The Hammett Prize 2010

The Hammett Prize 2010 has just been awarded at Semana Negra, from Reuters:

"the best crime novel written in Spanish, the Hammett Prize - named after U.S. author Dashiel Hammett - went to Argentine novelist Guillermo Orsi, for his book "La Ciudad Santa" (The Holy City).

Orsi's book tells of a cruise ship which runs aground in the wide but shallow River Plate, forcing the wealthy passengers to disembark in Buenos Aires, who then become bait for kidnappers.

"A city which, like many another megalopolis, but above all in South America, is riddled with corruption and violence, makes the perfect setting for a crime writer," Orsi said of the Argentine capital, where he lives.

Though this title is not yet available in English, Orsi's No-One Loves a Policeman tr. Nick Caistor was published in April by MacLehose Press so there is hope that The Holy City will follow.