Petrona Award Judges - Interview 2

The second judges' interview is now up on the Petrona blog, this time it's Sonja's turn.

We are busy putting the paperwork together to announce the Petrona Award 2026 winner and I'm also currently reading Mrs Jeffries Pinches the Post by Emily Brightwell. I started this series back in 2014 and reviewed the first book on this blog: The Inspector and Mrs Jeffries. I'm now on #16. This is a huge series with 41 titles (last was in 2023 so maybe no more) - and I tend to read a couple in a row as they are fairly short and there are ongoing storylines with the main cast. These have replaced the Agatha Raisins as my comfort reads.

Petrona Award Judges - Interviews

Please check out the interviews with the Petrona Award judges which will be running over the next week or so before the Petrona Award 2026 winner announcement on 22 October.

The first one, with Raven Crime Reads under the spotlight, is now available.

Set in Stratford-upon-Avon?

 

I've been very much enjoying series 6 of Shakespeare & Hathaway which is currently showing on U & Alibi, which made me wonder if there are any crime novels set in Stratford-upon-Avon. I didn't find many so if you know of any more please do let me know.

(Blurbs and covers taken from amazon.co.uk)

The Cat and the Halloween Murder by L T Shearer (2026) - this is #5 in the series which I believe is set in different places.

Join Lulu Lewis, a retired detective with a knack for exposing mysteries, and Conrad, her extraordinary talking cat, as they take on their spookiest case yet . . .

Lulu and Conrad dock in Stratford-upon-Avon to visit friends for Halloween. But the festivities take a haunting turn when a local midnight performance of Macbeth ends with the lead actor collapsing on stage.

The plot thickens with the revelation of another cast member’s recent demise. Can Lulu and Conrad unravel the town’s eerie secrets and discover the truth behind these sinister Halloween deaths before the curtain falls once more?

The Croaking Raven by Guy Hale (2024) - the first in a four book series 

Stratford-upon-Avon, May 1972. DC Toby Marlowe has just landed his dream posting but the quiet streets of Shakespeare's Stratford are about to suffer a reign of terror. A name from the past has returned, intent on revenge. A series of murders go unsolved but Toby realises that the killer seems to be following the plot of Hamlet. Can Toby and his boss, DS Fred Williams, find the killer before all the actors at the RSC are dead? The croaking raven doth bellow for revenge.

And in and around Stratford:

Heir to Murder by Tony Bassett (2023) - #5 in the Roy and Roscoe series set in the West Midlands.

When a neighbour from hell comes to a sticky end, a plucky cop refuses to accept the obvious.

Miles Kenworth loves to play his rock music at a deafening volume. The other residents of his apartment block are not so keen.

One day, after hearing a commotion, Miles’ next-door neighbour discovers his body lying in a pool of blood.
Standing next to the corpse is Jake, the man who lives upstairs.

It should be an open and shut case for DS Sunita Roy. But with Jake vehemently protesting his innocence, she decides to dig deeper.

Staging Death by Judith Cutler (2009) - A standalone novel.

Actress Vena Burford is 'resting' between jobs. But needs must, and with few voice-over jobs in the pipeline, Vena takes on a few jobs for friends and family around the idyllic Stratford-Upon-Avon. But interior design leads her to violent threats and showing prospective buyers around houses ushers in a drug-smuggling ring. Vena comes to know all too well that the countryside is far from quiet...

There must be more than this?

New Releases - August 2026

Still in the better late than never category here is August's releases (a quieter month with 98 titles).  

Please note that, unless specifically mentioned, when a book has differing print and ebook release date, I use the print release date. Translators' names are included where known.

Further to my post about writers of colour and the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year, I have identified the writers of colour (that I know of) with a *** 

 

