RIP Nordic Crime

I always like to give you a nudge when I am publishing a new book, so here is a nudge.

Where the Devil Can't Go by Anya Lipska is a crime novel set within the Polish community in the East End of London. Here's the blurb:

A naked girl has washed up on the banks of the River Thames. The only clue to her identity is a heart-shaped tattoo encircling two foreign names. Who is she – and why did she die?

Life’s already complicated enough for Janusz Kiszka, unofficial 'fixer' for East London’s Polish community: his priest has asked him to track down a young waitress who has gone missing; a builder on the Olympics site owes him a pile of money; and he’s falling for married Kasia, Soho’s most strait-laced stripper. But when Janusz finds himself accused of murder by an ambitious young detective, Natalie Kershaw, and pursued by drug dealing gang members, he is forced to take an unscheduled trip back to Poland to find the real killer.

In the mist-wreathed streets of his hometown of Gdansk, Janusz must confront painful memories from the Soviet past if he is to uncover the conspiracy – and with it, a decades-old betrayal.

This is the first crime novel I have ever published. I hadn't really intend to publish any to be honest, the fiction on the Friday Project's list is usually more of the experimental and quirky variety, but I loved this intelligent thriller and the way it explored a community that is largely ignored by contemporary fiction. The political subplot added a particularly dark element which appealed to me and Kiszka and Kershaw are shaping up to be a cracking crime partnership (of sorts).

Here's a trailer to give you a flavour of the book.

And don't just take my word  for it, I am most definitely biased. Here's what other crime writers have been saying about it.

'Lipska does for the East End what Rankin does for Edinburgh' JAMES CRAIG, author of the Inspector Carlyle series

‘RIP Nordic crime. Here come the Poles.' EMLYN REES, author of Hunted and Wanted

‘The moment I started reading this exciting thriller, I felt that thrill – the thrill of discovering a new favourite author.’ MARK EDWARDS, author of Catch Your Death and Killing Cupid

‘It's not Anya Lipska's startling knowledge of police work that sets her apart: it's how cleverly she uses it to enhance the plot of this gripping thriller. A frighteningly good debut.’ CHRIS SIMMS, author of The Edge and Hell’s Fire

'Anya is an exciting new talent with a truly unique voice.' MARI HANNAH, author of Settled Blood and The Murder Wall

And as a final treat, if you download the Live Books app to your smartphone and point it at the book cover at the top of the post then amazing things will happen. Enjoy.

Comments

[Darren Goldsmith]

Ooo... ooo. Yes, this sounds great!

[Ian Hocking]

I think that's the best book trailer I've seen. Top job.