Best summer books of 2023: Thrillers

Ozark Dogs by Eli Cranor (Headline/Soho Crime)

Haunted Vietnam veteran Jeremiah Fitzjurls is on the trail of his kidnapped teenage granddaughter Joanna. With vivid scene-setting, Cranor takes the reader to the dark heart of small-town Arkansas, where the junkyard dogs howl long into the night.

The Translator by Harriet Crawley (Bitter Lemon Press)

As the translator for Russia’s President Serov, Marina Volina is privy to all sorts of state secrets. Serov is planning to cut Britain’s underwater internet cables. When Marina’s former lover arrives in Moscow to translate for the visiting British prime minister, she tells him everything she has learnt — at growing danger to herself. This engaging spy story unfolds in a Moscow full of menace.

Red Queen by Juan Gómez-Jurado, translated by Nicholas Caistor (Macmillan)

Antonia Scott is a hyper-intelligent investigator living in Madrid, working for a secret EU police project. There is a nice crackle of non-sexual chemistry between Antonia and her partner Jon Gutierrez, a gay Basque policeman. From the hang-outs of the super-rich to seedy backstreets, the Spanish capital is evocatively drawn. The trilogy has sold more than 2mn copies in Spain and is soon to be a major series for Amazon Prime.

Needless Alley by Natalie Marlow (Baskerville)

The dark alleys of 1930s Birmingham are a suitably gloomy arena for William Garrett, a first world war veteran turned private detective in this engaging and highly accomplished debut. His sleazy speciality is ensnaring adulterous couples. But then Garrett falls in love with the wife of a prominent fascist industrialist . . .

Resurrection by David Gilman (Head of Zeus)

From a murder on the London Underground to a mission that goes badly wrong in the Sahara, Gilman keeps the action flowing furiously in the latest outing for Dan Raglan, a former MI6 officer and soldier in the French Foreign Legion. Raglan’s back-story and twisty political intrigue add an extra layer in this intelligent, satisfying international adventure.

Summer Books 2023

All this week, FT writers and critics share their favourites. Some highlights are:

Monday: Environment by Pilita Clark
Tuesday: Economics by Martin Wolf
Wednesday: Fiction by Laura Battle
Thursday: Politics by Gideon Rachman
Friday: Critics’ picks
Saturday: History by Tony Barber

Join our online book group on Facebook at FT Books Café