Anthology: All the Crime in the World (ed.s Tom Mead and Gigi Pandian)
Adams, Will M - Epiphany
Alderson, Sarah - The Edge of the Woods
Alexander, Magda - A Murder at Kew Gardens #5 Lady Rosalynd and Wynterbourne
Ashkanani, Tariq - The Blackbird Conspiracy #2 Callie Munro ***
Ashley, Jennifer - Murder in Blackfriars #9 Kat Holloway, Victorian Era
Atkinson, Heather - Survivor (ebook only) #8 Blagger's Code
Baker, Blythe - Murder Beside The Sea #3 Gloria Wingfield,1920's
Bettany, Jane - Murder at Clover Farm #5 Violet Brewster
Bowen, Rhys - The Castle in the Glen
Boyd, Damien - Seeing Red #16 DI Nick Dixon
Brent, Katy - To All the Men I've Killed Before #3 Kitty Collins
Bridgestock, R C - Split Second #1 DI Jack Dylan and DI Charley Mann
Bright, Verity - Murder Stage Left #25 Lady Eleanor Swift, 1920s
Brook, Lee - From a Well-Wisher #1 Brandling House
Brookes, Dawn - Fatal Cruise Convention #16 Rachel Prince
Brown, Benedict - The Paris Library Murders #5 Lord Edgington Investigates Abroad
Burford, Dan - Kingdom of Smoke #1 Rory ‘Smoke’ Murray, London
Byers, Beth - Taken or Murdered? (ebook only) #50 Violet Carlyle
Carter, A J - The Friend Request
Cartmell, Wendy - The Harvest Queen #10 DI Rowan Penhallow
Cartwright, Jack - Into the Woods #19 Wild Fens Murder Mystery
Clements, Rory - Invitation from a Dictator #3 Detective Sebastian Wolff
Connelly, Lucy - Death at a Scottish Halloween #5 Dr Emilia McRoy
Conway, Simon - The British Agent
Craven, M W - The Killer's Mark #8 Washington Poe
Critchlow, Heather - Unseen #5 Cal Lovett Files
Dams, Jeanne M - A Thief's Folly #28 Dorothy Martin
Dawson, Mark - Cargo (ebook only) #15 Charlie Cooper
Dent, Susie - Death Writ Large #2 Martha Thornhill, Lexicographer
Devlin, Cara - Proof of Violence #7 Spencer & Reid
Dixon, Helena - Murder in a Yorkshire Village #24 Miss Underhay
Durrant, Helen H - In the Dark Places #1 DI Vincent Swann
Elliott, Anna & Veley, Charles - The Ghost Fleet Murders #11 The Homefront Sleuths
Ellis, Emmy - Renege #50 Cardigan Estate
Ellis, Kate - The Chapel of Bones #30 Wesley Peterson (policeman) and Neil Watson (archaeologist), Tradmouth, Devon
Fadden, A M - Every Buried Secret #1 DI Sinead Zaf, Birmingham
Frankland, Maria - The Troll
Galloway, K T - CarousHELL #15 O'Malley & Swift
Gatland, Jack - Tears Of A Clown #26 DI Declan Walsh
Gerlis, Alex - City of Traitors #3 Double Agent
Giles, Stewart - Buried on the Island #17 DI Liam O'Reilly, Guernsey
Goodwin, Nathan Dylan - The Dover Trunk Murder
Handley, P L - The Killing on a Chirk Canal #10 Nesta Griffiths
Hawkswood, Sarah - A Shroud of Snow #14 Bradecote and Catchpoll, Worcestershire, C12
Hellier, Carol - Avenging Angel #1 The Blood Debts trilogy
Hendy, Hannah - An Uncommonly Festive Fiasco #8 The Dinner Lady Detectives
Hood, D K - The Second Girl (ebook only)
Huber, Anna Lee - The Bravest Hour #9 Verity Kent, England, 1919
Huntley, Jessica - She Stole My Baby
Hurst, Daniel - The Girlfriend's Secret
James, Ed - His Wild Blood #10 DI Rob Marshall
James, Peter - John Grebble is Gone (audio/ebook only) - Short Stories
Jarvis, Olly - Language of Angels #2 Ella Blake, Barrister
Johnstone, Doug - Ghost Notes #7 Skelfs family
Jordan, G R - Death of an Island Gigolo #54 Highlands and Islands
Kirk, JD - Duty of Care #2 Constable Tyler Neish Novella
Lagercrantz, David - Post Mortem tr. Ian Giles #3 Professor Hans Rekke & Micaela Vargas
Leigh, J R - Death in the Dordogne #1 DI Archie Darling
Lewis, Beth - Stone Cold Murder #1 Dominion House
Lewis, N C - Gone Bones #10 DI Fenella Sallow
Lloyd, Catherine - Miss Morton Takes the Waters #5 Miss Morton, Regency England
Mackie, Bella - Claws Out!
Major, C D - The Residency
Markin, Wes - The Farmhouse Killings #8 DCI Emma Gardner, Yorkshire
Marsh, Katie - A Body in the B&B #1 Christie Sisters, Lake District
Martin, Faith - The Oxford Detective Society #1 Lyssa Moore
Maslen, Andy - Wolf Lake #17 Gabriel Wolfe
Mather, Linda - Fear in the New Forest #2 Detective Elinor Saxby
McDonnell, Caimh - The Man Comes Around #9 Dublin Trilogy
Menuhin, Karen Baugh - Christmas at The Manor #18 Heathcliff Lennox Investigates
Monroe, J S - His Final Patient
Moore, Donna - Knit One, Heist One
Organ, Emily - Death in the Palm House #12 Augusta Peel, 1920s
Osborne, Lawrence - Children of Wolves
Parks, Adele - Eyes on You
Quinn, Anthony - The Millionaire Waltz
Raymond, Andrew - Broken Ranks #7 DCI Lomond
Rhodes, Tyler - Fishing and Foul Play #7 Max's Campsite Mystery
Richards, S J - Sharp Practice #12 Ex-DCI Luke Sackville
Rigby, Sally - The Victims of St Just #8 Detective Lauren Pengelly & Detective Matt Price
Rogers, Gemma - The New Wife
Rosenberg, Aaron - Sherlock Holmes: The Dry Dock Deduction
Ryder, Jess - The Holiday Home
Shaw, Alex - Codename: 61 #1 Jim Tate
Slater, K L - We Tell Lies
Smith, Wilbur with David Churchill - Flashpoint #27 Courtney
Sweet, Matthew - Bookish: Volume II #2 Book
Tait, Victoria - Treasures and Treachery in Tenerife #4 Georgina Carey
Thomas, Will - For Services Rendered #17 Barker and Llewelyn, Victorian London
Villain, Christophe - The River's Grave tr. Sharyn Wegmann #1 Armand and Margaux, France
Walkley, Rachel - House of Thieves
Waller, Anita - The Sunflower Field
Welsh, Irvine - Can Nothing Save Us?
Williams, G J - The Nun's Kiss #1 Gawain
Williams, Lana - The Apothecary's Poison #6 Field & Greystone
Williams, T A - Murder at Christmas #16 Armstrong and Oscar
Yarwood, Mark - Then You Die #3 DCI Philip Radford

