Criminal Class: The Best in New European Crime

From the mountains of Germany to the shadows of Venice, it’s a continent of first-class crime writing. [Waterstones - Continent of Darkness - The Season's Pick of European Crime]( Dear Reader, Ahead of a glorious, long Easter weekend, publishing’s strange serendipity has brought together the release of five titles that properly represent the rude health of European crime writing. No matter if it’s the corruption of a fading Venice or savage, ritual evil set against the bland ordinariness of Norway, these volumes typify the current renaissance of superb European genre fiction. [The Thirst]( by Jo Nesbo (Published Thursday 20th April) [The Thirst]( Probably the most anticipated crime release of 2017, and after a pause of several years, [The Thirst]( marks Jo Nesbo’s return to the character that made his name - Harry Hole. In this, the eleventh Harry Hole tale, the haunted but brilliant detective finds himself reluctantly dragged into the investigation of a woman brutally murdered after what appears to be an internet date. Its violence fuels pressure from the Oslo media, but as Hole digs deeper his reservations around being involved at all start to give way to a greater awareness – that this savage act may hold the key to his one failed case. ‘Resistance is futile: Nesbo has some rare, Ancient Mariner-type gift for holding his readers completely in thrall until he has finished with us.’ – The Sunday Express [Find out more]( [Don't Let Go]( by Michel Bussi (Published Thursday 27th April) [Don't Let Go]( A megastar in his native France, the spectacular rise of Michel Bussi on this end of the Channel Tunnel would indicate his appeal spreads far beyond Calais. After the huge successes in Waterstones for [After the Crash]( and [Black Water Lilies]( the final title from Weidenfeld & Nicolson’s initial brace of English translations [Don't Let Go]( takes the reader to an idyllic resort on the island of Réunion, a French territory some 100 miles off the coast of Mauritius. The bloodied disappearance of a man’s wife instigates a superbly-choreographed manhunt, split by Bussi into several points of view – most particularly, and affectingly, that of the suspect’s six-year-old daughter, convinced that he is the killer. Bussi is a natural and this is a cracker. [Find out more]( [Earthly Remains]( by Donna Leon [Earthly Remains]( Donna Leon and Commissario Guido Brunetti: over what is now an arc of twenty-six novels, Leon has crafted a written universe of such palpable reality, each book feels like a return home. In [Earthly Remains]( we find Brunetti on leave, compelled to find solace after an investigation takes a turn for the worse, with the Commissario falling foul of Venice’s elite. Trouble, however, lies in wait: his impromptu sabbatical has brought him close to Davide Casati, an old friend of Brunetti’s father, and their mutual appreciation of a simpler, natural world is shattered by Casati’s disappearance after a sudden storm. Brunetti’s subsequent investigation opens the door to a complex, dark world, rendered with Leon’s intimate understanding of the real Venice and her usual gift for character. We were recently graced by Donna Leon’s thoughts behind [Earthly Remains]( and you can read these over on our [Waterstones blog](. [Find out more]( [Prussian Blue]( by Philip Kerr [Prussian Blue]( holding up the Brit end of our European showcase is Philip Kerr, who since the late eighties has been redefining crime fiction with his justly-lauded Bernie Gunther sequence. The cunning Gunther, a sometime German WWI veteran, ex-policeman and private investigator, now finds his often compromised past snapping at his heels. It is 1956: even the French Riviera offers no respite from the schemes of others, and in [Prussian Blue]( Gunther finds himself forced to murder an agent and former lover by request of Ernst Mielke, old adversary and now deputy head of the East German Stasi. What follows is a masterclass in suspense and historical reconstruction, as Kerr splits the narrative of a Gunther – now on the run – and the events of 1939, where we find him embroiled in the investigation of a murder that may involve the most elite levels of Nazi command. ‘You have to know that things will rarely turn out well for brave, mouthy Bernie Gunther, but that they turn out at all is exhilarating to watch.’ - The Washington Post [Find out more]( [The Owl Always Hunts at Night]( by Samuel Bjork [The Owl Always Hunts at Night]( The close of 2015 heralded [I'm Travelling Alone]( Samuel Bjork’s impressive slice of thoroughly nihilistic Scandi-noir. Introducing the crime-busting odd-couple Holger Munch and Mia Kruger, Bjork’s capability to summon a real sense of dread, coupled with two lead characters almost as flawed as the world they investigate, immediately won over the genre’s many connoisseurs. [The Owl Always Hunts at Night]( finds Munch and Kruger plunged into the disturbing labyrinth of ritual slaughter, but with Kruger confronting her own almost insurmountable demons and Munch’s daughter slipping into strange territories of her own, can this duo push their own issues aside to overcome this profound new evil? [Find out more]( With all best wishes, Your friends at Waterstones [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [YouTube]( [View email online](. Sadly replies to this particular email will not be read or generate any responses, but we always welcome feedback and any queries or thoughts are best addressed to our customer support booksellers using our [online form](. You might also find the answer on our [Help pages](. To receive our emails to your inbox, please add team@emails.waterstones.com to your address book or safe list. ©2017 Waterstones Booksellers Limited. All rights reserved. Registered Office Address: 203/206 Piccadilly, London W1J 9HD. 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