Virtual Victories

Due to the continuing COVID-19 pandemic, CrimeFest 2020—which was to have taken place in Bristol, England, from June 4 to 7—had to be cancelled. However, the winners of that convention’s annual prizes (plus a new commendation: the Specsavers Crime Fiction Debut Award) were announced online earlier today.

Specsavers Crime Fiction Debut Award: Blood & Sugar, by Laura Shepherd-Robinson (Mantle)

Also nominated: The Chemical Detective, by Fiona Erskine (Point Blank); Evil Things, by Katja Ivar (Bitter Lemon Press); The Conviction of Cora Burns, by Carolyn Kirby (No Exit Press); The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides (Orion); and To the Lions, by Holly Watt (Raven)

Audible Sounds of Crime Award: Blue Moon, by Lee Child, read by Jeff Harding (Penguin Random House Audio)

Also nominated: Big Sky, by Kate Atkinson, read by Jason Isaacs (Penguin Random House Audio); My Sister, the Serial Killer, by Oyinkan Braithwaite, read by Weruche Opia (W.F. Howes); Winter Dark, by Alex Callister, read by Ell Potter (Audibe Studios); The Family Upstairs, by Lisa Jewell, read by Tamaryn Payne, Bea Holland, and Dominic Thorburn (Penguin Random House Audio); The Holiday, by T.M. Logan, read by Laura Kirman (Zaffre); The Man with No Face, by Peter May, read by Peter Forbes (Quercus); and The Silent Patient, by Alex Michaelides, read by Louise Brealey and Jack Hawkins (Orion)

eDunnit Award: To the Lions, by Holly Watt (Raven)

Also nominated: Worst Case Scenario, by Helen FitzGerald (Orenda); Never Be Broken, by Sarah Hilary (Headline); The King’s Evil, by Andrew Taylor (HarperFiction); The Maltese Herring, by L.C. Tyler (Allison & Busby); and The Border, by Don Winslow (HarperFiction)

H.R.F. Keating Award: The Hooded Gunman: An Illustrated History of Collins Crime Club, by John Curran (HarperCollins Crime Club)

Also nominated: Beyond the Thirty-Nine Steps: A Life of John Buchan, by Ursula Buchan (Bloomsbury); and Crime Fiction: A Reader’s Guide, by Barry Forshaw (No Exit Press)

Last Laugh Award: Worst Case Scenario, by Helen FitzGerald (Orenda)

Also nominated: A Friend Is a Gift You Give Yourself, by William Boyle (No Exit Press); Tidings of Death at Honeychurch Hall, by Hannah Dennison (Constable); Bryant & May: The Lonely Hour, by Christopher Fowler (Transworld); Little Siberia, by Antti Tuomainen (Orenda); and The Maltese Herring, by L.C. Tyler (Allison & Busby)

Best Crime Novel for Children (ages 8-12): Malamander, by
Thomas Taylor (Walker)

Also nominated: The Great Brain Robbery, by P.G. Bell (Usborne); The Steam Whistle Theatre Company, by Vivian French (Walker); Potkin and Stubbs, by Sophie Green (Bonnier); The Garden of Lost Secrets, by A.M. Howell (Usborne); and The Haven, by Simon Lelic (Hodder Children’s Books)

Best Crime Novel for Young Adults (ages 12-16): Beauty Sleep, by Kathryn Evans for (Usborne)

Also nominated: Theodore Boone: The Accomplice, by John Grisham (Hodder & Stoughton); The Peculiar Peggs of Riddling Woods, by Samuel J. Halpin (Usborne); Hey Sherlock! by Simon Mason (David Fickling); Heartstream, by Tom Pollock (Walker); and The Boxer, by Nikesh Shukla (Hodder Children’s Books)

I am particularly pleased to see that Laura Shepherd-Robinson’s historical mystery, Blood & Sugar, has picked up the Specsavers Crime Fiction Debut Award, as it was one of my favorite books from last year. But, really, all of the contenders here deserve our applause.