Recent crime novels | 3 May 2008

Laura Wilson specialises in acutely observed psychological thrillers, in most cases set in the recent past. Stratton’s War (Orion, £18.99) marks a departure for her in that it is the start of a series. Set in London during the phony war before the Blitz, it kicks off with an ageing and almost forgotten silent film star impaled on the spikes of a Fitzrovia railing. DI Ted Stratton is unconvinced that it is suicide, and his investigations lead him deep into Soho’s flourishing criminal underworld. Meanwhile in a rather smarter part of London, the glamorous and unhappily married Diana Calthrop, a newly recruited MI5 agent, grows increasingly concerned about the activities of a high-ranking official, whose loyalties are suspect. The strands of the plot come together, and so do Stratton (a family man from Tottenham) and Calthrop, who edge into an awkward alliance. Wilson writes quite brilliantly about wartime London and its inhabitants, moving easily from Dolphin Square to the suburbs. The relatively recent past is a hard period for a writer of historical fiction to pull off, but she has a genius for its language, its social stratification and its mores. This promises to be an exceptional series which will continue into the post-war period. Highly recommended.

Harlan Coben established himself with his Myron Bolitar series but his recent books have been stand-alone thrillers, as is his new novel, Hold Tight (Orion, £18.99). The Bayes family live a comfortable life in a New Jersey suburb. But the parents are worried by the withdrawn behaviour of their elder child, teenage Adam, all the more so since a schoolfriend has recently committed suicide. Jettisoning their scruples, they install spyware on their son’s computer. Soon they are plunged into a far darker scenario than their worst fears could have predicted. The staccato-paced narrative, which is studded with short, sometimes verbless paragraphs, leaves the reader no time for reflection.