Umiko Wada Books

'One of the finest crime writers of any generation' Daily Mail 'He's the high priest of plot ... deftly woven, but also beautifully written ... I loved it' Mel Giedroyc _______________________________ Umiko Wada has recently had quite enough excitement in her life. With her husband recently murdered and a mother who seems to want her married again before his body is cold, she just wants to keep her head down. As a secretary to a private detective, her life is pleasingly uncomplicated, filled with coffee runs, diary management and paperwork. That is, until her boss takes on a new case. A case which turns out to be dangerous enough to get him killed. A case which means Wada will have to leave Japan for the first time and travel to London. Following the only lead she has, Wada quickly realises that being a detective isn't as easy as the television makes out. And that there's a reason why secrets stay buried for a long time. Because people want them to stay secret. And they're prepared to do very bad things to keep them that way... A pulse-pounding, breathless crime thriller, perfect for fans of Anthony Horowitz's Hawthorne series, Robert Galbraith's Cormoran Strike series and LJ Ross's Alexander Gregory thrillers. The new Umiko Wada novel from Robert Goddard, THE FINE ART OF UNCANNY PREDICTION, is available now. _______________________________ What readers are saying: '5 stars' 'Guaranteed and satisfying escapism' 'Edge-of-the-seat stuff' 'The master of twists and suspense... sublime'

The unmissable new novel from the author of the BBC ‘Between the Covers’ book club hit, The Fine Art of Invisible Detection 'The world's greatest storyteller' GUARDIAN 'One of the finest crime writers of any generation' DAILY MAIL 'Our finest practitioner of the double-cross plotting' MICK HERRON _______ Umiko Wada never set out to be a private detective, let alone become the one-woman operation behind the Kodaka Detective Agency. But so it has turned out, thanks to the death of her former boss, Kazuto Kodaka, in mysterious circumstances. Keen to avoid a similar fate, Wada chooses the cases she takes very carefully. A businessman who wants her to track down his estranged son offers what appears to be a straightforward assignment. Soon she finds herself pulled into a labyrinthine conspiracy with links to a twenty-seven-year-old investigation by her late employer and to the chaos and trauma of the dying days of the Second World War. As Wada uncovers a dizzying web of connections between then and now, it becomes clear that someone has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep the past buried. Soon those she loves most will be sucked into the orbit of one of the most powerful men in Tokyo. And he will do whatever it takes to hold on to his power... The Fine Art of Uncanny Prediction is another tour de force from the cunning mind of master storyteller Robert Goddard. Spanning seventy years, it takes the reader on a head-spinning journey of twist and counter-twist which keep you guessing until the final pages. _______ Readers love Robert Goddard: ***** 'Guaranteed and satisfying escapism' ***** 'Twists and turns right up to the last page' ***** 'Edge-of-the-seat stuff' ***** 'Fresh and inventive' ***** 'The master of twists and suspense ... sublime' ***** 'Scintillating and wickedly twisty' ***** ‘If Stephen King has taken it to a baseball game, I'm going to read it’