The Impossible Thing by Belinda Bauer (Bantam, £16.99)
A time-slip mystery set in the compulsive, and nowadays illegal, world of bird egg collectors, Bauer’s latest novel sees the return of Patrick Fort, the young protagonist of her 2013 novel Rubbernecker. Patrick, who has Asperger’s syndrome, is now 23, living with his mum in the Bannau Brycheiniog (Brecon Beacons). When a burglary at the house of his next-door neighbour results in the theft of only one item – a red egg in an ornamental box – Patrick, who is highly observant and a whiz at logic, is on the case. A second narrative strand tells the story of Celie Sheppard who, in 1926, saves her family’s fortunes when she risks her life to take a rare red guillemot’s egg from the steep cliff at the edge of their Yorkshire farm. Fans of Bauer know to expect something original from this most ingenious of crime writers, and newcomers will be delighted by a funny, moving and beautifully written tale of misfits and oological obsession.
The Frozen People by Elly Griffiths (Quercus, £22)
The first in a new series from the bestselling author is a police procedural with a difference. A top-secret department has been set up to look into cases so cold that they can only be solved by time travel. So far, the farthest Ali Dawson has gone is 1976; now, secretary of state for justice Isaac Templeton has asked her to travel to 1850 and investigate whether his philanthropist ancestor was guilty, as suspected, of murdering women. Kitted out in petticoats, Ali steps through the portal – only to find, when the appointed time comes, that she is unable to return to the present day. Meanwhile, her son Finn, who works for Templeton, is in serious trouble … While this might be a stretch for those who aren’t keen on genre mashups, the historical sections are well researched, and Griffiths not only succeeds in making the implausible plausible, but leaves enough narrative breadcrumbs to make us long for more.
