Shortlists Long on Talent

With two months to go before the start of this year’s CrimeFest (May 11-14), the organizers of that convention have announced their shortlists of contenders for awards in six different categories of crime, mystery, and thriller fiction. As a news release explains, these prizes “honour the best crime books released in 2022 in the UK.”

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award:
• A Good Day to Die, by Amen Alonge (Quercus)
• Bad for Good, by Graham Bartlett (Allison & Busby)
• The Maid, by Nita Prose (HarperCollins)
• Ashes in the Snow, by Oriana Rammuno, translated by Katherine Gregor (HarperCollins)
• Kalmann, by Joachim B. Schmidt, translated by Jamie Lee Searle (Bitter Lemon)
• Dirt Town, by Hayley Scrivenor (Macmillan)
• The Siege, by John Sutherland (Orion)
• A Flicker in the Dark, by Stacy Willingham (HarperCollins)

eDunnit Award:
• The Cliff House, by Chris Brookmyre (Abacus)
• Desert Star, by Michael Connelly (Orion)
• The Botanist, by M.W. Craven (Constable)
• The Book of the Most Precious Substance, by Sara Gran
(Faber and Faber)
• A Heart Full of Headstones, by Ian Rankin (Orion)
• Nine Lives, by Peter Swanson (Faber and Faber)

H.R.F. Keating Award (for the best biographical or critical book related to crime fiction):
• The Bloomsbury Handbook to Agatha Christie, by J.C. Bernthal and Mary Anna Evans (Bloomsbury Academic)
• A Private Spy: The Letters of John le Carré, 1945-2020, by John le Carré, edited by Tim Cornwell (Viking)
• The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and Their Creators, by Martin Edwards (Collins Crime Club)
• Simenon: The Man, The Books, The Films, by Barry Forshaw (Oldcastle)
• Gender Roles and Political Contexts in Cold War Spy Fiction,
by Sian MacArthur (Palgrave Macmillan)
• Agatha Christie: A Very Elusive Woman, by Lucy Worsley
(Hodder & Stoughton)

Last Laugh Award (for the best humorous crime novel):
• Bryant & May’s Peculiar London, by Christopher Fowler (Doubleday)
• The Locked Room, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
• Bad Actors, by Mick Herron (Baskerville)
• Hope to Die, by Cara Hunter (Viking)
• Mr. Campion’s Mosaic, by Mike Ripley (Severn House)
• The Moose Paradox, by Antti Tuomainen (Orenda)

Thalia Proctor Memorial Award for Best Adapted TV Crime Drama:
• Babylon Berlin (series 4), based on the books by Volker Kutscher. Produced by X-Filme Creative Pool, ARD Degeto Film, Beta Film, Sky Deutschland, Westdeutscher Rundfunk. Shown on Sky Atlantic.
• Grace (series 2), based on the books by Peter James. Produced by ITV Studios. Shown on ITV.
• Karin Pirie, based on the books by Val McDermid. Produced by ITV Studios. Shown on ITV.
• Magpie Murders, based on novel by Anthony Horowitz. Produced by Britbox and Eleventh Hour Films. Shown on BritBox.
• Reacher, based on the books by Lee Child. Produced by Amazon Studios, Blackjack Films, Paramount Television, and Skydance Television. Shown on Amazon Prime.
• Shetland (season 7), based on the books by Ann Cleeves. Produced by Silverprint Pictures. Shown on BBC.
• Slow Horses (seasons 1 and 2), based on the books by Mick Herron. Produced by See-Saw. Shown on Apple TV+.
• Vienna Blood (season 3), based on the books by Frank Tallis. Produced by Endor Productions, Seven.One Studios. Shown on BBC.

Best Crime Fiction Novel for Children (aged 8-12):
• A Girl Called Justice: The Spy at the Window, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus Children’s Books)
• Where Seagulls Dare: A Diamond Brothers Case, by Anthony
Horowitz (Walker)
• The Good Turn, by Sharna Jackson (Puffin)
• Spark, by M.G. Leonard (Walker)
• The Ministry of Unladylike Activity, by Robin Stevens (Puffin)
• Alice Éclair, Spy Extraordinaire! A Recipe for Trouble, by Sarah
Todd Taylor (Nosy Crow)

Best Crime Fiction Novel for Young Adults (aged 12-16):
• Five Survive, by Holly Jackson (Electric Monkey)
• Needle, by Patrice Lawrence (Barrington Stoke)
• The Butterfly Assassin, by Finn Longman (Simon & Schuster Children’s)
• Truth or Dare, by Sophie McKenzie (Simon & Schuster Children’s)
• I Must Betray You, by Ruta Sepetys (Hodder Children’s Books)
• The Notorious Scarlett and Browne, by Jonathan Stroud (Walker)

Congratulations to all of the nominees!

These prizes will be handed out during the evening of Saturday, May 13, the third day of this year’s CrimeFest. For more information and to procure tickets to that conference, click here.