New Releases - July 2026

Still in the better late than never category here is July's releases (147 titles). I'm half-way through updating the database for August. 

Please note that, unless specifically mentioned, when a book has differing print and ebook release date, I use the print release date. Translators' names are included where known.

Further to my post about writers of colour and the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year, I have identified the writers of colour (that I know of) with a *** 

 

Anthology: Guilty Secrets (ed. Martin Edwards)
Anthology: What the World Needs Now (ed. Martin Edwards) (ebook only)
Ace, Cathy - The Corpse with the Steely Gaze #16 Welsh-Canadian Professor Cait Morgan, Criminologist
Alexander, Magda - A Murder in Bloomsbury #1 Lark and Everthorne Mystery
Allen, Nikki - Below the Deck
Anderson, Lin - The High Island #1 DI Erling Flett, Orkney
Araki, Akane - Murder at the End of the World tr. Jesse Kirkwood
Arason, Erlendur - The Hotel Manager's Guide to Murder tr. Quentin Bates #1 Reykjavík Shadows
Arlidge, M J - Out of the Ashes #14 Helen Grace, Southampton Police
Ashby, Amanda - The Widows' Guide to Foul Play #5 Widows' Detective Club
Baldwin, Ben - Lost Code #4 Sam Taylor
Bauer, Belinda - Crash (apa High Rollers by Jack Bowman (2013))
Beckham, Bruce - Murder at Midsomar Manor #27 Detective Inspector Skelgill
Billingham, Mark - The Shadow Step #3 Detective Declan Miller, Blackpool
Bishop, D V - Shadow of Madness #6 Cesare Aldo, Florence, 1536
Blackwood, Ellis - The Belgravia Phantom #1 Quill & Page Victorian Mystery
Blair, Elle - In Deep Water #1 DI Rachel Harlow
Boland, Shalini - The Other Twin
Brolly, Matt - The Correction #8 Detective Louise Blackwell
Brown, Benedict - The Cherkley Court Conundrum #7 Marius Quin, 1920s
Browne, Sheryl - Mr & Mrs
Bryndza, Robert - The Quiet Kill #1 Detective Jamie Day
Burke-Patel, Bonnie - We Search the Island for Grace
Byers, Beth - Murder By the Good Book (ebook only) #49 Violet Carlyle
Calvey, Linda - Charity
Carson, John - Killing Time #3 DCI Ewan McCall
Carter, A J - I'll Never Tell (ebook only)
Carter, Chris - Hide and Seek
Casey, Jane - Everything She Didn't Say
Castle, Alice - Murder at the Cathedral #6 Sarah Vane
Cavanagh, Steve - One of Us is Guilty #10 Eddie Flynn, USA
Chibnall, Chris - The Parkwood Murders #2 Detective Nicola Bridge, Dorset
Chowdhury, Ajay - Eden Falls ***
Crichton, David - The Avengers: Death in Downing Street
Cumming, Charles - Icarus 17 #4 Box 88
Dalgliesh, J M - The Missing Dead #7 DI Duncan McAdam, Isle of Skye
Dane, Michael - The Rutland Exchange #6 Frank McBride
Davies, M R G - From Murder with Love #3 Murder They Read Mystery
Dhand, A A - The Kingpin #2 Idris Khan ***
Ellis, Emmy - Rough #49 Cardigan Estate
Ellis, Hannah - Burning Secrets #8 Lily Larkin, Cornwall
Ezra, Mark - A Nest of Wasps #2 Felicity Jardine
Fennell, David - All Killers Aboard
Ford, P F - A Body in the Garden #8 The West Wales Murder Mysteries
Ford, P F - A Case of Kidnap #3 Donald & Gamble
Foster, Michael K - The Deadly Mooring #8 DCI Jack Mason
Gardner, Frank - Ballistic #5 Luke Carlton, Ex-Special Boat Service commando
Gatland, Jack - Silver and the Wedding Veils #4 Sebastian Silver
Gatward, David J - Four of Hearts #24 DCI Harry Grimm
Giles, Stewart - The Lake #38 DS Jason Smith
Godden, Gillian - Pearl #1 Armstrong Empire
Govett, S M - When You Looked Away #2 DI Stratton
Greene, Morgan - The Ghost #6 Solomon Church
Greene, Morgan - The Girl Who Lived #1 Detective Alexandra Marshall
Hagan, Linda - The Belfast Lough Killings #9 Detective Chief Inspector Gawn Girvin
Hall, Lisa - The Starlet and the Killer Gossip Column #4 Hotel Hollywood Mysteries
Handley, P L - Danger on a Llangollen River #9 Nesta Griffiths
Haran, Maeve - The Campervan Detectives #1 A Campervan Detective Mystery
Haseeb, T L - Framed For Murder #1 Detective Inspector Amber Kash ***
Heller, Mandasue - The Child
Higgs, Steve - Old Wives' Tale #7 Albert Smith
Hodges, David - Conspiracy On the Levels #16 DC Kate Hamblin
Hornsley, Sarah - One Dark Summer
Howard, Catherine Ryan - Buyer Beware
Hurst, Daniel - The Other Patient
Hussey William The Woman Who Wasn't There
Jackson, Douglas - Blood Enemy #4 Warsaw Quartet
James, Ed - No Time to Grieve #2 DI Sam Winter, Edinburgh
Jenkins, Victoria - The Glass House
Johnston, Anthony - The Forest of Death #2 Can You Solve the Murder series
