Justice City, by D.C. Compton (Gollancz, £5.99 in UK)

Part futuristic fantasy, part murder mystery, Justice Cite is set in the spotlessly clean punishment block of the future where society takes revenge on its criminals by inflicting doses of sophisticated aural pain on wrong-doers. The system is so finely-tuned that nothing is supposed to go wrong until a rapist is given an extra helping of sedative which puts him to sleep permanently, sparking an inquiry and, inevitably, a cover-up. Compton deliberately gives away the ending and restricts the number of suspects, giving the book the feel of a theme and variations for all that, he keeps producing edgy thrills out of an apparently bottomless bag.