A Habit of Dying by D. J. Wiseman (Matador, £8.99) This novel by a local author features family history sleuth Lydia Silverstream, who buys house clearance mementos with the intention of reuniting them with their rightful owners. In this story, she discovers a sinister journal which leads her from Oxford to the Lake District, Cambridge, Essex and back again, in search of a present-day serial killer.