CWA Dagger Awards 2024 - 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 many years ago. 

The longlist is below and you can check out my list of eligible titles here.

Shortlists will be announced at CrimeFest on 10 May.

Longlist:

Javier Castillo - The Snow Girl tr. Isabelle Scott (Spain, M, Penguin)

Juan Gomez-Jurado - Red Queen tr. Nick Caistor (Spain, M, Macmillan)

Arnaldur Indridason - The Girl by the Bridge tr. Philip Roughton (Iceland, M, Harvill Secker)

Kotaro Isaka - The Mantis tr. Sam Malissa (Japan, M, Harvill Secker)

Asa Larsson - The Sins of our Fathers tr. Frank Perry (Sweden, F, MacLehose Press)

Jenny Lund Madsen - Thirty Days of Darkness tr. Megan E Turney (Denmark, F, Orenda Books)

Cloé Mehdi - Nothing is Lost tr. Howard Curtis (France, F, Europa Editions)

Hansjorg Schneider - The Murder of Anton Livius tr. Mike Mitchell (Switzerland, M, Bitter Lemon Press)

Im Seong-Sun - The Consultant tr. An Seon Jae (Korea, M, Raven Books)

Mikhail Shevelev - Not Russian tr. Brian James Baer & Ellen Vayner (Russia, M, Europa Editions)

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

Maud Ventura - My Husband tr. Emma Ramadan (France, F, Hutchinson Heinemann)

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

Crime Fiction in Translation (International) Dagger Speculation (2024)

The CWA Dagger longlists were announced this 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 2024. I'll post the Longlist separately.

So here are 70 translated crime novels published between 1 January 2023 and 31 December 2023, 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 and the publisher.

Stats: The breakdown by gender is 34 Male and 33 Female and 3 sets of Female and Male authors writing together. Authors are from 19 countries. The most represented country is Sweden (11) followed by France and Japan (8 each) and Iceland (7). Over 56 translators (including pairs of translators) brought you these titles, with at least 9 individuals having translated more than one. 

Maria Adolfsson - Cruel Tides tr. Agnes Broomé (Sweden, F, Zaffre)

Eva Björg Ægisdóttir - You Can't See Me tr. Victoria Cribb (Iceland, F, Orenda Books)

Tove Alsterdal  - You Will Never Be Found tr. Alice Menzies (Sweden, F, Faber & Faber)

Yukito Ayatsuji - The Mill House Murders tr. Ho-Ling Wong (Japan, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Samuel Bjork - The Wolf tr. Charlotte Barslund (Norway, M, Bantam)

Stella Blómkvist - Murder at the Residence tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, F, Corylus Books)

Oliver Bottini - The Invisible Web tr. Jamie Bulloch (Germany, M, MacLehose Press)

Simone Buchholz - The Acapulco tr. Rachel Ward (Germany, F, Orenda Books)

Simone Campos - Nothing Can Hurt You Now tr. Rahul Bery (Brazil, F, Pushkin Press)

Javier Castillo - The Snow Girl tr. Isabelle Scott (Spain, M, Penguin)

Javier Cercas - Prey For The Shadow tr. Anne McLean (Spain, M, MacLehose Press)

Maria Rosa Cutrufelli - Tina, Mafia Soldier tr. Robin Pickering-Iazzi (Italy, F, Soho Press)

Kjell Ola Dahl - The Lazarus Solution tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, M, Orenda Books)

Maurizio De Giovanni - Winter Swallows tr. Antony Shugaar (Italy, M, World Noir)

Delphine de Vigan - Kids Run the Show tr. Alison Anderson (France, F, Europa Editions)

M T Edvardsson - The Woman Inside tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles (Sweden, M, Macmillan)

Anki Edvinsson - The Snow Angel tr. Paul Norlen (Sweden, F, Thomas & Mercer)

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

Gabrielle Filteau-Chiba - Feral tr. David Homel (Canada, F, Mountain Leopard Press)

Sebastian Fitzek - The Inmate tr. Jamie Bulloch (Germany, M, Head of Zeus)

Carin Gerhardsen - Black Ice tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, F, Head of Zeus)

Juan Gomez-Jurado - Red Queen tr. Nick Caistor (Spain, M, Macmillan)

Johana Gustawsson - Yule Island tr. David Warriner (France, F, Orenda Books)

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

Romy Hausmann - Anatomy of a Killer  tr. Jamie Bulloch (Germany, F, Quercus)

Keigo Higashino - The Final Curtain tr. Giles Murray (Japan, M, Abacus)

Jorn Lier Horst - Snow Fall tr . Anne Bruce (Norway, M, Michael Joseph)

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

Arnaldur Indridason - The Girl by the Bridge tr. Philip Roughton (Iceland, M, Harvill Secker)

Kotaro Isaka - The Mantis tr. Sam Malissa (Japan, M, Harvill Secker)

Jógvan Isaksen - Dead Men Dancing tr. Marita Thomsen (Denmark, M, Norvik Press)

Ragnar Jonasson & Katrín Jakobsdottír - Reykjavík tr. Victoria Cribb (Iceland, M & F, Michael Joseph)

Katrín Júlíusdóttir  - Dead Sweet tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, F, Orenda Books)

Hisashi Kashiwai - The Kamogawa Food Detectives tr. Jesse Kirkwood (Japan, M, Mantle)

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

Seraina Kobler - Deep Dark Blue tr. Alex Roesch (Switzerland, F, Pushkin Press)

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

Asa Larsson - The Sins of our Fathers tr. Frank Perry (Sweden, F, MacLehose Press)

Antonia Lassa - Skin Deep tr. Jacky Collins (France, F, Corylus Books)

Verónica E Llaca - Blood Ties tr. Mark Fried (Mexico, F, Mountain Leopard Press)

Jenny Lund Madsen - Thirty Days of Darkness tr. Megan E Turney (Denmark, F, Orenda Books)

Marco Malvaldi - The Art of Killing Well tr. Howard Curtis  (Italy, M, MacLehose Press)

Javier Marias - Tomás Nevinson tr. Margaret Jull Costa (Spain, M, Hamish Hamilton)

Laurent Mauvignier - The Birthday Party tr. Daniel Levin Becker (France, M, Fitzcarraldo Editions)

Cloé Mehdi - Nothing is Lost tr. Howard Curtis (France, F, Europa Editions)

Tony Mott - Deadly Autumn Harvest tr. Marina Sofia (Romania, F, Corylus Books)

Guillaume Musso - The Stranger in the Seine tr. Rosie Eyre (France, M, W&N)

Niklas Natt och Dag - 1795: The Order of the Furies tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, M, Baskerville)

Jo Nesbo - Killing Moon tr. Seán Kinsella (Norway, M, Harvill Secker)

Claudia Pineiro - A Little Luck tr. Frances Riddle (Argentina, F, Charco Press)

Antoine Renand - Empathy tr. Frank Wynne (France, M, Welbeck)

Mercedes Rosende - The Hand That Feeds You tr. Tim Gutteridge (Uruguay, F, Bitter Lemon Press)

Hansjorg Schneider - The Murder of Anton Livius tr. Mike Mitchell (Switzerland, M, Bitter Lemon Press)

Max Seeck - The Last Grudge tr. Kristian London  (Finland, M, Welbeck)

Im Seong-Sun - The Consultant tr. An Seon Jae (Korea, M, Raven Books)

Mikhail Shevelev - Not Russian tr. Brian James Baer & Ellen Vayner (Russia, M, Europa Editions)

Lilja Sigurdardottir - White as Snow tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, F, Orenda Books)

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

Karin Smirnoff - The Girl in the Eagle's Talons tr. Sarah Death (Sweden, F, MacLehose Press)

Gunnar Staalesen - Mirror Image tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, M, Orenda Books)

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

Leonie Swann - The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp tr. Amy Bojang (Germany, F,  Allison & Busby)

Kaoru Takamura - Lady Joker, Volume 2 tr. Allison Markin Powell & Marie  Iida (Japan, F, Baskerville) 

Antti Tuomainen - The Beaver Theory tr. David Hackston (Finland, M, Orenda Books)

Maud Ventura - My Husband tr. Emma Ramadan (France, F, Hutchinson Heinemann)

Ferdinand von Schirach - Coffee and Cigarettes: Scenes from a Crime Writer's Life tr. Katharina Hall (Germany, M, Baskerville)

Yulia Yakovleva - Death of the Red Rider tr. Ruth Ahmedzai Kemp (Russia, F, Pushkin Vertigo)

Futaro Yamada - The Meiji Guillotine Murders tr. Bryan Karetnyk (Japan, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Seishi Yokomizo - The Devil's Flute Murders tr. Jim Rion (Japan, M, Pushkin Vertigo)

Hideo Yokoyama - The North Light tr. Louise Heal Kawai (Japan, M, riverrun)

New Releases - February 2024

Here's a snapshot of what I think was published for the first time in February 2024 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). 70 titles this month. 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.