Jones, Philip Gwynne - The Venetian Redemption #9 Nathan Sutherland
Jones, Rob - The Exodus Key #7 Hunter Files
Jordan, G R - Seoras, Cut the Wire #4 Seoras Macleod
Judd, Alan - No. 1 St James's Park #2 Emily Grey
Keer, Jenni - The Secret of the Lantern Keepers #1 The Averly Sisters
Kelly, Erin - The Night Stairs
Keogh, Valerie - The Outsider
Kidd, Michelle - The Cello Case Killer #9 DI Jack MacIntosh
Kirk, JD - Better the Devil #22 DCI Logan
Lander, Lex - She the Jackal
Lee, M J - What the Dying See #12 DI Ridpath
Leitch, Fiona - The Cornish Honeymoon Murder #10 Jodie 'Nosey' Parker, Chef
Lewis, David - The Paris Chase #3 The Secret Churchill Files
Lindqvist, John Ajvide - The Room in the Ground tr. Michael Meigs #2 Bloodstorm
Lloyd, Ellery - Heat Trap (ebook/audio only) - Short Story
Lloyd, Ellery - Time to Burn
Lodge, Gytha - Please Help Me
Lyntton, Richard - Crown Deception #4 Deception series
McAvoy, Gary - The Borgia Vigil #13 Vatican Secret Archive Thrillers
McDermott, Andy - The Pandora Conspiracy #19 Archaeologist Nina Wilde & ex-SAS bodyguard Eddie Chase
MacKay, Asia - Not Like the Other Parents #2 Serial Killers
McLean, Rachel - The Gold Hill Murders #13 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset
Magson, Adrian - A Replaceable Asset (ebook only) #3 Isaac Jackson
Malone, Maria - Poison and Peacocks in the Dales #2 Sergeant Ali Wren and her springer spaniel, Police Dog Wilson
Markin, Wes - Forgotten Frost #7 Detective Chief Inspector Frank Black, Whitby
Markland, Anna - The Curse of Blackstone Manor #4 Cotton Cops Mystery
Mason, Kelly - The Curse of Cairo #9 Lady Ellen Investigates, 1920s
Masters, Priscilla - The Cliff's Edge Murders #8 Coroner Martha Gunn, Shrewsbury
Messina, Lynn - A Lark's Gambit #6 Verity Lark, Regency Era
Mir, Saima - Deliverance #3 Jia Khan ***
Mogford, T L - The Saffron Thief #1 Fabian Smith, 1666
Moloney, Catherine - Crime in the Gym (ebook only) #24 DI Gilbert Markham
Moore, Ian - A Very French Corpse #3 Juge Lombard
Morgan, Anna-Marie - The White Hart Murders #7 DI Grant McKenzie
Morrison, Lynn - What's a Little Poaching Between Friends #3 Etty and Tris, Victorian Era
Murdock, T H - The Date
Murphy, Martina - The Wrath #5 DS Lucy Golden
Oswald, James - The Violent Hour #15 Detective Inspector McLean, Edinburgh
Parks, Alan - Deception #2 Joseph Gunner
Pattle, Christine - Picture Them Dead #3 DI Charlotte Steele
Payne, T M - One Bad Deed #5 DI Sheridan Holler
Pederson, David S - A Death After Dinner
Pennant, Mel - Miss Hortense and the Last Rites #2 Miss Hortense, Birmingham ***
Peston, Robert - The Kill Switch #3 Gil Peck, Journalist
Piazza, Jo - The Parisian Heist
Probyn, Jack - Death's Spirit #11 DS Tomek Bowen
Puleston, Stephen - The Llanelli Town Murders #6 Detective Inspector Caren Waits
Renham, Lynda - The Silent House
Rhodes, Kate - The Mermaid's Cry #9 DI Ben Kitto
Riordan, Kate - The Last Time I Saw Her Alive
Robotham, M J - The Spy and the Snake #2 Mrs Spy
Rose, Elowen - Murder on the Cliff Path #2 Clementine Keverne, Cornwall
Ross, L J - The Lizard
Rule, Bruce - The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes - The Debutante Detective
Ryan, OMJ - The Files
Shaw, William - The Burning Tide #2 DS Eden Driscoll, Teignmouth
Sherratt, Mel - Final Weeks #9 DS Allie Shenton
Sigurdardottir, Yrsa - The Depths tr. Victoria Cribb #3 Policeman Týr and forensic pathologist Iðunn
Silva, Daniel - Ransom #26 Gabriel Allon
Sinclair, Rob - Death Hollow #3 Simon Peake
Slater, K L - The Chef (audio only)
Smith, Nikki - The Last Place You Look
Spain, Jo - Never to Be Found
Speechley, Ruby - Vanished
Sullivan, Tim - The Tailor #8 DS Cross, Bristol
Theodorou, Mario - Felix Grey and the Seven Assassins #2 Felix Grey
Thomas, Scarlett - The Runner
Tremayne, Peter - Blood on the Wind #35 Sister Fidelma
Walker, Fiona - The Village Detectives & The Deadly Brew #4 Village Detectives
Watson, Katy - Death on a Lively Sea #6 Dahlia Lively
Westerbone, M J - Death of the Scholar #7 Draychester Chronicles
Wilkinson, Diana - The Girl Before Me
Williams, J C - A Case of Stage Fright #3 Quinn Flitcroft, Isle of Man
Wolf, Inger - The Predator tr. Mark Kline #2 Detective Nelly Birkebæk
Wood, Trevor - The Angel of Death #3 DCI Jack Parker
Yarwood, Mark - Too Late to Beg #6 DCI Peter Moone
Young, Debbie - Death at the Village Garden Party #4 Cotswold Curiosity Shop Mysteries

