From a race in opposition to time as two determined mother and father attempt to monitor down their terrorist-suspect youngsters, to an previous girl and a hard-bitten murder detective teaming as much as crack an inconceivable case, and the aftermath of a childhood kidnapping, the six books vying for probably the most prestigious prize in crime writing are revealed immediately.
They are joined on the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year shortlist by a roadkill-obsessed teen’s quest to unravel the deaths plaguing her neighborhood, a twisty cosy crime thriller set at a sinister writers’ retreat, and a collection of ugly killings linked to a non secular cult within the Lake District.
Now in its twenty first 12 months the award, supported by the Daily and Sunday Express and Waterstones, celebrates excellent storytelling, with the winner revealed on the opening evening of the the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate on July 17 when they’ll obtain an iconic carved oak Theakston beer barrel and £3,000.
Three former winners are shortlisted for this 12 months’s gong: 2017 winner Chris Brookmyre for his revolutionary, twisty thriller, The Cracked Mirror; M W Craven, who received in 2023, for The Mercy Chair, the sixth guide in his Cumbria-based Poe and Tilly collection; and Chris Whittaker, who took the prize in 2021, for his epic All The Colours of the Dark, which explores the brutal impression over a few years of a childhood kidnapping.
Dr Ruth Galloway creator Elly Griffiths, extremely counseled in 2023, receives a seventh shortlisting for her new standalone The Last Word, whereas bestselling historic crime author Abir Mukherjee is nominated for Hunted, his modern-day set race-against-the-clock thriller which received Crime & Thriller of the Year on the Nibbies final month.
Making up the six is final 12 months’s inaugural McDermid Debut Award winner Marie Tierney for Birmingham-set Deadly Animals. Readers at the moment are invited to vote for his or her favorite.
Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston, mentioned: “Congratulations to all of the highly talented writers shortlisted for this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year. The six thrilling, chilling and hugely entertaining novels on our shortlist highlight the exceptional depth and range of British crime fiction and offer something for every crime fiction fan. We urge readers to get involved and vote for their favourite novels to win the Award – and the iconic beer cask trophy – so have your say today!”
Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, mentioned: “We’re delighted to finally reveal the shortlists for this year’s Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year and the McDermid Debut Award, celebrating new talent. It’s exciting to see such a wide range of sub-genres represented across the shortlists, and timely themes tackled with such originality and insight.”
The shortlist for the McDermid Debut Award, named in recognition of world-famous crime author Val McDermid, now in its second 12 months, showcases six ‘exciting fresh voices,’ with race, class, the abuse of energy and lived expertise of incapacity amongst the topical themes explored throughout a spread of sub-genres together with psychological thrillers, modern nation home mysteries, detective fiction and spy thrillers.
The award has rapidly established a profitable monitor document for locating rising expertise as inaugural winner, Deadly Animals by Marie Tierney, has been shortlisted for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2025. Acclaimed broadcaster Louise Minchin is shortlisted for Agatha Christie- impressed crime novel Isolation Island, set on a distant Scottish island; together with I Died At Fallow Hall by Bonnie Burke-Patel, a up to date nation home thriller exploring id, household, race and gender; Nilesha Chauvet’s post-Me Too thriller Her Two Lives, a couple of girl who runs a care residence by day and hunts down the lads who prey on younger ladies by evening.
They are joined by Sick to Death by former NHS nurse Chris Bridges, exploring the marginalised perspective of a disabled girl who; Sean Watkin’s Black Water Rising, that includes a homosexual detective out to show he’s greater than only a range rent; and, finishing the shortlist A Reluctant Spy by Scottish author David Goodman, a topical story of mercenaries, greed and corruption a couple of tech government pressured to espionage.
The shortlist was chosen by a panel of established crime and thriller writers and the winner will probably be determined by a panel of professional judges, and not using a public vote.
McDermid mentioned: “If, like me, you love reading, you’re always on the lookout for exciting fresh voices. And you need look no further than this talented selection of debut authors who will thrill, excite and intrigue you!”
Express Editor in Chief Tom Hunt mentioned: “As ever, we’re enormously proud to support such a prestigious award in a genre that brings so much enjoyment to readers. Congratulations to all shortlisted authors in both the novel of the year and the McDermid Debut Award.”
The annual crime writing pageant takes place at The Swan Hotel in Harrogate from July 17. This 12 months Slow Horses creator Mick Herron is taking the helm as programing chair with highlights together with appearances by Lee and Andrew Child, Irvine Welsh, Mark Billingham and US writer Attica Locke.
Herron, who received the celebrated Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year gong for Slough House in 2022 – “one of my career highlights,” he admits – will host an in-conversation occasion with Slow Horses showrunner Will Smith.
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/2064513/theakston-festival-harrogate-novel-of-the-year-shortlist