The Last Laurels in Bristol

After 17 years spent saluting the best crime fiction, crime non-fiction, and crime TV that Britain and the world have to offer, the final CrimeFest will conclude tomorrow in Bristol, England. Today brought announcements of the 2025 CrimeFest Award winners.

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award: The Night of Baba Yaga, by Akira Otani, translated by Sam Bett (Faber & Faber)

Also nominated: Paper Cage, by Tom Baragwanath (Baskerville); Love Letters to a Serial Killer, by Tasha Coryell (Orion Fiction); The Antique Hunter’s Guide to Murder, by C.L. Miller (Pan Macmillan); Nightwatching, by Tracy Sierra (Viking); and Five by Five, by Claire Wilson (Michael Joseph)

eDunnit Award (for the best crime fiction ebook first published in both hardcopy and in electronic format): The Sequel, by Jean Hanff Korelitz (Faber & Faber)

Also nominated: Hemlock Bay, by Martin Edwards (Head of Zeus); The Lantern’s Dance, by Laurie R. King (Allison & Busby); What a Way to Go, by Bella Mackie (Borough Press); The God of the Woods, by Liz Moore (Borough Press); and A Talent for Murder, by Peter Swanson (Faber & Faber)

H.R.F. Keating Award (for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction): Agatha Christie’s Marple: Expert on Wickedness, by Mark Aldridge (HarperCollins)

Also nominated: Allusion in Detective Fiction, by Jem Bloomfield (Palgrave Macmillan); Female Detectives in Early Crime Fiction, 1841-1920, by Ashley Bowden (Fabula Mysterium Press); Writing the Murder: Essays on Crafting Crime Fiction, by Dan Coxon and Richard V. Hirst (Dead Ink); The Mysterious Case of the Victorian Female Detective, by Sara Lodge (Yale University Press); and Getting Away With Murder: My Unexpected Life on Page, Stage and Screen, by Lynda La Plante (Zaffre)

Last Laugh Award (for the best humorous crime novel): Mr. Campion’s Christmas, by Mike Ripley (Severn House)

Also nominated: The Case of the Secretive Secretary, by Cathy Ace (Four Tails); The Light and Shade of Ellen Swithin, by D.G. Coutinho
(Harvill Secker); What a Way to Go, by Bella Mackie (Borough Press); Knife Skills for Beginners, by Orlando Murrin (Transworld); and The Burning Stones, by Antti Tuomainen (Orenda)

Best Crime Fiction Award for Children (aged 8-12): Rosie Raja: Undercover Codebreaker, by Sufiya Ahmed (Bloomsbury Education)

Also nominated: The Secret of Golden Island, by Natasha Farrant (Faber & Faber); Mysteries at Sea: The Hollywood Kidnap Case, by A.M.
Howell (Usborne); The Twitchers: Feather, by M.G. Leonard (Walker); The Swifts: A Gallery of Rogues, by Beth Lincoln (Penguin Random House Children’s UK); and The Floating Witch Mystery, by Nicki Thornton (Faber & Faber)

Best Crime Fiction Award for Young Adults (aged 12-16): Heist Royale, by Kayvion Lewis (Simon & Schuster Children’s Books)

Also nominated: A Cruel Twist of Fate, by H.F. Askwith (Penguin Random House Children’s UK); It All Started With a Lie, by Denise Brown (Hashtag Press); Lie or Die, by A.J. Clack (Firefly Press); All the Hidden Monsters, by Amie Jordan (Chicken House); and Such Charming Liars, by Karen M. McManus (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)

Thalia Proctor Memorial Award for Best Adapted TV Crime Drama: Slow Horses (series 4), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron (Apple TV+)

Also nominated: Bad Monkey, based
on the book by Carl Hiaasen (Apple TV+); Dalgliesh (series 3), based on the Inspector Dalgliesh books by P.D. James (Channel 5); Lady in the Lake, based on the book by Laura Lippman (Apple TV+); Moonflower Murders, based on the book by Anthony Horowitz (BBC); and The Turkish Detective, based on the Inspector Ikmen books by Barbara Nadel (BBC)

Congratulations to all of the 2025 prize nominees!

READ MORE: “CrimeFest 2025—The End of an Era,” by Martin Edwards (‘Do You Write Under Your Own Name?’).