Arctic & Antarctic

I'm working on the June releases and have seen that there's a new book out set in the Antarctic - Midnight by Amy McCulloch. You can also "visit" the Arctic in Freeze by Kate Simants which was released in March. Where are you sailing to?

[Blurbs from Amazon.]

ON THE TOUGHEST REALITY SHOW ON TELEVISION
A KILLER IS HIDING OUT OF SHOT

Frozen Out is set to be a TV sensation. On a small ship off the coast of Greenland, eight contestants will push themselves to breaking point for a £100,000 prize.

The show is Tori Matsuka's baby. After years working her way up the ladder, she's finally launching her own production company with Frozen Out, and the late nights, the debts, the strain on her relationship will all be worthwhile. Everything is riding on the next twelve days. For camerawoman Dee, it's a chance to start again after the tragedy that tanked her undercover journalism career. Not even Tori, her oldest friend, knows the full truth of why Dee left her previous job, and she plans to keep it that way.

But as errors and mishaps mount on set, tempers among the cast and crew start to fray. And when one of the contestants is found dead, only Dee realises the death wasn't natural - and from what she's seen from behind the camera, it won't be the last. As the Arctic ice closes in around them and all chance of escape is cut off, it becomes clear that although the world outside wants them dead, it's the secrets inside the ship that might cost them their lives.

With her life back in London falling apart, Olivia cannot believe her luck when she's invited on a once-in-a-lifetime Antarctic cruise with her boyfriend, Aaron.


Olivia has never been anywhere so spectacular: huge cliffs of ice loom high on the horizon, penguins dive through the sparkling sea, and above it all, the sun never sets in the eerie twilight sky.

Then Aaron disappears. And a body is discovered on board.

Surrounded by strangers, Olivia has no idea who she can trust.

If she can't figure it out soon, she might not make it back alive . . .

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023 - Shortlist

Please find below the official press release announcing the shortlist for the Harrogate Crime Novel of the Year 2023. 

 M.W. CRAVEN | FIONA CUMMINS | ELLY GRIFFITHS

DOUG JOHNSTONE | GILLIAN MCALLISTER | RUTH WARE

Harrogate, 15 June 2023: The shortlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023, produced by Harrogate International Festivals, has been announced today, with six bestselling authors competing to win the UK’s most wanted crime writing prize. The public is now invited to vote for the winner at www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com.

The prestigious award – now in its 19th year – celebrates crime fiction at its very best, with this year’s shortlist taking readers on spine-tingling journeys of murder, stalking, ghosts, mysterious disappearances and much more. Selected with help from a public vote from a longlist of twenty novels to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, the list features newcomers and previous prize contenders alike – but none of this year’s shortlisted novelists have ever taken home the coveted award before, making this year’s competition even more tense…

Challengers for the trophy include Elly Griffiths, former Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Chair in 2017, who is in the running for an impressive sixth time for The Locked Room: the penultimate mystery in the series featuring Norfolk’s favourite forensic archaeologist, Dr Ruth Galloway.

Fellow award alumni on the shortlist are: Ruth Ware with her deliciously dark The It Girl, which unpicks the secrets of university friends in an unputdownable story of suspense and shock; Doug Johnstone’s latest instalment in the much-acclaimed ‘Skelfs’ series – which has been optioned for TV – also makes the list, with the heart-racing twists and turns of Black Hearts featuring an obsessive stalker, a faked death and a devastating spectre from the past; and best-selling author M.W. Craven is shortlisted for the latest DS Washington Poe thriller The Botanist, where the  disgraced detective is tasked with catching a poisoner sending the nation's most reviled people poems and pressed flowers.

Two novelists have made the shortlist for the first time: Gillian McAllister with her Sunday Times Thriller of the Year, Wrong Place Wrong Time, the jaw-dropping, plot twisting, mind bending Groundhog Day style murder mystery and Fiona Cummins – who was selected by Val McDermid for New Blood in 2017 – takes the final shortlist spot for her eerily unnerving thriller Into The Dark. The novel follows DS Saul Anguish as he aims to uncover the truth behind the mysterious disappearance of a whole family that takes the reader on a journey through revenge, greed, ambition, and the true cost of friendship.

The six novels shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023 are:

    The Botanist by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown Book Group; Constable)

    Into The Dark by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan; Macmillan/Pan)

    The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)

    Black Hearts by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)

    Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Penguin Random House; Michael Joseph)

    The It Girl by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster)

Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, commented: “We are delighted to announce this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year shortlist, featuring six gripping reads that celebrate the best of the crime genre. With an array of subgenres spanning gripping thrillers to murder mysteries, the public have a tricky task ahead choosing only one from this talented bunch – we can’t wait to unmask the winner at the 20th anniversary of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival on 20th July!”

Simon Theakston, Executive Director of T&R Theakston Ltd, added: “What an exceptional line-up of crime writers in this year’s shortlist! We raise a glass of Theakston Old Peculier to all of the shortlistees and look forward to awarding the coveted beer cask trophy during the opening night ceremony!”

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year is run by Harrogate International Festivals and sponsored by T&R Theakston Ltd, in partnership with Waterstones and Daily Express, and is open to full-length crime novels published in paperback between 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2023 by UK and Irish authors.

The public is now invited to vote for a winner at www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com. Voting closes on Thursday 13 July, with the winner revealed on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Thursday 20 July, receiving a prize of £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd. 

CrimeFest Awards 2023 - Winners

The winners of the CrimeFest Awards 2023 have been announced. You can find details of all the nominees here.

 

From the Press Release:

CRIMEFEST, one of Europe’s leading crime fiction conventions, has announced the winners of its annual awards.

 

Now in their 16th year, the awards honour the best crime books released in the UK last year.

 

The winner of the highly anticipated Specsavers Debut Crime Novel Award, and £1,000 prize monies, is Stacy Willingham for A Flicker in the Dark published by HarperCollins.

 

A psychological serial killer thriller with a shocking twist, A Flicker in the Dark was an instant New York Times bestseller and Sunday Times Thriller of the Year and is set to be adapted into a major TV series.

 

Dame Mary Perkins, co-founder of Specsavers who sponsors the award, said: “We’re thrilled to support the debut author prize. As one of the judges, I thoroughly enjoyed reading all the shortlisted titles. Stacy Willingham’s debut, however, was a book I simply couldn’t put down until I had finished it.”

 

The eDunnit Award for the best e-book goes to Sara Gran for The Book of the Most Precious Substance, published by Faber & Faber. The absorbing occult thriller combining intrigue, magic and antiquarian bookselling was praised as “deeply atmospheric” by The Guardian.

 

Winner of the H.R.F Keating Award for best biographical or critical book on crime fiction is The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators by Martin Edwards, published by Collins Crime Club. Edward’s opus on the genre, described by the New York Times as a “impressive feat,” recently won a 2023 Edgar Award.

 

The Last Laugh Award goes posthumously to Christopher Fowler for Bryant & May's Peculiar London published by Doubleday. The author died aged 69 in March this year, having being diagnosed with cancer three years ago. His curious world of the nation’s oldest serving detectives, has been described as “deliriously eccentric” in the Financial Times, and “devilishly clever” by Val McDermid.

 

Best Crime Novel for Children, aged 8-12, goes to Sharna Jackson for The Good Turn published by Puffin. With themes of social activism, the spooky mystery from the former Waterstones Children's Book Prize Category Winner revolves around an internet-loving girl determined to start her own scout troop.

 

Best Crime Novel for Young Adults, aged 12-16, is awarded to Holly Jackson for Five Survive published by Electric Monkey. A gripping cat-and-mouse thriller, it was The Guardian Best Children’s Book of 2022. 

 

The Thalia Proctor Memorial Award for Best Adapted TV Crime Drama goes to Slow Horses (seasons 1 & 2), based on the books by Mick Herron. Produced by See-Saw, shown on Apple TV+, the drama, which follows a dysfunctional and disgraced team of MI5 agents, stars Gary Oldman.

 

The award is named in honour of Thalia, a CrimeFest team member and a much-loved figure in the world of crime fiction, and is decided by public vote.

 

Adrian Muller, Co-host of CRIMEFEST, said: “We are proud to be one of the few genre awards that celebrate e-books, humour, children, and Young Adult novels. Our inclusive awards reflect the values of our convention as accessible and open to all. These awards are a true celebration of the crime genre, which continues to entertain and enlighten so many readers of all ages. We would like to thank Specsavers for their on-going support in celebrating new talent.”

 

Hosted in Bristol, CrimeFest is one of the biggest crime fiction events in Europe, and one of the most popular dates in the international crime fiction calendar, with circa 60 panel events and 150 authors over four days. Featured Guests at the convention this May are Mark Billingham and Elly Griffiths.

 

Leading British crime fiction reviewers and reviewers of fiction for children and young adults, alongside the members of the School Library Association (SLA) form the CrimeFest judging panels.

 

CrimeFest was created following the hugely successful one-off visit to Bristol in 2006 of the American Left Coast Crime convention. It was established in 2008. It follows the egalitarian format of most US conventions, making it open to fans, readers, and commercially published authors.

 

All category winners will receive a Bristol Blue Glass commemorative award.

