Crime Fiction

HANDSOME young Aelric comes from Kent, in a place which, in the early 7th century, is known as England, although most people in the rapidly crumbling remains of the Roman Empire still call it by its old name, Britain.

In Richard Blake's Conspiracies of Rome (Hodder, £19.99), a mixture of good luck and bad fortune sees Aelric travelling to Rome itself.

Although unimpressed by religious mumbo-jumbo, he throws his lot in with the church through a youthful combination of cynicism and idealism - he doesn't believe in God or gods, but he does believe in the power of books to preserve the best elements of a civilisation which he can see dying around him.

But, when the priest who was his travelling companion is murdered, Aelric must concern himself with more immediate dangers, as factions gather to squabble over the empire's corpse.

Blake gives us plenty of ancient politics to get our teeth into, amusing characters and a richly researched picture of an intriguing era which hasn't already been done to death by novelists. This looks like the start of a very rewarding series.

The Twilight Time (Hodder, £12.99) is a debut police procedural by former police officer Karen Campbell, set in contemporary Glasgow.

In a book not recommended for the weak of stomach, Detective Sergeant Anna Cameron investigates a series of attacks on prostitutes and the death of a Polish veteran of World War II.

Campbell's story reeks of authenticity - perhaps a little too much so at times. As the author grows in confidence, she'll realise that she doesn't have to try quite so hard to convince us that she knows what she's talking about.

However, I don't remember the last time that I read a police novel which made me feel that I was spying on that world so much. As a bonus, Campbell happens to be a very talented, natural storyteller.

Iain Levison's Dog Eats Dog (Bitter Lemon Press, £8.99) is an odd little book, halfway between a caper and a satire.

Dixon is a bank robber on the run who needs somewhere to rest while his wounds heal.

He's delighted to see, through a living-room window in a small New Hampshire town, a college professor having sex with a teenage girl. One bit of blackmail later and Professor White has a secret lodger.

The third player in what will become a kind of strange, unfinished triangle is FBI agent Lupo, who's on the verge of quitting her job because she's finally realised that women aren't welcome in the bureau.

All three are dreaming of a complete change in the direction of their lives and all three are going to get one, one way or another.

Levison's targets include many of modern US capitalism's sillier manifestations and, although the comic attack is mild enough in nature, this highly readable novel makes its points. The only thing stopping it from being classed as "literary crime" is a complete lack of pomposity or pretentiousness.