Crime In Brief: All She Ever Wanted<br/>Red Tide

All She Ever Wanted by Patrick Redmond (SIMON & SCHUSTER £10.99) £9.99 (P&P FREE) 08700 798 897

One day in 1987, the father of eight-year-old Tina leaves the family home in Essex with just a short note as a goodbye. Tina never recovers from the loss. As she grows older, the pain turns to hatred. Hatred for her father and hatred for the schoolmates who turn against the ugly, lonely child. Until one day she finds she has power - the power to hurt back. And she uses the power against anyone who hurts her. When she moves to London, she's a different young woman. And she hurts men, until she finds one she really loves and can't cope with it. Then another who loves her, and she can't cope with that either, and inevitably disaster strikes. All She Ever Wanted is not my usual cup of tea, but an extremely enjoyable psycho thriller nevertheless. It's billed as being for fans of Minette Walters and Nicci French, but I think it's better than that.

Red Tide by G M Ford (MACMILLAN £12.99 £11.99 (P&P FREE) 08700 798 897

In the central Seattle bus depot, something nasty and lethal is let loose. A killer virus. Doomsday has arrived as a lot of innocent people die - suddenly and painfully. By coincidence, just around the corner at that same moment, Frank Corso, investigative journalist par excellence, is at the opening of an exhibition of his best friend, Meg Dougherty's, photographs. The tattooed lady, remember her? Then, out of nowhere the tattooist turns up dead. The man who drugged Meg, and treated her body like his own personal canvas. So there's going to be trouble on all fronts, trust me, especially when Frank is the prime suspect in the chemical attack.

I know I've reviewed the Corso novels one after another and I don't care. If you ask me who's my favourite crime/ thriller writer among the new breed, then it's got to be G M Ford, and this novel goes to show why.