CrimeFest Commendations

Let us all hail the winners of this year’s CrimeFest Awards, announced this evening during the 16th CrimeFest held in Bristol, England.

Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award:
Death Under a Little Sky, by Stig Abell (Hemlock Press)

Also nominated: In the Blink of an Eye, by Jo Callaghan (Simon & Schuster); The Messenger, by Megan Davis (Zaffre); Thirty Days of Darkness, by Jenny Lund Madsen, translated by Megan Turney (Orenda); Needless Alley, by Natalie Marlow (Baskerville); and Death of a Bookseller, by Alice Slater (Hodder & Stoughton)

eDunnit Award (for the best e-book): Prom Mom, by Laura Lippman (Faber and Faber)

Also nominated: Don’t Look Away, by Rachel Abbott (Wildfire); The Close, by Jane Casey (HarperCollins); Sepulchre Street, by Martin Edwards (Head of Zeus); Murder at Bletchley Park, by Christina Koning (Allison & Busby); and The Devil’s Playground, by Craig Russell (Constable)

Last Laugh Award (for the best humorous crime novel):
The Secret Hours, by Mick Herron (Baskerville)

Also nominated: The Last Dance, by Mark Billingham (Sphere); The Great Deceiver, by Elly Griffiths (Quercus); Mr. Campion’s Memory, by Mike Ripley (Severn House); Vera Wong’s Unsolicited Advice for Murderers, by Jesse Sutanto (HQ); and The Beaver Theory, by Antti Tuomianen (Orenda)

H.R.F. Keating Award (for the best biographical or critical
book related to crime fiction): The Secret Life of John le Carré, by Adam Sisman (Profile)

Also nominated: Contemporary European Crime Fiction: Representing History and Politics, edited by Monica Dall’Asta, Jacques Migozzi, Federico Pagello, and Andrew Pepper (Palgrave); Ocular Proof and the Spectacled Detective in British Crime Fiction, by Lisa Hopkins (Palgrave); How to Survive a Classic Crime Novel, by Kate Jackson (British Library); Love Me Fierce in Danger: The Life of James Ellroy, by Steven Powell (Bloomsbury Academic); and Ian Fleming: The Complete Man, by Nicholas Shakespeare (Harvill Secker)

Best Crime Fiction Novel for Children (aged 8-12):
The Lizzie and Belle Mysteries: Portraits and Poison, by J.T. Williams, illustrated by Simone Douglas (Farshore)

Also nominated: Mysteries at Sea: Peril on the Atlantic, by A.M. Howell (Usborne); The Detention Detectives, by Lis Jardine (Penguin Random House Children’s UK); The Swifts, by Beth Lincoln (Penguin Random House Children’s UK); The Breakfast Club Adventures: The Ghoul in the School, by Marcus Rashford (with Alex Falase-Koya) (Macmillan Children’s Books); and The Ministry of Unladylike Activity 2: The Body in the Blitz, by Robin Stevens (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)

Best Crime Fiction Novel for Young Adults (aged 12-16): Stateless, by Elizabeth Wein (Bloomsbury YA)

Also nominated: The Brothers Hawthorne, by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Penguin Random House Children’s UK); Promise Boys, by Nick Brooks (Macmillan Children’s Books); This Book Kills, by Ravena Guron (Usborne); Catch Your Death, by Ravena Guron (Usborne); and One of Us Is Back, by Karen M. McManus (Penguin Random House Children’s UK)

Thalia Proctor Memorial Award for Best Adapted TV Crime Drama:
Slow Horses (series 3), based on the Slough House books by Mick Herron (Apple)

Also nominated: Dalgliesh (series 2), based on the Inspector Adam Dalgliesh books by P.D. James (Channel 5); Reacher (series 2), based on the Jack Reacher books by Lee Child (Amazon Prime); Shetland (series 8), based on the Shetland books by Ann Cleeves (BBC); The Serial Killer's Wife, based on the Serial Killer books by Alice Hunter (Paramount+); and Vera (series 12), based on the Vera Stanhope books by Ann Cleeves (ITV)

The Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award winner, Stig Abell, receives a £1,000 prize. All category winners are given a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative prize.

READ MORE: “Thoughts on CrimeFest 2024,” by Steven Powell
(The Venetian Vase).