Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan (Zaffre £20, 384pp)
Fired by M from his job of providing James Bond with gadgets at MI6, Q – or Major Boothroyd, to give him his real name – has retired to his sleepy home village of Wickstone-on-Water, only to discover that his childhood friend, Peter Napier, a renowned quantum computer scientist, has drowned in a suspected suicide.
Q does not believe it. He not only knows that Napier had an abiding fear of swimming, but the dead man also left him a cryptic note suggesting that he might be killed.
The ever curious Q decides to probe further, only to uncover a sinister conspiracy involving a super-computer that could rule the world hidden in the countryside.
The talented Khan never lets the pace drop as he launches Q into a new career as a crime investigator.
The Burning Grounds by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill £18.99, 384pp)
It is Calcutta in 1926 and Detective Sam Wyndham, a reformed opium addict who now sticks to alcohol, is in disgrace after helping his former subaltern Suren Banerjee flee the country three years ago when he was suspected of a crime.
Now reduced to paper pushing, Wyndham comes across the corpse of J. P. Mullick, a rich, admired businessman and patron of the arts, in the Hindu burial grounds.
Then Banerjee resurfaces, searching for the daughter of a relative, who happens to be a famous photographer.
Throw in a beautiful English actress starring in an Indian film and you have the ingredients of a superb story set against the backdrop of colonial India. Sharp observation and stylish writing make it one not to miss.
The House on Buzzards Bay is available now from the Mail Bookshop
The House on Buzzards Bay by Dwyer Murphy (No Exit Press £10.99, 256pp)
Six old university friends decide to celebrate the arrival of middle age by going to one of their group’s holiday homes in Buzzards Bay, Massachusetts.
But Bruce, now a successful novelist, arrives late and seems out of sorts.
Even his host, and oldest friend, Jim, can’t cheer him up. Could it be something to do with the house? It was once home to Jim’s great- grandparents, Christian Spiritualists, and a disquieting atmosphere remains.
Then, Bruce disappears and Camille, a seductive woman he knew, appears out of the blue. What happened to Bruce? Has he been killed? Camille suspects so and suggests a seance to find out.
This elegant, eerie mystery brings a shudder to the spine.
