Revealed: Six serial thrillers vying to become crime novel of the year | UK | News

From a race against time as two desperate parents try to track down their terrorist-suspect children, to an old lady and a hard-bitten homicide detective teaming up to crack an impossible case, and the aftermath of a childhood kidnapping, the six books vying for the most prestigious prize in crime writing are revealed today.

They are joined on the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year shortlist by a roadkill-obsessed teen’s quest to solve the deaths plaguing her community, a twisty cosy crime mystery set at a sinister writers’ retreat, and a series of gruesome killings connected to a religious cult in the Lake District.

Now in its 21st year the award, supported by the Daily and Sunday Express and Waterstones, celebrates outstanding storytelling, with the winner revealed on the opening night of the the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival in Harrogate on July 17 when they will receive an iconic carved oak Theakston beer barrel and £3,000.

Three former winners are shortlisted for this year’s gong: 2017 winner Chris Brookmyre for his innovative, twisty thriller, The Cracked Mirror; M W Craven, who won in 2023, for The Mercy Chair, the sixth book in his Cumbria-based Poe and Tilly series; and Chris Whittaker, who took the prize in 2021, for his epic All The Colours of the Dark, which explores the brutal impact over many years of a childhood kidnapping.

Dr Ruth Galloway creator Elly Griffiths, highly commended in 2023, receives a seventh shortlisting for her new standalone The Last Word, while bestselling historical crime writer Abir Mukherjee is nominated for Hunted, his modern-day set race-against-the-clock thriller which won Crime & Thriller of the Year at the Nibbies last month.

Making up the six is last year’s inaugural McDermid Debut Award winner Marie Tierney for Birmingham-set Deadly Animals. Readers are now invited to vote for their favourite.

Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston, said: “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, said: “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 writer Val McDermid, now in its second year, showcases six ‘exciting fresh voices,’ with race, class, the abuse of power and lived experience of disability amongst the topical themes explored across a range of sub-genres including psychological thrillers, contemporary country house mysteries, detective fiction and spy thrillers.

The award has quickly established a successful track record for discovering emerging talent 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- inspired crime novel Isolation Island, set on a remote Scottish island; along with I Died At Fallow Hall by Bonnie Burke-Patel, a contemporary country house mystery exploring identity, family, race and gender; Nilesha Chauvet’s post-Me Too thriller Her Two Lives, about a woman who runs a care home by day and hunts down the men who prey on young girls by night.

They are joined by Sick to Death by former NHS nurse Chris Bridges, exploring the marginalised perspective of a disabled woman who; Sean Watkin’s Black Water Rising, featuring a gay detective out to prove he’s more than just a diversity hire; and, completing the shortlist A Reluctant Spy by Scottish writer David Goodman, a topical story of mercenaries, greed and corruption about a tech executive forced to espionage.

The shortlist was selected by a panel of established crime and thriller writers and the winner will be decided by a panel of expert judges, without a public vote.

McDermid said: “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 said: “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 festival takes place at The Swan Hotel in Harrogate from July 17. This year Slow Horses creator Mick Herron is taking the helm as programing chair with highlights including appearances by Lee and Andrew Child, Irvine Welsh, Mark Billingham and US author Attica Locke.

Herron, who won the prestigious 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 event with Slow Horses showrunner Will Smith.