The Petrona Award 2026 - Shortlist

 

Outstanding crime fiction from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden shortlisted for the 2026 Petrona Award 

Seven impressive crime novels from Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden have been shortlisted for the 2026 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. The shortlist is announced today, Thursday 24 September and is as follows:

Snæbjörn Arngrímsson - One True Word tr. Larissa Kyzer (Pushkin Vertigo, Iceland)

Stella Blómkvist - Murder Tide tr. Quentin Bates (Corylus Books, Iceland)

Jón Atli Jónasson - Broken tr. Quentin Bates (Corylus Books, Iceland)

Ørjan N Karlsson - Into Thin Air tr. Ian Giles (Orenda Books, Norway)

John Ajvide Lindqvist - The Writing in the Water tr. Michael Meigs (Amazon Crossing, Sweden)

Satu Rämö - The Grave in the Ice tr. Kristian London (Zaffre, Finland)

Antti Tuomainen - The Winter Job tr. David Hackston (Orenda Books, Finland)

The winning title will be announced on 22 October 2026. 

The Petrona Award is open to crime fiction in translation, either written by a Scandinavian author or set in Scandinavia, and published in the UK in the previous calendar year.

The judges’ comments on the shortlist:

There were 28 entries for the 2026 Petrona Award from six countries (Denmark, Finland, France, Iceland, Norway and Sweden). This year’s shortlist sees Iceland represented with three novels, Finland with two, and Norway and Sweden with one novel each. The judges selected the shortlist from a strong pool of candidates with the seven shortlisted authors including two previous Petrona Award winners: Satu Rämö and Antti Tuomainen. 

Independent publishers Corylus Books and Orenda Books both have two entries on the shortlist with Corylus’s both being translated by Quentin Bates. Amazon Crossing, Pushkin Vertigo and Zaffre have one entry apiece.

For Snæbjörn Arngrímsso, Jón Atli Jónasson and Ørjan N Karlsson, this is their first novel in English translation and for John Ajvide Lindqvist this is his first crime novel in translation.

The sub-genres of the shortlisted novels range from comedy to noir with the police procedural being particularly well represented this year.

As ever, we are extremely grateful to the translators whose expertise and skill have allowed readers to access these outstanding examples of Scandinavian crime fiction, and to the publishers who continue to champion and support translated fiction. 

The judges’ comments on each of the shortlisted titles:

Snæbjörn Arngrímsson - ONE TRUE WORD translated by Larissa Kyzer (Pushkin Vertigo, Iceland)

Following a day of simmering tension on a research trip to an uninhabited island, Júlia snaps and leaves her husband Gíó stranded in the middle of a freezing fjord in the depths of the Icelandic winter, with night drawing in. When she has an attack of conscience and returns he has disappeared without a trace, leaving the reader in suspense as to how complicit, or not, she is in his disappearance. 

The blend of psychological thriller and domestic drama is perfectly weighted and Júlia is a flawed and mercurial character. ONE TRUE WORD with its first person, possibly unreliable narration, and its increasing sense of unease, is an extremely clever and disquieting mystery, with a more than satisfying denouement.

Stella Blómkvist - MURDER TIDE translated by Quentin Bates (Corylus Books, Iceland)

MURDER TIDE is the third English translation in the Stella series and the ninth of the original Icelandic. True to form, Stella has three separate inquiries vying for her attention: a kidnapping, a persistent medium foretelling a death, and a possible mole in the police force. 

