My Favourite reads of 2025

Kings of Ashes by S A Cosby (Headline)

A son returning home. A dangerous debt. Secrets about to ignite . . . and a family consumed by flames. Roman Carruthers left the smoke and fire of his family's crematory business behind in his hometown of Jefferson Run, Virginia. He is enjoying a life of shallow excess as a financial adviser in Atlanta until he gets a call from his sister, Neveah, telling him their father is in a coma after a hit-and-run accident.  When Roman goes home, he learns the accident may not be what it seems. His brother, Dante, is deeply in debt to dangerous, ruthless criminals. And Roman is willing to do anything to protect his family. Anything. A financial whiz with a head for numbers and a talent for making his clients rich, Roman must use all his skills to try to save his family while dealing with a shadow that has haunted them all for twenty years: the disappearance of their mother when Roman and his siblings were teenagers. It's a mystery that Neveah, who has sacrificed so much of her life to hold her family together, is determined to solve once and for all. As fate and chance and heartache ignite their lives, the Carruthers family must pull together to survive or see their lives turn to ash. Because, as their father counselled them from birth, nothing lasts forever. Everything burns.

Quantum of Menace by Vaseem Khan (Bonnier Books)

Q is out of MI6 and into a new world of deceit and death. After Q (aka Major Boothroyd) is unexpectedly ousted from his role with British Intelligence developing technologies for MI6's OO agents, he finds himself back in his sleepy hometown of Wickstone-on-Water. His childhood friend, renowned quantum computer scientist Peter Napier, has died in mysterious circumstances, leaving behind a cryptic note. The police seem uninterested, but Q feels compelled to investigate and soon discovers that Napier's ground-breaking work may have attracted sinister forces . . . Can Q decode the truth behind Napier's death, even as danger closes in?

The Midnight King by Tariq Ashkanani (Profile Books)

'This is a work of fiction. This is not a confession.' Lucas Cole is a bestselling writer. A quiet and unassuming man, he's a beloved celebrity in his small town. Lucas Cole is also a serial killer. Nathan Cole has always known the truth about his father. But it isn't until Lucas is found dead that Nathan discovers The Midnight King, his father's fictionalised account of his hideous crimes, hidden in a box of trinkets taken from his victims. Trinkets that include a ribbon belonging to a missing girl who disappeared only days before Lucas's death. Now, Nathan must deal with the consequences of keeping his father's secret. But The Midnight King holds Nathan's secrets as well as Lucas's, and he is not the only one searching for the truth...

Clown Town by Mick Herron (John Murray Press)

Spies lie. They betray. It's what they do. Slow horse River Cartwright is waiting to be passed fit for work. With time to kill, and with his grandfather - a legendary former spy - long dead, River investigates the secrets of the old man's library, and a mysteriously missing book. Regent's Park's First Desk, Diana Taverner, doesn't appreciate threats. So when those involved in a covert operation during the height of the Troubles threaten to expose the ugly side of state security, Taverner turns blackmail into opportunity. Over at Slough House, the repository for failed spies, Catherine Standish just wants everyone to play nice. But as far as Jackson Lamb is concerned, the slow horses should all be at their desks. Because when Taverner starts plotting mischief people get hurt, and Lamb has no plans to send in the clowns. On the other hand, if the clowns ignore his instructions and fool around, any harm that befalls them is hardly his fault. But they're his clowns. And if they don't all come home, there'll be a reckoning.

The Darkest Winter by Carlo Lucarelli (Orenda Books)

Bologna, 1944. World-weary Comandante De Luca is tasked with investigating three brutal murders, with the lives of ten Italian hostages on the line. In November 1944, in the worst winter ever known in Bologna, in the depths of the war, the bomb-scarred streets are home to starving refugees who have fled the advancing Allies. The Fascist Black Brigades, the officers of the S.S. and the partisans of the Italian Resistance compete for control of the city streets in bloody skirmishes. Comandante De Luca, who has proved himself “the most brilliant investigator” in Bologna, but who is now unwillingly working for the Political Police in a building that doubles as a torture facility, finds himself in trouble when three murders land on his desk: a professor shot through the eye, an engineer beaten to death, and a German corporal left to be gnawed on by rats in a flooded cellar. De Luca must rapidly unravel all three cases with ten lives on the line: ten Italian hostages who will face a Nazi firing squad if the corporal’s killing is not solved to the German command’s satisfaction. As he navigates a web of personal and political motivations – his life increasingly at risk – De Luca will not stop until he has uncovered the dangerous secrets concealed in the frozen heart of his city.

Midnight Streets by Phil Lecomber (Titan Books)

When Cockney private detective George Harley saves a young girl's life on a dark London night in 1929, he doesn't realise it marks the beginning of an investigation which will change his life forever. The incendiary book which inspired the girl's abduction also seems to be linked to a series of grisly murders that are taking place on Harley's patch, and though he's delighted to be asked by Scotland Yard to help find the killer before they strike again, he could do without the local razor- and cosh-wielding mobsters thinking he's in the police's pocket. Set during the Golden Age of Crime Fiction, Harley's world is a far cry from the country house of an Agatha Christie whodunnit. This working-class sleuth does his 'sherlocking' in the frowsy alleyways and sleazy nightclubs of Soho - the city's underbelly - peopled with lowlife ponces, jaded streetwalkers, and Jewish and Maltese gangsters: a world of grubby bedsits, all-night cafes, egg and chips, and Gold Flake cigarettes. Here, the midnight streets are black as pitch and, as Harley finds himself embroiled in the macabre mysteries of a city in which truth is as murky as the pea-souper smog and the sins are as dark as stout porter beer, he begins to realise he may never find a way out.

