Friday, July 24, 2020

2020 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year - Winner

Congratulations to Adrian McKinty for winning the 2020 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year for The Chain.

The books shortlisted were:

My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
Worst Case Scenario by Helen FitzGerald
The Lost Man by Jane Harper
Joe Country by Mick Herron
The Chain by Adrian McKinty
Smoke and Ashes by Abir Mukherjee

Read more about his win at the Theakston Website.


Blurb from Amazon:

YOUR PHONE RINGS.

A STRANGER HAS KIDNAPPED YOUR CHILD.

TO FREE THEM YOU MUST ABDUCT SOMEONE ELSE'S CHILD.

YOUR CHILD WILL BE RELEASED WHEN YOUR VICTIM'S PARENTS KIDNAP ANOTHER CHILD.

IF ANY OF THESE THINGS DON'T HAPPEN:
YOUR CHILD WILL BE KILLED.

VICTIM. SURVIVOR. ABDUCTOR. CRIMINAL.
YOU WILL BECOME EACH ONE.

YOU ARE NOW PART OF THE CHAIN

Tuesday, July 07, 2020

CrimeFest Awards 2020 - Winners

From the CrimeFest newsletter, the winners of this year's Awards are as follows (Shortlists are here):


Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award
- Laura Shepherd-Robinson for Blood & Sugar (Mantle)

With thanks to convention and award sponsor Specsavers. Courtesy of the sponsor, the winner also receives £1,000.


Audible Sounds of Crime Award
for Best Unabridged Crime Audiobook
- Lee Child for Blue Moon, read by Jeff Harding (Penguin Random House Audio)
With thanks to award sponsor Audible UK. Courtesy of the sponsor, the winners share £1,000.

eDunnit Award
for Best Crime eBook
- Holly Watt for To The Lions (Raven Books)

H.R.F. Keating Award
for Best Biography or Non-Fiction Book related to Crime Fiction
- John Curran for The Hooded Gunman (HarperCollins Crime Club)


Last Laugh Award
for Best Humorous Crime Novel
- Helen FitzGerald for Worst Case Scenario (Orenda Books)

CrimeFest Award for Best Crime Novel for Children (ages 8-12)
- Thomas Taylor for Malamander (Walker Books)


CrimeFest Award for Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (ages 12-16)
- Kathryn Evans for Beauty Sleep (Usborne Publishing)


All the winners received a Bristol Blue Glass Award and will be offered complimentary attendance and panel appearances at CRIMEFEST 2021.

Huge congratulations to all!

Monday, July 06, 2020

Review: Death in Fancy Dress by Anthony Gilbert

I recently posted my review of DEATH IN FANCY DRESS by Anthony Gilbert on my library's Facebook page:

DEATH IN FANCY DRESS was first published in 1933 and is one of the latest ‘golden era’ crime novels to be reissued by British Library Publishing and comes with an introduction by Martin Edwards and two short stories from 1939 featuring an Inspector Field.

The main story is a non-series novel narrated by one Tony Keith, a lawyer, who along with his carefree adventuring friend Jeremy - is summoned first to the Secret Service and then to Tony’s old Manor house home to track down the mastermind behind a blackmail ring which has resulted in many deaths. Jeremy is all set on marrying the daughter of the house but trickily she is already engaged to their secret service contact and it’s not long before she has announced her intention of marrying a third party, a dastardly cousin who seems to have got away with murder in the past.

The suspense builds as many people announce that she will not marry her cousin and of course the title comes true, a body is discovered after the fancy dress party…

With the party not taking part until towards the end of the book there is little sleuthing done by our two young men at first and chance plays a hand in revealing a vital clue. Tony, however, makes for an amusing narrator and the resolution is satisfying and one that makes you revisit earlier events in your mind. Despite being written by a woman – real name Lucy Malleson – women don’t come out of this too well and there are some outdated attitudes of the time to contend with. Nonetheless this is an enjoyable classic country house mystery.

As well as, as Anthony Gilbert, the author also wrote as Anne Meredith and her ‘Portrait of a Murder’ has also been published by the British Library.

Friday, July 03, 2020

Website Updates: June 2020

I've recently updated the main files on the Euro Crime website. "Euro Crime" includes both British and other European crime fiction writers (that have been published in English); non-British/European born crime writers who are strongly associated with British/European crime fiction (eg. Donna Leon), and crime writers in translation from outside of Europe.

