Hello and welcome to a brand new week of #R3COMM3ND3D2020 on damppebbles! Today I am delighted to welcome one of my favourite crime fiction experts to share their three #R3COMM3ND3D2020 picks with us. It’s the fabulous Ayo Onatade of Shotsmag Confidential. Shotsmag Confidential should be your first port of call for all things crime fiction (closely followed by damppebbles.com, of course!). Make sure you check it out!

So, what is #R3COMM3ND3D2020? It’s about sharing the book love. It’s a chance for authors, book bloggers and bookstagrammers to shout about three (yes, *only* three) books they love. They can be written by any author, in any genre and published in any way (traditionally, indie press or self-published). But there is a catch. All three books must have been published in 2020. To make things interesting I have added a couple of teeny, tiny rules this year which are; 1) the book must have first been published in 2020 and 2) special editions and reissues do not count. I like to keep you lovely people on your toes. 😉

Here are Ayo’s recommendations…

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
Blacktop Wasteland is the story of an ex-con whose new, quiet life is interrupted by an offer he cannot refuse. Dark, gritty and gripping it is at once a heist thriller and a Southern noir novel with a great sense of place fulled by mounting suspense and a chilling sense of retribution.
Ayo’s Review of Blacktop Wasteland

Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
An enthrallingly multilayered debut literary mystery involving a reticent crime writer and a shrewd editor. Eight short stories within a story that is a real brain teaser. With nods to the Queen of Crime Agatha Christie Eight Detectives is a fascinating novel that plays homage to the genre.

Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson
A meta crime novel that gives a salute to the genre and classic crime novels. It is full of devious twists, red herrings and numerous surprises. A crime book within a crime book along with an unreliable narrator makes this an engrossing read.

Thanks so much, Ayo. I’ve read (and loved!) one of your recommendations. One is on the TBR already and the thrid one, I’m absolutely kicking myself that I neither own it nor have read it!

If Ayo has managed to tempt you, or if you would like to find out more about the books recommended above, please see the following links:

Blacktop Wasteland by S.A. Cosby
Eight Detectives by Alex Pavesi
Rules for Perfect Murders by Peter Swanson

About Ayo Onatade:
Ayo Onatade is a CWA Red Herring Award winning freelance crime fiction critic and blogger. She has written a number of articles on different aspects of crime fiction and has also given papers on the subject as well. She has an eclectic taste in crime fiction, which runs the gamut from historical crime fiction to hardboiled and short stories. Her research interests include historical fiction especially crime fiction and crime fiction literary criticism. She is a visiting lecturer at Kingston University, judges and chairs the CWA Short Story Dagger as well as the Historical Writers Association Debut Crown and the Strand Magazine Critcs Award.

Ayo’s Blog and Social Media Links:
| Shotsmag Confidential | Twitter @Shotsblog | Facebook Group |

If you’re a book blogger, bookstagrammer or an author and you have three books published this year which you want to shout about then please complete the following form (or click this link: https://forms.gle/kHTQeQdiUNZTsW4d6)