Allen, Hania - The Maze #6 DS Dania Gorska
Allingham, Merryn - The Library Murders #8 Flora Steele, Sussex, 1955
Alsterdal, Tove - Deep Harbour tr. Alice Menzies #3 Detective Eira Sjödin
Baker, J A - The Perfect Parents
Barnes, Kerry - Needs Must
Beaton, M C - Death of a Spy #37 PC Hamish Macbeth, Lochdubh, Scotland
Bennett, S J - A Death in Diamonds #4 The Queen
Bickford, David - The Informer #2 Katya
Black, Katherine - A Most Unusual Demise #1 The Most Unusual Mysteries
Blake, Matthew - Anna O
Brent, Katy - The Murder After the Night Before
Burrowes, Grace - A Gentleman in Pursuit of Truth #4 The Lord Julian Mysteries
Coles, Catherine - Death at Lovers' Leap #3 Martha Miller
Costello, Iris - The Story Collector
Craig, James - The Lesson #18 Inspector John Carlyle
Davison, Anita - Murder in the Library #2 Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet, 1915, London
Dixon, Helena - Murder at the Island Hotel #15 Miss Underhay
Donovan, Rose - Murder in a Mask #3 Partners in Spying, 1930s
Dounaeva, Lorna - The Wife's Mistake
Ellis, Joy - The Colour of Mystery #2 Ellie McEwan
English, Rachael - Whatever Happened to Birdy Troy?
Ford, P F - Death by Plane #2 Slater and Norman
Ford, P F - Death by Night #3 Slater and Norman
French, Nicci - Has Anyone Seen Charlotte Salter?
Gatland, Jack - Stealth Strike #5 Tom Marlowe
Giles, Stewart - Evil on the Island #12 DI Liam O'Reilly
Gillespie, Mark - The Lost Girl
Godfrey, Jennie - The List of Suspicious Things
Greene, Morgan - The Hiss of the Snake #3 DI Jamie Johansson Files
Gudmundsson, Oskar - The Dancer tr. Quentin Bates
Hood, D K - Dark Hearts #3 Detective Beth Katz
Hussey, William - Jericho's Dead #2 Killing Jericho
Jones, Dylan H - Hear Her Scream
Kent, Tony - The Shadow Network #5 Dempsey and Devlin
Koomson, Dorothy - Every Smile You Fake
Lees, Georgina - True Crime
Logan, TM - The Dream Home
Lowe, Ali - The School Run
Marsh, Beezy - Queen of Diamonds #3 Alice Diamond, the Queen of the Forty Thieves, London, 1946
Martin, Allan - The Dead of Oban #4 Inspector Angus Blue
Matsumoto, Seicho - Point Zero tr. Louise Heal Kawai
McDonough, Patrice - Murder by Lamplight #1 Dr Julia Lewis, Victorian Era
McLean, Rachel with Millie Ravensworth - Death on the Thames #4 Diana Bakewell
Miller, C L - The Antique Hunter's Guide to Murder #1 Antique Hunters
Murrin, Orlando - Knife Skills for Beginners
Nicholl, John - The Holiday
Noel, Sarah F - An Audacious Woman #5 Tabitha & Wolf
North, Lauren - The Teacher's Secret
O'Connor, Carlene - Murder at an Irish Chipper #10 Siobhan O'Sullivan, Kilbane, County Cork
Oswald, James - For Our Sins #13 Detective Inspector McLean, Edinburgh
Paris, B A - The Guest
Phifer, Helen - Her Lost Soul #2 Detective Maria Miller
Ridpath, Michael - Whale Fjord #7 Magnus Jonson, homicide detective, Iceland
Rigby, Sally - Death's Shadow #13 DCI Whitney Walker & Dr Georgina Cavendish
Robotham, Mandy - The Hidden Storyteller
Ryan, OMJ - Deadly Inferno #11 DCI Jane Phillips, Cheshire
Salisbury, Emma - One Good Reason (ebook only) #1 DS Chris Ashcroft, Manchester
Shapiro, Irina - The Highgate Cemetery Murder #1 Tate and Bell
Sivers, Dave - Price to Pay #7 Archer and Baines
Smithson, L D - The Escape Room
Tallon, Emma - Her Feud #7 Scarlet Drew
Tickler, Peter - The Tickler's Jam Murders
Tierney, Marie - Deadly Animals
Tope, Rebecca - The Borrowdale Body #13 Persimmon Brown, Florist, Lake District
Trow, M J - Moon Rising #12 Christopher Marlowe
Wignall, Kevin - The First Death of Winter
Winters, Mary - Murder in Masquerade #2 Amelia Amesbury, Agony Aunt, Victorian era
Wolf, Rachel - Five Nights
Woods, Karen - The Truth
Yuzuki, Asako - Butter tr. Polly Barton

New Releases - January 2024

Here's a snapshot of what I think was published for the first time in January 2024 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). 110 titles this month. 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.

Alexander, Magda - The Case of the Stray Stickpin #2 Kitty Worthington Cozy Capers
Armstrong, Jess - The Curse of Penryth Hall
Bailey, Jaye - The Killing Pages #3 DCI Luke Wiley
Barnes, Charlotte - A True Crime
Baylis, Edie - Trusting Blood #3 Scarred
Bettany, Jane - Murder at the Book Festival #2 Violet Brewster
Black, Katherine - A Most Malicious Messenger #2 Most Unusual Mysteries
Blake, Sam - Three Little Birds
Boland, Shalini - The School Reunion
Brett, Simon - Blotto, Twinks and the Phantom Skiers #13 Brother and sister sleuths, Blotto and Twinks
Brook, Lee - The Echoes of Silence #14 West Yorkshire Crime
Brookes, Dawn - Murder in a Care Home #5 Lady Marjorie Snellthorpe
Bull, Jessica - Miss Austen Investigates #1 Miss Austen Investigates
Butler, D S - Before the Dawn #8 DS Karen Hart, Lincolnshire
Clements, Rory - Munich Wolf
Comley, M A - Revenge Streak #22 DI Sara Ramsey
Connelly, Lucy - Death at a Scottish Wedding #2 Dr Emilia McRoy
Critchlow, Heather - Unburied #2 Cal Lovett Files
Croft, Kathryn - The Girl in Room 12
Dalgliesh, J M - The Talisker Dead #3 DI Duncan McAdam, Isle of Skye
de la Motte, Anders - The Mountain King tr. Alex Fleming #1 Criminal inspector Leonore Asker
Devlin, Cara - Nature of the Crime #6 Bow Street Duchess
East, Philippa - A Guilty Secret
Ellis, Emmy - Reflect #24 Cardigan Estate
Ellis, Emmy - The Blade Killer #8 DI Bethany Smith
Ellis, Emmy - The Sledgehammer Killer #9 DI Bethany Smith
Ellis, Joy - An Aura of Mystery #1 Ellie McEwan
Enright, Robert - Blood Money #13 Sam Pope
Ferraro, Nicolás - My Favorite Scar tr. Mallory Craig-Kuhn
FitzGerald, Helen - Halfway House
Galloway, K T - Still Waters #8 O'Malley & Swift
Goodwin, Sarah - The Yacht
Grace, Fiona - A Scandalous Death #2 The Maid and the Mansion
Graham, R L - Death on the Lusitania
Grayson, C J - Taken From Her Home #1 Detective April Fisher
Greig, Andrew James - The Girl in the Loch #1 Private Investigator Tearlach Paterson, Scotland
Griffiths, Elly - The Last Word
Hall, Araminta - One of the Good Guys
Hall, Traci - Murder at a Scottish Castle #5 Paislee Shaw, Nairn, Scotland
Hannah, Mari - The Longest Goodbye #9 Detective Chief Inspector Kate Daniels
Hindle, Tom - Murder on Lake Garda
Hood, D K - A Song for the Dead #21 Detectives Kane and Alton
Howard, B M - Blood of the Knights #3 Gracchus & Vanderville
Hunter, E V - A Story to Strangle For #4 Hopgood Hall Murder Mysteries
Hurst, Daniel - The Couple's Revenge
Jackson, Gillian - The Dead Husband
James, Evelyn - Death at the Sun Club #31 Clara Fitzgerald
Jenkins, Victoria - Your Perfect Life
Jensen, Oskar - Helle and Death
Johnston, Anthony - The Dog Sitter Detective Takes the Lead #2 Gwinny Tuffel, Dog sitter
Jordan, G R - Death of the Witch (ebook only) #2 Siobhan Duffy
Kidd, Michelle - Three Broken Bodies #5 DI Jack MacIntosh
Kildare, Kitty - Death at the Fireside Inn #1 Veronica Vale, 1920s
Kinder, Gomery - London Lies Bleeding #1 Justin Martello
Kitson, Bill - Death Sentence #17 Detective Mike Nash, Yorkshire
Kovach, Carla - On a Quiet Street
Lane, Anna Sayburn - The Soho Jazz Murders #2 Marjorie, 1920s
Lewis, J G- Unholy Sanctuary #10 Ela of Salisbury Medieval Mystery
MacLeod, Shéa - Lady Rample and the Lady in the Lake #12 Lady Rample, 1930s
Mancini, Ruth - The Woman on the Ledge
Marlow, Natalie - The Red Hollow #2 William Garrett, Birmingham
Marston, Edward - Murder in Transit #22 Det. Insp Colbeck, Scotland Yard, mid 19th Century
Martin, Faith - Murder by Candlelight
Maslen, Andy - The Seventh Girl #1 Detective Kat Ballantyne
Mason, Simon - Lost and Never Found #3 DI Ray Wilkins, Oxford
McCleave, Simon - The Drowning Isle #4 DCI Laura Hart, Anglesey
McIlroy, Alice - The Glass Woman
McLean, Rachel & Joel Hames - The Mine #2 Cumbria Crime
Morrison, Lynn - The Roman Riddle #5 Dora and Rex, 1920s
Mróz, Remigiusz - Final Appeal tr. ??? #1 Joanna Chylka, Lawyer
Murphy, Martina - The Reckoning #3 DS Lucy Golden
O'Brien, Jenny - Roses for the Dead #2 Detective Alana Mack
Organ, Emily - Murder on the Thames #6 Augusta Peel, 1920s
Pearce, Biba & L T Ryan - The Frost Killer #4 Dalton Savage
Probyn, Jack - Death's Kiss #4 DS Tomek Bowen
Quinn, Cate - The Clinic
Reed, HJ - A Fatal Pact#3 DI Crow
Reynolds, Amanda - The Screenwriter
Richards, Mark & E S Richards - The Hanged Woman #6 Michael Brady, Yorkshire
Richell, Hannah - The Search Party
Rigby, Sally - The Hidden Graves of St Ives #2 Detective Lauren Pengelly & Detective Matt Price
Robertson, C S - The Trials of Marjorie Crowe
Rose, M L - Looking For You #6 DCI Rohan Roy
Rosett, Sara - Murder in the Alps #8 High Society Lady Detective, 1920s England
Russell, Leigh - Poppy Takes the Lead #3 Poppy Mystery
Ryan, Sadie - The Proposal
Ryan, Sadie - The Secretary
Salter, Michelle - Murder at Merewood Hospital
Saxon, Diane - The Good Twin
Seymour, Gerald - The Best Revenge #4 Jonas Merrick
Skuse, C J - Thorn In My Side #4 Sweetpea
Stacey, L H - The Accident
Sullivan, Tim - The Teacher #6 DS Cross, Bristol
Tait, Victoria - Vanilla Chai and a Vanishing Victim #3 Waterwheel Café
Taylor, Stephen - Won't Stay Dead #10 Danny Pearson
Thorogood, Robert - The Queen of Poisons #3 The Marlow Murder Club
Vickery, Sam - The Child at My Door
Vingtras, Marie - Blizzard tr. Stephanie Smee
Weatherley, Anna-Lou - The Housewife's Secret #7 Detective Dan Riley
Webb, Kate - Laying Out the Bones #2 Detective Inspector Matt Lockyer, Wiltshire
Wells, Kate - Stranger in the Village #2 Jude Gray
Welsh, Louise - To the Dogs
Westerson, Jeri - The Twilight Queen #2 King's Fool
Wilkinson, Diana - The Girl in Seat 2a
Wilson, Edward - Farewell Dinner for a Spy #8 Catesby
Wingate, Marty - A Body on the Doorstep #1 London Ladies' Murder Club
Wingate, Marty - A Body at the Séance #2 London Ladies' Murder Club
Wray, C J - The Excitements
Wyer, Carol - A Soul for a Soul #5 DI Kate Young, Staffordshire
Young, Debbie - Driven to Murder #9 Sophie Sayers

