Chelsea Cain's Heartsick is the best zero-killer debut in a long time, easily as good as Silence of the Lambs and Want to Play.

It's a real stay-up-till-you-finish thriller that resembles Silence in some ways but has enough originality to stand out.

Detective Archie returns to work a year after surviving several weeks' torture at the hands of serial murderer Gretchen.

His hunt for another killer is affected by the strange relationship he still has with the imprisoned Gretchen.

Shadowing the investigation team is a young reporter who is troubled by her own traumatic past.

Mystery, twists, a gripping no-nonsense writing style and a real understanding of character makes this an unmissable thriller.

The Bone Garden -- Tess Gerritson.

Gerritson's usual heroine, pathologist Maura Isles, make a cameo appearance in this satisfying hardback novel.

But the story is mostly set 170 years before in a Boston plagued with poverty, serial killing and grave-robbing.

A medical student teams up with a poor Irish girl to protect her dead sister's baby and clear themselves of the suspicion of murder.

They gradually realise that someone from the city's elite is ruthlessly guiding events in order to protect their reputation.

Occasionally the book returns to the present where woman is trying discover the identity of a skeleton buried in her garden.

Once the story gets going as gripping, eventful and touching as Gerritson's modern-day murder thrillers.

Broken Skin -- Stuart McBride.

Ever wondered what Inspector Rebus might have been like as a cop on the crime-plagued streets of a Scottish city?

This is the nearest you'll get to that delicious idea as DS Logan McRae as he stumbles his way around Aberdeen.

He juggles three cases and two feuding inspectors in a complex, grisly, fast-moving tale shot through with black humour.

There's a seven-year-old knife murderer, a dead sado-masochist and a hero soccer player raping women on the side.

The tension and stress for Logan and finally the cases come together in a believable and satisfying way.

This third outing for Logan should appeal to fans of writer Mark Billington, TV's Taggart and of course Ian Rankin.

The Intruders -- Michael Marshall.

Marshall's Straw Men trilogy showed his skill at building a compulsive mystery, punctuated with rivetting action scenes on the way to a mind-blowing reveal.

More of the same in this page-turning thriller about a former cop trying to trace his missing wife and discovering she had a secret life.

Glimpses of other people's strange lives and hints of a supernatural explanation deepen the page-turning puzzle.

It's all about body-snatching and the secrets of sound -- any more would give the game away. Try it for yourself.