The Proving Ground by Michael Connelly (Orion)

Following his "resurrection walk" and need for a new direction, Mickey Haller turns to public interest litigation, filing a civil lawsuit against an artificial intelligence company whose chatbot told a sixteen-year-old boy that it was okay for him to kill his ex-girlfriend for her disloyalty. Representing the victim's family, Mickey's case explores the mostly unregulated and exploding AI business and the lack of training guardrails. Along the way he joins up with a journalist named Jack McEvoy, who wants to be a fly on the wall during the trial in order to write a book about it. But Mickey puts him to work going through the mountain of printed discovery materials in the case. McEvoy's digging ultimate delivers the key witness, a whistle-blower who has been too afraid to speak up. The case is fraught with danger because billions are at stake. It is said that machines became smarter than humans on the day in 1997 that IBM's Deep Blue defeated chess master Garry Kasparov with a gambit called "the knight's sacrifice." Haller will take a similar gambit in court to defeat the mega forces of the AI industry lined up against him and his clients.

Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman (Faber & Faber)

Meet Mrs Blossom. . .  A widow who has never left the US. A grandmother with a knack for blending in A lottery winner with an unexpected fortune. Determined to finally see the world, she's starting with a cruise along the Seine. Just twenty-four hours into Mrs Blossom's trip, however, a man is dead, a precious artefact is missing, and a mysterious stranger is claiming her life is in danger. Surrounded by luxury food, quaint towns and people with staggeringly high net worth, she has no idea who she can trust. But maybe blending into the background has its perks - whoever is responsible will never see this most unlikely of detectives coming.

The Good Liar by Denise Mina (Vintage Publishing)

Blood spatter expert Doctor Claudia O’Sheil’s evidence put a killer behind bars – or so everyone thinks. Since the trial, Claudia has learned a horrific truth: her evidence and her testimony were wrong. Now as she takes the stage to give a speech before London’s elite specialists, Claudia has to choose: keep lying and leave the wronged killer behind bars or stand up, tell the truth and rip her life apart.

Strange Pictures by Uketsu

A Japanese mystery horror bestseller, revolving around a series of creepy drawings, in which the reader is the detective - from the Youtube sensation Uketsu. A series of drawings made by a young woman before her death. A child's disturbing picture of his home. A desperate sketch made by a murder victim in his final moments. Each contains a chilling warning. Each reveals a terrible secret, hidden in plain sight. Uketsu's eerie mysteries have captivated millions of readers. Can you find the clues in these strange pictures and uncover the sinister truth that connects them all?

Moscow Underground by Catherine Merridale (HarperCollins Publisher)

Moscow, 1934. When the body of an archaeologist connected to the construction of the glittering new Moscow subway is discovered in a deserted mansion, Procuracy Investigator Anton Belkin initially wants nothing to do with the case. It will mean asking difficult questions of the wrong people, and Anton has a reason to keep his head down. But he has not reckoned with Vika, his former lover and now a powerful member of the secret police, who is adamant Anton is the best man for the job. Deep underground, Anton discovers a priceless secret. Yet excavating it will mean disturbing a complex web of political and personal rivalries, deceptions and betrayals. Soon Anton must make a choice between the truth, and everything else he holds dear.

The Art of a Lie by Laura Shepherd Robinson (Pan Macmillan)

'That’s the trouble with stories, especially the ones you write for yourself. Sometimes you think they've ended, when they've barely begun . . .' London, 1749. Following the murder of her husband in what looks like a violent street robbery, Hannah Cole is struggling to keep her head above water. Her confectionery shop on Piccadilly is barely turning a profit and Henry Fielding, the famous author and new magistrate, is threatening to confiscate the money in her husband’s bank account, because he believes it might be illicitly acquired. Even those who claim to be Hannah’s friends have darker intent. Only William Devereux seems different. A friend of her late husband, Devereux helps Hannah unravel some of the mysteries surrounding his death. But their friendship opens Hannah to speculation and gossip, and draws Henry Fielding’s attention her way, locking her into a battle of wits more devastating than anything, even her husband’s murder . . .

Honourable mentions go to the following as well.

Hang on St. Christopher by Adrian McKinty

Rain slicked streets, riots, murder, chaos. It's July 1992 and the Troubles in Northern Ireland are still grinding on after twenty-five apocalyptic years. Detective Inspector Sean Duffy got his family safely over the water to Scotland, to "Shortbread Land." Duffy's a part-timer now, only returning to Belfast six days a month to get his pension. It's an easy gig, if he can keep his head down. But then a murder case falls into his lap while his protégé is on holiday in Spain. A carjacking gone wrong and the death of a solitary, middle-aged painter. But something's not right, and as Duffy probes, he discovers the painter was an IRA assassin. So, the question becomes: Who hit the hit man and why?