New Releases - December 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think was published for the first time in December 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). 66 titles this month. 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.

Adler, Dominic - Red Labyrinth
Alexander, Magda - A Murder at Brighton #8 Kitty Worthington
Ashley, Jennifer - Mrs. Holloway's Christmas Pudding (ebook only) - Below Stairs Novella
Atkinson, Heather - Bonds of Loyalty (ebook only) #5 Blagger's Code
Barker, Robert F - Breathe Free #7 DCI Jamie Carver
Bellamy, G J - Primrose Hill #5 Sophie Burgoyne
Blaedel, Sara & Mads Peder Nordbo - Dissolved tr ???
Boland, Peter - Death at the Dog Show #3 Charity Shop Detective Agency
Brett, Simon - Waste of a Life #3 Ellen Curtis, Declutterer
Brook, Lee - The Shadows of Yuletide #12 West Yorkshire Crime
Brook, Lee - The Shadows of the Past #13 West Yorkshire Crime
Campling, Michael - A Must-Have Murder #5 Devonshire Mysteries
Carson, John - Blunt Force Trauma #20 DCI Harry McNeil
Cartwright, Jack - A Winter of Blood #1 DCI Cook, Lincolnshire
Carver CJ - A Treachery of Friends
Cockburn, Tormod - This Emerald Veil #6 Mysterious Scotland
Comley, M A - The Good Die Young #11 DI Sally Parker
Connally, Celeste - Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Lord #1 Lady Petra Inquires
Cookman, Lesley - Murder by Christmas #25 Libby Sarjeant, middle aged actress/investigator, Kent
Coombs, Alex - Murder on the Menu #1 Old Forge Cafe Mystery
Davies, Abby - The Girl Who Heard Maggots
Edvinsson, Anki - The Snow Angel tr. Paul Norlen #1 Detectives von Klint and Berg
Eldridge, Jim - Murder at the Louvre #10 Former Detective Inspector Daniel Wilson
Ellis, Emmy - Rusty #23 Cardigan Estate
Ellis, Emmy - The Meat Hook Killer #7 DI Bethany Smith
Finney, Keith - Double Cross #7 Norfolk Cozy Mysteries
Gatland, Jack - Pretend To Be Dead #17 DI Declan Walsh
Giles Stewart - The Cellar #26 DS Jason Smith
Godden, Gillian - The Bad Boy #5 The Lambrianus
Gray, Clio - The Juggler's Box #2 Bookfinders
Gustawsson, Johana - Yule Island tr. David Warriner
Harrison, Cora - Murder in the Mist #5 Gaslight Mystery
Higashino, Keigo - The Final Curtain tr. Giles Murray #10 Detective Kaga
Hurst, Daniel - The Doctor's Mistress #3 The Doctor's Wife
James, Ed - Hope To Die (ebook only) #10 DI Fenchurch, London
Jecks, Michael - One Last Dance Before I Die #1 Detective Rod Cottey, Shanghai Municipal Police
Jordan, G R - A Giant Killing #1 Siobhan Duffy
Jordan, G R - Winter Slay Bells #29 Highlands and Islands
Júlíusdóttir, Katrín - Dead Sweet tr. Quentin Bates #1 Sigurdís, Police officer
Kelly, Ruth - The Escape
King, Casey - Exposed #2 Dublin Thrillers
Kirk, JD - This Little Piggy #2 DI Heather Filson
La Plante, Lynda - Alibi #7 Trial and Retribution
Lindsay, Douglas - We Were Not Innocent #5 DI Buchan
Mark, David - The Burning Time #12 Detective Sergeant McAvoy of Humberside CID
McLean, Rachel & Millie Ravensworth - Death at Tower Bridge #3 Diana Bakewell
McNeill, Robert - Don't Cry, Darling #7 DI Jack Knox
McPherson, Catriona - Hop Scot #6 Last Ditch Mysteries
Menuhin, Karen Baugh - The Belvedere Murders #11 Heathcliff Lennox Investigates
Morgan, Anna-Marie - Murder on Arthur's Seat #1 DI McKenzie
Noel, Sarah F - An Inexplicable Woman #4 Tabitha & Wolf
North, Ely - Gothic Fog #6 DCI Finnegan, Yorkshire
Penketh, Anne - The Brittany Murders #1 The Brittany Murders
Perks, Heidi - The Last Resort
Raymond, Andrew - Blood Money #5 Novak and Mitchell
Rhodes, GS - Someone Else's Skin #10 DI Benjamin Kidd
Shindler, Will - The Cold Case #5 DI Alex Finn & DC Mattie Paulsen, London
Simpson, Carla - Deadly Obsession #6 Angus Brodie and Mikaela Forsythe, Victorian London
Sinclair, J R - Embers of Summer #3 DI Joseph Stone
Stacey, L H - The Safe House
Sten, Viveca - Hidden in Shadows tr. Marlaine Delargy #2 The Åre Murders
Stone, Dan - Ultimate Deceit #2 Jack Kane
Tuti, Ilaria - Daughter of Ashes tr. Ekin Oklap #3 Teresa Battaglia
Wilde, Darcie - The Secret of the Lady's Maid #2 Useful Woman
Wilkinson, Kerry - After the Sleepover #2 Sleepover
Woolf, James - Indefensible