 

2023 CrimeFest Award Winners

 

SPECSAVERS DEBUT CRIME NOVEL AWARD

- Stacy Willingham for A Flicker in the Dark (HarperCollins)

 

eDUNNIT AWARD

- Sara Gran for The Book of the Most Precious Substance (Faber & Faber)

 

H.R.F. KEATING AWARD

- Martin Edwards for The Life of Crime: Detecting the History of Mysteries and their Creators (Collins Crime Club)

 

LAST LAUGH AWARD

- Christopher Fowler for Bryant & May's Peculiar London (Doubleday)

 

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR CHILDREN

- Sharna Jackson for The Good Turn (Puffin)

 

BEST CRIME FICTION NOVEL FOR YOUNG ADULTS

- Holly Jackson for Five Survive (Electric Monkey)

 

THALIA PROCTOR MEMORIAL AWARD FOR BEST ADAPTED TV CRIME DRAMA

- Slow Horses (seasons 1 & 2), based on the books by Mick Herron. Produced by See-Saw. Shown on Apple TV+.

 

CWA Dagger Awards 2023 - Shortlist for the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

The CWA Dagger Shortlists were announced on Friday at CrimeFest. As mentioned before, the most important one to me is the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger, formerly the International Dagger for which I was a judge over ten years ago now. 

The shortlist is below and you can check out the longlist, and also my extensive but not exhaustive list of eligible titles here.

Winners will be announced on 6 July at the CWA Awards Dinner.

Shortlist:

Morgan Audic - Good Reasons to Die Sam Taylor (France, M, Mountain Leopard Press)

Michel Bussi - The Red Notebook tr. Vineet Lal (France, M, W&N)

Javier Cercas - Even the Darkest Night tr. Anne McLean (Spain, M, MacLehose Press)

Zijin Chen - Bad Kids tr. Michelle Deeter (China, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Anne Mette Hancock - The Corpse Flower tr. Tara Chace (Denmark, F, Swift Press)

Hervé le Tellier - The Anomaly tr. Adriana Hunter (France, M, Michael Joseph)

Other shortlists can be viewed on the CWA Website by clicking on the individual categories.

Website Updates: May 2023

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.

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 lists 1090 sites.

In Bibliographies there are bibliographies for 3026 authors (16298 titles of which 3108 are reviewed**).
**Some reviews will be provided by the Crime Review website. 

I've added new bibliographies for: Shimon Adaf, Leye Adenle, E C Bateman, Katie Bishop, Stella Blómkvist, Frankie Boyle, Colleen Cambridge, Simone Campos, Amanda Cassidy, Zijin Chen, Mahi Cheshire, Richard Coles, Elle Connel, Lucy Connelly, Catherine Cooper, Amy Cronin, Judi Daykin, Concita De Gregorio, Florian Dennisson, Anna Downes, M H Eccleston, Sven Elvestad, Sarah Engell, Pascal Engman, Helen Erichsen, Natalia García Freire, C P Giuliani, Lucy Goacher, Robert Gold, Andrew Goldspink, Anne Mette Hancock, Izzie Harper, Jane Heafield, Hannah Hendy, Kate High, Sam Holland, Victor Jestin, Alan Johnson, Anthony Johnston, Carole Johnstone, Anna Karolina, Scott Kershaw, Kate Khavari, Camilla Lackberg & Henrik Fexeus, Sergei Lebedev, Jo Leevers, John Lincoln, Robert J Lloyd, Natalie Marlow, Laurent Mauvignier, Fernanda Melchor, Robbie Morrison, T Orr Munro, Christie J Newport, L C North, Oriana Ramunno, Petra Rautianen, Antoine Renand, Paula Rodríguez, Joachim B Schmidt, Im Seong-Sun, Alice Slater, Sofia Slater, Cailean Steed, Alison Stockham, Jacqueline Sutherland, Gerwin van der Werf, Kate Webb, M J White, Patrick Worrall, Glenda Young and Zhang Yueran.

 

I've updated the bibliographies (ie added new titles) for: Cathy Ace, Jane Adams, R G Adams, Jussi Adler-Olsen, Maria Adolfsson, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir, Tasha Alexander, Tove Alsterdal, Lin Anderson, M J Arlidge, Jennifer Ashley, Claire Askew, Stephanie Austin, Yukito Ayatsuji, Elizabeth Bailey, Tina Baker, Jackie Baldwin, Lisa Ballantyne, Jean-Luc Bannalec, John Banville, Fiona Barton, M C Beaton, David Belbin, Alison Belsham, Tom Benn, S J Bennett, Jane Bettany, Billy Billingham, Mark Billingham, D V Bishop, Cara Black, Jenny Blackhurst, Sara Blaedel,Robin Blake, Sam Blake, Rachael Blok, R P Bolton, Sharon Bolton, Sarah Bonner, Roxanne Bouchard, Rhys Bowen, Tom Bradby, Rebecca Bradley, Simon Brett, Neil Broadfoot, Steph Broadribb, Frances Brody, Christopher Brookmyre, Alison Bruce, Camilla Bruce, Marion Brunet, Simone Buchholz, James Buckler, Fiona Buckley, Sheila Bugler, Steve Burrows, Michel Bussi, Dorothy Cannell, Donato Carrisi, Chris Carter, Will Carver, Jane Casey, Steve Cavanagh, Javier Cercas, Julia Chapman, Karen Charlton, Clare Chase, A A Chaudhuri, Lee Child, Ajay Chowdhury, Alys Clare, Cassandra Clark, Ann Cleeves, Rory Clements, John Connolly, Simon Conway, Caroline Corcoran, Colin Cotterill, Helen Cox, James Craig, M W Craven, Deborah Crombie, A J Cross, Julia Crouch, Fiona Cummins, Judith Cutler, Lisa Cutts, Alex Dahl, Kjell Ola Dahl, Lindsey Davis, N R Daws, Maurizio De Giovanni, Oscar de Muriel, Jason Dean, John Dean, Will Dean, J P Delaney, Joël Dicker, P C/Paul Doherty, Claire Douglas, Victoria Dowd, Charlotte Duckworth, Sabine Durrant, Philippa East, M T Edvardsson, Martin Edwards, Jim Eldridge, Jessica Ellicott, Bella Ellis, Joy Ellis, Kate Ellis, Mark Ellis, R J Ellory, Katrine Engberg, Caroline England, Fiona Erskine, Kate Evans, Chris/C M Ewan, John Fairfax, Eric Faye, Lyndsay Faye, Alice Feeney, Jessica Fellowes, David Fennell, T P Fielden, Helen Fields, Paul Finch, Caz Finlay, Trish Finnegan, Sebastian Fitzek, Helene Flood, Christopher Fowler, Dick Francis, Nicci French, John Fullerton, Robert Galbraith, Robert Goddard, Juan Gomez-Jurado, J G Goodhind, Claire Gradidge, Ann Granger, Alex Gray, Lisa Gray, Susanna Gregory, Elly Griffiths, Rebecca Griffiths, Johana Gustawsson, Janice Hallett, G R Halliday, Adam Hamdy, Kate Hamer, Penny Hancock, Mari Hannah, Sophie Hannah, C S Harris, Robert Harris, Cora Harrison, Cynthia Harrod-Eagles, Alis Hawkins, Paula Hawkins, Sarah Hawkswood, Sam Hayes, Ruth Heald, Veronica Heley, Mick Herron, Keigo Higashino, G D Higgins, M K Hill, Reginald Hill, Matt Hilton, Tom Hindle, SJI/Susi Holliday, Noelle Holten, Anthony Horowitz, Jorn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger, Catherine Ryan Howard, Debbie Howells, Anna Lee Huber, James Humphreys, Arlene Hunt, Graham Hurley, Arnaldur Indridason, Katja Ivar, David Jackson, Jo Jakeman, Christina James, Peter James, Michael Jecks, Diane Jeffrey, Lisa Jewell, Doug Johnstone, Ragnar Jonasson, Philip Gwynne Jones, Will Jordan, Alan Judd, Jessie Keane, Erin Kelly, Christobel Kent, Lars Kepler, Vaseem Khan, Olivia Kiernan, T E Kinsey, Erin Kinsley, Bill Kitson, Emily Koch, Giles Kristian, Lynda La Plante, Camilla Lackberg, David Lagercrantz, Deryn Lake, Asa Larsson, Liz Lawler, John Lawton, Herve Le Corre, Stephen Leather, Jung-myung/J M Lee, Georgina Lees, Simon Lelic, Donna Leon, Ruth Lillegraven, Douglas Lindsay, Sarah Linley, Howard Linskey, Catherine Lloyd, Chris Lloyd, Gytha Lodge, TM Logan, M L Longworth, Peter Lovesey, Rachel Lynch, Bonnie MacBird, Stuart MacBride Lorraine Mace, Niki Mackay, Clare Mackintosh, Shona/S G MacLean, Torquil MacLeod, Gilly Macmillan, Molly MacRae, Karen Maitland, G M Malliet, Marco Malvaldi, Louise Mangos, Tom Marcus, Scott Mariani, David Mark, Patricia Marques, Laura Marshall, Edward Marston, Faith Martin, Alex Marwood, Deborah Masson, Priscilla Masters, S R Masters, Nadine Matheson, Alyssa Maxwell, Peter May, Val McDermid, Andy McDermott, Lynne McEwan, Brian McGilloway, Adrian McKinty, Andy McNab, Fergus McNeill, Catriona McPherson, Dervla McTiernan, Stephanie Merritt, Ant Middleton, Mark Mills, Denise Mina, D A Mishani, Dreda Say Mitchell, J S Monroe, Allison Montclair, Ian Moore, Peter Morfoot, Mandy Morton, Frank/T F Muir, Margaret Murphy, Amy Myers, Barbara Nadel, Fuminori Nakamura, Jo Nesbo, Hakan Nesser, Chris Nickson, Olivier Norek, Lauren North, Alex North, Liz Nugent, Carlene O'Connor, Nick Oldham, Sergio Olguin, Riku Onda, Judith O'Reilly, Richard Osman, Sólveig Pálsdóttir, B A Paris, Kate Parker, Alan Parks, Tony Parsons, Vikki Patis, Nell Pattison, Chris Pavone, Andrea Penrose, Anne Perry, S W Perry, Christoffer Petersen, Louise Phillips, Sarah Pinborough, Alex Pine, Caro Ramsay, Danielle Ramsay, Ian Rankin, Deanna Raybourn, Sarah Rayne, Alex Reeve, Linda Regan, Rebecca Reid, Allie Reynolds, Amanda Reynolds, Kate Rhodes, Rachel Rhys, Matthew Richardson, Marnie Riches, Michael Ridpath, Stella Rimington, Mike Ripley, Peter Robinson, Michael Robotham, Gemma Rogers, Mercedes Rosende, Anders Roslund, Rosemary Rowe Laura Joh Rowland, Pauline Rowson, Michael Russell, Leigh Russell, Sadie Ryan, Kate Saunders, Vanessa Savage, Louisa Scarr, Alex Scarrow Simon Scarrow, Katharine Schellman, Claire Seeber, Max Seeck, Victoria Selman, Gerald Seymour, Louise Sharland, William Shaw, Paige Shelton, Mel Sherratt, Will Shindler, Lilja Sigurdardottir, Yrsa Sigurdardottir, Gustaf Skördeman, Joanna Campbell Slan, Alex Smith, Alexander McCall Smith, Anna Smith, Martin Cruz Smith, Jo Spain, Ruby Speechley, Sally Spencer, Lyndon Stacey, David Stafford, Mel/Melvin R Starr, Catherine Steadman, Jane Steen, Peter Steiner, Viveca Sten, Linda Stratmann, Emma Tallon, C L Taylor, Andrew Taylor, Aline Templeton, Russ Thomas, Sherry Thomas, Will Thomas, Lesley Thomson, Robert Thorogood, Peter Tickler, Marion Todd, Rebecca Tope, Peter Tremayne, S K Tremayne, Camilla Trinchieri, M J Trow, C J Tudor, Antti Tuomainen, A K Turner, L C Tyler, P D Viner, Ferdinand von Schirach, Alexandra Walsh, B P Walter, Alex Walters, Rachel/RM Ward, Sarah Ward, Ruth Ware, Julie Wassmer, Holly Watt, Kerry Watts, Tim Weaver, Ashley Weaver, Jeri Westerson, S R White, Claire Whitfield Susan Wilkins, Kerry Wilkinson, Andrew Williams, Jacqueline Winspear, Olga Wojtas, James Wolff, Michael Wood, Tom Wood, Trevor Wood, A Yi and Seishi Yokomizo.

