, drawn to the mountains by a wish to see an old and dear friend, finds himself embroiled in the mysteries of Vrisi, as well as the enigmatic last will and testament of Greece’s most admired modern poet.
The Whispers of Nemesis is a story of desperate measures and long-kept secrets, of murder and immortality and of pride coming before the steepest of falls.
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Cold Grave, by Craig Robertson
November 1993. Scotland is in the grip of the coldest winter in living memory and the Lake of Menteith is frozen over. A young man and woman walk across the ice to the historic island of Inchmahome which lies in the middle of the lake. Only the man comes back.
In the spring, as staff prepare the abbey ruins for summer visitors, they discover the unidentifiable remains of the body of a girl, her skull violently crushed.
Twenty years later, present day. Retired detective Alan Narey is still haunted by the unsolved crime. Desperate to relieve her father’s conscience DS Rachel Narey returns to the Lake of Menteith and unofficially reopens the cold case.
With the help of police photographer Tony Winter, Rachel discovers that the one man her father had always suspected was the killer has recently died. Risking her job and reputation, Narey prepares a dangerous gambit to uncover the killer’s identity – little knowing who that truly is. Despite the freezing temperatures the ice cold case begins to thaw, and with it a tide of secrets long frozen in time are suddenly and shockingly unleashed.
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The Baghdad Railway Club, by Andrew Martin
Baghdad 1917. Captain Jim Stringer, invalided from the Western Front, has been dispatched to investigate covertly what looks like a nasty case of treason. He arrives to find a city on the point of insurrection, his cover apparently blown … and one very dead body.
As Baghdad swelters in a particularly torrid summer, the heat alone threatens the lives of the British soldiers who occupy the city. The recently ejected Turks are still a danger – and many of the local Arabs are none too friendly either.
For Jim, who is never at his best in warm weather, the situation grows pricklier by the day. Officially he is working on the railways around the city. His boss is the charming, enigmatic Lieutenant Colonel Shepherd, who presides over the gracious dining society called The Baghdad Railway Club – and who may or may not be a Turkish agent. Jim’s search for the truth brings him up against murderous violence in a heat-dazed, labyrinthine city where an enemy awaits around every corner.
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Deity, by Steven Dunne
When four Derby College students are reported missing, few in Derby CID, least of all DI Damen Brook, pay much attention. But then a film on the internet is discovered purporting to show the students committing mass suicide. If it’s real, why did they kill themselves when they had such bright futures ahead of them? If the suicides are faked, why the set up and where are the students? And if they’re dead and have been murdered, who on earth could have planned such a bizarre and tragic end to their promising lives?
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How’s the Pain?, by Pascal Garnier
Death is Simon’s business. And now the ageing vermin exterminator is preparing to die. But he still has one last job down on the coast, and he needs a driver. Bernard is twenty-one. He can drive and he’s never seen the sea. He can’t pass up the chance to chauffeur for Simon, whatever his mother may say. As the unlikely pair set off on their journey, Bernard soon finds that Simon’s definition of vermin is broader than he’d expected…Veering from the hilarious to the horrific, this offbeat story from master stylist, Pascal Garnier, is at heart an affecting study of human frailty.
To win, answer two simple questions…
- Question 1: In Glasgow’s areas, by how much can life expectancy differ?
- Question 2: In Deity, which road is closed?
No more submissions accepted at this time.
Terms and conditions
1. Closing date for entries: 9th July 2012.
2. Open to residents of the United Kingdom only.
3. Entry to the competition is by completion of the above form only. Anyone submitting multiple entries will be disqualified.
4. The winners will be selected at random from those correct entries received before the closing date.
5. Only the winning entrants will be contacted by Booknoir. Our decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.
6. The winner’s name(s) may be published on the Booknoir website after the closing date of the competition.
7. The competition is not open to Booknoir employees and their families, or to employees of Booknoir publishers and their families.