Murder at Worlds End by Ross Montgomery (Penguin Random House)

Secrets, murder and mayhem collide as this unlikely sleuthing duo - an under-butler and a foul-mouthed octogerian - hunt a killer in a manor sealed against the end of the world. Cornwall, 1910. On a remote tidal island, the Viscount of Tithe Hall is absorbed in feverish preparations for the apocalypse that he believes will accompany the passing of Halley's Comet. The Hall must be sealed from top to bottom - every window, chimney and keyhole closed off before night falls. But what the pompous, dishonest Viscount has failed to take into account is the danger that lies within... By morning, he will be dead in his sealed study, murdered by his own ancestral crossbow. All eyes turn to Steven Pike, Tithe Hall's newest under-butler. Fresh out of Borstal for a crime he didn't commit, he is the wrong man in the wrong place at the wrong time. His unlikely ally? Miss Decima Stockingham, the foul-mouthed, sharp as a tack, 80-year-old family matriarch. Fearless and unconventional, she relishes chaos and puzzles alike, and a murder is just the thrill she's been waiting for. Together, this mismatched duo must navigate secret passages, buried grudges and rising terror to unmask the killer before it's too late.

The Good Nazi by Samir Marchado de Machado (Pushkin Press)

A zeppelin leaves Nazi Germany bound for Rio de Janeiro. For those on board it's a luxury holiday, until one of them is murdered. Police Detective Bruno Brückner, travelling on the airship, is immediately asked to investigate - and soon discovers that the murdered man was not the proud Nazi he claimed to be. What's more, he was carrying a stash of banned 'degenerate' material. As Brückner interviews his fellow passengers - a wealthy baroness, an antisemitic doctor, a debonair Englishman - his inquiries will uncover a startling story of fake identities, queer love and revenge, where nothing is as it appears, until finally the secret of the 'good Nazi' is revealed...

The Burning Ground by Abir Mukherjee (Vintage Publishing)

In the Burning Ghats of Calcutta where the dead are laid to rest, a man is found murdered, his throat cut from ear to ear. The body is that of a popular patron of the arts, a man who was, by all accounts, beloved by all: so what was the motive for his murder? Despite being out of favour with the Imperial Police Force, Detective Sam Wyndham is assigned to the case and finds himself thrust into the glamorous world of Indian cinema. Meanwhile Surendranath Banerjee, recently returned from Europe after three years spent running from the fallout of his last case, is searching for a missing photographer; a trailblazing woman at the forefront of the profession. When Suren discovers that the vanished woman is linked to Sam's murder investigation, the two men find themselves working together once again - but will Wyndham and Banerjee be able to put their differences aside to solve the case?

Forthcoming books from Bitter Lemon Press

 January 2026

An Enigma by the Sea is by Carlo Fruttero and Franco Lucentini. In an exclusive resort in a dark, threatening pine forest on the coast of Tuscany, the rich and famous are gathering at their second homes for Christmas. On the morning that a husband and wife from one of the heavily-guarded villas go missing, a certain Count Delaude is washed up, battered to death, on the seashore. The cast list promises intrigue from the beginning. The count, a sponger and a sham had arrived under cover of dark with a beautiful young woman scheming to be a top model. Two comedians seclude themselves as they try to overcome a writing block. The depressive Signor Monforte, a retired academic, tries to woo a beautiful divorcee, while another, a woman this time, prepares to leave her husband. Two elderly spinsters and their Filipina maid are aghast at the awful predictions of their Tarot pack. The local police is inept, so Monforte finds himself in the role of detective, and is triumphant.

February 2026

The End of the Sahara is by Saïd Khatibi. On an early autumn morning in 1988, on the outskirts of an unnamed Algerian city, a local shepherd stumbles across the dead body of Zakia Zaghouani, a beautiful nightclub singer who ran away from her hometown and family, seeking a brighter future.  Incompetent and corrupt Inspector Hamid is perhaps the least likely to find the murderer. On their own, none of Khatibi’s characters can help us see and solve the crime. For that, we need a mosaic of many voices: Noura, the lawyer who represents Zakia’s fiancé; Ibrahim, who runs the VHS rental shop and whose mother is a cleaning lady at the hotel where Zakia worked; Kamal, the front-desk clerk at the hotel; Maimoun, the hotel’s owner; the Golden Sheikha, a rival singer; Zakia’s fiancé, Bashir; and more. Most of them are searching not just for Zakia’s killer, but for the stories of other ghosts flitting through their city, the ghosts of abused and murdered women; the ghosts of fathers who died during the country’s war for independence; and the ghosts of Algeria’s long colonial period.

April 2026

Holy F*ck is by Joseph Incardona.  Stella, a young prostitute working in the American south, has the miraculous power to heal her clients through sex. The scandalised Vatican sends contract killers after her. Stella works miracles. Literally. She heals the sick and the paralyzed, just like in the Bible. The Vatican is overjoyed-imagine, a real saint in the 21st century, and in the American South! The only hitch? Her method: Stella heals the people she sleeps with. And Stella sleeps around a lot-it's actually her job...