New Releases - May 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in May 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). May and future months (and sometimes years) can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

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.

• Allingham, Merryn - Murder at Abbeymead Farm #6 Flora Steele, Sussex, 1955
• Atkinson, Heather - Savage Sisters (ebook only)
• Baldwin, Jackie - Murder by the Seaside #1 Detective Grace McKenna, Edinburgh
• Bell, Alice - Grave Expectations
• Billingham, Mark - The Last Dance #1 Detective Declan Miller, Blackpool
• Bishop, Katie - The Girls of Summer
• Brett, Simon - Blotto, Twinks and the Conquistadors' Gold #11 Brother and sister sleuths, Blotto and Twinks
• Buckley, Fiona - The Net of Steel #22 Ursula Blanchard, an Elizabethan lady
• Chase, Clare - Mystery at Farfield Castle #10 Eve Mallow, Saxford St Peter
• Clare, Alys - The Cargo From Neira #5 Gabriel Taverner, Former ship's surgeon, C17 Devon
• Comley, M A - To Endanger Lives (ebook only) #9 DI Sam Cobbs
• Dean, Will - The Last Passenger (apa The Last One)
• Denzil, Sarah A with SL Harker - The Nice Guy (ebook only)
• Edwards, Mark - Keep Her Secret
• Edwards, Martin - Sepulchre Street #4 Rachel Savernake & Jacob Flint, 1930s
• Ellicott, Jessica - Murder on the Home Front #2 WPC Billie Harkness, Hull, 1940
• Erichsen, Helen - Murder by Natural Causes #1 Cilla, Contract Killer
• Gatland, Jack - Covert Action (ebook only) #3 Tom Marlowe
• Gatward, D J - Silent Ruin (ebook only) #14 DCI Harry Grimm
• Glister, Tim - A Game of Deceit #3 Richard Knox, MI5 Agent, London, 1966
• Goldis, Jaclyn - The Chateau
• Grant, Tracy - The Seven Dials Affair (ebook only) #27 Rannoch Fraser
• Hawkswood, Sarah - Too Good to Hang #11 Bradecote and Catchpoll, Worcestershire, C12 Bradecote and Catchpoll, Worcestershire, C12
• Higson, Charlie - On His Majesty's Secret Service - James Bond
• Hilton, Matt - Cold Fire #10 Grey and Villere, Louisiana
• Holland, Sam - The Twenty #2 Major Crimes
• Hunter, Alice - The Serial Killer's Sister #3 Serial Killer
• Hunter, E V - A Contest To Kill For #2 Hopgood Hall Murder Mysteries
• Hunter, M A - Adrift
• Hurst, Daniel - The Bride to Be
• Isaac, Jane - In the Shadows #5 DCI Helen Lavery
• James, Alison - The Woman in Carriage 3
• James, Ed - Where the Bodies Lie #2 DI Rob Marshall
• Jenkins, Victoria Happily - Married
• Johnston, Anthony - The Dog Sitter Detective #1 Gwinny Tuffel, Dog sitter
• Kabler, Jackie - The Vanishing of Class 3B
• Kaya, Kerry - Revenge #2 The Tempests
• Kelleher, Casey - The Babysitter's Secret (ebook only)
• Kepler, Lars - The Spider tr. Alice Menzies #9 DI Joona Linna, Stockholm
• Kirk, JD - The One That Got Away (ebook only) #1 DI Heather Filson
• Lackberg, Camilla & Fexeus, Henrik - Cult tr. Ian Giles #2 Detective Mina Dabiri & Mentalist Vincent Walter
• Lassa, Antonia - Skin Deep tr. Jacky Collins
• Lawton, John - Moscow Exile #4 Joe Wilderness
• Leather, Stephen - Triggers
• Leevers, Jo - Tell Me How This Ends
• Lynes, S E - The Summer Holiday
• McEwan, Lynne - The Girls in the Glen #3 DI Shona Oliver, Dumfries
• McLean, Rachel - Death and Poetry (ebook only) #2 McBride & Tanner
• Macmillan, Gilly - The Fall
• Madsen, Jenny Lund - Thirty Days of Darkness tr. Megan E Turney #1 Hannah
• Mara, Andrea - No One Saw a Thing
• Marcus, Tom - Target and Destroy #3 Matt Logan, MI5 Agent
• Mariani, Scott - The White Knight #27 Ben Hope, Ex-SAS
• Marsons, Angela - Deadly Fate #18 DI Kim Stone
• Maslen, Andy - Seven Seconds (ebook only) #14 Gabriel Wolfe
• Monaghan, S D - Toxic People
• Morton, Mandy - The Windmill Murders #11 The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency
• Munro, T Orr - Slaughterhouse Farm #2 CSI Ally Dymond, Devon
• Nadel, Barbara - Double Illusion #25 Cetin Ikmen, Policeman, Istanbul
• Nesbo, Jo - Killing Moon tr. Seán Kinsella #13 Detective Harry Hole, Oslo, Norway
• North, Lauren - My Word Against His (ebook only)
• Parks, Alan - To Die In June #6 Harry McCoy, Police Officer, Glasgow, 1973
• Pearce, Biba - Fever Pitch (ebook only) #6 Kenzie Gilmore
• Priest, Christopher - Airside
• Richardson, Matthew - The Scarlet Papers
• Ryan, Chris - Cold Red
• Salter, Michelle - The Body at Carnival Bridge #3 Iris Woodmore, 1920s
• Skelton, Douglas - A Thief's Justice #2 Jonas Flynt, C18
• Slater, K L - The Bedroom Window (ebook only)
• Smith, Martin Cruz - Independence Square #10 Chief Investigator Arkady Renko, Moscow
• Spain, Jo - Don't Look Back
• Stacey, Lyndon - Bad Blood #5 Daniel Whelan, ex-police dog handler, Dartmoor
• Swallow, James - Dark Horizon
• Watson, Sue - The Wedding Day
• Watt, Holly - The End of the Game #4 Casey Benedict, Investigative Journalist
• Whitelaw, Jonathan - The Village Hall Vendetta
• Wilkinson, Kerry - The Ones Who Are Hidden #4 A Whitecliff Bay Mystery
• Wolff, James - The Man in the Corduroy Suit

Theakstons Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023 - Longlist

Please find below the official press release announcing the longlist for the Harrogate Crime Novel of the Year. Twenty authors have been listed (12 Female, 8 Male).

