Books so good they should be illegal!
As voting opens for the ‘Oscars’ of the crime writing world, MATT NIXSON and JON COATES reveal the novels vying for the prestigious Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year award 2024… and invite readers to vote for their favourite
FROM Cold War Berlin to Georgian London, present day Blackpool and a remote Scottish island, they take readers far and wide. But no matter where – or when – these brilliant thrillers are set, they share one crucial aspect: their page-turning brilliance. Today we can reveal the 18 titles that have been long-listed for one of the world’s most coveted crime writing awards – the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year 2024, now in its 20th year and supported by the Daily and Sunday Express.
Crime fans are now able to vote for their favourite, with the most popular then making a final shortlist of six books.The winner will be announced on the opening night of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival. Previous recipients include Lee Child, Mick Herron, Mark Billingham, Steve Cavanagh and Clare Mackintosh.
Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston, said: “We are delighted to announce the 2024 longlist for the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Novel of the Year, which truly showcases the depth and breadth of the UK and Ireland’s best crime fiction novels from the past year.
“The award is an exciting part of our festival in Harrogate and with so many talented writers nominated – both new and established – we cannot wait to find out who the public vote for this year.”
Express Editor-in-Chief Gary Jones added: “As always, it’s a pleasure to support the ‘Oscars’ of the crime writing world – a genre that gives so much pleasure to millions and millions of readers every year. We wish all longlisted authors the best of luck.”
● To vote for your crime novel of the year, visit harrogatetheakstoncrimeaward.com by May 16. The shortlist will be announced on June 13 and the winner on July 18
THE LAST DANCE BY MARK BILLINGHAM (SPHERE, £9.99)
TWO-TIME Theakston winner Mark Billingham introduced his first new series in 20 years with Blackpool-set The Last Dance, featuring his offbeat hero Detective Declan Miller who is struggling to stay focused on the job in the wake of his wife’s murder. A double homicide – featuring what may be a case of mistaken identity – a new partner, and a healthy disregard for authority mean this may be Miller’s last waltz. Billingham’s career began 22 years ago and he has since sold more than six million copies of his Tom Thorne books.
THE CLIFF HOUSE BY CHRIS BROOKMYRE (ABACUS, £9.99)
PUBLISHED for more than 25 years, Scottish writer Chris Brookmyre won the novel of the year award in 2017 for Black Widow and has long been a star of so-called Tartan Noir.The Cliff Party is his high-tech take on an Agatha Christie-style “locked island” mystery. About to turn 40, muffin entrepreneur Jen has rented a luxury getaway on a private island but, when the phones and internet go down, they are trapped.As well as Jen, there’s the pop diva and the estranged ex-bandmate, the tennis pro and the fashion guru, the embittered former sister-in-law and the mouthy future sister-in-law. It’s a combustible cocktail. Then one of them goes missing and a message warns them that, unless someone confesses her terrible secret, their missing friend will be killed.The problem is, they all seem to have a secret – and nobody wants to tell.
IN THE BLINK OF AN EYE BY JO CALLAGHAN (SIMON & SCHUSTER UK, £9.99)
ITWAS after tragically losing her husband to cancer five years ago that Jo Callaghan, 54, started writing her acclaimed crime novel. The senior strategist has researched the future impact of AI and genomics on the workforce and used this expert knowledge for her debut, which explores learning to live with loss and what it means to be human. DCS Kat Frank, a widowed single mother, is paired with an AI detective called Lock to investigate two missing persons cold cases that suddenly become active. But can they learn to work together in time to solve the case? Jo lives with her two children in the Midlands.
THE CLOSE BY JANE CASEY (HARPERCOLLINS, £8.99)
THE Irish-born author of 12 crime novels and three for young adults previously worked in publishing as an editor before becoming an author in 2010. Her standalone thriller The Killing Kind was recently adapted into a TV drama by Paramount.The 10th novel in her DS Maeve Kerrigan series sees her and DI Josh Derwent pose as a couple to move into a seemingly perfect suburban street hiding dark secrets. They soon find someone in Jellicoe Close has murder on their mind. Jane, 46, lives in London with her husband, a criminal barrister, and their two children.