New Releases - November 2023

Now arriving on [the blog] platform 1, the heavily delayed November Arrivals. Here's a snapshot of what I think was published for the first time in November 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). 109 titles this month. 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 Corpse with the Opal Fingers #13 Welsh-Canadian Professor Cait Morgan, Criminologist
Adams, Jane - Murder At the Wedding #9 Rina Martin, Actress
Atkinson, Heather - A Savage Feud #2 The Savage Sisters
Austin, Stephanie - A Devon Midwinter Murder #7 Juno Browne
Bailey, Elizabeth - The Hanging Cheat #10 Lady Fan
Barnes, Kerry - Callous #3 Georgie Deacon
Bateman, E C - Murder Most Antique #2 Felicia Grant, Stamford, Lincs
Beaumont, Charles - A Spy Alone #1 Oxford Spy Ring
Belsham, Alison - The Innocent Angels #3 Detective Lexi Bennett
Benedict, Alexandra - The Christmas Jigsaw Murders
Benjamin, Tom - Last Testament in Bologna #5 Daniel Leicester, Bologna
Bjork, Samuel - The Wolf tr. Charlotte Barslund #4 Holger Munch & Mia Kruger, Oslo Police
Blake, David - Bluebell Wood #10 DCI Tanner, Norfolk
Bolton, Sharon - The Fake Wife
Bond, Martha - Murder in the Grotto #2 Lottie Sprigg Country House
Bowen, Rhys - The Proof of the Pudding # 17 Lady Georgiana Rannoch ('Georgie'), 1930s Britain
Bright, Verity - Murder on the Cornish Cliffs #16 Lady Eleanor Swift, 1920s
Broadfoot, Neil - Unmarked Graves #6 Connor Fraser, Stirling
Brolly, Matt - The Railroad #2 Lynch and Rose
Brook, Lee - The West Yorkshire Ripper #11 West Yorkshire Crime
Brown, Benedict - The Christmas Bell Mystery #12 Lord Edgington Investigates
Browne, Sheryl - We All Keep Secrets
Burrowes, Grace - A Gentleman in Challenging Circumstances #3 The Lord Julian Mysteries
Caine, Michael - Deadly Game #1 DCI Harry Taylor
Carver, Will - Upstairs at the Beresford #2 The Beresford
Casey, Jane - The Outsider Castillo, Javier - The Snow Girl tr. Isabelle Scott #1 Miren Triggs
Chase, Clare - Mystery at Saltwater Cottages #11 Eve Mallow, Saxford St Peter
Chester, Fliss - Death on the Scotland Express #4 Cressida Fawcett, 1920s
Comley, M A - To Catch a Killer #11 DI Sam Cobbs
Cutler, Judith - The Dead Hand #5 Matthew Rowsley, Steward & Mrs Faulkner, Housekeeper, Victorian Era
Dalgliesh, J M - The Dead Man of Storr #2 DI Duncan McAdam, Isle of Skye
Dawson, Lucy - The Night She Lied
Dennison, Hannah - Dagger of Death at Honeychurch Hall #10 Kat Stanford
Dixon, Helena - Murder at the Highland Castle #14 Miss Underhay
Doherty, Paul - Murder Most Treasonable #22 Brother Athelstan
Dowd, Victoria - Murder Most Cold #5 Ursula Smart
Durrant, Helen H - The Ravenswood Murders #2 DCI Alice Rossi
Dylan, Rhys - No One Near #10 DCI Evan Warlow
Ellis, Joy - The Bag of Secrets #6 Matt Ballard
Enright, Robert - The Dead Of Night #1 DS Jack Townsend
Everett, F L - Murder in a Country Village #2 Edie York, 1940s
Farrar, M K - The Night Prowler #12 DI Erica Swift
Farrar, M K - Under the Surface #2 Law of Sandtown
Farrington, C J - Last Stop on the Murder Express #3 Olga Pushkin
Fielding, Liz - Murder Under the Mistletoe #2 Abby Finch, Cotswolds
Fraine, A L - Blood Red Ford #5 Detective Loxley, Nottinghamshire
Frost, Chris - The Killer's Christmas List
Gatland, Jack - Find The Lady #4 Ellie Reckless
Gatward, D J - Dark Harvest #16 DCI Harry Grimm
Gibney, Patricia - The Altar Girls #13 Detective Lottie Parker
Giles, Stewart - The Electrician #25 DS Jason Smith
Greenwood, Ross - Death at Paradise Park #2 DS Ashley Knight, Norfolk
Grimwood, Jack - Arctic Sun #3 Tom Fox
Gunnis, Emily - The Girls Left Behind
Hambling, Michael - Vicious Crimes #12 DCI Sophie Allen
Harper, Izzie - Murder in the Hot Air Balloon #4 The Wootton Windmill Mysteries
Hedgecock, Liz & Harmon, Paula - Death on the Towpath #4 Booker & Fitch
Holliday, SJI - The Party Season
Horst, Jorn Lier - Snow Fall tr. Anne Bruce #16 Chief Inspector William Wisting, Larvik
Hunt, Rosie - Murder on the Coast #5 Lady Felicity Quick, 1920s
Hurst, Daniel - My Daughter's Husband #2 My Daughter's Boyfriend
Isaka, Kotaro - The Mantis tr. Sam Malissa
Isaksen, Jógvan - Dead Men Dancing tr. Marita Thomsen #4 Hannis Martinsson
James, Ed - A Shadow on the Door #4 DI Rob Marshall
James, Jane E - The Son-in-Law
Jardine, Quintin - The Cage #35 Detective Chief Superintendent Bob Skinner, Edinburgh
Kaya, Kerry - Justice #3 The Tempests
Kemp, Martin - The Game
Kernick, Simon - The First 48 Hours
Kobler, Seraina - Deep Dark Blue tr. Alex Roesch #1 Rosa Zambrano, Lake Zurich
Kovach, Carla - Her Deadly Promise #12 Detective Gina Harte
Kray, Roberta - Cheated
Kyriacou, Eleni - The Unspeakable Acts of Zina Pavlou
Lawler, Liz - My Husband's Lies
Leadbeater, David - The Devil's Reaper # 34 Matt Drake
Lyle, H B - Spy Hunter #4 Wiggins, 1909
Lynch, Rachel - The Rich
Mariani, Scott - The Tudor Deception 28 Ben Hope, Ex-SAS
Marsons, Angela - Bad Blood # 19 DI Kim Stone
McDermott, Alan - Ocean of Wrath #6 Eva Driscoll
McLean, Rachel & Ravensworth, Millie - Death in the West End #2 Diana Bakewell
Messina, Lynn - A Murderous Tryst #11 Beatrice Hyde-Clare, Regency era
Meyrick, Denzil - Murder at Holly House #1 Inspector Frank Grasby, 1950s
Mitchell, Caroline - The Islanders
Mosse, Greg - Murder at Bunting Manor #2 Maisie Cooper
Murphy, Kitty - Death in the Holidays #3 Dublin Drag
Nadal, Jay - Secrets to Die For #10 DI Karen Heath
Natt och Dag, Niklas - 1795: The Order of the Furies tr. Ian Giles #3 Jean Mickel Cardell
New, Jacqueline - Scars of the Past #1 DCI McNeill, Edinburgh
Oliver, Kelly - Arsenic at Ascot #4 Fiona Figg
Pearson, David - The Empty Safe Mystery #2 Wexford Homicides
Ramsay, Danielle - My Best Friend's Secret
Rankin, Ian - The Rise (ebook only) - Novella
Reid, TG - Night Comes Falling #6 DCI Bone
Roberts, Adam - The Death of Sir Martin Malprelate
Rowson, Pauline - The Hayling Island Murders #17 DI Andy Horton and his sidekick Barney Cantelli, Portsmouth
Scarrow, Simon - Rebellion #21 Macro and Cato, Roman soldiers
Smith, Alex - Unholy Saints #14 DCI Robert Kett, Norfolk
Smith, Fiona Veitch - The Pantomime Murders #2 Miss Clara Vale, 1929
Stacey, L H - The House Guest
Stevenson, Charlotte - The Serial Killer's Son
Tyler, L C - A Well-Earned Death #9 John Grey, lawyer, 1657
Upson, Nicola - Shot With Crimson #11 Josephine Tey, real-life crime writer
Walden, Celia - The Square
Walter, B P - Notes on a Murder
Ward, Sarah - The Sixth Lie #2 Mallory Dawson, Wales
Williams, T A - Murder on the Matterhorn #5 Armstrong and Oscar
Wood, Tom - Blood Debt #11 Victor, Assassin

Ten Years of the Petrona Award

Over on the Petrona Award website we've been marking 'Ten Years of the Petrona' and revisiting the first ten winners. What a fantastic set of books and a great present for the crime fan in your life - ranging from dark humour to historical, police procedural to private eye, psychological thriller to semi-amateur investigators, there's something for everyone.

Why not check out the classic reviews and new articles on the Petrona website.