Until the 18 May you can vote for your favourite book on the longlist here.

MARK BILLINGHAM | M. W. CRAVEN | FIONA CUMMINS | LUCY FOLEY | ELLY GRIFFITHS | JANICE HALLETT | MICK HERRON | LISA JEWELL | DOUG JOHNSTONE | VASEEM KHAN | CLARE MACKINTOSH | IMRAN MAHMOOD GILLIAN MCALLISTER | VAL MCDERMID | LIAM MCILVANNEY | LEONORA NATTRASS | ALAN PARKS VICTORIA SELMAN | SARAH VAUGHAN | RUTH WARE 

Harrogate, Thursday 27 April 2023: The longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023 has been announced today by Harrogate International Festivals. The search for the best crime novel of the past year gets underway as the public are now invited to vote for their favourites to reach the next stage.

The winner of the prestigious Award will be announced at the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (20 July), which this year celebrates its 20th anniversary. To mark the momentous occasion, for the first time the longlist includes twenty outstanding authors, rather than the traditional eighteen, competing for the UK and Ireland’s most coveted crime fiction writing Award.

With thrilling stories that transport readers from a burnt-out Glasgow under threat, to the hidden backstreets of Paris, from the bustle of 1950s Bombay and a mail ship bound for Philadelphia, the longlist celebrates the very best of the crime genre.

 
A number of returning champions are hoping to take home the Award once again - Mick Herron defends his 2022 title with the latest Slough House instalment, Bad Actors, alongside Clare Mackintosh’s gripping New Year’s Day murder mystery The Last Party, two-time winner Mark Billingham’s electrifying thriller The Murder Book, and the scintillating 1989, the second in the new Allie Burns series from the doyenne of crime writing Val McDermid.

Several of the crime world’s favourite crime solving protagonists are also in the running for the coveted trophy – Elly Griffith’s penultimate mystery featuring Dr Ruth Galloway, The Locked Room, is in contention, alongside M.W. Craven’s latest Detective Sergeant Washington Poe thriller The Botanist, and Black Hearts, the explosive thriller featuring Doug Johnstone’s Skelf women.

They are joined by fellow Theakston nominees, including Sarah Vaughan with her masterful psychological page-turner Reputation, the unputdownable The It Girl from Ruth Ware, Lucy Foley’s deeply unsettling, locked room mystery The Paris Apartment as well as All I Said Was True, the ticking clock thriller from barrister-turned-author Imran Mahmood. Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2023 Programming Chair Vaseem Khan is vying to win with The Lost Man of Bombay, as is Blue Water – Leonora Nattrass’ atmospheric tale aboard an eighteenth-century ship on route to Philadelphia. Joining them are Liam McIlvanney’s highly anticipated The Heretic, which sees D.I. Duncan McCormack tackling brutal gang warfare on the streets of Glasgow, and the eerily unnerving new thriller Into The Dark from Val McDermid’s 2017 New Blood selection, Fiona Cummins.

A plethora of established voices join the Theakston ranks for the first time this year. The tantalisingly tense Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister and Lisa Jewell’s chilling new domestic noir The Family Remains are longlisted along with Victoria Selman’s nerve-jangling Truly Darkly Deeply, the deftly suspenseful The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett, while chilling police procedural May God Forgive gives star of ‘Tartan Noir’ Alan Parks his first longlisting.

The full Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2023 longlist is:

· The Murder Book by Mark Billingham (Little, Brown Book Group; Little Brown)
· The Botanist by M.W. Craven (Little, Brown Book Group; Constable)
· Into The Dark by Fiona Cummins (Pan Macmillan; Macmillan/Pan)
· The Paris Apartment by Lucy Foley (HarperCollins; HarperFiction)
· The Locked Room by Elly Griffiths (Quercus)
· The Twyford Code by Janice Hallett (Profile Books; Viper)
· Bad Actors by Mick Herron (John Murray Press; Baskerville)
· The Family Remains by Lisa Jewell (Cornerstone; Century Fiction)
· Black Hearts by Doug Johnstone (Orenda Books)
· The Lost Man of Bombay by Vaseem Khan (Hodder & Stoughton)
· The Last Party by Clare Mackintosh (Little, Brown Book Group; Sphere)
· All I Said Was True by Imran Mahmood (Bloomsbury Publishing; Raven Books)
· Wrong Place Wrong Time by Gillian McAllister (Penguin Random House; Michael Joseph)
· 1989 by Val McDermid (Little, Brown Book Group; Little Brown)
· The Heretic by Liam McIlvanney (HarperCollins; HarperFiction)
· Blue Water by Leonora Nattrass (Profile Books; Viper)
· May God Forgive by Alan Parks (Canongate Books)
· Truly Darkly Deeply by Victoria Selman (Quercus)
· Reputation by Sarah Vaughan (Simon & Schuster)
· The It Girl by Ruth Ware (Simon & Schuster)

Simon Theakston, Executive Director of Theakston, added: “Each year I eagerly await the long list announcement for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and every year I’m reminded of the phenomenal talent in the crime fiction writing world, whether a returning icon or a rising star. I’m looking forward to a celebratory toast of Old Peculier in July, but for now, we raise a glass to all the exceptional nominees as the shortlist vote is taken to the public.”

 
Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, Sharon Canavar, commented: “We are delighted to announce the 2023 longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, with an exceptional collection of the UK and Ireland’s best crime fiction novels from the past year. The Award is an integral part of the Festival and with a gripping mix of subgenres nominated, from psychological thrillers to murder mysteries, we can’t wait to see how the public vote this year.”

The longlist was selected by an academy of crime writing authors, agents, editors, reviewers, members of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival Programming Committee, along with representatives from the media partner, Daily Express. The award is run by Harrogate International Festivals sponsored by T&R Theakston Ltd, in partnership with Waterstones and Daily Express, and is open to full-length crime novels published in paperback between 1 May 2022 to 30 April 2023 by UK and Irish authors.

The public are now invited to vote to create a shortlist of six titles from 10am on Thursday 27 April at www.harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com. Voting closes on Thursday 18 May, with the shortlist announced and winner voting opening on Thursday 15 June. The winner will be revealed on the opening night of Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, Thursday 20 July, receiving £3,000 and a handmade, engraved beer barrel provided by T&R Theakston Ltd.

Petrona Award 2023 Entries

Here's a sneak peek at the forty-two Petrona Award 2023 entries. Full details to follow. 

New Releases - April 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in April 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). April and future months (and sometimes years) can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

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.