Please note that due to a Windows 10 reinstallation and associated issues(!) I am currently unable to generate new website files from my master database, so these uploads are from my last set of files ie 4 June 2020. Hence the new releases page has fewer titles for June than my earlier post of June releases. I will continue to post the monthly lists on this blog and hope for a quick resolution to my IT woes!

My usual reminders regarding the New Releases page:

1. The main by month/by author pages refer to when a book is published (in English) anywhere in the world however the 'by category ie historical, translated etc' is specific to when it's published in the UK.

2. When a book is released "early" in ebook I am taking the publication date as to be when the print edition comes out (this is the rule we use for determining Petrona Award eligibility).

As always, if you spot something wrong or missing, please do let me know.

Here's a summary of the usual updates:

The Author Websites page now lists 1087 sites.

In Bibliographies there are now bibliographies for 2824 authors (14410 titles of which 3109 are reviewed**).
**Some reviews will be provided by the Crime Review website. (Separate post to follow with more information).

I've added new bibliographies for: Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, Edoardo Albinati, Maria Adolfsson, Guillermo Arriaga, Heine Bakkeid, Marco Balzano, Hazel Barkworth, Enzo Bartoli, Vicki Bradley, Vivien Brown, Marion Brunet, J P Carter, HS Chandler, Jane Cockram, Caroline Corcoran, Merilyn Davies, Leona Deakin, Rachel Donohue, Victoria Dowd, Jessica Eames, Bella Ellis, Katrine Engberg, Andrew Ewart, K Ferrari, Caz Finlay, David Foenkinos, Fiona Gartland, Claire Gradidge, Michael Grant, S M Hardy, Alexander Hartung, A S Hatch, Romy Hausmann, M K Hill, Noelle Holton, Thomas Horst, Jorn Lier & Enger Diane Jeffrey, Anna Johannsen, Imogen Kealey, Sarah Linley, Chris Lloyd, Sam Lloyd, Gytha Lodge, Stefan Malmström, Ruth Mancini, Nicola Martin, Maria Luisa Minarelli, Hugh Montgomery, Jessica Moor, Robin Morgan-Bentley, Riku Onda, Stephen O'Rourke, Daisy Pearce, Anne Penketh, Mercedes Pinto Maldonado, Hye-young Pyun, Nicola Rayner, Hannah Reed, Marit Reiersgaard, Gemma Rogers, Vanessa Savage, Katharine Schellman, Lars Schutz, Helen Sedgwick, Max Seeck, Mi-ae Seo, Adania Shibli, Will Shindler, Maryla Szymiczkowa, Russ Thomas, James von Leyden, H C Warner, Daisy Waugh, Kate Weinberg, S R White, Olga Wojtas, Klaus-Peter Wolf and Suzanne M Wolfe.