June 2026

Croatia, autumn 2022. The tourist season has ended, and Split settles into an uneasy quiet. Ines works the reception desk of a seaside hotel. Her mother, Katja, a cleaner, keeps the family afloat and cares for Ines and her younger brother, Mario. When Inspector Zvone is called to an abandoned factory on the city’s edge, he finds the body of seventeen-year-old Viktorija, daughter of a respected local doctor. The murder shocks the community and sends ripples through the lives of Ines, Katja, and Zvone—each forced to confront truths they would rather keep buried. As suspicion deepens and loyalties fracture, Mother of Sorrows becomes a devastating exploration of love, guilt, and denial. With quiet ferocity, Pavičić asks: what are we willing to sacrifice to protect those we love—and what are the consequences when we do? Mother of Sorrows is by Jurica Pavičić

Forthcoming books from Titan Books

                                                                                January 2026

Return of the Maltese Falcon by Max Allan Collins. The greatest private eye of all time returns to finish the job.Legendary mystery writer Dashiell Hammett only wrote one novel about detective Sam Spade: The Maltese Falcon, the most famous private eye story ever told. But the case was never really solved – the priceless golden, bejeweled bird that men and women had been dying to possess turned out to be a fake. Now, Mystery Writers of America Grand Master Max Allan Collins (author of Road to Perdition) brings closure to this crime classic, reuniting all the surviving members of the original cast alongside femme fatales, crooked collectors, and greedy gangsters for one more thrilling, deadly chase through the streets, wharves, morgues, bars, and back alleys of 1920s San Francisco – and finally answers the question, Whatever became of the Maltese falcon…? (US Only)

February 2026

Double Trouble by Joyce Carol Oates. Four decades ago, acclaimed literary author Joyce Carol Oates penned her first novel of psychological suspense under the name “Rosamond Smith.” In the Smith books, Oates explored themes of betrayal and deception, lust and murder, through stories involving twins, doubles, and hidden second identities – initially, keeping her own double identity a secret. A female serial killer seeks refuge in her twin sister’s home in Starr Bright Will be With You Soon, while a male serial killer murders for the woman he craves in Soulmate – and the echoes continue in the rare short stories “The Murderess” and “An Unsolved Crime'.

March 2026

Death Wasn’t Invited by Carlene O’Connor Paris, 1922. The marriage between the Auclair and the Picard family is the talk of the town. June can’t wait to attend the engagement party with her friends, Nate and Jack. But Nate has an ulterior motive: he’s there to stop the wedding. Before he can complete his task, he’s stabbed in the chest with Jack’s knife. Jack is arrested, but June knows he wouldn’t hurt a fly. In this throwback to the classic whodunnits of Agatha Christie, June must find the real killer and clear Jack’s name. As she becomes embroiled deeper and deeper into a corrupt web of Parisian old money, high society and politics, she uncovers deadly secrets. Can June solve the case before the killer strikes again?

June 2026

A Morbid Passion by Robert Holtom. London 1930. Selby Bigge and his aristocratic sidekick Theodora Smythe are invited to dine with Doctor Hector Fortescue and his family, discovering a web of unrest in the household. The good doctor is adamant that homosexuals can be ‘cured’ of their perversions, oblivious to the fact his son Lancelot is ‘as fruity as a pineapple’. Later that evening Theodora becomes Theo and attends the Servants’ Ball with Selby – a fancy-dress dance for servants, which attracts queers of all classes. Lancelot makes a surprise appearance dressed as Harlequin, as do other members of the Fortescue household. And before the night is out Selby and Theo will have another murder to solve. Digging deeper, the duo – assisted by the impossibly glamorous nightclub singer Lady Splendid – discover that secrets abound both above and below stairs in the Kensington home of the Fortescue family. And the stakes get even higher when Selby encounters policemen he’s met before, who’d love to arrest him for being queer.  Can Selby solve the crime or will this be his last dance?

July 2026

The Further Adventures of Sherlock Holmes: The Debutante Detective by Bruce Rule. Celebrity socialite Alice Roosevelt is taking London by storm in 1905 when her letter containing sensitive details of upcoming peace talks between Japan and Russia is stolen. The case pulls Holmes from retirement, and with Alice’s help the letter is retrieved. After returning to the U.S., Alice goes missing. At Teddy Roosevelt’s request, Holmes and Watson travel to New York where they discover Alice has turned detective herself, working undercover to thwart a kidnapping plot targeting her father. Her warnings are dismissed, but then the president is kidnapped. Alice and the detective duo join forces to search for her father, only to lose Holmes to the escaping kidnappers. Alice proves herself the equal to the great detective by leading Watson in the rescue of Teddy Roosevelt as well as Holmes, but the stakes are higher than they realise. In a race against time, they must stop a plan to bomb the peace talks or risk an escalation of war on a global scale.

The Makoto Murders by Richard Jerrman. Ken Kato is a half-British, half-Japanese photojournalist working for a low-brow weekly magazine in Tokyo. He achieved fame with a photograph of a boy who drowned in the tsunami that hit Japan in 2011, who he could have saved had he not been more concerned with finding the right light and composition for his shot. Four years later, he has failed to repeat that success and, facing irrelevancy (and, worse, redundancy), he decides to turn serial killer to generate his own attention-grabbing pictures - for which he's inevitably always first on the scene. His magazine then publishes the pictures, causing a sensation in a society where murder is almost unheard of, and tripling its sales figures. Hoping to impress his colleague Hayashi's estranged wife Makoto, who he is stalking after a short affair (though she clearly sees things differently), Kato murders only men and women with the same name as her. Inevitably the police are suspicious, but can find no evidence as he is meticulous in his planning and execution. Kato's editor is also suspicious, but is willing to ignore the evidence in front of him as sales boom.