Liza Marklund for LAST WILL, translated by Neil Smith

LINDA, AS IN THE LINDA MURDER by Leif G.W. Persson, translated by Neil Smith 

THE SILENCE OF THE SEA by Yrsa Sigurđardóttir, translated by Victoria Cribb,

THE CAVEMAN by Jørn Lier Horst, translated by Anne Bruce

WHERE ROSES NEVER DIE by Gunnar Staalesen, translated by Don Bartlett,

QUICKSAND by Malin Persson Giolito, translated by Rachel Willson-Broyles

THE KATHARINA CODE by Jørn Lier Horst, translated by Anne Bruce

LITTLE SIBERIA by Antti Tuomainen, translated by David Hackston

TO COOK A BEAR by Mikael Niemi, translated by Deborah Bragan-Turner

FATAL ISLES by Maria Adolfsson translated by Agnes Broomé

New Releases - October 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in October 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). 89 titles this month. 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.

Allen, Jo - Death in Good Time (ebook only) #11 DCI Jude Satterthwaite, Lake District
Allingham, Merryn - Murder in a French Village #7 Flora Steele, Sussex, 1955
Armitage, Richard - Geneva
Barron, Stephanie - Jane and the Final Mystery 15 Jane Austen
Black, Tony - The Lock-in #Short Stories
Blackwell, Penny - Murder at the Bonfire #2 Cherrywood Murders
Bond, Martha - Murder in the Library #1 Lottie Sprigg Country House
Bradley, Rebecca - Cold Hard Truth #4 Claudia Nunn
Brett, Simon - Mrs Pargeter's Patio #9 Mrs Pargeter, Gangster's widow
Britton, Anna - Shot in the Dark #1 Detectives Martin & Stern
Brookes, Dawn - The Museum Murders #3 Carlos Jacobi
Brown, Benedict - Murder at Everham Hall #1 Marius Quin, 1920s
Celestin, Ray - Palace of Shadows
Child, Lee (with Andrew Child) - The Secret #28 Jack Reacher, ex MP, USA
Cole, Martina (with Jacqui Rose) - Loyalty
Comley, M A - The Games People Play #21 DI Sara Ramsey
Cordani, Andreina - The Twelve Days of Murder
Cumming, Charles - Kennedy 35 #3 Box 88
Curtis, Emma - The Babysitter
Dalgliesh, J M - A Long Time Dead #1 DI Duncan McAdam, Isle of Skye
Devlin, Cara - Fatal by Design #5 Bow Street Duchess
Ebsworth, David - Blood Among the Threads #1 Wrexham Victorian Mystery
Ellis, Emmy - The Scorched Skin Killer #4 DI Bethany Smith
Forder, Tony J - What Dies Inside Us #11 DI Jimmy Bliss
Gatland, Jack - Counter Attack #4 Tom Marlowe
Giles, Stewart - Danger on the Island #11 DI Liam O'Reilly
Gray, Clio - The Fifth Face of Fear #2 Troubadours
Grayson, C J - Taken While She Slept #1 Detective April Fisher
Greene, Morgan - The Mark Of The Dead #2 DI Jamie Johansson Files
Griffiths, Elly - The Great Deceiver #7 Stephens and Mephisto, Brighton, 1950s
Hall, Emylia - The Harbour Lights Mystery #2 Shell House Detectives, Cornwall
Hall, Lisa - The Day She Disappeared
Hallett, Janice - The Christmas Appeal #2 Fairway Players
Hancock, Anne Mette - Ruthless tr. Tara Chace #3 Journalist Heloise Kaldan and Police Officer Erik Schäfer
Hannah, Sophie - Hercule Poirot's Silent Night: The New Hercule Poirot Mystery #5 Hercule Poirot and Inspector Edward Catchpool of Scotland Yard
Harris, Jon - Murder in a Somerset Village #2 Julia Ford
Hattersley, Matthew - When The Kingdom Comes #2 John Beckett
Hill, Karl - The Surgeon
Hill, Reginald - A Candle for Christmas & Other Stories #Short Stories
Hodges, David - Storm on the Levels #12 DC Kate Hamblin
Hollow Mike - The Covent Garden Murder #8 Blitz Detective
Horst, Jorn Lier & Enger, Thomas - Stigma tr. Megan E Turney #4 Alexander Blix
Irving, Alison - Casual Cruelties
James, Alison - The House Guest
Kane, S W - The Drowning Place #2 DI Lew Kirby
Kelly, Julia - A Traitor in Whitehall #1 Evelyne Redfern, 1940
Koning, Christina - Murder in Cambridge (also pub. as End of Term under A. C. Koning) #5 The Blind Detective, 1920s
Leather, Stephen - Baltic Black Ops #5 Spider Shepherd: SAS
Mackay, Niki - The Due Date
Marston, Edward - Danger of Defeat #10 Inspector Harvey Marmion and Sergeant Joe Keedy
Martin, Laura - A Poisoned Fortune #3 Jane Austen Investigations
McCleave, Simon - The Colwyn Bay Killings #17 DI Ruth Hunter
McClure, Rob - The Scotsman
McDermid, Val - Past Lying #7 Karen Pirie
McKenna, Clara - Murder on Mistletoe Lane #5 Stella and Lyndy, 1905
McLean, Rachel (with Millie Ravensworth) - Death at Westminster #1 Diana Bakewell
Merritt, Chris - Committed #1 Ellen McGinley
Moloney, Catherine - Crime in the Allotment #20 DI Gilbert Markham
Morgan, Anna-Marie - The Park Murders #21 DI Yvonne Giles
Morris, M S - Days Like Shadows Pass #5 DCI Tom Raven
Morrison, Lynn - Double Cross Dead #4 Dora and Rex, 1920s
Morton, Mandy - Cat Among the Pumpkins #12 The No. 2 Feline Detective Agency
Moss, NJ - The Twins
Muir, T F - The Killing Mood #12 DI Andy Gilchrist & team, St. Andrews
Nixon, Keith - The Dead Can't Lie #8 Solomon Gray
O'Connor, Carlene - Some of Us Are Looking #2 Dimpna Wilde
Pearce, Biba - The Marlow Murders #7 Rob Miller, Police, London
Pearson, David - The Ferry Port Mystery #1 Wexford Homicides
Perry, Anne - A Christmas Vanishing
Perry, Karen - The Worst Thing You Ever Did
Phifer, Helen - The Haunting on West 10th Street #1 Detective Maria Miller
Pine, Alex - The Night Before Christmas #4 DI James Walker, Cumbria
Probyn, Jack - Death's Touch #3 DS Tomek Bowen
Puleston, Stephen - Stone Cold Dead #11 Inspector Drake
Rhodes, Kate - Hangman Island #7 DI Ben Kitto
Rigby, Sally (with Amanda Ashby) - The Stepmother
Riley, Vanessa - Murder in Drury Lane #2 Lady Worthing, Regency
Rose, M L - Hold Your Breath #5 DCI Rohan Roy
Sigurdardottir, Lilja - White as Snow tr. Quentin Bates #3 Arora
Sigurdardottir, Yrsa - The Prey tr. Victoria Cribb
Slater, K L - Husband and Wife
Smith, G N - The Shelter #3 Fiona MacLeish
Starr, Melvin R - A Polluted Font #16 Hugh de Singleton, Surgeon, 14thC England
Tuomainen, Antti - The Beaver Theory tr. David Hackston #3 Rabbit Factor Trilogy
Waller, Anita - Fatal Lies #2 Forrester Family
Watson, Sue - The Lodge
Wilkinson, Kerry - The Night of the Sleepover #1 Sleepover
Wood, Michael - Below Ground #11 DCI Matilda Darke
Yokoyama, Hideo - The North Light tr. Louise Heal Kawai

The Petrona Award 2023 - Winner

 

Winner of 2023 Petrona Award announced

The winner of the 2023 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year is: 

FEMICIDE by Pascal Engman, translated from the Swedish by Michael Gallagher and published by Legend Press.

Pascal Engman will receive a trophy, and both the author and translator will receive a cash prize.

The judges’ statement on FEMICIDE:

This year’s Petrona Award winner is a page-turning, absorbing and uncomfortable Swedish thriller. FEMICIDE tells of a young woman, Emilie, who is found murdered in her Stockholm apartment in the same week that her violent ex-boyfriend is released from prison. Detective Vanessa Frank is assigned the case. Meanwhile, we hear the story of young journalist Jasmina, the survivor of a recent, severe sexual assault. Author Pascal Engman dives into the world of incels through Tom, a very believable character who is part of a weaponised gender war brought about by, amongst other things, misguided hatred, feelings of being ignored by society, and sexual frustration. FEMICIDE comes to a pinnacle as the attacks against women escalate on a huge scale. 