• Abell, Stig - Death Under a Little Sky #1 Jake Jackson
• Baker, Jo - The Midnight News
• Banville, John - The Lock-Up #2 Detective Inspector St John Strafford
• Bassett, Tony - Seat 97
• Beckerman, Hannah - The Forgetting
• Bonner, Sarah - Her Sweet Revenge
• Bowen, Rhys (with Clare Broyles) - All That Is Hidden #19 Molly Murphy, PI, 1900s New York
• Buchholz, Simone - The Acapulco tr. Rachel Ward #1 Chastity Riley
• Cambridge, Colleen - Mastering the Art of French Murder #1 An American In Paris Mystery
• Carson, John - Do Unto Others #17 DCI Harry McNeil
• Chapman, Julia - Date with Evil #8 The Dales Detective Series
• Chowdhury, Ajay - The Detective #3 Kamil Rahman
• Clarke, Lucy - The Hike
• Comley, M A - Son of the Dead #19 DI Sarah Ramsey
• Connelly, Lucy - An American in Scotland #1 Dr Emilia McRoy
• Conroy, Vivian - A Fatal Encounter in Tuscany #3 Miss Ashford
• Croft, Kathryn - The Lie
• Dahl, Kjell Ola - The Lazarus Solution tr. Don Bartlett
• Davis, Lindsey - Fatal Legacy #11 Flavia Albia, the adopted daughter of Marcus Didius Falco
• Daykin, Judi - The Norfolk Beach Murders #5 Detective Sara Hirst, Norfolk
• Dean, John - The Name on the Bullet #11 Detective Chief Inspector John Blizzard
• Devlin, Cara - Silence of Deceit #3 Bow Street Duchess
• Driscoll, Teresa - Tell Me Lies
• Eldridge, Jim - Murder at Down Street Station #5 Detective Chief Inspector Coburg & Sergeant Lampson
• Foster, Kate - The Maiden
• Gitsham, Paul - Web of Lies #9 DCI Warren Jones
• Greenwood, Ross - Death on Cromer Beach #1 DS Ashley Knight, Norfolk
• Harris, C S - Who Cries for the Lost #18 Sebastian St. Cyr, Regency England
• Hussey, William - Killing Jericho
• Hutton, Callie - Homicide at the Vicarage (ebook only) #5 Victorian Bookclub Mystery
• Jecks, Michael - Portrait of a Murder #1 Nick Morris
• Jensen, Louise - The Fall
• Kovach, Carla - Their Cold Hearts #13 Detective Gina Harte
• Lancaster, Neil - Blood Runs Cold #4 DS Max Craigie, Scotland
• Leadbeater, David - The Midnight Conspiracy #3 Joe Mason
• Lodge, Gytha - A Killer in the Family #5 DCI Jonah Sheens
• McCleave, Simon - The Denbigh Asylum Killings (ebook only) #15 DI Ruth Hunter
• McLean, Rachel - The Lighthouse Murders (ebook only) #8 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset
• Mace, Lorraine - The Guest
• Malvaldi, Marco - The Art of Killing Well tr. Howard Curtis #2 Pellegrino Artusi, Italy's first celebrity chef, 19C
• Marston, Edward - Death at the Terminus #21 Det. Insp Colbeck, Scotland Yard, mid 19th Century
• Mitchell, Dreda Say (with Ryan Carter) - Believe Me
• Moloney, Catherine - Crime in the High Street #19 DI Gilbert Markham
• Monroe, J S - No Place to Hide
• Morrison, Robbie - Cast a Cold Eye #2 Jimmy Dreghorn, Glasgow 1932
• Murphy, Kitty - Death in the Dark #2 Dublin Drag
• Perry, Anne - The Traitor Among Us #5 Elena Standish, Photographer, 1930s
• Perry, S W - The Sinner's Mark #6 Nicholas Shelby, Elizabethan Era
• Reynolds, Amanda - The Assistant
• Rigby, Sally (with Amanda Ashby) - The Ex-Wife
• Rowe, Rosemary - The Rewards of Treachery #20 Mosaicist Libertus, Glevum (modern Gloucester)
• Salisbury, Emma - Blood Sweat and Tears (ebook only) #9 DS Coupland
• Seeber, Claire - The Birthday Reunion
• Seong-Sun, Im - The Consultant tr. An Seon Jae
• Shelton, Paige - Fateful Words #8 Scottish Bookshop Mystery
• Slater, Alice - Death of a Bookseller
• Smith, Miranda - The School Trip
• Sullivan, Tim - The Monk #5 DS Cross, Bristol
• Taylor, Marsali - Death in a Shetland Lane #11 Shetland Sailing Mysteries
• Thomas, Will - Heart of the Nile #14 Barker and Llewelyn, Victorian London
• Walters, Victoria - Murder at the Village Church #3 Dedley End Mystery
• Ward, Sarah - The Birthday Girl #1 Mallory Dawson, Wales
• Wilkinson, Kerry - The One Who Fell #1 A Whitecliff Bay Mystery
• Wilkinson, Kerry - The One Who Was Taken #2 A Whitecliff Bay Mystery
• Wilkinson, Kerry - The Ones Who Are Buried #3 A Whitecliff Bay Mystery
• Wyer, Carol - A Truth for a Truth #4 DI Kate Young, Staffordshire

CWA Dagger Awards 2023 - Longlist for the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger

The CWA Dagger Longlists were announced over the weekend. The most important one to me is the Crime Fiction in Translation Dagger, formerly the International Dagger for which I was a judge over ten years ago now. 

The longlist is below and you can check out my extensive but not exhaustive list of eligible titles here.

Shortlists will be announced at CrimeFest on 12 May and the winners on 6 July at the CWA Awards Dinner.

Longlist:

Morgan Audic - Good Reasons to Die Sam Taylor (France, M, Mountain Leopard Press)

Michel Bussi - The Red Notebook tr. Vineet Lal (France, M, W&N)

Javier Cercas - Even the Darkest Night tr. Anne McLean (Spain, M, MacLehose Press)

Zijin Chen - Bad Kids tr. Michelle Deeter (China, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Erri De Luca - Impossible tr. N S Thompson (Italy, M, Mountain Leopard Press)

Pascal Engman - Femicide tr. Michael Gallagher (Sweden, M, Legend Press)

Johana Gustawsson - The Bleeding tr. David Warriner (France, F, Orenda Books)

Anne Mette Hancock - The Corpse Flower tr. Tara Chace (Denmark, F, Swift Press)

Hervé le Tellier - The Anomaly tr. Adriana Hunter (France, M, Michael Joseph)

Deon Meyer - The Dark Flood tr. K L Seegers (South Africa, M, Hodder & Stoughton)

Akimitsu Takagi - The Tattoo Murder tr. Deborah Boehm  (Japan, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Kaoru Takamura - Lady Joker, Volume 1 tr. Allison Markin Powell & Marie Iida (Japan, F, Baskerville)

Other longlists can be viewed on the CWA Website by clicking on the individual categories.

Crime Fiction in Translation (International) Dagger Speculation (2023)

The CWA Dagger longlists were announced at the weekend so I thought I'd better, rather belatedly, put together the list of eligibles for the Crime Fiction in Translation (formerly the International) Dagger 2023. I'll post the Longlist separately.

So here are 86 translated crime novels published between 1 January 2022 and 31 December 2022, that I know about. Please let me know if I've missed any. In the list below I've also included the country of birth and gender of the author(s) plus the translator's name (where known) and the publisher.

Stats: The breakdown by gender is 50 Male and 34 Female and 2 Female and Male authors writing together. Authors are from 21 countries. The most represented country is Sweden (24) followed by Japan (8) and France (7) and Norway (7). Around 60 translators (including pairs of translators) brought you these titles, with at least 16 individuals having translated more than one. (I've put "tbc" when I cannot find the name of the translator.) 

Jussi Adler-Olsen - The Shadow Murders tr. William Frost (Denmark, M, Quercus) 

Maria Adolfsson - Wild Shores tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, F, Zaffre) 

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir  - Night Shadows tr. Victoria Cribb (Iceland, F, Orenda Books)

Stefan Ahnhem - The Final Nail  tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, M, Head of Zeus)

Tove Alsterdal - We Know You Remember tr. Alice Menzies (Sweden, F, Faber & Faber)

Friedrich Ani - Killing Happiness tr. Alexander Booth (Germany, M, Seagull Books London Ltd)

Lina Areklew - Death in Summer tr. Tara F Chace (Sweden, F, Canelo) 

Ewald Arenz - Tasting Sunlight tr. Rachel Ward (Germany, M, Orenda Books )

Morgan Audic - Good Reasons to Die Sam Taylor (France, M, Mountain Leopard Press)

Lina Bengtsdotter - For the Lost tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, F, Orion) 

Katarzyna Bonda - Conspiracy of Blood tr. Filip Sporczyk (Poland, F, Hodder & Stoughton)

Roxanne Bouchard - Whisper of the Seals tr. David Warriner (Canada, F, Orenda Books)

Marion Brunet - Vanda tr. Katherine Gregor (France, F, Bitter Lemon Press)

Simone Buchholz - River Clyde tr. Rachel Ward (Germany, F, Orenda Books)

Michel Bussi - The Red Notebook tr. Vineet Lal (France, M, W&N)

Gu Byeong-mo - The Old Woman With the Knife tr. Chi-Young Kim (South Korea, F, Canongate Books)

Donato Carrisi - The Whisperer's Game tr. Katherine Gregor (Italy, M, Little, Brown)

Javier Cercas - Even the Darkest Night tr. Anne McLean (Spain, M, MacLehose Press)

Zijin Chen - Bad Kids tr. Michelle Deeter (China, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Kjell Ola Dahl - Little Drummer tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, M, Orenda Books)

Arne Dahl - You Are Next tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, M, Harvill Secker)

Luca D'Andrea - The Wanderer tr. Katherine Gregor (Italy, M, MacLehose Press)

Concita De Gregorio - The Missing Word tr. Clarissa Botsford (Italy, F, Europa Editions)

Anders de la Motte - Deeds of Autumn tr. Marlaine Delargy (Sweden, M ,Zaffre)

Anders de la Motte - Dead of Winter tr. Marlaine Delargy (Sweden, M ,Zaffre) 

Erri De Luca - Impossible tr. N S Thompson (Italy, M, Mountain Leopard Press)

Florian Dennisson - The List tr. ??? (France, M, Bloodhound Books)

Joël Dicker - The Enigma of Room 622 tr. Robert Bononno (Switzerland, M, MacLehose Press)

Katrine Engberg - The Harbour tr. Tara Chace (Denmark, F, Hodder & Stoughton)

Pascal Engman - Femicide tr. Michael Gallagher (Sweden, M, Legend Press)

Sebastian Fitzek - Walk Me Home tr. Jamie Bulloch (Germany, M, Head of Zeus)

Helene Flood - The Lover tr. Alison McCullough (Norway, F, MacLehose Press)

Natalia García Freire - This World Does Not Belong to Us tr. Victor Meadowcroft (Ecuador, F,  Oneworld Publications) 

Johana Gustawsson - The Bleeding tr. David Warriner (France, F, Orenda Books)

Anne Mette Hancock - The Corpse Flower tr. Tara Chace (Denmark, F, Swift Press)

Keigo Higashino - A Death in Tokyo tr. Giles Murray (Japan, M, Abacus)

Jorn Lier Horst - The Night Man tr. Anne Bruce (Norway, M, Michael Joseph)

Jorn Lier Horst & Thomas Enger - Unhinged tr. Megan Turney (Norway, M, Orenda Books)

