‘Hemlock Bay’ by Martin Edwards

Hbk, Bloomsbury, £22

Available to pre-order, this new title from the master of British crime writing is a cracker.

Basil Palmer plans to murder a man called Louis Carson. After learning that Carson runs a hotel in Hemlock Bay, a playground for the wealthy and privileged, Palmer invents a false identity.

Posing as Dr Seamus Doyle, he journeys to the coast plotting murder along the way. Meanwhile, amateur sleuth Rachel Savernake rents a cottage there, determined to discover for herself the serpent that has slithered into this idyllic Eden.

You can meet the author at next month’s Manx Litfest on Friday, September 27. Visit manxlitfest.com for full details.

‘The Book of Elsewhere’ by Keanu Reeves and China Miéville

Hbk, Del Rey, £22

A mind-blowing epic from Keanu Reeves and China Miéville, unlike anything these two genre-bending pioneers have created before, inspired by the world of the BRZRKR comic books.

In a collaboration that combines Miéville’s distinctive style with Reeve’s haunting narrative, this pair has created something utterly unique. A staggering addition to the fantasy genre.

There have always been whispers. Legends. The warrior who cannot be killed. Who’s seen a thousand civilizations rise and fall. He has had numerous names: Unute, Child of Lightning, Death himself. These days, he’s known simply as ‘B’. And he wants to be able to die.