 

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2026 announce Chair

‘Queen of the psychological thriller’ Lisa Jewell 

to chair

Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival 2026

with first headliners announced

Festival Dates: 23rd to 26th July 2026

www.harrogateinternationalfestivals.com

#TheakstonsCrime

Wednesday 26 November 2025: Harrogate International Festivals today announced bestselling psychological thriller writer Lisa Jewell as Festival Programming Chair for the 2026 Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival, the globally renowned celebration of crime fiction which will take place from 23 to 26 July 2026.

An opening line up of stellar Special Guests including global bestsellers and reader favourites David Baldacci, Nadine Matheson, Gillian McAllister, Steve Cavanagh and Alice Feeney has also been announced, with more headliners to be revealed in early 2026.

Lisa Jewell is the author of twenty-three novels, most recently the dark psychological thrillers Then She Was Gone, The Family Upstairs, None of This is True and Don’t Let Him In. She is a number one bestselling Sunday Times and New York Times author who has sold over ten million books worldwide, been published in more than thirty languages and has had numerous books optioned for film and TV. Previous Programming Chairs include Ian Rankin, Val McDermid, Elly Griffiths, Denise Mina, Lee Child, Vaseem Khan, Ruth Ware and Mick Herron.

Lisa Jewell, 2026 Programming Chair of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival says:

“I have been bewitched by the concept of the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival for as long as I have been writing thrillers and my first visit more than lived up to my expectations. I've been every year since and grown more and more familiar with the special world that is created in Harrogate every July, so to be invited to head up the programming committee for 2026 was an honour beyond my wildest imaginings. I worked in fashion retail before I became an author and was a voracious magazine reader and that is the sensibility that I have applied to the format of this year's panels and author events, focussing on 'real life' issues that affect writers in their day to day to lives and thus in turn, inform the things they write about and the way in which they write about them. I'm delighted to see a stellar line up of writers coming together for 2026 and cannot wait to be there, watching all the behind-the-scenes work come to magical life for another glorious and unforgettable festival.”  

The Headliner events include:

Global crime writing icon David Baldacci - one of the world’s most-loved thriller writers - returns to the Festival for the first time in fifteen years with his highly acclaimed new series featuring undercover spy Walter Nash.

Fan favourites and bestselling authors Nadine Matheson and Gillian McAllister introduce their gripping new high-concept thrillers and discuss how their legal backgrounds inform their fiction.

Steve Cavanagh, bestselling Irish author and former Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Novel of the Year winner, discusses Two Kinds of Stranger, the latest in the Eddie Flynn series, featuring a conman-turned-trial lawyer.

Multi-million copy bestselling author Alice Feeney showcases My Husband’s Wife, her nerve-shredding new psychological thriller that will make readers question all they know about love, identity and revenge.

Now in its twenty-third year, the Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival (23–26 July 2026) is the jewel in the crown of the global crime fiction community, offering readers from around the world a unique opportunity to meet literary superstars and discover exciting new talent. The prestigious Festival offers a packed programme of thrilling panels, talks and inspiring creative workshops, with a special event celebrating the legacy of Agatha Christie, who stayed at the Old Swan Hotel, now the Festival venue, 100 years ago when she mysteriously disappeared.

Simon Theakston, Chairman of T&R Theakston Ltd, said:

“It is a privilege to support the world’s best crime writing Festival for an incredible twenty-third year, and I’m thrilled that Lisa Jewell is taking on the role of 2026 Festival Programming Chair. After our most successful event ever in 2025, I can’t wait to be back in Harrogate next summer celebrating the world’s best loved genre once again.”

Sharon Canavar, Chief Executive of Harrogate International Festivals, said:

“Crime fiction fans around the world love Lisa Jewell’s spine-tingling contemporary thrillers, so we are delighted that she has agreed to be Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival’s 2026 Programming Chair as it promises to be a landmark year as Harrogate International Festivals celebrates six decades of arts Festivals. With her focus on topical real-life issues and character driven fiction, Lisa brings a unique sensibility to her programming, and we’re excited to reveal five of the exceptional Special Guests headliners she has selected - with more to be announced in January.”

The Theakston Old Peculier Crime Writing Festival is delivered by the north of England’s leading arts Festival organisation, Harrogate International Festivals and forms part of their diverse year-round portfolio of events, which aims to bring immersive cultural experiences to as many people as possible.

Weekend Break Packages are on sale now. To book, please call the Festivals team on +44(0)1423 562 303 or email info@harrogate-festival.org.uk. Rover tickets and individual event tickets go on sale in Spring 2026. More information about tickets and packages can be found here.

New Blood for ‘Oscars of the Crime Genre’

 

The crime writing genre’s oldest and most famous award has had an injection of new blood thanks to a new sponsor.

Author Karen Baugh Menuhin is sponsoring its highest accolade, the CWA Diamond Dagger.

One of the UK’s most prominent writers’ societies, the CWA was founded by the prolific author John Creasey in 1953.

The very first CWA awards ceremony was hosted in 1965, with Agatha Christie as the principal guest, and the awards have become known as the ‘Oscars of the crime genre.’ 

The Diamond Dagger was introduced in 1986 and is considered the UK’s most prestigious lifetime achievement award for crime writers. Presented annually, nominations for the award are put forward by CWA members and selected by a vote of past Diamond Dagger winners.

Past recipients include Mick Herron, Lynda La Plante, John Le Carré, PD James, Ian Rankin, Ann Cleeves, Lee Child, Frederick Forsyth, and Michael Connelly.

