Tartan Talent on Tap

Glasgow-born author Chris Brookmyre has captured the inaugural Mclvanney Prize (previously the Scottish Crime Book of the Year) for Black Widow (Little, Brown UK). That announcement was made during tonight’s opening ceremonies at the Bloody Scotland International Crime Writing Festival being held this weekend in Stirling.

Also in contention for this commendation—which is named in honor of the late novelist William McIlvanney (Laidlaw)—were The Jump, by Doug Johnstone (Faber); Splinter the Silence, by Val McDermid (Little, Brown); and Beloved Poison, by E.S. Thomson (Little, Brown).

According to a press release, “the judges—journalist Lee Randall, award-winning librarian Stewart Bain, and former editor of The Scotsman and The Times (Scotland), Magnus Linklater—described Black Widow as: “like watching Olympic diving—just when you think the plot can’t twist again, it takes a new turn. Even the twists have twists. With a theme of cyber-abuse, this shows an author taking a long-running series to new heights.”

Congratulations to all the nominated authors and books!