I've updated the bibliographies (ie added new titles) for: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Jane Adams, Stefan Ahnhem, Rennie Airth, Boris Akunin, Tasha Alexander, Hania Allen, Lin Anderson, M J Arlidge, Ross Armstrong, Claire Askew, Stephanie Austin, Jackie Baldwin, Jean-Luc Bannalec, Jo Bannister, Quentin Bates, M C Beaton, Simon Beckett, Connie Berry, Parker Bilal, Mark Billingham, Michelle Birkby, Benjamin Black, Cara Black, Helen Black, Saul Black, Jenny Blackhurst, Sara Blaedel, Sam Blake, Robin Blake, Rachael Blok, Hilary Bonner, Stephen Booth, Sam Bourne, Tom Bradby, Harry Brett, Simon Brett, Dougie Brimson, Neil Broadfoot, Steph Broadribb, Frances Brody, Simone Buchholz, Fiona Buckley, Sheila Bugler, Michel Bussi, Massimo Carlotto, Donato Carrisi, Will Carver, Jane Casey, Kimberley Chambers, Julia Chapman, Paul Charles, Clare Chase, Lee Child, Alys Clare, Cassandra Clark, Ann Cleeves, Rory Clements, Anne Coates, Tammy Cohen, Martina Cole, C J Cooke, Jane Corry, Mike/M W Craven, Elle Croft, Deborah Crombie, A J Cross, Judith Cutler, K O/Kjell Ola Dahl, Nadia Dalbuono, Paula Daly, Martin Davies, Michelle Davies, Lindsey Davis, Sandrone Dazieri, Louisa de Lange, Will Dean, A A Dhand, Katerina Diamond, Joël Dicker, P C/Paul Doherty, Louise Doughty, Claire Douglas, Mark Douglas-Home, Teresa Driscoll, Charlotte Duckworth, Martin Edwards, Jim Eldridge, Emily Elgar, Jessica Ellicott, Kate Ellis, Nuala Ellwood, Clare Empson, Caroline England, Kjell Eriksson, Fiona Erskine, John Fairfax, Alice Feeney, Jessica Fellowes, Charles Finch, Paul Finch, Mick Finlay, Rebecca Fleet, Christopher Fowler, Dick Francis, Guy Fraser-Sampson, Nicci French, Alan Furst, Mario Giordano, Andrew Grant, Alex Gray, Elly Griffiths, Emily Gunnis, Peter Guttridge, Tarquin Hall, M R/Matthew Hall, Abdelilah Hamdouchi, Adam Hamdy, Mari Hannah, Sophie Hannah, Zhou Haohui, C S Harris, Cora Harrison, Sarah Hawkswood, Sam Hayes, James Hazel, Veronica Heley, Kate Helm, Mick/M Herron, Susan Hill, Suzette A Hill, Matt Hilton, Chan Ho-Kei, Anne Holt, Anthony Horowitz, Jorn Lier Horst, Anna Lee Huber, Linda Huber, Arlene Hunt, Graham Hurley, Olivia Isaac-Henry, Katja Ivar, Jo Jakeman, Quintin Jardine, You-Jeong Jeong, Lisa Jewell, Doug Johnstone,, Serge Joncour, Philip Gwynne Jones, Lesley Kara, Emma Kavanagh, Jessie Keane, Jim Kelly, Tony Kent, Lars Kepler, Simon Kernick, T E Kinsey, Emily Koch, Roberta Kray, Volker Kutscher, Lynda La Plante, Camilla Lackberg, Peter Laws, John Lawton, Stephen Leather, Donna Leon, Howard Linskey, Catherine Lloyd, Rosamund Lupton, Rachel Lynch, Bonnie MacBird, Asia MacKay, Susan Elia MacNeal, Adrian Magson, Iain Maitland, Michael J Malone, Marco Malvaldi, David Mark, Alyssa Maxwell, Peter May, Margaret Mayhew, Val/V.L. McDermid, Brian McGilloway, Claire McGowan, Andy McNab, Ben McPherson, Catriona McPherson, A D Miller, Danny Miller, Caroline Mitchell, Dreda Say Mitchell, J S Monroe, Phoebe Morgan, Roger/R N Morris, Mandy Morton, Frank/T F Muir, Abir Mukherjee, Elizabeth Mundy, Barbara Nadel, Sarah J Naughton, Jo Nesbo, Hakan Nesser, Chris Nickson, John Niven, Dominic Nolan, Mads Peder Nordbo, Liz Nugent, Carlene O'Connor, Gerard O'Donovan, Nick Oldham, Darren O'Sullivan, B A Paris, Alan Parks, S J Parris, Ben Pastor, Vikki Patis, David Pearson, Andrea Penrose, Anne Perry, Chris Petit, Louise Phillips, Malcolm Pryce, D M Quincy, Jenny Quintana, Caro Ramsay, Deanna Raybourn, Sarah Rayne, Rebecca Reid, Kate Rhodes, Rachel Rhys, Marnie Riches, Mike Ripley, Peter Robinson, Jacqui Rose, Borge Roslund, Anders & Hellstrom, Jacob Ross, Laura Joh Rowland, Pauline Rowson, Priscilla Royal, Kate Saunders, Simon Scarrow, Robert Scragg, Joanne Sefton, EV Seymour, Gerald Seymour, Zoe Sharp, William Shaw, Sara Sheridan, Mel Sherratt, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, C J Skuse, Alexander McCall Smith, Anna Smith, Martin Cruz Smith, Jo Spain, Sally Spedding, Sally Spencer, Gunnar Staalesen, Michael Stanley, Katherine Stansfield, Mel/Melvin R Starr, Catherine Steadman, Jesper Stein, Susie Steiner, Viveca Sten, Karen Lee Street, Theresa Talbot, Emma Tallon, Andrew Taylor, C L Taylor, Sherry Thomas, Will Thomas, Lesley Thomson, Mark Timlin, S K Tremayne, M J Trow, C J Tudor, Luca Veste, MB Vincent, Martyn Waites, B P Walter, Martin Walker, Alex Walters, Ruth Ware, Holly Watt, Ashley Weaver, Matt Wesolowski, Chris Whitaker, Nicola White, Kevin Wignall, Michael Wood, A Yi, Seishi Yokomizo, David Young, Juli Zeh and Yigal Zur.