THE RAGING STORM BY ANN CLEEVES (PAN MACMILLAN, £9.99)
THE author of more than 35 critically acclaimed books is best known for her Vera and Shetland series, featuring treasured detectives Vera Stanhope and Jimmy Perez, both the subject of popular TV dramas. Her latest Two Rivers series, set in Devon and featuring detective Matthew Venn, started with The Long Call in 2019, and was adapted forTV.The third instalment of this series, The Raging Storm, involves DI Venn investigating the death of sailor Jem Rosco after his body is found in a dinghy in a raging storm off Scully Cove, a location mired in local superstition.Ann, 69, a widow with two daughters, lives in Northumberland where the Vera books are set.
FEARLESS BY M W CRAVEN (CONSTABLE, £9.99)
WRITING is the third career for this award-winning author, who spent 10 years in the Army and 17 years as a probation officer. Carlisle-born Craven, 56, put pen to paper after reaching the rank of assistant chief officer in the probation service.The fifth book in his Cumbria-set Washington Poe series, The Botanist, won the Theakston award last year. He is long-listed this year for his first standalone thriller featuring former US Marshall Ben Keonig – a man with no fears as the result of a rare injury – as he tries to find a missing woman.
THE LAST REMAINS BY ELLY GRIFFITHS (QUERCUS, £9.99)
THE bestselling author worked in publishing before writing her first book while on maternity leave with her twin children.The Last Remains is the 15th instalment of her Dr Ruth Galloway series set in Norfolk.The forensic archaeologist is called in to investigate with DCI Harry Nelson when the skeleton of a student, missing since the 1990s, is found behind a wall in a cafe being renovated in King’s Lynn. Elly, 60, has also written seven books in her Stephens and Mephisto mystery series set in Brighton, which is where she grew up and still lives.
THE SECRET HOURS BY MICK HERRON (BASKERVILLE, £8.99)
THE Newcastle-born author won the Theakston award two years ago for Slough House, the seventh instalment of his acclaimed Jackson Lamb series. Those books focus on failed MI5 agents at a decrepit building in London being ruled over by politically incorrect spymaster Lamb, portrayed by Gary Oldman in an Apple+ TV adaptation. The Secret Hours is a standalone thriller about a retired spy being forced to return to London to find out who is trying to expose the key players in a clandestine operation in a newly unified Berlin almost 30 years ago. Herron, 60, has lived in Oxford since studying English at university there.
KILLING JERICHO BY WILLIAM HUSSEY (ZAFFRE, £9.99)
THE son of a travelling show
man, this author has spent a lifetime absorbing the history, folklore and culture of such people. William used this knowledge to great effect in his Scott Jericho thrillers, for which Killing Jericho was the critically acclaimed debut. After being released from prison, disgraced detective Scott seeks refuge with his fairground-running father, who he previously rejected to join the police, only for a series of bizarre murders – which echo a long-ago legend about a freakshow – to come to light. As Jericho unravels the mystery, he realises he could be next on the killer’s list. William lives in Skegness with his dog Bucky.
NONE OF THIS IS TRUE BY LISA JEWELL (CENTURY, £9.99)
THE former fashion retailer has written 21 novels since Ralph’s Party became the bestselling debut of the year in 1999. In recent years, she has moved into dark psychological thrillers, such as None of This is True, which is about podcaster Alix Summer, who meets Josie Fair when they are both celebrating their 45th birthdays at her local pub. After agreeing to interview her, Alix soon finds Josie is hiding some dark secrets and before she knows it, has cajoled her way into her life and her home. Lisa, 55, lives in north London with her husband, two daughters and a dog called Daisy.
CONVICTION BY JACK JORDAN (SIMON & SCHUSTER, £9.99)
JACK Jordan wrote his first novel at 17 and self-published two ebook hits by the age of 24. Now the bestselling author of eight thrillers, he has been described as the master of the dilemma, and is a newcomer to the Theakston’s long list. Wade Darling stands accused of killing his wife and teenage children as they slept, then burning their house to the ground. When the case lands on barrister Neve Harper’s desk, she knows it could make her career – but then she is warned that, unless she throws the case, secrets about her own husband’s disappearance will be revealed. Oh, and the people she love will be killed. Harper must decide whether to choose her principles, or the people she loves.
