New Mystery Thrillers Hit Shelves

- Denise Mina's *The Good Liar* centers on a forensic scientist, Dr. Claudia O'Sheil, who discovers the blood spatter evidence she provided in a famous double-murder case was flawed, leading to a wrongful conviction. The novel follows her dilemma on whether to reveal the truth at a public ceremony, which would destroy her career. - A key theme in *The Good Liar* is the exploration of "junk science" in forensics and its potential for causing miscarriages of justice. Author Denise Mina, a prominent figure in the "Tartan Noir" subgenre, studied law and taught criminology at Strathclyde University. - Belinda Bauer's *The Impossible Thing* delves into the world of illegal wild bird egg collecting, also known as oology. The plot is set in motion by the theft of a single, uniquely scarlet guillemot egg that connects the two timelines. - Bauer has received significant critical acclaim for her previous work; her 2018 novel *Snap* was longlisted for the prestigious Man Booker Prize, an unusual honor for the crime fiction genre. Her debut, *Blacklands*, won the Crime Writers' Association's Gold Dagger award in 2010. - Mina is a highly decorated author in the crime genre, having twice won the Theakston's Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award. *The Good Liar* is her twentieth novel. - The historical storyline in *The Impossible Thing*, set in 1926 on the Yorkshire coast, follows a destitute girl named Celie who discovers the rare egg while being lowered down cliffs where seabirds nest. The modern plotline follows two friends who stumble into the criminal underworld of egg trafficking after the same egg is stolen from them.