A Most “Peculier” Situation

It was only in May that organizers behind the 2014 Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year Award competition announced their longlist of 18 contenders for that honor. Now comes the much-abbreviated shortlist, comprising just a half-dozen works:

• The Red Road, by Denise Mina (Orion)
• The Necessary Death of Lewis Winter, by Malcolm Mackay (Mantle)
• The Chessmen, by Peter May (Quercus)
• Rubbernecker, by Belinda Bauer (Bantam Press)
• Dying Fall, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• Eleven Days, by Stav Sherez (Faber & Faber)

The victor will be determined by a select panel (chaired by UK author Steve Mosby) as well as a public, online vote. Readers will be invited to choose their favorites from among the six nominees, beginning on July 3 and running through the 15th. (A link to the voting site will be available here, though it doesn’t appear to be available yet.)

The Crime Novel of the Year Award recipient will be named on July 17, as part of the opening-night festivities at this year’s 12th annual Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate, England.

(Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)