2014 Ngaio Marsh and Scottish Crime novel of the year shortlists

Four outstanding novels have been announced as the finalists for the 2014 Ngaio Marsh Award for Best Crime Novel, which will be presented on August 30 following The Great New Zealand Crime Debate event at the WORD Christchurch Writers & Readers Festival. The Ngaio Marsh Award is made annually for the best crime, mystery, or thriller novel written by a New Zealand citizen or resident.

“This has absolutely been the toughest year for the judges in the five-year history of the Award,” says Judging Convenor Craig Sisterson. “We had eight excellent, incredibly different novels that made up our deepest and most diverse long list yet. Those books illustrate that local writers are exploring questions of crime and mystery in a variety of exciting ways, and providing readers with a great mix of entertainment, fine storytelling, and beautiful prose.  It has made our job very hard, but it’s a nice problem to have.”

After much deliberation, and some fairly divergent opinions, the international judging panel has settled on the following four finalists (in alphabetical order):

Joe Victim by Paul Cleave (Penguin)

Frederick’s Coat by Alan Duff (Random House)

My Brother’s Keeper by Donna Malane (HarperCollins)

Where the Dead Men Go by Liam McIlvanney (Faber)

The winner will receive a set of Ngaio Marsh Award novels courtesy of HarperCollins and a cash prize of $1,000 provided by the Christchurch Writers Festival Trust.

Hat Tip to Mystery Fanfare for the information.

Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival and the Deanston Distillery announced the shortlist for the third annual Deanston Scottish Crime Book of the Year. The award, which recognizes excellence in Scottish crime writing, includes a prize of £1000 and nation-wide promotion in Waterstone’s, will be announced at a gala event on September 20 as part of the Bloody Scotland Crime Writing Festival.

The Shortlist is as follows -

Flesh Wounds by Christopher Brookmyre

Falling Fast by Neil Broadfoot

The Amber Fury by Natalie Haynes

Entry Island by Peter May

A Lovely Way to Burn by Louise Welsh

In the Rosary Garden by Nicola White