Karen Baugh Menuhin is a bestselling author whose murder mystery novels have sold over a million copies. She lives in the Cotswolds with her husband, Krov Menuhin – retired explorer, natural history filmmaker, and eldest son of Lord Yehudi Menuhin.

Karen Baugh Menuhin said: “I’ve always been a huge fan of historical fiction, Downton Abbey, and murder mystery. I began writing a few years ago at the age of 60 – which just goes to show it's never too late. I decided to take the independent route and have been extremely fortunate that my books have resonated with fans. In the last few years, I’ve reached number 1 in the USA and sold over a million books. Crime fiction has given me so much pleasure as a reader and a writer, and I’m very proud to be able to give something back. Sponsoring the CWA Diamond Dagger is arguably the most esteemed award in crime fiction and it's a huge honour to be involved in supporting the CWA in this.”

Maxim Jakubowski, chair of the CWA Daggers’ committee, said: “I am delighted that Karen Menuhin has come forward to personally sponsor the CWA Diamond Dagger. Following a handful and more of decades when the award was sponsored in turn by a variety of welcome corporate bodies, it is gratifying to find an author with a belief in our crime & mystery community willing to take over the flame.”

The Daggers celebrate the best in crime writing, and feature 13 Dagger Awards in total, celebrating established careers as well as new talent, with the Emerging Author Dagger, open to unpublished authors. To date, agents and editors have signed over two dozen of these emerging authors.

Nadine Matheson, Chair of the CWA, said: “I’m delighted to have Karen Baugh Menuhin as the sponsor of the CWA Diamond Dagger. The Diamond Dagger is the highest honour in crime writing, celebrating a lifetime of extraordinary commitment, creativity, and contribution to the genre. Karen’s generosity and support ensure that this prestigious award continues to recognise the writers whose work has shaped, inspired, and elevated the world of crime fiction.”

Other sponsors of the Daggers include the family-owned company that looks after the James Bond literary brand, Ian Fleming Publications, with the Ian Fleming Steel Dagger for best thriller, Kevin Anderson and Associates who sponsor the Gold Dagger, and the Authors’ Licensing and Collecting Society (ALCS), a not-for profit organisation that supports authors to receive fair payment, sponsor the ALCS Gold Dagger for Non-Fiction.

Sponsor of the John Creasey First Novel Dagger is the intellectual property specialists, International Literary Properties (ILP). Also, the author Maxim Jakubowski sponsors the Crime Fiction in Translation award in honour of his wife Dolores, the editorial consultancy Fiction Feedback sponsor the Emerging Author Dagger, and Morgan Witzel sponsors the Historical Dagger in memory of his wife, the writer Dr Marilyn Livingstone.

The CWA’s founding aims were to provide a social network, as well as help crime writers with business matters. Today, the CWA’s determination to promote the genre remains central to its mission.

 

Forthcoming books from Quercus Books (Including Maclehose Press)

 January 2026

They know she killed them. They've just never known why. Connie Cross was a trusted pharmacy assistant when she was arrested for the gruesome murders of at least seven strangers. Now, she's serving a whole-life order for the shocking crimes she refuses to explain. Olivia Lang never forgot Connie, the awkward teenager from a south London estate she first met while working for the police. Twenty years later, Olivia is desperate to understand what made Connie turn into a murderer. But as she begins to uncover the truth about the UK's most notorious female serial killer, Olivia risks revealing secrets she's kept hidden for years. Connie is by Charlotte Duckworth.

Darling Mine is by Romy Hausmann. She went missing decades ago. He is still looking for her . . . Julie Nowak has been missing since 7th September 2003. It broke her family. Only her father, Theo, doesn't give up on her. On the 20th anniversary of her disappearance, Theo is contacted by podcaster Liv. She's come across a new lead. But if Theo wants to find out the truth he must be quick before his progressing dementia smothers everything in darkness. Who has taken his daughter? Why does Julie's ex-boyfriend Daniel keep his mother's bedroom door locked, years after she passed away? And is there anything more gruesome than the uncertainty of not knowing what happened to your own child?

True Blue is by Joe Thomas. New Year's Eve 1988. An illegal rave in Hackney. Acid House has arrived in the UK. But the Second Summer of Love is no golden era for Britain. A decade of Thatcher is starting to bite and her planned "Community Charge" will only rub salt in the wounds. Privatisation has lined shareholders pockets, but at what cost? A nation stripped of its assets, going for broke. DC Patrick Noble is assigned to a task force working out of Stoke Newington, gathering evidence of police corruption to use against his new colleagues. But this is a dangerous game. And his underlings - spycop Parker and reluctant civilian Suzie Scialfa - are getting restive. Turns out blackmail and intimidation can only get you so far. Meanwhile, council solicitor Jon Davies is once again lifting stones that shouldn't be lifted - this time plumbing the depths of the deal to privatise water. As the country hurtles towards disorder, in the form of riots that even the Iron Lady can't withstand, Noble walks an inexorable path towards his own inescapable fate. Things can only get better. But first they have to hit rock bottom.

