There’ll Be a Battle in Bristol

Having already reported on two sets of Canadian prize nominees, let me now turn your attention to Britain. Organizers of this year’s CrimeFest—to be held in Bristol, England, from May 17 to 20—have announced the shortlists of candidates for their 10th annual CrimeFest Awards in half a dozen categories.

Best Unabridged Crime Audiobook:
• The Child, by Fiona Barton; read by Clare Corbett, Adjoa Andoh, Finty Williams, Fenella Woolgar, and Steven Pacey (Audible Studios)
• The Midnight Line, by Lee Child; read by Jeff Harding (Transworld)
• The Girl Before, by J.P. Delaney; read by Emilia Fox, Finty Williams, and Lise Aagaard Knudsen (Quercus)
• Silent Child, by Sarah A. Denzil; read by Joanne Froggatt
(Audible Studios)
• Sometimes I Lie, by Alice Feeney; read by Stephanie Racine (HQ)
• The Girlfriend, by Michelle Frances; read by Antonia Beamish
(Pan Macmillan Audio)
• The Word Is Murder, by Anthony Horowitz; read by Rory Kinnear (Penguin Random House Audio)
• The Girl Who Takes an Eye for an Eye, by David Lagercrantz;
read by Saul Reichlin (Quercus)

eDunnit Award (for the best crime fiction e-book):
• Want You Gone, by Chris Brookmyre (Little, Brown)
• The Ghosts of Galway, by Ken Bruen (Head of Zeus)
• The Late Show, by Michael Connelly (Orion)
• IQ, by Joe Ide (Weidenfeld & Nicolson)
• Since We Fell, by Dennis Lehane (Little, Brown)
• You Can Run, by Steve Mosby (Orion)
• Wolves in the Dark, by Gunnar Staalesen (Orenda)
• Exquisite, by Sarah Stovell (Orenda)

The Last Laugh Award (for the best humorous crime novel):
• Blotto, Twinks and the Stars of the Silver Screen,
by Simon Brett (Little, Brown)
• Bryant & May: Wild Chamber, by Christopher Fowler (Doubleday)
• Spook Street, by Mick Herron (John Murray)
• The Strange Disappearance of a Bollywood Star,
by Vaseem Khan (Mullholland)
• East of Hounslow, by Khurrum Rahman (HQ)
• Sweetpea, by C.J. Skuse, (HQ)
• The Man Who Died, by Antti Tuomainen (Orenda)
• Herring in the Smoke, by L.C. Tyler (Allison & Busby)

The H.R.F. Keating Award (for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction):
• The Story of Classic Crime in 100 Books, by Martin Edwards
(British Library)
• America Noir, by Barry Forshaw (No Exit Press)
• Sherlock Holmes in Context, by Sam Naidu (Palgrave Macmillan)
• Sherlock Holmes from Screen to Stage, by Benjamin Poore
(Palgrave Macmillan)
• Kiss Kiss Bang Bang, by Mike Ripley (HarperCollins)
• The Man Who Would Be Sherlock, by Christopher Sandford
(The History Press)
• Arthur & Sherlock, by Michael Sims (Bloomsbury)
• Getting Carter, by Nick Triplow (No Exit Press)

Best Crime Novel for Children (8-12):
• Chase, by Linwood Barclay (Orion Children’s Books)
• The Misfits Club, by Kieran Crowley (Macmillan Children’s Books)
• A Place Called Perfect, by Helena Duggan (Usborne)
• The Royal Rabbits of London: Escape from the Tower, by Santa and Simon Sebag Montefiore (Simon & Schuster)
• Toto the Ninja Cat and the Great Snake Escape, by Dermot O'Leary (Hodder Children’s Books)
• Mr. Penguin and the Lost Treasure, by Alex T. Smith
(Hodder Children’s Books)
• Violet and the Mummy Mystery, by Harriet Whitehorn
(Simon & Schuster)

Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (12-16):
• Girlhood, by Cat Clarke (Quercus Children’s Books)
• The Ones That Disappeared, by Zana Fraillon (Orion Children’s Books)
• After the Fire, by Will Hill (Usborne)
• Indigo Donut, by Patrice Lawrence (Hodder Children’s Books)
• Genuine Fraud, by E. Lockhart (Hot Key)
• SweetFreak, by Sophie McKenzie (Simon & Schuster)
• Dark Matter: Contagion, by Teri Terry (Orchard)
• Beware That Girl, by Teresa Toten (Hot Key)

These commendations are set to be presented to the winners during a ceremony on Saturday, May 19.

Hat tip to Mystery Fanfare.)