New Releases - June 2020

Here's a snapshot of what I think was published for the first time in paperback or hardback, in June 2020 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). Apologies for the continuing delay with these posts. I do hope to get July's list up soon.

If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment. There's been a lot of moving of dates.
Adams, Kate P - Sleep Like the Dead #3 Charleton House Mysteries, Derbyshire
Allen, Jo - Death on Coffin Lane #3 DCI Jude Satterthwaite, Lake District
Arlidge, M J - All Fall Down #9 Helen Grace, Southampton Police
Bailey, Murray - Singapore Killer #5 Ash Carter
Batchelor, Penny - My Perfect Sister
Bates, Quentin - Cold Malice #7 Gunnhildur, Police Sergeant, Reykjavik, Iceland
Campbell, Colin - Catawba Point #7 Jim Grant
Candlish, Louise - The Other Passenger
Cotterill, Colin - The Delightful Life of a Suicide Pilot #15 Dr Siri Paiboun, Laos
Craven, M W - The Curator #3 Washington Poe
Diamond, Katerina - The Heatwave
Evans, Claire - The Graves of Whitechapel
Fleet, Kim - Devil's Chimney #3 Eden Grey, Cheltenham
Hamilton, Karen - The Last Wife
Hanley, C B - Cast the First Stone #6 Edwin Weaver, C13
Heald, Ruth - I Know Your Secret
Ivar, Katja - Deep as Death #2 Hella Mauzer
James, Ed - Gone in Seconds #2 Detective Max Carter
Jenkins, Victoria - The Accusation
Jennings, Luke - Killing Eve: Die For Me #3 Villanelle, Russian Assassin
Kabler, Jackie - The Perfect Couple
Keogh, Valerie - The Perfect Life
King, Laurie R - Riviera Gold #16 Mary Russell and her husband, Sherlock Holmes
Kirk, JD - A Whisper of Sorrows #6 DCI Logan
Knight, Alex - Hunted
Land, Caro - Confessions #2 Natalie Bach
Lane, Andrew - The Bizarre Investigations of Sherlock Holmes #1 Short Stories
Logan, TM - The Catch
MacDonald, Siobhan - Guilty
MacDonald, Dee - A Body in the Village Hall 1 Kate Palmer, Cornwall
Macmillan, Gilly - To Tell You the Truth
Marsh, JJ - White Night #10 Beatrice Stubbs
Marsh, JJ - Odd Numbers
Marston, Edward - Rage of the Assassin #5 Bow Street Rivals
Martin, Faith - A Fatal Truth #5 Ryder & Loveday, Oxford, 1960s
McKenna, Clara - Murder at Blackwater Bend #2 Stella and Lyndy, 1905
Meyrick, Denzil - Jeremiah's Bell #8 DCI Daley
Mistry, Liz - Broken Silence #2 DS Nikki Parekh
O'Connor, Carlene - Murder in Galway #1 Tara Meehan
Pearce, Daisy -The Missing
Pearse, Lesley - Liar
Rhys, Rachel - Island of Secrets
Robertson, Craig - Watch Him Die
Ryder, John - First Shot #1 Grant Fletcher, Georgia, USA
Sanderson, Lesley - I Know You Lied
Sheridan, Sara - Highland Fling #8 Mirabelle Bevan (retired Secret Service), 1950s
Templeton, Aline - Devil's Garden #3 DI Kelso Strang
Thompson, Derek - Long Shadows
Vincent, MB - A Death in the Woods (ebook only) #2 Jess Castle, academic-turned-detective, Castle Kidbury
Ward, Rachel - Expiry Date #3 Ant and Bea
Watkins, Roz - Cut to the Bone #3 DI Meg Dalton, Derbyshire