One would think the inimitable, no-nonsense, whisky-drinking lawyer Stella Blómkvist would have lost her steam by this ninth book, but not a chance. MURDER TIDE is every bit as entertaining as its predecessors. Although parenthood and a new relationship have softened Stella slightly around the edges, the author still packs in plenty of twists, and her snarky inner dialogue remains a joy to read.

Jón Atli Jónasson - BROKEN translated by Quentin Bates (Corylus Books, Iceland)

Dora struggles to cope with life after taking a bullet to the head. Rado is the child of refugees, his career shunted off the tracks due to his family connections to an organised crime gang. These two broken cops are the only ones available when a troubled teenager vanishes from a school trip, and the trail gets darker the further they pursue it. In a side of Reykjavik no visitor would ever want to see, the mismatched pair tread on all the wrong toes in the search for the missing youngster, but the personal danger to them both does not stop there.

The pace and intensity of the plotting is superb, as various strands in the characters’ lives both professional and personal converge and overlap. The combination of this mismatched duo and the increasing threat of violence and tension that gradually builds, makes BROKEN a dark and compulsive police procedural. 

Ørjan N Karlsson - INTO THIN AIR translated by Ian Giles (Orenda Books, Norway)

The stunning Arctic Circle’s Lofoten Islands become their own character in the first novel featuring Jakob Weber, Chief Investigator of Nordland Police. Their beauty both attracts people, and hides dark secrets. When a young woman vanishes during a run, and then an influencer disappears, while promoting the archipelago, Weber’s investigation leads to the earlier death of a Ukrainian refugee found in the ruins of a WWII bunker. Privately he is grieving the death of his wife and trying to deal with childhood trauma. Professionally, he has strong relationships with his colleagues including the newly arrived, detective Noora Yun Sande, who has fled Oslo after being subjected to an abuse of power. 

Karlsson writes with a deep understanding of how communities work and their influence on the policing. Recent history, and a sense of authenticity make INTO THIN AIR a powerful and gripping read. 

John Ajvide Lindqvist - THE WRITING IN THE WATER translated by Michael Meigs (Amazon Crossing, Sweden)

During a Midsummer Eve party a millionaire, his family and their foreign guests are gunned down at their luxury home on a private island. His childhood friend, ex-cop and now successful writer, Julia Malmors, is at her summerhouse on a nearby island, where she is rewriting her sequel to Stieg Larsson’s Millennium trilogy. Frustrated and scared she joins forces with her elusive friend and researcher Kim Ribbing, a white-hat hacker, to find the killers. 

With a reversed situation to Larsson’s Salander and Blomkvist, THE WRITING IN THE WATER takes on similar themes and relationships, and creates an original, highly suspenseful semi-homage to Larsson, with a sharp look at society and the impact of people with power, money and international connections. 

Satu Rämö - THE GRAVE IN THE ICE translated by Kristian London (Zaffre, Finland)

The follow-up to the Petrona Award winning THE CLUES IN THE FJORD sees Icelandic detective Hildur Rúnarsdottir, and her Finnish sweater-knitting trainee Jakob Johanson, return to solve the murder of a politician and navigate their own complex lives. The disappearance of Hildur’s younger sisters twenty-five years earlier remains a mystery she is determined to solve, while Jakob has his hands full with his ex trying to prevent him from seeing his son.

In a genre typically dominated by male leads, characters like Hildur flip the traditional detective-and-victim dynamic on its head, subverting conventional gender roles and expectations. These well-developed characters, combined with a fresh storyline, ensure THE GRAVE IN THE ICE is a solid police procedural with genuine depth. 

Antti Tuomainen - THE WINTER JOB translated by David Hackston (Orenda Books, Finland)

lmari is an unassuming man, who embarks on this seemingly simple job to deliver a sofa to a distant destination to secure the money to buy a piano for his daughter for Christmas. Teaming up with an estranged school friend, and pursued by ne'er-do-wells with their own agenda for retrieving the sofa, this seemingly straightforward assignment turns into a perilous game of cat and mouse for our warm-hearted postal worker. The plot soon descends into a Coen-esque style road trip fraught with murderous intent, but with an ultimately life affirming message of comradeship and friendship.

With an impressively precise control, THE WINTER JOB combines humour in the narrative, with a harmonic balance between the dark, the absurd and the slightly slapstick, but never at the expense of the plot and characterisation. 

The judges

Jackie Farrant - creator of RAVEN CRIME READS and a bookseller for a major book chain in the UK.

Ewa Sherman - translator and writer, and blogger at NORDIC LIGHTHOUSE.

Sonja van der Westhuizen -  a book critic for print and online publications in the UK and South Africa, as well as a blogger at WEST WORDS REVIEWS. 

Award administrator

Karen Meek - owner of the EURO CRIME blog and website.

Further information can be found on the Petrona Award website: http://www.petronaaward.co.uk.

On social media, please use #PetronaAward26.

Releases - March to June 2026

It seems I'm not going to catch up significantly so here's what I have for March to June 2026. It's a sample rather than a comprehensive list I'm afraid.  

Please note that, unless specifically mentioned, when a book has differing print and ebook release date, I use the print release date. Translators' names are included where known.

