Tuesday, 25 August 2026

The Dashiell Hammett Prize 2026

I am delighted to hear from Rap Sheet’s Jeff Pierce that author Ron Currie has been awarded the 2026 Dashiell Hammett Prize for his novel The Savage Noble Death of Babs Dionne - awarded by the North American Branch of the International Association of Crime Writers. All the books on the nominations shortlist were/are great works, and all of them deserve to be sampled. 

The other nominees -

El Dorado Drive by Megan Abbott (G.P. Putnam's Sons)

The Lizard by Domenic Stansberry (Molotov)

The Big Empty by Robert Crais (G.P. Putnam's Sons)

Party of Liars by Kelsey Cox (Minotaur)

I recall how much I enjoyed Ron Currie’s crime novel, writing at the time -

This extraordinary crime thriller set in Northern Maine caught me completely by surprise; but once I cracked the spine - the narrative would not release its grip until the elegiac climax.  Recommend by debut novelist Travis Kennedy, I was curious due to Whyte Python authors’ enthusiasm. However, as I had not heard about the author Ron Currie before, nor read any other reviews or word-of mouth – my expectations were low – hence the surprise when I clung to the narrative as if it were a life-raft.

Ostensibly a criminal family saga, set over generations of French Catholic Immigrants to the [north-eastern] American state of Maine – Currie’s novel details how the crime boss, a tough woman in her Sixties, the eponymous Babs Dionne finds herself in the cross-hairs of the Canadian Mafia.

Read the Full Review HERE

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