Kotaro Isaka - Three Assassins tr. Sam Malissa (Japan, M, Harvill Secker)

Susanne Jansson - Winter Water tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles (Sweden, F, Hodder & Stoughton)

Ragnar Jonasson - Outside tr. Victoria Cribb (Iceland, M, Michael Joseph)

Anna Karolina - The Guilty One tr. Lisa Reinhardt (Sweden, F, Thomas & Mercer)

Anna Karolina - The Missing Man tr. Lisa Reinhardt (Sweden, F, Thomas & Mercer)

Lars Kepler - The Mirror Man tr. Alice Menzies (Sweden, F&M, Zaffre)

Camilla Lackberg & Henrik Fexeus - Trapped tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, F&M, HarperCollins)

David Lagercrantz - Dark Music tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, M, MacLehose Press)

Hervé le Tellier - The Anomaly tr. Adriana Hunter (France, M, Michael Joseph)

J M Lee - Broken Summer tr. An Seon Jae (Korea, M, Amazon Crossing)

Jónína Leósdóttir - Deceit tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, F, Corylus Books)

Ruth Lillegraven - Blood Ties tr. Diane Oatley (Norway, F, AmazonCrossing)

Davide Longo - Young Beasts at Play tr. Silvester Mazzarella (Italy, M, MacLehose Press)

Seicho Matsumoto - Tokyo Express tr. Jesse Kirkwood (Japan, M, Penguin Classics)

Fernanda Melchor - Paradais tr. Sophie Hughes (Mexico, F, Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Deon Meyer - The Dark Flood tr. K L Seegers (South Africa, M, Hodder & Stoughton)

D A Mishani - Conviction tr. Jessica Cohen (Israel, M, riverrun)

Fuminori Nakamura - My Annihilation tr. Sam Bett (Japan, M, Soho Press) 

Niklas Natt och Dag - 1794: The City Between the Bridges tr. Ebba Segerberg (Sweden, M, Baskerville)

Hakan Nesser - The Axe Woman tr. Sarah Death (Sweden, M, Mantle) 

Olivier Norek - Breaking Point tr. Nick Caistor (France, M, MacLehose Press)

Sergio Olguin - There Are No Happy Loves tr. Miranda France (Argentina, M, Bitter Lemon Press)

Riku Onda - Fish Swimming in Dappled Sunlight tr. Alison Watts (Japan, F, Bitter Lemon Press)

Sólveig Pálsdóttir - Harm tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, F, Corylus Books)

Oriana Ramunno - Ashes in the Snow tr. Katherine Gregor (Italy, F, HarperCollins)

Petra Rautianen - Land of Snow and Ashes tr. David Hackston (Finland, F, Pushkin Press)

Paula Rodríguez - Urgent Matters tr. Sarah Moses (Argentina, F, Pushkin Vertigo) 

Hans Rosenfeldt - Cry Wolf tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel (Sweden, M, HarperCollins)

Anders Roslund - Sweet Dreams tr. Elizabeth Clark Wessel (Sweden, M, Harvill Secker)

Joachim B Schmidt - Kalmann tr. Jamie Lee Searle (Switzerland, M, Bitter Lemon Press)

Hansjorg Schneider - Silver Pebbles tr. Mike Mitchell (Switzerland, M, Bitter Lemon Press)

Lilja Sigurdardottir - Red as Blood tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, F, Orenda Books)

Yrsa Sigurdardottir  - The Fallout tr. Victoria Cribb (Iceland, F, Hodder & Stoughton)

Gustaf Skördeman - Codename Faust tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, M, Zaffre)

Gunnar Staalesen - Bitter Flowers tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, M, Orenda Books)

Malin Stehn - Happy New Year tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles (Sweden, F, Penguin)

Viveca Sten - Buried in Secret tr. Marlaine Delargy (Sweden, F, AmazonCrossing)

Viveca Sten - Hidden in Snow tr. Marlaine Delargy (Sweden, F, AmazonCrossing)

Akimitsu Takagi - The Tattoo Murder tr. Deborah Boehm  (Japan, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Kaoru Takamura - Lady Joker, Volume 1 tr. Allison Markin Powell & Marie Iida (Japan, F, Baskerville) Antti Tuomainen - The Moose Paradox tr. David Hackston (Finland, M, Orenda Books)

Silje O Ulstein - Reptile Memoirs tr. Alison McCullough (Norway, F, Grove Press UK)

Christian Unge - A Grain of Truth tr. George Goulding & Sarah De Senarclens (Sweden, M, MacLehose Press)

Gerwin van der Werf - The Hitchhiker (ebook only) tr. David Colmer (Holland, M, Text Publishing)

Ferdinand von Schirach - Punishment tr. Katharina Hall (Germany, M, Baskerville)

A Yi - Wake Me Up at Nine in the Morning tr. Nicky Harman (China, M, Oneworld Publications)

Seishi Yokomizo - Gokumon Island tr. Louise Heal Kawai (Japan, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Zhang Yueran - Cocoon tr. Jeremy Tiang (China, M, World Editions Ltd)

New Releases - March 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think was published for the first time in March 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

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.

Atkinson, Heather - His Fatal Legacy #3 The Alardyce Trilogy
Ayatsuji, Yukito - The Mill House Murders tr. Ho-Ling Wong
Bartlett, Graham - Force of Hate #2 Detective Superintendent Jo Howe, Brighton
Beevis, Keri - The Summer House
Black, Cara - Night Flight to Paris #2 Kate Rees
Bright, Verity - Death on Deck #13 Lady Eleanor Swift, 1920s
Brolly, Matt - The Running Girls
Burdess, Abigail - Mother's Day
Casey, Jane - The Close #10 DC Maeve Kerrigan
Comley, M A - See No Evil #6 Justice Again
Crawley, Harriet - The Translator
Dawson, Mark - The Red Room # 3 Atticus Priest
Devlin, Cara - Death at Fournier Downs #2 Bow Street Duchess
Doherty, Paul - Dark Queen Wary #4 Margaret Beaufort
Dolby, Hannah - No Life for a Lady
Dorricott, Fran - The Loch
Dranfield, Wendy - The Night She Vanished
Duckworth, Charlotte - The Wrong Mother
Eccleston, M H - Death on the Isle #2 Astrid Swift
Eccleston, M H - Death Comes to the Costa del Sol #3 Astrid Swift
Ellis, Mark - In the Shadows of the Blitz #6 Frank Merlin
Ellory, R J - The Last Highway
Fields, Helen - The Institution
French, Nicci - The Favour
Galloway, K T - Deadly Games #6 O'Malley & Swift
Gardner, Ashley - The Ring that Caesar Wore #3 Leonidas the Gladiator Mysteries
Gatland, Jack - Beneath the Bodies #14 DI Declan Walsh
Gold, Robert - Eleven Liars #2 Ben Harper
Gomez-Jurado, Juan - Red Queen #1 Antonia Scott tr. Nick Caistor
Grand, Mary - Death at Castle Cove
Hall, J M - A Pen Dipped in Poison #2 Retired schoolteachers Liz, Pat and Thelma
Harper, Izzie - Murder in the Bluebell Woods #2 The Wootton Windmill Mysteries
Harrison, Cora - The Deadly Weed #10 Reverend Mother Aquinas, Cork, 1920s
Hastings, Anastasia - Of Manners and Murder #1 Dear Miss Hermione, London, 1885
Hawkins, Alis - A Bitter Remedy #1 Oxford Mysteries
Hodges, David - Watcher on the Levels #11 DC Kate Hamblin
Hood, D K - Now You See Me #18 Detectives Kane and Alton
Hunter, Evie - The Kill
Indridason, Arnaldur - The Girl by the Bridge #2 Detective Konrad tr. Philip Roughton
Jordan, Adele - The Lost Highlander #4 Kit Scarlett, Tudor Era
Klein, Brian - The Fuhrer's Prophecy #2 Reich Trilogy
Koning, Christina - The Blind Detective (also pub. as Game of Chance by A C Koning in 2015) #2 The Blind Detective, 1920s
Larsson, Asa - The Sins of our Fathers # 6 Rebecka Martinsson, Lawyer, Sweden tr. Frank Perry
Leadbeater, David - Two Minutes to Midnight #33 Matt Drake
Lee, M J - What the Shadows Hide #10 DI Ridpath
Leon, Donna - So Shall You Reap #32 Commissario Guido Brunetti, Venice
Lindsay, Douglas - The Lonely And The Dead #3 DI Buchan
Logan, TM - The Mother
Lowe, Ali - The Running Club
Mark, David - Twist of Fate (as D L Mark)
Martin, Faith - Murder in the Parish # 20 DI Hillary Greene, Oxfordshire
Matthews, Owen - White Fox #3 Black Sun Trilogy
McLean, Rachel - The Lochside Murder #8 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset
McNeil, Robert - No Hiding Place #4 DCI Alex Fleming
Naughtie, James - The Spy Across the Water #3 Will Flemyng
Nickson, Chris - The Dead Will Rise #5 Simon Westow, Thief-taker, Regency Leeds
North, Alex - The Half Burnt House
North, L C - The Ugly Truth
Oldham, Nick - Death Ride # 29 DCI Christie
Pearson, David - Murder at the Arts Festival # 14 Detectives Lyons and Hays, Galway
Raybourn, Deanna - A Sinister Revenge # 8 Veronica Speedwell, adventuress and butterfly hunter, Victorian London
Raymond, Andrew - The Shortlist #2 DCI Lomond
Rhys, Rachel - A Murder Under the Tuscan Sun
Russell, Leigh - Barking Up the Right Tree #1 Poppy Mystery
Russell, Norman - Death at the Altar #5 Oldminster Mysteries
Ryan, OMJ - Deadly Justice #9 DCI Jane Phillips, Cheshire
Simants, Kate - Freeze
Sinclair, Rob - Deception #6 Ryker Returns
Stone, Alex - The Good Patient
Sullivan, Tim - The Ex-Wife (ebook only) #2 DS Cross short story
Swanson, Louise - End of Story
Taylor, Andrew - The Shadows of London #6 Ashes of London series
Thomas, Sherry - A Tempest at Sea #7 Lady Sherlock
Todd, Charles - The Cliff's Edge #13 Bess Crawford, battlefield nurse, WWI
Winspear, Jacqueline - The White Lady
Winters, Mary - Murder in Postscript #1 Amelia Amesbury, Agony Aunt, Victorian era
Wood, Trevor - You Can Run
Young, Debbie - Murder in the Highlands #9 Sophie Sayers

New Releases - February 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in February 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). February and future months can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

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.