Further to my post about writers of colour and the Theakston Crime Novel of the Year, I have identified the writers of colour (that I know of) with a *** 

 

Allingham, Merryn - Murder at the Country Fair #14 Flora Steele, Sussex, 1955
Allswell, Maggie - Murder Off the Page #2 The Book Club Murders
Amsinck, Heidi - The Woman in the Wall #5 Jensen
Ashby, Amanda - The Widows' Guide to Last Orders #4 Widows' Detective Club
Ashkanani, Tariq - The Hollow Boys ***
Atkinson, Heather - Hellfire (ebook only) #12 Unfinished Business
Babbington, Emma - The Gardens
Blómkvist, Stella - The Murder Pool tr. Quentin Bates #10 Stella Blómkvist, Lawyer
Brett, Simon - Major Bricket and the Corpse in the Cask #2 Major Bricket
Broadfoot, Neil - Thirteen Minutes to Midnight #4 Doug McGregor, Journalist, Edinburgh
Brolly, Matt - Broken Circle #3 DS Liam Kilshaw
Burnside, Heather - The Nanny
Carson, John - Fallen Angels #2 DCI Ewan McCall
Carson, Paul - Fatal Practice
Carver, Will - Bad Influence
Chambers, Kimberley - Essex Wives
Chester, Fliss - Murder in a Cornish Teashop #1 Maddie Penrose
Chester, Fliss - Murder at the Cornish Book Club #2 Maddie Penrose
Clarke, Evelyn - The Ending Writes Itself
Connelly, Lucy - A Body at the Irish Book Club #5 Mercy McCarthy, Ireland
Cooper, Helen - The Woman in the Villa
Corcoran, Caroline - The Alphabet Women
Corry, Jane - My Sister's Secret
Davies, M R G - A Game of Murder #2 Murder They Read Mystery
Davison, Anita - Murder in the Reading Room #6 Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet, 1915, London
Dawson, Mark - Forest #6 The Casebook of Atticus Priest
Dawson, Mark - Hemock (ebook only) #12 Charlie Cooper
Dawson, Mark - Terminal (ebook only) #13 Charlie Cooper
Dawson, Mark - Sanctuary (ebook only) #14 Charlie Cooper
de Muriel, Oscar - The End of the Vodka
Deary, Terry - Actually, I'm A Corpse
Dylan, Michael - Screw Up #1 Roy Hicks, Brighton
Dylan, Michael - Dead and Buried #6 DI Simon Wise
Edwards, Mark - One of the Family
Eldridge, Jim - Murder at Canterbury Cathedral #8 Detective Chief Inspector Coburg & Sergeant Lampson
Ellis, Emmy - No8 #3 Crawshaw Street
Ellis, Emmy - No1 #4 Crawshaw Street
Ellis, Emmy - No26 #5 Crawshaw Street
Ellis, Emmy - Ruse #48 Cardigan Estate
Ellis, Hannah - Built on Lies #7 Lily Larkin, Cornwall
Ellory, R J - The House of Falling Light
Evesham, Frances -Murder at the Palace #9 Exham On Sea
Fowler, Deborah - Escape to St Ives #4 St Ives Mysteries
Gatland, Jack - Silver and the Moonlit Murder #3 Sebastian Silver
Gatland, Jack - Save The Fool #7 Ellie Reckless
Gatward, David J - Blood Rites #5 DI Gordy Haig
Giles, Stewart - 27 #2 Jan Norge and Hilda Baker
Giles, Stewart - The Gambler #37 DS Jason Smith
Goldin, A E - Death on the Pearl River #2 Ben Canaan, 1854
Greenwood, Ross - Death on the Norfolk Express #6 DS Ashley Knight, Norfolk
Hall, Araminta - Unreliable Narrator
Hames, Joel - The Boatyard #1 Whaley & Gaskill
Hames, Joel - The Viewpoint 2 Whaley & Gaskill
Handley, P L - The Crime Through A Moelfre Window #6 Nesta Griffiths
Handley, P L - Revenge in a Ruthin Choir #7 Nesta Griffiths
Handley, P L - The Murder on a Tywyn Golf Course #8 Nesta Griffiths
Hanington, Peter - The Darkest Tide
Henry, Steven - Thief Taker #2 Coventry Adams, Victorian Era
Henry, Steven - Resurrectionist #3 Coventry Adams, Victorian Era
Hicks, Andrea - Murder on the Jurassic Coast (ebook only) #18 Camille Divine
Higashino, Keigo - Guilt tr. Giles Murray
Higgs, Steve - Old Enough to Know Better #6 Albert Smith
Holtom, Robert - A Morbid Passion #2 Selby Bigge, London, 1920s
Hood, D K - Look Behind You #29 Detectives Kane and Alton
Hood, D K - Nothing Stays Buried #30 Detectives Kane and Alton
Huber, Anna Lee - A Bitter Cut #14 Lady Darby, Scotland, 1830s
Hunter, Alice - The Serial Killer Gene #4 Serial Killer
Hunter, M A - The Teacher's Pet
Hurst, Daniel - Our Perfect Holiday
Jenkins, Victoria - The Guilty Daughter