Continuing in the tradition of fellow Swedish authors Sjöwall and Wahlöö, and Henning Mankell, Pascal Engman uses his writing to comment on societal values making FEMICIDE an interesting, fictional take on the multifaceted topic of violence against women. The book stood out to all the Petrona judges for several reasons. The way FEMICIDE opens the reader’s eyes to the steadily increasing threat of the incel movement and what makes these men tick was felt by all the judges. FEMICIDE is a challenging read that broadens thinking. The writing is well informed, the book has a good sense of urban space, and it picks up pace in a satisfying manner. There is a cast of interesting, and sometimes unconventional, characters for the reader to get to know. All the judges felt this book offered something creatively original that captured the zeitgeist of the early twenty-first century and it is a deserved winner. 

Comments from the winning author, translator and publisher:

Pascal Engman (author):

It feels incredibly significant to win this award. Several of my major idols and heroes in this genre have been recipients of it. I consider it an honour, a great honour. Writing FEMICIDE was a unique experience. The research on the incel movement was very challenging. I was pulled towards their darkness in many ways. Therefore, I also want to thank Linnea, my fiancée, for putting up with me then, as she does now.

Michael Gallagher (translator):

FEMICIDE was a fantastic book to work on. Pascal Engman certainly belongs to the Nordic Noir tradition, but his writing and his characters deftly reflect the tectonic shifts underway in Sweden and the wider world. Always unsettling and compelling, he is not bound by conventions or old cliches. I am delighted that the jury has recognised his talent and that my translation seems to have done it justice!

Cari Rosen (Legend Press Commissioning Editor):

We are so thrilled that FEMICIDE has been chosen as the winner of this year's Petrona Award. The novel delves into the world of incels after a series of brutal attacks against women, and perfectly encapsulates the pace, drama and drive of Pascal's writing. The Vanessa Frank series has sold more than a million copies worldwide and everyone at Legend is delighted to be able to bring this, the first of three books, to an English-speaking audience thanks to Michael Gallagher's expert translation.

The Petrona team would like to thank David Hicks for his continuing sponsorship of the Petrona Award.

Petrona Award 2023 - Change to Winner's Announcement Date

With many apologies but due to unforeseen circumstances the winner of the Petrona Award 2023 will now be announced on 12 October 2023, rather than 5 October 2023.

New Releases - September 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in September 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). 69 titles this month. September 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.

• Amphlett, Rachel - Cover the Bones #5 Detective Mark Turpin
• Archer, Jeffrey - Traitors Gate #6 Detective Chief Inspector William Warwick
• Beaton, M C - Agatha Raisin: Dead on Target (with R W Green) #34 Agatha Raisin, Retired PR person, Cotswolds
• Beevis, Keri - The Boat House
• Benn, James R - Proud Sorrows #18 Billy Boyle, WW2
• Briggs, J C - The Waxwork Man #11 Charles Dickens and Superintendent Jones
• Bright, Verity - Murder by Invitation #15 Lady Eleanor Swift, 1920s
• Burnside, Heather - Redemption #3 Manchester Thrillers
• Burrowes, Grace - A Gentleman of Dubious Reputation #2 The Lord Julian Mysteries
• Cambridge, Colleen - Murder by Invitation Only #3 Phyllida Bright, housekeeper to Agatha Christie
• Carson, John - Now or Never (ebook only) #19 DCI Harry McNeil
• Cartwright, Jack - Her Dying Mind (ebook only) #11 Wild Fens Murder Mystery
• Clark, Anne Wyn - The Secrets of Mill House
• Clarke, Sarah - The Ski Trip
• Comley, M A - Sinner #10 DI Sally Parker
• Cookman, Lesley - Murder in Autumn #24 Libby Sarjeant, middle aged actress/investigator, Kent
• Cox, Helen - A Body in the Borderlands #8 Kitt Hartley, Yorkshire
• Croft, Kathryn - The Wedding Guest
• Day, Becca - The Secrets We Buried
• Ellis, Emmy - Revived #21 Cardigan Estate
• Ellis, J R - The Brewery Murders #9 Detective Chief Inspector Oldroyd, Yorkshire
• Everett, F L - Murder in the Blitz #1 Edie York, 1940s
• Francis, Dick - No Reserve (by Felix Francis)
• Galbraith, Robert - The Running Grave #7 Cormoran Strike
• Gatland, Jack - Kissing A Killer #16 DI Declan Walsh
• Gillan, Florence - The Forfeit
• Glass, Ava - The Traitor #2 Alias Emma series
• Golding, Melanie - The Sight
• Hanley, C B - Blessed are the Dead #8 Edwin Weaver, C13
• Herron, Mick - The Secret Hours
• Hood, D K - Dark Angel #1 Detective Beth Katz
• Hood, D K - Shadow Angel #2 Detective Beth Katz
• Howell, Lis - The Gardener in the Graveyard #5 The Norbridge Chronicles
• Hunter, Cari - A Calculated Risk
• Hunter, E V - A Marriage To Murder For #3 Hopgood Hall Murder Mysteries
• James, Peter - Stop Them Dead #19 Detective Superintendent Roy Grace, Brighton
• Johnstone, Doug - The Opposite of Lonely #5 Skelfs family
• Kinsey, T E - A Fire at the Exhibition #10 Lady Emily Hardcastle, 1908
• Kovach, Carla - Her Hidden Shadow #14 Detective Gina Harte
• Lee, M J - The Irish Convict (ebook only) #10 Jayne Sinclair Genealogical Mysteries
• Lindsay, Douglas - I am Multitudes #11 DS Hutton
• McCabe, Amanda - Flora Flowerdew and the Mystery of the Purloined Papers #2 Flora Flowerdew, Victorian Era
• McLean, Rachel - The Ghost Village Murders #9 DCI Lesley Clarke, Dorset
• McLean, Rachel & Hames, Joel - The Harbour #1 Cumbria Crime
• MacLean, S G - The Winter List #6 Damian Seeker, agent of the Lord Protector, 1654
• Mackay, N J - The Quiet Dead #1 DI Sebastian Locke
• Malliet, G M - The Washing Away of Wrongs #8 Max Tudor, Vicar
• Malone, Michael J - The Murmurs #1 Annie Jackson
• Matthews, L V - Silent Waters
• Nickson, Chris - Rusted Souls #11 Detective Inspector Tom Harper, Leeds Police, 1890s
• Organ, Emily - Death in Westminster (ebook only) #5 Augusta Peel, 1920s
• Osman, Richard - The Last Devil To Die #4 The Thursday Murder Club
• Penrose, Andrea - Murder at the Merton Library #7 Wrexford & Sloane
• Peston, Robert - The Crash
• Phifer, Helen - Stolen Darlings #10 Detective Morgan Brookes
• Ripley, Mike - Mr Campion's Memory #11 Albert Campion
• Ross, L J - The Bay #3 Summer Suspense Mysteries
• Schellman, Katharine - Murder at Midnight #4 Lily Adler, London, 1815
• Seddon, Holly - The Short Straw
• Smith, Alexander McCall - From a Far and Lovely Country #24 Mma Ramotswe, PI, Botswana
• Swann, Leonie - The Sunset Years of Agnes Sharp tr. Amy Bojang #1 Agnes Sharp
• Thomson, Lesley - The Mystery of Yew Tree House #9 Stella Darnell
• Tobin, Sam - Wind Up Dead #3 Manchester Underworld
• Veste, Luca - Trust In Me
• Wallace, Joanna - You'd Look Better as a Ghost
• Ward, Cameron - The Safe House
• Waugh, Daisy - Old School Ties #3 Tode family
• Wells, Kate - Murder on the Farm #1 Jude Gray
• Young, Glenda - Foul Play at the Seaview Hotel #3 Helen Dexter, Scarborough

Blog Tour - Murder at the Residence by Stella Blómkvist tr. Quentin Bates

I'm very pleased to be today's stop on the Blog Tour for Murder at the Residence by Stella Blómkvist tr. Quentin Bates. 

I have a teaser extract for you. 

You can read a review of Murder at the Residence at yesterday's stop at Books'n'Banter.

Murder at the Residence by Stella Blómkvist 

Translation Quentin Bates

Corylus Books

‘Let me up the stairs, guys,’ I say.

One of them spreads his arms wide.

‘Come to daddy, baby,’ he croons.

I try to push my way between the men. But they both grab. They’re holding on tight.

The younger one says something in a language I don’t understand. Just then, he slides a hand up my leg, over the top of one tall black boot.

His pal sniggers.

I glare into dark, drunken eyes.

‘You want to go to prison?’ I snap, in English.

‘Me no prison,’ the man replies, shaking his head.

‘I’m a lawyer,’ I continue in the same harsh tone. ‘Hands off. Right now. Or I’ll have you both charged with assault.’

‘No fucking prison,’ the guy repeats, reluctantly withdrawing his hand.

The other one does the same.

The blonde grabs my arm.

‘You real lawyer?’ she asks in stiff English.

‘Of course.’

‘Can I talk with you?’

‘No. I’m going home.’

‘Please. I’m desperate.’

There’s anguish in her dark eyes.

‘All right.’

Those horny-as-hell guys aren’t going to let the blonde get away without getting what they’ve been waiting so long for. They encircle her. Their voices babble. Banknotes are waved. Euros and dollars.

