Contraband

Welcome to our Contraband selection of quality crime fiction, thrillers, mystery and noir – books that are imaginative, sometimes offbeat, always original. Whatever your reading taste, if you're fascinated by the darker side of life, you'll find great titles to choose from here.

There's the stunning literary historical novel His Bloody Project, in which Graeme Macrae Burnet transports us to a remote 19th-century crofting community and enthrals with his tale of petty vendettas, murderous vengeance and a justice system leaving much to be desired. Or the creepy 1970s Newcastle-set The Confession of Stella Moon, a disturbing character study convincingly drawn by psychologist/criminal lawyer Shelley Day.

Bloody Scotland-shortlisted Matt Bendoris specialises in the fast-paced zeitgeist murder mystery, written with savvy, swagger and a good dollop of tongue-in-cheek humour, while Neil Broadfoot – another Crime Book of the Year shortlister – is making waves with his brand of Edinburgh crime: he writes with ‘thrills, spills, chills and kills’ (STV), while Michael J Malone's 'strong female characters and honest, pithy dialogue' make for a 'deeply satisfying read' (Sunday Times Crime Club).