Jiyoung, Kang - Mrs Shim is a Killer tr. Paige Morris
Jordan, G R - Seoras, White Smoke Ahead! #3 Seoras Macleod
Jordan, G R - Lonely at the Top #51 Highlands and Islands
Jordan, G R - The Jackpot Hoax (ebook only) #52 Highlands and Islands
Jordan, G R - Bon Appetit #53 Highlands and Islands
Júlíusdóttir, Katrín - Stop Dead tr. Larissa Kyzer #2 Sigurdís, Police officer
Kaukonen, Martta - Meet Me in the Darkness tr. David Hackston
Kidd, Jess - Murder at the Spirit Lounge #2 Nora Breen, 1950s
Kurti, Richard - Tyranny of Indulgence #5 Basilica Diaries Medieval Mysteries
Lackberg, Camilla - Dreams of Bronze tr. Ian Giles #3 Faye Adelheim
Leather, Stephen - Direct Action #23 Dan Shepherd, SAS trooper turned undercover cop
Lecomber, Phil - The Devil's Banquet #2 Piccadilly Noir
Lindsay, Douglas - The Cabinet of Curiosities #1 Hilary Stamp
Lindsay, Douglas - The Vikstrom Papers: Cold Harbor #5 Sam Vikström, PI, New England
Lynch, Rachel - Cruel Truth #13 DI Kelly Porter, Lake District
Lynott, R K - Empty Nest #3 DI Ryan Hale, Chesterfield, Derbys
McDonagh, Michelle - If These Walls Could Talk
McLean, Rachel - The Beach Hut Murders #12 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset
Mackintosh, Clare - It's Not What You Think
Mackintosh, Clare - The Butler #1 The Butler
Madsen, Jenny Lund - Under the Blazing Sun tr. Russell Garrett #2 Hannah Paul
Mark, David - The Buried Saint
Marlowe, Deb - A Betrothed's Betrayal #1 Lockstone Hollow Mystery, Regency Era
Mason, Kelly - Death on the Deck #8 Lady Ellen Investigates, 1920s
Morgan, Anna-Marie - Murder on an Edinburgh Beach #6 DI Grant McKenzie
Morrison, Lynn - What's a Little Duelling Between Friends #2 Etty and Tris, Victorian Era
Mukherjee, Abir - The Pinnacle ***
Oliver, Kelly - The Case of the Christie Wedding Affair #4 Detection Club
Organ, Emily - The Clockmaker's Murder #5 Emma Langley, Victorian Era
Organ, Emily - Death in the Deep End #10 Churchill and Pemberley
Pavii, Jurica - Mother of Sorrows tr. Matt Robinson
Perks, Heidi - It Ends Here
Perrin, Kristen - How to Cheat Your Own Death #3 Castle Knoll Files
Perry, Philippa - Shrink Solves Murder
Pugh, Hilary - Mishap on a Fishing Trip #3 Proudfoot and Handy
Puleston, Stephen - The Mumbles Town Murders #5 Detective Inspector Caren Waits
Rämö, Satu - The Secrets from the Deep tr. ? #4 Detective Hildur Rúnarsdottir, West Coast of Iceland
Reeves, S A A - Fatal Encore #6 The Bookshop Mysteries
Richards, JJ - The Station #7 DCI Walker, Lancashire
Rigby, Sally - Twist of Fate #8 Sebastian Clifford
Rijks, Miranda - Don't Answer the Phone
Rijks, Miranda - Just One Bite
Rinder, Rob - The Defence #4 Adam Green
Rose, Elowen - Murder at Gull House #1 Clementine Keverne, Cornwall
Shapiro, Irina - Murder on Devil's Ridge #8 Tate and Bell
Sharpe, Anna - Lie for Your Life
Sherratt, Mel - A Quiet Street
Silverman, Rosa - The House on Otley Road
Simpson, Carla - Murder in Fleshmarket Close #1 Lily Montgomery, Victorian Edinburgh
Simpson, Carla - Deadly Sin #16 Angus Brodie and Mikaela Forsythe, Victorian London
Smith, Olly - Death by Noir #1 Bottle Bank Mystery
Steadman, Catherine - Nine Lives
Sten, Viveca - Hidden in Lies tr. Marlaine Delargy #4 The Åre Murders
Stewart, Douglas - Deadly Mindset #5 Detective Todd Ratso Holtom
Stratmann, Linda - Sherlock Holmes and the Aeronauts #11 Early Casebook of Sherlock Holmes
Sutton, Ann - Murder in Cavendish Square #15 Dodo Dorchester
Sveistrup, Søren - Hide And Seek tr. Ian Giles #2 Detectives Naia Thulin and Mark Hess
Tallon, Emma - Blood Ties #3 Capello Family
Ward, Sarah - Grave Intent #3 Professor Carla James, New England
Wassmer, Julie - Murder at St Alfred's #11 Pearl Nolan, Whitstable
Watson, Sue - Watching Alice
Wilde, Darcie - The Abduction of Rosalind Thorne #4 Useful Woman
Wilkinson, Kerry - Two Missing Girls
Wolf, Inger - The Moorland Murders tr. Mark Kline #1 Detective Nelly Birkebæk
Woods, Karen - The Dark
Wright, G D - Against the Tide