Via the Future Releases page you can now filter the books published in 2023 (in the UK) by All, Anthology, First Novel, Historical and Translated.

• Abbott, Rachel - No More Lies #11 DI Tom Douglas
• Ace, Cathy - The Case of the Cursed Cottage #7 A Wise Enquiries Agency Mystery
• Alsterdal, Tove - You Will Never Be Found tr. Alice Menzies #2 Detective Eira Sjödin
• Amphlett, Rachel - The Dying Season #12 Detective Kay Hunter
• Baker, Tina - Make Me Clean
• Beaton, M C (with R W Green) - Death of a Traitor #36 PC Hamish Macbeth, Lochdubh, Scotland
• Brannigan, Ellie - Murder at an Irish Castle #1 Rayne McGrath
• Bruce, Camilla - The Witch in the Well
• Burnside, Heather - Blackmail #2 Manchester Thrillers
• Butler, D S - Find Her Alive #7 DS Karen Hart, Lincolnshire
• Campos, Simone - Nothing Can Hurt You Now tr. Rahul Bery
• Candlish, Louise - The Only Suspect
• Chester, Fliss - Death by a Cornish Cove #2 Cressida Fawcett, 1920s
• Clarke, Sarah - My Perfect Friend
• Comley, M A - To Control Them #8 DI Sam Cobbs
• Craig, James - Sink or Swim #17 Inspector John Carlyle
• Croft, Kathryn - The Suspect
• Crombie, Deborah - A Killing of Innocents #19 Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James, Scotland Yard
• Cross, A J - Reflections of Deviance #4 Will Traynor, Criminologist
• Dalgliesh, J M - Dead To Me #13 Tom Janssen, Norfolk
• Daws, N R - A Perfect Time to Murder #3 Lizzie Hayes, Pilot & DI Jonathan Kember, 1940
• Durrant, Helen H - The Wrong Woman #3 Detectives Lennox & Wilde
• Ellis, Bella - A Gift of Poison #4 The Brontë Mysteries
• Engberg, Katrine - The Sanctuary (apa The Island) tr. Tara Chace #4 Jeppe Korner and Anette Werner,Police, Copenhagen
• Fairfax, John - Fatal Proof #4 William Benson and Tess de Vere, Lawyers
• Flint, Emma - Other Women
• Gatland, Jack - The Boardroom
• Gatward, D J - The Dark Hours (ebook only) #13 DCI Harry Grimm
• Gerlis, Alex - Agent in the Shadows #3 The Wolf Pack Spies
• Gibney, Patricia - Three Widows #12 Detective Lottie Parker
• Goodhind, J G - Marriage Is Murder #11 Honey Driver, Hotelier, Bath
• Gray, Alex - Questions for a Dead Man #20 DCI Lorimer & psychologist Solomon Brightman, Glasgow
• Hamer, Kate - The Lost Girls #2 Carmel
• Harrod-Eagles, Cynthia - Before I Sleep #24 Bill Slider, Shepherd's Bush CID
• Hendy, Hannah - A Terrible Village Poisoning #3 The Dinner Lady Detectives
• Hindle, Tom - The Murder Game
• Hunter, Evie - A Date To Die For (as E V Hunter) #1 Hopgood Hall Murder Mysteries
• Keane, Jessie - Never Go Back
• Kirk, JD - One For the Ages (ebook only) #16 DCI Logan
• Koch, Emily - What July Knew
• Koning, Christina - The Blind Detective (also pub. as Line of Sight by A C Koning in 2014) #1 The Blind Detective, 1920s
• Lincoln, John - Grey in the Dark #2 Gethin Grey
• Lloyd, Chris - Paris Requiem #2 Detective Eddie Giral, Paris, 1940
• MacBride, Stuart - The Dead of Winter
• Markin, Wes - The Lonely Lake Killings #2 DCI Emma Gardner, Yorkshire
• Mason, Simon - The Broken Afternoon #2 DI Ray Wilkins, Oxford
• McCleave, Simon - The Llandudno Pier Killings #14 DI Ruth Hunter
• McDermott, Alan - Empires Will Fall (ebook only) #5 Eva Driscoll
• McLean, Rachel - The Blue Pool Murders #7 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset
• Mount, Toni - The Colour of Bone #11 Sebastian Foxley Medieval Murder Mystery
• Murphy, Margaret - The Scarecrow Killer #2 DC Cassie Rowan, Liverpool
• Parker, Steve - Slaughtered As They Slept #9 Detective Ray Paterson
• Rayne, Sarah - Chalice of Darkness #1 Theater of Thieves, London 1908
• Scarrow, Simon - Dead of Night #2 Criminal Inspector Horst Schenke
• Seeck, Max - The Last Grudge tr. tbc #3 Jessica Niemi
• Sheehan, Bilinda P - Lake of Tears (ebook only) #7 Harriet Quinn
• Shindler, Will - The Blood Line #4 DI Alex Finn & DC Mattie Paulsen, London
• Shrager, Rosemary - The Proof in the Pudding #2 Prudence Bulstrode, Retired Chef
• Smith, Alexander McCall - The Private Life of Spies - Short Stories
• Smith, Anna - If I Should Die #2 Billie Carlson, Glasgow
• Speechley, Ruby - Gone
• Stacey, L H - The Weekend
• Stockham, Alison - The Cuckoo Sister
• Takamura, Kaoru - Lady Joker, Volume 2 tr. Allison Markin Powell & Marie Iida
• Templeton, Aline - Blind Eye #5 DI Kelso Strang
• Waller, Anita - Fatal Secrets #1 Forrester Family
• White, S R - Red Dirt Road
• Yarwood-Lovett, Sarah - A Mischief of Rats #3 Nell Ward

New Releases - January 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in January 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). January and future months can be found on the Future Releases page. If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

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.

