Friday, March 06, 2009

A new Cambridge University set crime novel

Here's one currently missing from my forthcoming books list: Ruth Newman's Twisted Wing, winner of the Long Barn Books first novel prize, which will be out later this month from Long Barn Books. A paperback from Simon & Schuster will follow at some point.

Synopsis: The claustrophobic environment of Ariel College, Cambridge, has become the hunting ground for a serial killer. For the students, a siege mentality has developed following weeks of media interest in the 'Cambridge Butcher'. College life has become not about surviving exams, but surviving full stop. Forensic psychiatrist Matthew Denison is sure that his traumatised patient, student Olivia Coscadden, has the killer's identity locked up in her memory. That within the little clique she belonged to lurks someone with a grudge. Someone who thought 'what's a little decapitation between friends?'. And that someone is just getting started.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I'm always drawn to university (mainly Oxbridge I suppose) crime fiction, but often disappointed. They often seem rather anachronistically written. The first Elizabeth George book I read was "In search of Elena", a Cambridge (or was it Oxford?) novel - and I liked it a lot. But on the whole I think it is a hard genre to do. I'll await the reception of this one with interest. Good Thief's Guide....did very well. Is this one the last of the Long Barn Books prizes?