She manages to calm them down. It looks like she’s promised to come right back to deal with their needs.

I’m not going to interfere in private enterprise. Let alone meddle in every patriarchy’s oldest profession. But these girls’ enthusiasm for their work seems to be at a low ebb, if they need to pep themselves up with a blast of white powder between clients.

The girl follows me up the stairs. There are three of the boys in black in full uniform waiting at the top of the stairs. Two of them are young bucks. One’s fair. The other has dark hair. The third is a red-haired girl. Looks hardly more than twenty.

‘Do good business down there?’ the fair-haired one asks in easy English, with a superior grin on his face.

‘Has the police college stopped teaching youngsters manners?’ I retort, my voice waspish.

The grin slips from the face of the boy in black.

‘Show me your ID,’ he orders.

‘My name’s Stella Blómkvist and I’m a lawyer,’ I say coldly, handing him a business card. ‘Come to my office if you need to talk to me.’

Many thanks to Ewa, Stella, Quentin and Corylus Books for this extract and the opportunity to be involved.

Tomorrow's stop is at Emerald Reviews.

 

The Petrona Award 2023 - Shortlist

 

From the press release which was embargoed until 8.00am today:

Outstanding crime fiction from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland shortlisted for the 2023 Petrona Award 

Seven impressive crime novels from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have been shortlisted for the 2023 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year. The shortlist is announced today, Thursday 7 September and is as follows:

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

Anne Mette Hancock - THE CORPSE FLOWER tr. Tara F Chace (Denmark, Swift Press)

Håkan Nesser - THE AXE WOMAN tr. Sarah Death (Sweden, Mantle)

Petra Rautiainen - LAND OF SNOW AND ASHES tr. David Hackston (Finland, Pushkin Press)

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

Lilja Sigurðardóttir - RED AS BLOOD tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Orenda Books)

Gunnar Staalesen - BITTER FLOWERS tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, Orenda Books)

The winning title will be announced on 5 October 2023. 

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 Petrona team would like to thank our sponsor, David Hicks, for his continued generous support of the Petrona Award. 

The judges’ comments on the shortlist:

There were 43 entries for the 2023 Petrona Award from six countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland). There were twenty-one female, nineteen male, two female/male pairs and one male/male pair of authors. The novels were translated by 22 translators and submitted by 22 publishers/imprints. 

This year’s Petrona Award shortlist sees Sweden represented with two novels and Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Switzerland with one novel each. The judges selected the shortlist from a particularly strong pool of candidates with the shortlisted titles ranging from police procedural and private investigator to historical. 

As ever, we are extremely grateful to the seven 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:

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

FEMICIDE is a page turning, absorbing, thriller featuring Detective Vanessa Frank. A young woman is found murdered in her apartment in the same week her violent ex-boyfriend is released from prison. Meanwhile, we hear the story of Jasmina, a survivor of a recent severe sexual assault. Engman dives into the world of incels through Tom, a very believable character who is part of a weaponised gender war. 

As expected this is not a comfortable read, addressing the whole incel phenomenon which is of growing concern. The well written characters and increasingly tense plot strands keep the reader absorbed as the story comes to a pinnacle as the attacks against women escalate.

Anne Mette Hancock - THE CORPSE FLOWER tr. Tara F Chace (Denmark, Swift Press)

Journalist Heloise Kaldan is trapped in a nightmare. One of her sources has been caught lying. Then she receives a cryptic letter from Anna Kiel, wanted for murder, but not seen by anyone in three years. When the reporter who first wrote about the case is found murdered, detective Erik Schafer comes up with the first lead. Has Kiel struck again? As Kaldan starts digging deeper she realises that to tell Kiel’s story she will have to revisit her own dark past.

A dark and compelling story with echoes of Stieg Larsson's THE GIRL WITH THE DRAGON TATTOO, this is an exceptionally strong start to the series, with a balanced blend of journalistic detection, psychological thriller and police procedural.

Håkan Nesser - THE AXE WOMAN tr. Sarah Death (Sweden, Mantle)

The fifth and final Inspector Gunnar Barbarotti novel from Håkan Nesser, sees Barbarotti returning to work after a personal tragedy and tasked with the investigation of a cold case, based on the unexplained disappearance of Arnold Morinder five years previously. Morinder's former partner Ellen Bjarnebo, who had been previously convicted of the brutal murder of her first husband, is sought by Barbarotti for more information, but she too has disappeared.

Håkan Nesser's credentials as a superior storyteller are once more in evidence in THE AXE WOMAN, with its impressive narrative arc and peerless characterisation, coupled with a perceptive translation by Sarah Death.

Petra Rautiainen - LAND OF SNOW AND ASHES tr. David Hackston (Finland, Pushkin Press)

LAND OF SNOW AND ASHES is set at a prison camp in Finnish Lapland in 1944 during the occupation by Nazi Germany, and in 1947 when journalist Inkeri arrives in remote Enontekiö on an assignment to chart the area’s social development. Inkeri gets to know the small community, discovers disturbing silenced crimes, and tries to find out what happened to her missing husband. Rautiainen weaves in the elements of Finland’s recent hidden history in the European context, and gives voice to the Sámi people, while Inkeri’s personal investigation shows the painful truths of human brutality and the cost of survival in extreme conditions. 

A harsh yet beautiful landscape adds to the mystery and allows for reflection and thought in this striking historical but contemporary novel. 

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

A local hotel owner and entrepreneur has gone missing, then Kalmann Odinsson discovers a pool of blood in the snow in the quiet village of Raufarhofn. Kalmann is an engaging, highly observant,  neurodiverse character who sees the world his own way and who can easily become overwhelmed. He hunts and makes fermented shark and his usually quiet life in the small community falls into turmoil as the police arrive to investigate formally. 

This quirky Icelandic story quickly draws the reader in, and information is revealed slowly as the mystery is solved. KALMANN is a beautifully written, absorbing, character-driven tale set in a rich Icelandic landscape.

Lilja Sigurðardóttir - RED AS BLOOD tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Orenda Books)

Following the events in COLD AS HELL, the UK-based financial investigator Áróra Jónsdóttir still searches for her sister Ísafold in Iceland, now convinced she will only find her sister’s body. Teaming again with Daníel, an old family friend and a detective, she becomes involved in the murky, violent, criminal underworld when the entrepreneur Flosi’s wife gets kidnapped. 

The chilling scenery and tight plotting with unexpected twists propel the novel into the uncommon sphere of financial crime mixed with a strong sense of unease and danger. The writing is sharp, intelligent and witty, and the characters authentic. Sigurðardóttir surprises at every step with her exciting style, faultlessly brought into English by Quentin Bates. 

Gunnar Staalesen - BITTER FLOWERS tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, Orenda Books)

BITTER FLOWERS is set in Norway in the 1980s during the heated atmosphere of toxic waste environmental protests. Private investigator Varg Veum is just out of rehab for his alcoholism. The story starts with a body found under suspicious circumstances in a swimming pool. The lifestyle of the rich, their power and the privilege their money affords them comes into question.

Staalesen is an expert at making his characters just complex enough that the reader can empathise with the human condition in the majority of them. BITTER FLOWERS is finely crafted and translated giving the reader a clear sense of location and an array of vivid characters to spend their time with.

The judges

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

Miriam Owen - founder of the NORDIC NOIR blog, passionate about the arts, she moderates author panels and provides support at crime fiction festivals.

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

Award administrator

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

On social media, please use #PetronaAward23.

New Releases - August 2023

Here's a snapshot of what I think is published for the first time in August 2023 (and is usually a UK date but occasionally will be a US or Australian date). 91 titles this month. August 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.