February 2026

The Killing Floor is by Elly Griffiths. Ali Dawson is a police detective who leads a unit that investigates cases so cold her team must travel to the distant past to solve them. But Ali and the team haven't been allowed to time-travel ever since their technical expert, Jones, got stuck in Victorian London, never to be seen again. To distract herself from meaningless tasks, Ali decides to look into a present-day case - an apparent suicide of a young man who fell to his death from a high building. She believes the death is linked to a psychic medium called Barry Power, who convinced the boy he could fly. Ali goes to one of Power's shows where he claims to be in contact with Jones. When Ali notices that evening that her cat, Terry, has gone missing, she decides to go back in time just long enough to prevent Terry from escaping through his open cat flap. A dangerous plan which backfires, and she finds herself once more in Victorian London, where she meets Jones, as well as Power, and the darkly mysterious Cain Templeton with whom Ali has unfinished business from her previous visit to the past . .

Cromarty, The Black Isle, 1831. As seagulls shriek and rise on the coastal winds, a circulating library in the bustling port town of Cromarty is meeting for the first time. Ostensibly united by a love of books, the demands of social convention have brought together a disparate group of people. Charlotte Mackenzie, the remote and fragile wife of the local laird, seeks an escape from a loveless marriage; her best friend, Rachel Mackay, a former governess who is ardently in love with her own older husband, the town's minister; the young schoolmaster, John Learmonth, newly arrived from Edinburgh with secrets in tow; and the gentle bank clerk, Ludovic Cameron who dreams of a new life across the ocean, far from his erstwhile schoolmate, the malevolent Farquhar Hossack. When the laird befriends a wounded officer, a chain of events is set into motion that threatens to upset the delicate equilibrium of the community. Against the backdrop of mass emigrations, an encroaching cholera epidemic, political unrest and the campaign to abolish chattel slavery in the British Caribbean, the people of Cromarty must negotiate their new world and each other, flitting in and out of each other's lives through one extraordinary year. The Cromarty Library Circle is by Shona Maclean.

The Widows is by Anna Smith. One false move could get them killed. Ruby, Bella and Cissy are used to the high life. Married to gangland bosses at the top of their game, the riches of Costa del Sol are at their fingertips, the world at their feet. But when Cissy's husband is brutally murdered, everything changes. With his lifelong friend - the notorious drug lord Tommy Mallon - hellbent on revenge, the three women are forced to go on the run. Soon they find themselves caught up in an explosive struggle for money and power. A new life awaits - but only if they can outrun the one they've left behind.

March 2026

The Move is by J P Delaney. Few beginnings can be deadly . . .  Kate and Matt Crowther are finally moving out of London, in search of a better life for their young family. Trade Cottage seems to be the house of their dreams - and they immediately hit it off with the sellers, Rosemary and Paul Finch, who brought up their own family there.  When Kate and Matt move in, they're pleased to discover the Finches still very much in evidence: offering advice, introducing them to the local community, and becoming honorary grandparents to Will, 11, and Tilly, 9. But when the Finches take exception to Kate and Matt's renovations, relations with the neighbours sour, and Kate and Matt find themselves subjected to a vicious campaign of hate. But Kate isn't giving up her dream home without a fight. And it turns out Trade Cottage has secrets of its own to reveal - secrets that may endanger the very family Kate has moved there to protect .

Vital Signs is by Kate Webb. Can a killer leave no trace? August 2010. The Tobins - a happy, well-off family - spend a sunny afternoon at a birthday party with friends. By dawn, most of them are dead. It's a crime that grabs headlines and shocks the nation. The key suspect, Aidan Tobin, was known as a loving husband and father, but his desperate attempt to take his own life is as good as a confession. The case begins and ends with him. August 2021. A survivor of the attacks regains a memory of that horrific night. Chloë Tobin never believed her father was guilty. Only six at the time, she is the sole witness to the brutal attacks. Now, she insists that somebody else was involved. Could she be right? DI Matt Lockyer and DC Gemma Broad of Wiltshire Police's cold case unit aren't so sure. But as they begin to investigate, they soon discover there's more to this case than meets the eye. After all, why would a man who had everything destroy it all?

The Dangerous Stranger is by Simon Mason. On a warm and pleasant evening in Oxford, gentle city of poets and scholars, rioters outside a hotel full of asylum seekers set a young refugee on fire. The city - the country - convulses in shock. Is this who we are? It's international news of the very worst kind, and the Chief Constable demands immediate and exemplary action in bringing the perpetrators to justice. The detectives leading the investigation fill him with misgivings, however: DIs Ryan and Ray Wilkins (no relation), Thames Valley's detective pantomime horse, one Oxford-educated, the other Oxford-trailer park. He doesn't understand why they work together. 'Do they even get on?' 'Somehow that doesn't seem necessary,' their Superintendent replies. Who burned the boy alive? Was it a far-right extremist? Was it an ordinary person who had simply gone along to watch and got caught up in the emotion? Could it even be one of the children who were there? Deploying a range of investigative skills, some standard, some unconventional and some frankly nuts, the Wilkinses do what they do: results with chaos. But when they discover that the victim was not an asylum seeker after all, or even a resident of the hotel, the whole investigation kicks into a completely different configuration.