• Abdullah, Kia - Those People Next Door
• Adolfsson, Maria - Cruel Tides (paperback) #3 Doggerland tr. Agnes Broomé
• Austin, Stephanie - Death Comes to Dartmoor #6 Juno Browne
• Barnes, Kerry - Nemesis (ebook only)
• Baylis, Edie - Mirrors Never Lie (ebook only) #1 Scarred
• Baylis, Edie - Payback #4 Allegiance
• Blackhurst, Jenny - The Hiking Trip
• Blake, Sam - The Mystery of Four
• Bruce, Camilla - All The Blood We Share
• Bryndza, Robert - Devil's Way #4 Kate Marshall
• Buckler, James - The Simple Truth
• Callaghan, Jo - In The Blink of An Eye
• Carson, John - Famous Last Words (ebook only) #16 DCI Harry McNeil
• Clements, Rory - The English Führer #7 Thomas Wilde, 1930s
• Comley, M A - Deadly Passion (ebook only) #18 DI Sarah Ramsey
• Conroy, Vivian - Last Seen in Santorini #2 Miss Ashford
• Cotterill, Colin - The Motion Picture Teller
• De Giovanni, Maurizio - Winter Swallows #10 Commissario Ricciardi, Naples, 1930s tr. Antony Shugaar
• Dixon, Helena - Murder at the Charity Ball #11 Miss Underhay
• East, Philippa - I'll Never Tell
• Fraser, Anthea - Tendrils of the Past
• Gatland, Jack - Target Locked (ebook only) #2 Tom Marlowe
• Gilman, David - Resurrection #3 Dan Raglan
• Goodwin, Sarah - The Resort
• Griffin, Martin - The Second Stranger
• Griffiths, Elly - The Last Remains #15 Dr Ruth Galloway, forensic archaeologist and DCI Harry Nelson
• Hallett, Janice - The Mysterious Case of the Alperton Angels
• Hattersley, Matthew - White Heat (ebook only) #1 Annihilation Pest Control
• Hayes, Samantha - The Engagement
• Howells, Debbie - The House Sitter
• Ivar, Katja - Trouble #3 Hella Mauzer
• Keogh, Valerie - The Trophy Wife
• Leather, Stephen - Still Standing #3 Matt Standing
• Lindsay, Douglas - Painted In Blood (ebook only) #2 DI Buchan
• Louth, Nick - The Body in the Shadows #11 DCI Craig Gillard
• McCleave, Simon - In Too Deep #2 DCI Laura Hart, Anglesey
• McNab, Andy - Shadow State #1 Nathan Pike
• Masters, Priscilla - Undue Influence #1 Florence Shaw
• Mauvignier, Laurent - The Birthday Party tr. Daniel Levin Becker
• Maxwell, Alyssa - A Fashionable Fatality #8 Lady and Lady's Maid Mystery
• Maxwell, R S - Through a Darkening Glass
• May, Peter - A Winter Grave
• Murphy, Kitty - Death in Heels #1 Dublin Drag
• Murphy, Martina - The Branded #2 DS Lucy Golden
• Perks, Heidi - The Other Guest
• Renand, Antoine - Empathy tr. Frank Wynne
• Rogers, Gemma - The Neighbour
• Rowland, Laura Joh - River of Fallen Angels #7 Miss Sarah Bain, Victorian Era
• Russell, Leigh - Final Term #19 DI Geraldine Steel
• Seymour, Gerald - In at the Kill #3 Jonas Merrick
• Slater, K L - The Narrator
• Spencer, Sally - The Final Beat of the Drum #15 DCI Monika Paniatowski, Whitebridge
• Steed, Cailean - Home
• Thorogood, Robert - Death Comes to Marlow #2 The Marlow Murder Club
• Tope, Rebecca - The Askham Accusation #12 Persimmon Brown, Florist, Lake District
• Trow, M J - Breaking the Circle #2 Margaret Murray, Archaeologist, London 1900
• Tudor, C J - The Drift
• Weatherley, Anna-Lou - The Lie in Our Marriage
• Webb, Kate - Stay Buried #1 Detective Inspector Matt Lockyer, Wiltshire
• Westerson, Jeri - Courting Dragons #1 King's Fool
• Wilkins, Susan - See Me Fall (ebook only) #4 Detective Jo Boden
• Woods, Karen - The Deal

New Releases - December 2022

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in December 2022 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date).

If I've missed anything or got the date wrong, do please leave a comment.

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. 

Ace, Cathy - The Case of the Absent Heirs #6 A Wise Enquiries Agency Mystery
Atkinson, Heather - Wicked Girls
Bailey, Elizabeth - The Vengeance Trail #9 Lady Fan
Baker, J A - Local Girl Missing
Base, Ron & Emery, Prudence - Death at the Savoy #1 Priscilla Tempest, London, 1960s
Baskerville, B- Finders Keepers #6 DCI Erica Cooper
Bonda, Katarzyna - Conspiracy of Blood #2 Sasza Zaluska tr. Filip Sporczyk
Cameron, Iain - Pictures of Lily (ebook only) #11 DI Angus Henderson
Cartwright, Jack - Dance With Death #8 Wild Fens Murder Mystery
Cookman, Lesley - Murder by Mistake # 23 Libby Sarjeant, middle aged actress/investigator, Kent
Croft, Adam - Moment of Truth #5 Rutland crime series
Davies, Emma - Death at Beresford Hall #4 Francesca Eve, Shropshire
Fullerton, John - Emperor
Gatland, Jack - Murder By Mistletoe #13 DI Declan Walsh
Godden, Gillian - Queen of Diamonds #3 Diamond
Harte, Stephanie - Rolling the Dice #2 East End Crime Family
Higashino, Keigo - A Death in Tokyo #9 Detective Kaga tr. Giles Murray
Hollow, Mike - The Camden Murder #7 Blitz Detective
Jordan, Adele - A Spy at Hampton Court # 3 Kit Scarlett, Tudor Era
Karolina, Anna - The Missing Man #2 Emma Tapper tr. Lisa Reinhardt
Kirk, JD - Eastgate #4 Robert Hoon
Lancaster, Neil - The Night Watch #3 DS Max Craigie, Scotland
Lindsay, Douglas - Buchan #1 DI Buchan
McLean, Rachel - The Riverside Murder #1 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset - Novella
MacLeod, Torquil - Mission in Malmo #9 Inspector Anita Sundstrom
Mark, David - The Whispering Dead #2 Cordelia Hemlock
Mohlin, Peter & Nystrom, Peter - The Other Sister #2 Agent John Adderley tr. Ian Giles
Moloney, Catherine - Crime in the Boutique #18 DI Gilbert Markham
Morris, M S - Beneath Cold Earth #2 DCI Tom Raven
Organ, Emily - Disaster at the Christmas Dinner #8 Churchill and Pemberley
Phifer, Helen - Their Burning Graves #8 Detective Morgan Brookes
Ramsay, Caro - The Devil Stone #1 DCI Christine Caplan, Highlands
Rowson, Pauline - The South Binness Murders #16 DI Andy Horton and his sidekick Barney Cantelli, Portsmouth
Sten, Viveca - Hidden in Snow # 1 The Åre Murders tr. Marlaine Delargy
Tallon, Emma - Her Fight #5 Scarlet Drew
Trow, M J - The Clerk's Tale #3 Geoffrey Chaucer
Wilde, Darcie - The Secret of the Lost Pearls # 6 Rosalind Thorne
Woodbury, Sarah - The Honorable Traitor #15 Gareth and Gwen Medieval Mystery
Wyer, Carol - Behind Closed Doors

Happy Holidays!

Just a quick post to wish everyone a lovely break. Thank you so much for following and commenting over the past year. I have been spending quite a bit of time on the Petrona this month which is why there hasn't been a December new books post (yet).

I've just finished reading the Alan Rickman Diaries and have just started Tom Felton's biography, Beyond the Wand. To accidentally continue the Harry Potter theme we rewatched the first 3 films yesterday whilst trying to do a jigsaw at the same time. It was only 500 pieces so really shouldn't have taken that long!

The Petrona Award 2022 - Winner

 

Winner of 2022 Petrona Award announced

The winner of the 2022 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year is: 

FATAL ISLES by Maria Adolfsson, translated from the Swedish by Agnes Broomé and published by Zaffre.

Maria Adolfsson will receive a trophy, and both the author and translator will receive a cash prize.

The judges’ statement on FATAL ISLES:

This captivating winning novel is the first in a series featuring the beautifully flawed protagonist Detective Inspector Karen Eiken Hornby, whose take on life and work make for a strong down-to-earth and modern heroine in the relicts of a man’s world.

Set in the fictional yet completely credible location of Doggerland, this three-islands archipelago in the North Sea, reflects Scandinavian, North European and British heritages. Doggerland is shaped and influenced by its geographical position; the  atmospheric setting, akin to the wind- and history-swept Faroe and Shetland Islands, and Nordic climes, enhances the suspenseful and intriguing plot of a police procedural that combines detailed observations and thoughts on the human condition. A brutal murder sets in motion an investigation into layers of hidden secrets and of societal attitudes, and the interaction between the superbly portrayed characters creates a thrilling tension and believable environment. 

Comments from the winning author, translator and publisher:

Maria Adolfsson (author):

I feel so honoured and want to send my warmest thanks to the Petrona Award jury. This appreciation for my work means a lot to me!

For me it is especially exciting that the British readers enjoy exploring Doggerland together with me. I’ve always been interested in what unites people in Scandinavia and the British Isles, how we are culturally linked, and what sets us apart. To me, Doggerland is - or at least might have been - the link between us. Or to quote Herman Melville: “It’s not down on any map; true places never are.”

Agnes Broomé (translator):

I am deeply honoured to receive the Petrona Award 2022. With such an impressive shortlist it is truly humbling to be chosen. I am grateful to the jury for their unswerving commitment to bringing Scandinavian crime literature to an English-speaking readership. My warmest thanks to everyone at Zaffre for their support along this journey and, above all, to Maria Adolfsson for introducing me to Detective Inspector Karen Eiken Hornby. 

Zaffre (publisher):

Many thanks to the jury for choosing FATAL ISLES as the worthy winner of this year’s Petrona Award. It’s wonderful to see Maria’s brilliantly imaginative crime debut, expertly realised in English by Agnes Broomé, recognised for its excellence. DI Karen Eiken Hornby is a universally relatable character and Adolfsson’s vividly drawn island nation, Doggerland, is a perfectly picturesque place for the darkest deeds to occur. It is such a pleasure to publish this internationally bestselling series. 

The Petrona team would like to thank the following: firstly, David Hicks, for his generous sponsorship of the Petrona Award; secondly the co-creators and original judges of the Award: Barry Forshaw, Dr. Kat Hall and Sarah Ward and thirdly, Adrian Muller for his support via the CrimeFest platform.

The Petrona Award website

An option to receive details of new posts has also been added to the Petrona Award website (see top right), using follow.it as well as a link to Bloglovin'. 

The winner of the Petrona Award 2022, for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel in Translation, will be announced on Thursday.

Email Notifications of new posts

I have been tinkering with the email subscriptions as Feedburner is apparently now kaput. I have set up a follow.it option on the top right of the blog and I've tried to redirect existing subscribers to it. I'm not sure if this is working but do let me know if it is, or is not, or of any issues or even alternatives.