Author: Darren Smith

Three reissued mystery novels spanning seven decades of crime writing offer readers a chance to discover or rediscover some of the genre’s most distinctive voices, from a hardboiled Chicago double-act to a poison-laced fashion house lunch and a courtroom drama centred on the Old Bailey. The Fabulous Clipjoint by Fredric Brown (Penguin, £10.99, 240pp) introduces one of crime fiction’s more unusual investigative partnerships: Ed, a teenager from a deprived background, and his uncle Ambrose, a fairground showman, who join forces after Ed’s father is bludgeoned to death in a dark alley following a late-night drinking session. Set in 1940s Chicago,…

Former professional cyclist Rohan Dennis has allegedly been caught driving while disqualified with two children in the vehicle, just over a year after he was banned from driving for five years following the death of his wife, fellow Olympian Melissa Hoskins. South Australia Police said officers stopped a 36-year-old man from Medindie just after 4pm on Thursday after seeing him driving a vehicle with two children inside. The vehicle was impounded for 28 days, and police confirmed the man would be summonsed to appear in court at a later date. Dennis was disqualified from driving for five years and given…

A brother and sister have been convicted over an attack on a group of schoolgirls in Dundee that led to one of them brandishing an axe and knife in footage that went viral worldwide — with police now admitting their initial account of the incident “did not fully reflect the situation.” Ilia Belov, 22, was found guilty at Dundee Sheriff Court of behaving in a “threatening or abusive manner” towards four girls aged between 12 and 14, and of assaulting a 12-year-old by pushing her to the ground, following the incident in the Lochee area of the city on 23…

A major crash has forced the closure of the A453 near Isley Walton in Leicestershire, blocking access between Walton Hill and Moor Lane and causing disruption for festival-goers heading to Download Festival as well as passengers travelling to and from East Midlands Airport. Emergency services were scrambled to the scene, with Leicestershire Police leading the investigation and recovery operation. National Highways confirmed there was no access for traffic to Download Festival from the East Midlands Airport side as a result of the closure, though it said other routes into the site remained open. In a statement, National Highways said: “The…

Police in Tampa, Florida, are hunting a man wanted for murder after he allegedly used his car to deliberately strike and kill a bouncer who had just escorted him out of a nightclub following a confrontation with a woman in the early hours of Sunday morning. Jose Zamora Valdes, 32, is wanted by the Tampa Police Department on charges of murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon. According to police, Valdes had been at the Vale after-hours nightclub in northern Tampa when he became involved in a fight with a woman he knew. At around 4.30am, a bouncer removed…

A restaurant owner in upstate New York got the surprise of his life when dozens of schoolgirls emerged through a drain onto his patio, after a group from an unauthorised school trip became lost while exploring an underground culvert and had to be rescued by emergency services. The chaos unfolded when around 70 eighth and ninth-grade girls from a private school in Ramapo were visiting Memorial Park in Nyack, a village in Rockland County, on a trip that Mayor Joseph Rand confirmed did not have the required permit. A number of the students decided to explore a drainage culvert and…

Microsoft’s Xbox division is bracing for significant job cuts after new chief executive Asha Sharma admitted the business “isn’t particularly healthy,” with layoffs expected shortly after the close of Microsoft’s fiscal year on 30 June as part of what has been dubbed the “Xbox Reset.” The cuts were first reported by Bloomberg’s Jason Schreier on Wednesday, citing sources familiar with the company’s strategy who said the exact scale remained unclear but that reductions were likely once Microsoft’s financial year closes. The Verge reported separately that its sources suggested the planned layoffs and budget cuts could include the closure of a…

The daughter of a Melbourne maths teacher allegedly drugged and bludgeoned to death by his own brother has issued an emotional public statement, describing his murder as an “unthinkable betrayal” as four family members face charges over the killing. Sunil Sharma, 66, a teacher at Diamond Valley College, disappeared last month during a trip to Punjab in northern India, where he had travelled to oversee renovations at his investment properties. Indian police now believe he was murdered by his brother, Satish “Sunny” Sharma, in a dispute over property estimated to be worth AUD$740,000. Satish has been arrested and charged with…

The body of five-year-old Amada Mia Brown has been recovered after she was swept out to sea by a large wave at Laguna Beach, California, bringing an end to a search operation lasting more than 30 hours and covering over 90 square miles of ocean. Amada was walking along the beach with her mother and brother on Tuesday evening when a wave pulled all three into the water. Bystanders rushed in and managed to rescue the mother and her brother, but were unable to reach Amada before she was carried away. Her remains were spotted on Thursday morning. The search…

Liverpool are preparing a major overhaul of their defence this summer, with new manager Andoni Iraola set to oversee a squad rebuild that includes finding a long-term successor to Trent Alexander-Arnold at right-back, after Ibrahima Konate appeared set to follow his former teammate to Real Madrid. According to Liverpool.com, Konate looks poised to complete a move to the Santiago Bernabeu after reportedly signing his contract, with Liverpool having already confirmed last Sunday that the French defender would depart upon the expiry of his deal this summer. Konate made 183 appearances across five seasons at Anfield, winning the Premier League and…