• Abbott, Rachel - Don't Look Away #3 Stephanie King
• Adams, Jane - The Lost Daughter #5 Ray Flowers, ex-police officer, Leicestershire
• Allen, Hania - The Unexpected Guest #5 DS Dania Gorska
• Anderson, Lin - The Wild Coast #18 Rhona MacLeod, forensic scientist, Glasgow
• Baker, J A - The Woman in the Woods
• Barber, Lizzy - Nanny Wanted
• Baylis, Edie - The Price of Betrayal (ebook only) #2 Scarred
• Beard, Susanna - The Best Friend
• Blómkvist, Stella - Murder at the Residence tr. Quentin Bates #7 Stella Blómkvist, Lawyer
• Brack, Graham - Murder In Maastricht #7 Master Mercurius
• Brightwell, Emily - Mrs Jeffries Aims to Win #41 Mrs Jeffries
• Brolly, Matt - The Bridge #6 Detective Louise Blackwell
• Brooke, S J - The Body on Scafell Pike #1 DI Jess Chambers and Margot Voyce, Lake District
• Brownlow, John - Assassin Eighteen #2 Last Man Standing series
• Callaghan, Helen - The Drowning Girls
• Carpenter, Elisabeth - The Family on Smith Street
• Cassidy, Amanda - The Returned
• Cassidy, Jane - The Desire Line
• Cavanagh, Steve - Kill For Me Kill For You
• Chowdhury, Ajay - The Invitation (ebook only) #1 Kamil Rahman Novella
• Cleeves, Ann - The Raging Storm #3 Detective Matthew Venn, Devon
• Comley, M A - To Hold Responsible #10 DI Sam Cobbs
• Davison, Anita - Murder in the Bookshop #1 Miss Merrill and Aunt Violet, 1915, London
• Dixon, Helena - Murder at the Village Fair #13 Miss Underhay
• Ellis, Emmy - Roulette #20 Cardigan Estate
• Ellis, Kate - The Killing Place #27 Wesley Peterson (policeman) and Neil Watson (archaeologist), Tradmouth, Devon
• England, Caroline - The Stranger Beside Me
• Evans, Maz - Over My Dead Body
• Ewan, C M - The House Hunt
• Feeney, Alice - Good Bad Girl
• Fennell, David - The Silent Man #3 DI Grace Archer & DS Harry Quinn, London
• Filteau-Chiba, Gabrielle - Feral tr. David Homel
• Ford, P F - A Date With Death #5 West Wales Murder Mysteries
• Fortin, Sue - Death at Applewick Manor (ebook only) #2 Applewick Village
• Frank, Anita - The Good Liars
• Gatward, D J - Dead Man's Hands (ebook only) #15 DCI Harry Grimm
• Goddard, Robert - The Fine Art of Uncanny Prediction #2 Umiko Wada
• Goodhind, J G - Murder Runs in the Family #13 Honey Driver, Hotelier, Bath
• Goodwin, Sarah - The Blackout
• Gray, Lisa - To Die For
• Greene, Morgan - The Last Light of Day #8 DI Jamie Johansson
• Hamdy, Adam - White Fire #3 Scott Pearce
• Hausmann, Romy - Anatomy of a Killer tr. Jamie Bulloch
• Hayes, Samantha - The Inheritance
• Hepburn, Sam - The Mistake I Made • Howard, B M - Blood on the Tiber #2 Gracchus & Vanderville • Howard, Catherine Ryan - The Trap
• Hurst, Daniel - The Doctor's Widow #2 The Doctor's Wife
• Jameson, Emma - A Death at Bay View Hotel #5 Jemima Jago, Librarian, Isles of Scilly
• Jeffrey, Diane - The Other Couple
• Jonasson, Ragnar & Jakobsdottír, Katrín - Reykjavík tr. Victoria Cribb
• Khan, Vaseem - Death of a Lesser God #4 Inspector Persis Wadia
• La Plante, Lynda - Taste of Blood #9 WPC Tennison
• Leigh, Judy - Foul Play at Seal Bay #1 Morwenna Mutton, Librarian, Cornwall
• Leitch, Fiona - A Cornish Seaside Murder #6 Jodie 'Nosey' Parker, Chef
• Lewis, Susan - I Know It's You
• Llaca, Verónica E - Blood Ties tr. Mark Fried
• Lloyd, Catherine - Miss Morton and the Spirits of the Underworld #2 Miss Morton, Regency England
• London, Kate - The Misper #4 DS Sarah Collins
• Louth, Nick - The Body in Nightingale Park #12 DCI Craig Gillard
• MacDonald, Dee - A Body in a Cornish Village #7 Kate Palmer, Cornwall
• Malliet, G M - Death in Print #5 Detective Chief Inspector St Just
• Marlowe, Deb - Murder on the Mirrored Lake #3 Kier and Levett, Victorian Era
• McAllister, Gillian - Just Another Missing Person
• McDermott, Andy - The Knights of Atlantis #17 Archaeologist Nina Wilde & ex-SAS bodyguard Eddie Chase
• McKinty, Adrian - The Detective Up Late #7 Sean Duffy
• Mott, Tony - Deadly Autumn Harvest tr. Marina Sofia
• Mumford, Louise - The Hotel
• Oliver, Kelly - Mayhem in the Mountains #3 Fiona Figg
• Parker, Kate - Deadly Manor #10 Olivia Denis, 1930s London
• Parks, Adele - Just Between Us
• Parsons, Tony - Who She Was
• Pryor, Mark - The Dark Edge of Night #2 Henri Lefort
• Ramsay, Caro - In Her Blood #2 DCI Christine Caplan, Highlands
• Rose, M L - Stolen Souls #1 Detective Nikki Gill, Oxford
• Rosenberg, Kenneth - London on Fire (ebook only) #4 Nathan Grant
• Russell, Leigh - Without Trace #20 DI Geraldine Steel
• Russell, Michael - The City of God #8 Garda Detective Stefan Gillespie
• Selman, Victoria - All the Little Liars
• Shemilt, Jane - All Her Secrets
• Silva, Jo - Murder on a Cornish Isle #2 The Edge of the World Detective Agency
• Simpson, Carla - Deadly Illusion #4 Angus Brodie and Mikaela Forsythe, Victorian London
• Smirnoff, Karin - The Girl in the Eagle's Talons (Millennium VII) tr. Sarah Death
• Smith, Alex - Lucky Number Seven #13 DCI Robert Kett, Norfolk
• Smith, Fiona Veitch - The Picture House Murders #1 Miss Clara Vale, 1929
• Staalesen, Gunnar - Mirror Image tr. Don Bartlett #13 Varg Veum, PI in Bergen, Norway
• Stone, Lisa - The Gathering
• Tope, Rebecca - A Discovery in the Cotswolds #21 Thea Osborne, House Sitter, Cotswolds
• White, M J - Leave no Trace #3 Cora Lael, Suffolk
• Williams, T A - Murder in Siena #4 Armstrong and Oscar
• Yarwood-Lovett, Sarah - A Generation of Vipers #4 Nell Ward

Cover Theme - Windows 10 Lock Screen

Not quite the same but similar to the Windows 10 screen:

More cover similarity posts can be found here.

The Petrona Award 2023 - Longlist

 From the press release which was embargoed until 8.00am today:

OUTSTANDING CRIME FICTION FROM DENMARK, FINLAND, ICELAND, NORWAY, SWEDEN AND SWITZERLAND LONGLISTED FOR THE 2023 PETRONA AWARD

Twelve crime novels from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Switzerland have made the longlist for the 2023 Petrona Award for the Best Scandinavian Crime Novel of the Year.

They are:

Jussi Adler-Olsen - The Shadow Murders tr. William Frost (Denmark, Quercus)
Lina Areklew - Death in Summer tr. Tara F Chace (Sweden, Canelo Crime)
Kjell Ola Dahl - Little Drummer tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, Orenda Books)
Pascal Engman - Femicide tr. Michael Gallagher (Sweden, Legend Press)
Anne Mette Hancock - The Corpse Flower tr. Tara F Chace (Denmark, Swift Press)
Susanne Jansson - Winter Water tr. Rachel Willson-Broyles (Sweden, Hodder & Stoughton)
Håkan Nesser - The Axe Woman tr. Sarah Death (Sweden, Mantle)
Petra Rautiainen - Land of Snow and Ashes tr. David Hackston (Finland, Pushkin Press)
Joachim B Schmidt - Kalmann tr. Jamie Lee Searle (Switzerland, Bitter Lemon Press)
Lilja Sigurðardóttir - Red as Blood tr. Quentin Bates (Iceland, Orenda Books)
Gustaf Skördeman - Codename Faust tr. Ian Giles (Sweden, Zaffre)
Gunnar Staalesen - Bitter Flowers tr. Don Bartlett (Norway, Orenda Books)

The significantly increased number of entries for this year’s Petrona Award illustrates the continuing popularity of Scandinavian crime fiction in translation. The longlist contains a mix of new and established authors including previous Petrona Award winner, Gunnar Staalesen.

Both large and small publishers are represented on the longlist, with Orenda Books leading with three entries, and the breakdown by country is Sweden (5), Denmark (2), Norway (2), Finland (1), Iceland (1) and Switzerland (1), with translators Don Bartlett and Tara F Chace having translated two entries each.

The shortlist will be announced on 7 September 2023.

The Petrona Award 2023 judging panel comprises Jackie Farrant, the creator of RAVEN CRIME READS and a bookseller/Area Commercial Support for a major book chain in the UK; Miriam Owen, founder of the NORDIC NOIR blog, passionate about the arts, she moderates author panels and provides support at crime fiction festivals, and Ewa Sherman, translator and writer, and blogger at NORDIC LIGHTHOUSE. The Award administrator is Karen Meek, owner of the EURO CRIME blog and website.

The Petrona Award was established to celebrate the work of Maxine Clarke, one of the first online crime fiction reviewers and bloggers, who died in December 2012. Maxine, whose online persona and blog was called Petrona, was passionate about translated crime fiction but in particular that from the Scandinavian countries.

The 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.

More information on the history of the Award and previous winners can be found at the Petrona Award website (https://www.petronaaward.co.uk/).

The Petrona team would like to thank our sponsor, David Hicks, for his generous support of the 2023 Petrona Award.