April 2026

Laura never meant to lie, but old habits die hard. When Annie Adams heads to London to visit her mother, Laura, the last thing she expects to find is a dead body. Least of all for it to be Fliss, the budding artist Laura had just taken under her wing.  Annie is no stranger to murder - after all, she's solved a few cases already. And something about the way Fliss died feels familiar. She's seen a case like this before. Or read about it, rather, in the journals of her dead Great Aunt Frances, whose close friend was killed in the 1960s in the exact same way: with her heart surgically removed from her chest. As threats pile up on Laura's doorstep, it soon becomes clear that she's next, and that she's hiding something . . . With her mother's life on the line, can Annie find the killer before it's too late?  From the gritty streets of 1960s Soho to the lofty galleries of present-day West London, follow Annie and Frances as they race to bring a killer to justice. How to Cheat Your Own Death is by Kristen Perrin.

Fresh from case of the stolen heart, one that shattered his belief in the regime he works for, Samson Kolechko is confronted with a mystery that borders on the impossible. How could a squad of Red Army soldiers have disappeared from the Galician bathhouse, leaving only their boots and their uniforms as evidence they ever existed? Faced with such a fantastical conundrum, Samson resorts to fantastical investigation method: stitching his operative severed ear into a bathhouse worker's jacket, he is able to eavesdrop on his every move. But he discovers far more than he bargained for, uncovering human remains in the stoves and the presence of a sinister religious cult in the city. With his quick-witted new wife Nadezhda at his side, Samson must not only solve the case but navigate the political turmoil that still grips Kyiv as civil war looms and trust between neighbours and comrades is eroded day by day. The Lost Soldiers is by Andrey Kurkov.

May 2026

Just Kill is by Remi Kone. London during a blistering heatwave. A man wakes in the middle of the night, hearing noises from downstairs. He assumes it's a burglar - nothing prepares him for what he finds. Across the city, DI Leah Hutch and DS Benjamin Randle are called to a murder scene outside their jurisdiction. A woman has been killed - the only suspect, a friend from Leah's past who refuses to speak to anyone but her. Meanwhile, fourteen-year-old Zed Okoro's mother has vanished. He will do anything in his power to find her - even if it means risking his own life. As Leah and Randle investigate, they discover a conspiracy with roots far from home. Three incidents. One connection. What secrets make people kill?

In a brilliant feat of literary detective work Master of Lies by Piers Blofeld tells the extraordinary untold story of Anthony Blunt's life as a spy. Based on extensive research into newly released files he is revealed as not simply "the fourth man", but the most dangerous spy of the twentieth century. During the war, as the fate of the world hung in the balance, Blunt's intelligence was being fed straight on to the desks of Hitler, Stalin and Churchill. His hand was secretly guiding our collective fate and his treason led to the deaths of tens of thousands. He casts a shadow which looms large to this day. The official narrative is that Blunt was the least of the Cambridge spies - and yet he was the one who got away with it. While the rest drank themselves to death in dingy Moscow flats, Blunt revelled in his brilliant career as an art historian, Surveyor of the Queen's pictures and Knight of the Realm. He was protected not just by his many friendships with the great and the good, but by the brilliance with which he played the game - his was a secret too big to be told.

June 2026

These are your neighbours. One is a killer. Reeling from a very recent divorce, Frankie has moved into a glamorous London neighbourhood. This is a new chapter in her life. She's decided to put down roots with the beautiful Persian cat she left her marriage with named Blue. But little niggles with her perfect new life start to grow and when Blue returns one night from slipping into places he shouldn't, Frankie's concerns solidify. Two words are roughly scratched into his collar: HELP ME. Unsettled and unwilling to ignore the incident, Frankie roots out an old unused "Cat Cam" collar. What slowly begins as a voyeuristic fascination with her neighbours and the secrets they're hiding soon turns into a perilous quest for the truth that threatens to bring untold terrors to her doorstep. These are your neighbours. One is a killer. Reeling from a very recent divorce, Frankie has moved into a glamorous London neighbourhood. This is a new chapter in her life. She's decided to put down roots with the beautiful Persian cat she left her marriage with named Blue. But little niggles with her perfect new life start to grow and when Blue returns one night from slipping into places he shouldn't, Frankie's concerns solidify. Two words are roughly scratched into his collar: HELP ME. Unsettled and unwilling to ignore the incident, Frankie roots out an old unused "Cat Cam" collar. What slowly begins as a voyeuristic fascination with her neighbours and the secrets they're hiding soon turns into a perilous quest for the truth that threatens to bring untold terrors to her doorstep. Nine Lives is by Catherine Steadman

After Bruno misses several phone calls from Pamela, he worries that something has happened to his beloved horse he keeps at her riding school. But her reason for calling is entirely unexpected: Pamela’s new lodger has been murdered. Bruno knows that Pamela isn’t capable of killing anyone, but then who’s the culprit? And what’s the motive? The dead woman had only just moved to town to take a job at the local nursing home—she had no enemies in the village, and no friends, either. As Bruno wrestles with these complications, the force realizes that Bruno can’t be impartial when Pamela is involved, and assigns the case instead to their rising star rookie, Fabien. Bruno is happy for Fabien to take the lead. After all, Bruno’s been distracted—by his foundering relationship, by a documentary crew determined to transform the sleepy Vézère Valley into a tourist hotspot, by a group of opinionated small businesses Bruno wants to help organize a logistically complicated night market. He can’t seem to catch a break. But when Fabien realizes that the victim is connected to his past, Bruno has to step back in to help. The village has never felt more crowded, and the clock is ticking: Will Bruno and Fabien be able to catch a killer? A Murder in Springtime is by Martin Walker.