A GAME OF LIES BY CLARE MACKINTOSH (SPHERE, £9.99)
POLICE officer turned crime writer Clare Mackintosh has sold more than two million thrillers in 40 languages. She writes full time and lives with her husband and their three children in Wales, where A Game of Lies is set. Stranded up in the mountains, seven contestants of a reality TV show each has a secret – and if they are guessed or discovered by an opposing player, they will be eliminated and the secret will be exposed, live on primetime TV. The stakes are higher than anyone had ever imagined. When a killer strikes, Detective Ffion Morgan has to put aside what she’s watched on screen and find out who these people really are.
THE BROKEN AFTERNOON BY SIMON MASON (RIVERRUN, £10.99)
HAVING pursued parallel careers as young adult author and publisher, Simon Mason’s The Broken Afternoon is the second in an Oxford-set adult crime series featuring two mismatched detectives, unrelated but both called Wilkins; Ryan, who grew up on a trailer park, and the suave and sophisticated Ray, who didn’t. One critic described Mason as having “reformulated Inspector Morse for the 2020s”. A four-yearold girl has gone missing in plain sight outside her nursery in a leafy, affluent part of the city. With DI Ryan Wilkins having been dishonourably discharged, he launches his own off-the-books investigation from the sidelines as his former partner DI Ray Wilkins takes charge of the official case. Soon they’re both racing the clock.
PAST LYING BY VAL MCDERMID (SPHERE, £9.99)
THE award-winning Scottish author is best known for her Wire in the Blood series featuring clinical psychologist Dr Tony Hill and DCI Carol Jordan, which was adapted in a TV series starring Robson Green and Hermione Norris. Born in Kirkcaldy on the east coast of Scotland, the 68-year-old graduated in English from St Hilda’s College, Oxford, before working as a journalist for 16 years. Past Lying brings back her cold case detective Karen Pirie, who investigates the disappearance of a student, as foretold in an author’s unfinished manuscript. The first book in this series was adapted into an ITV drama in 2022.
STRANGE SALLY DIAMOND BY LIZ NUGENT (SANDYCOVE, £8.99)
ONE of those books often recommended by crime writers themselves, Strange Sally Diamond is a tale that lingers long in the memory. When her father dies, and she follows his instructions to put him out with the rubbish, Sally Diamond cannot understand why what she did was so strange. Very much the centre of attention right now, the book lifts the veil on the claustrophobic world of rural Ireland and the life of a neurodivergent, troubled woman whose past is coming back to haunt her. Liz Nugent, who lives in Dublin, worked in film, theatre and TV before becoming a full-time writer and is now the author of five novels.
THE SQUARE OF SEVENS BY LAURA SHEPHERD-ROBINSON (PAN MACMILLAN, £9.99)
ONE of the stars of the historical fiction firmament, The Square of Sevens is the third novel from Laura Shepherd-Robinson, who worked in politics for 20 years before pursuing a second career as a writer and garnering fine reviews. This brilliant period drama begins in November 1730 when a girl known only as Red travels the roads of Cornwall with her fortune-telling father. When he then dies, Red embarks on a journey that takes her from Bath to London, from the Bartholomew Fair to the grand houses of two of the most powerful families in England, as she seeks her own fortune. Laura, 48, lives and works in London with her husband Adrian.
THE LAST GOODBYE BY TIM WEAVER (MICHAEL JOSEPH, £8.99)
A FORMER journalist, Tim changed careers in 2010 when he introduced readers to missing persons investigator David Raker in Chasing the Dead. Another 12 books in the series have followed, 10 of which have been bestsellers. Now, in The Last Goodbye, Raker investigates two disappearances decades apart – a father and son that entered a ghost house at a theme park and never came out, and a mother who walked out of her home never to return. He unravels an elaborate history of lies binding the cases together, but there is someone out there deeply determined to ensure the truth stays buried.Tim, 46, lives in Bath.
YOU CAN RUN BY TREVOR WOOD (QUERCUS, £9.99)
HAVING served 16 years in the Royal Navy, which helped inspire his critically acclaimed trilogy of crime novels featuring homeless naval veteran Jimmy Mullens – dubbed “Sherlock Homeless” by the Express – You Can Run is Trevor Wood’s first standalone novel.The action in this fast-paced thriller takes pace at breakneck speed, as teenager Ruby Winter’s life in a Northumberland village collapses around her after her reclusive father invites a strange soldier into their home. When the man is stabbed, they are forced to flee and her father is taken. Now she must work out why. Wood, a former journalist and council spin doctor, lives in Newcastle with his family and describes himself as an adopted Geordie.
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