Six Appeal

It was only a month ago that the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival brought us its longlist of contestants for the 2020 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award. That roster of 18 works has now been pared down to a shortlist of just six:

• My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite (Atlantic)
• Worst Case Scenario, by Helen Fitzgerald (Orenda)
• The Lost Man, by Jane Harper (Little, Brown)
• Joe Country, by Mick Herron (John Murray)
• The Chain, by Adrian
McKinty (Orion)
• Smoke and Ashes, by Abir Mukherjee (Harvill Secker)

From now through Friday, July 19, you’re invited to go online and vote for your favorite work from among this half dozen. Due to the cancellation of the 2020 Theakston Festival, the winner will be announced during a “digital awards ceremony” on July 23.